Suggest a place in WA for a 25yo SWM (Seattle: sales, apartment)

[mervgriffen]

I've lived in richmond, va for 5 years and I've live in virginia my whole life. I haven't even been west of mississippi river before. I'm working on finishing my associates degree for business in the spring and I'm not sure I want to stay in virginia to get my bachelor's (although VA does have great public colleges).

Washington seems like a cool state. I'm attracted to the outdoors, close to the mountains and ocean (seafood, yum), lack of brutal summers, and more liberal mindsets. I would plan on working full time when I get there and going back to school after a year when I can claim state residency (for in-state tuition rates). I will only have an associates degree so I'm only expecting to make 30,000-35-000 per year (I make a little under 30k now in the logistics field).

Here's what I need:

-affordable rent (paying 450 to share an apartment now, which is reasonable)

-jobs for people w/ my education level and my salary expectations

-a decent public university, doesn't have to be too prestigious

-a cozy little corner bar and market within walking/biking distance (i'm spoiled where I live now, have both at the end of my block)

-places to bicycle

-decent nightlife

-decent music scene if at all possible, I'm a musician as well

-decent single women in my demographic

I don't really like suburbs or the country...I like to be "in the city"....which can vary in size from 25,000 people to a million.

Any places like that in western Washington or the great northwest in general?

been looking into Olympia, Bellingham, don't know too much about the area. Seattle may be out of my budget but what do I know?

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

[sean98125]

I think Bellingham might be a little closer to what you're looking for. Olympia is just slightly more conventional and Evergreen State is just far enough outside the city core that it doesn't feel like it has a huge impact on culture there. WWU in Bellingham is very close to Fairhaven and it does seem to have more of an impact on the culture in that town.

[chris]

Portland might be more up your alley. Things are more affordable and definitely more liberal than Seattle (summer might be hotter than you care for in PTown). Not sure about school costs though, which are probably very important to you. You could pull it off in Seattle financially, but Seattle is tre expensive and even in-state might still be hard to pull off without financial aid.

Oh, almost forgot, tje music scene in Portland is *way* better.

Bellingham/Olympia in *most* cases is going to be way too boring for a 25y/o. I wouldn't even consider it unless you are looking for life in the slow lane. If you think Washington is the place for you though, Bellingham is the better choice.

[CityGirl72]

Um in the Seattle Area

Wallingford, Fremont, Ballard

[tahoesash]

Wow, you're describing Bellingham to a T. Go check it out!

[springshades]

U-District area of seattle... Wallingford/Fremont and even up to Green Lake. Puts you right by University of Washington. Puts you close to some of the best and cheapest restaurants you can find. And puts you within commuting distance of a very vibrant commercial sector. Rent is a lot cheaper there than downtown (it will still go up for you a bit I'm sure). Your salary will most likely go up a little. Easy to find people to share a place with (lots of students live there).

Vancouver, WA is another great place. Close to Portland (depending on the type of music you like, Portland may be better... it tends to follow the softer indie college music sound that is more in phase at the moment... Seattle music is a bit on the rougher side). Cheaper to live their than Portland, but it is a good size town in its own right (population of about 140k). You can also do a great trick where if you live in washington you don't pay state income tax, and if you shop in portland you don't pay sales tax.

BTW, the equivalent of the "corner bar" in the northwest is the "corner coffee shop". You literally can't get away from the buggers, they're everywhere. If you end up near Seattle, check out Pies and Pints sometime. Pies refers to meat (or vegetarian) pies for meals... really good stuff. The Pints includes beer, but they seem to specialize in Ciders. Throw in some fun blue grass that they bring in on the weekends and it's a really cool unusual place.

[Roboti]

Seattle is probably the place for you. If you don't want to share an apartment, there are plenty of studios on Capitol Hill in the $450-$600 range, small 1brs from $600, and large 1brs from about $750. Don't know about 2 brs, though. Jobs shouldn't be a problem, and you might get paid slightly more for the same kind of work you've been doing in VA. UW is 10 minutes from downtown core, maybe 15 on a bike. Biking is ok if you like hills. Pretty much every neighborhood in the central and north parts of the city have their own business districts within walking or biking distance, and you'll find all the bars, markets, and nightlife you need. Specific neighborhoods you should look into, in no particular order: Capitol Hill, Downtown (maybe too expensive), Fremont, Greenlake, Ballard, Wallingford, Columbia City, University District, Madison Park (maybe too expensive) Eastlake (no nightlife, but short, flat bike ride/bus ride will take care of that) Pioneer Square.

I don't know much about Bellingham, except that it's close enough to Canada to catch a train to Vancouver anytime you want a *real* big city experience.