Moving To Seattle In July-ish, need advice, all welcome! (Shoreline: sales, apartments)

[Field Tester]

Hello All,

I’m a 26, Male, Divorced, with 1 Four Year Old little Girl, and I am moving to Seattle around July-ish this year. I currently live in East San Diego in a community called La Mesa. I’ve never lived outside of the San Diego County. My Ex-Wife has deceided to move to WA so I am going to follow suit so I can be with my little girl.

I’ve searched Craigslist and the job market is really a tough one when trying to sift through all of the pyrimid schemes and door to door sales men. I have a background in food service, but recently spent 4 years in the Telecoms industry as a Customer Service Supervisor. I’ve checked Comcast and couldn’t find much. I’ve also looked at Verizon, and Micosoft. Microsoft seems to be the best bet to apply for.

I don’t have a support system up there, so I can’t really go visit and apply for jobs and wait around. Does anyone have any suggestions on where and what to apply for? What should I also expect? I’m looking forward to the rain, and love cold weather. I’m excited I don’t have to try to survive another summer here. 60 Degrees outside sounds wonderful to me. I’m prepared to spend some time alone, because I’m trying to stay practical when I know it takes time to make friends.

To re-cap, I’m just trying to find some help in finding a good job and a place to live. I currently have some college credit under my belt, and I may try to attempt to continue my education. I just need a few suggestions on how I should take the next step. I researched several communities, jobs, crime rates, etc… and I’m not too picky really living anywhere in Seattle. My main concern is obtaining a job, and finding a place to live, I can go from there in time if I find where I reside doesn’t suit me. Any suggestions, sites, or help would be much appreciated. If more info is needed don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you in advance!

[fiveten]

I have a long post about how much it sucks looking for work here, honestly you could find it really tough to find a job, or you might land something.

Having a degree would help because I heard that something like 50% of the population here has a bachelors. You'd also be paying out of state fees to go to school here.

Just make an active effort to apply to places where you can show that you have previous experience.
You can check out some temp agencies around here, I've seen call center/ customer type jobs posted up.

Rent might be expensive, I've never lived away from home, but currently 4 of us are renting a 4 bedroom house and our rent is very reasonable. By yourself rent may be high.

I just landed a job at a grocery store. And I have a college degree. So there you go.

[phoenixmike11]

I plan on moving to seattle soon as well. I would sign up with some temp agencies- they can help you get some work right away and and it can lead to permanent work. My guess is that if you have call center experience you have a good chance at getting a job since call centers are frequently hiring those with previous experience. I just finished an assignment with a temp agency for a call center. Try these websites- indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, seattlejobs.com. Also, I am sure King County has some type of career services support program (like most big counties do).

[Redline]

Where does your ex-wife live? How close to do you want to be to her/your daughter?

[Field Tester]

She just moved to Shoreline. I don't mind living up to 45 min away. In SD we lived about a hour away.

[sofia76]

I would definitely get connected with a temp agency. Finding work can be hard, but I think a lot of it depends on what type of work you do. I've been seeing Help Wanted signs up in restaurants, sandwich shops, and retail stores. I will be rooting for you - it's great that you are willing to move to stay close to your child!

[Bella85]

I live in La Mesa as well and am looking into moving to Seattle. Just trying to figure out the logistics of it all. I hope it goes well for you.

[CityGirl72]

There is a lot of educated competition so classes under your belt means nothing.

I would suggest enrolling somewhere (University level best) but even if its community college, at least you can add it to your resume like this:

University of Washington
Bachelors of Arts, Economics
(in progress)

It makes it seem as though you will be completing the needed education timely instead of just seeming like a drop out.

[CityGirl72]

PS: I commend you for following where your child lives, it shows great integrity as a father.

Good Luck

[lauriejopatten]

Shoreline is a great area. You may want to look for housing there as well. Its where I live - good public transportation to the city. Its cleaner that Seattle and apartments are more affordable. Pound the pavement and don't be too picky right away you will find work.