Interested in moving to Washington, looking for the right place. (Seattle: budget, travel)

[scirocco22]

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[ShadowXOR]

I've been living in the sun all my life, and I like to see it but I'm really bored of it. I like rain and overcast. Not sure how I'll handle it 9 months out of the year but there is only one way to find out. I prefer cold over hot, though neither are great. I've never lived anywhere but where I am now so I figure I can see a different state, live cheaper, and find out if I like the weather.

I also love trees and greenery! Sky is good too but not too much!

[ShadowXOR]

I've been hearing good things about Seattle so I would like to live close to it, but preferably not in all that traffic. You mentioned Renton, which I'm looking at. What about Bothell? That place looked nice but seemed pricier than Renton.

[scirocco22]

Bothell might be a good choice. I believe the crime rate is much lower than Renton's. It's still a bedroom community to Seattle although there is a good employment base in the North Creek complex. There's also a nice combined/shared campus of Cascadia Community College and the Bothell branch of the UW between downtown Bothell and North Creek. And yes, probably pricier than Renton but not as bad as its neighbor town to the east, Woodinville and definitely not as bad as Bellevue, Redmond or Kirkland.

The odd thing about Bothell is that its city limits actually straddles two counties --King and Snohomish. Downtown Bothell is located in King county but some of the outlying residential communities within the city limits to the north are in Snohomish county. I think, and perhaps "the dufferz" can give you a better assessment, that Snohomish county property taxes are a bit lower ...I know they aren't paying for Safeco field either.

Yeah, I'd definitely check out Bothell. It's still very congested but probably not as bad as some of the other burbs in the area ...you just won't get away from it staying the greater Seattle metro' area.

--'rocco

[bzbzlady]

I have lived & worked in the Olympia area for 5 years. I do have to tell you that I was very surprised by the area when I moved here. I thought it would be a busy metro area because it is the capitol of WA. What I found here is that people are very rural. Tumwater is only about 2 miles south of Olympia, but it is growing rapidly. The state has built 6-10 new buildings in Tumwater in the past couple of years & have been moving moving many of their departments. You may want to check the state website for employment http://www.dop.wa.gov/
There are many small towns south, (Rochester, Tenino, Centralia, Chehalis) South off I=5 and about 20 minutes away) from which people commute to the many state jobs in Olympia and Tumwater.
Lacey is another city close to Olympia. It has lots of businesses, apartments, housing developments and traffic.
If possible it is better to live south of Olympia, because of traffic.
Another area for rural living would be Shelton, Elma, or Montessano, but the commute is not fun, but maybe easier than what you are used to.
Evergreen State College is also close to the area, and may have employment.
The local newspaper may also be helpful to you. http://www.theolympian.com/
Good luck to you in your endeavors.

[KidBlue]

I grew up in the LA area (near Pasadena) and now live in the foothills outside Sacramento. I'm also looking to move to WA, but for retirement, not for work.

If you decide not to leave CA, I would recommend Chico or Redding or areas around these cities. They are both about the right size and have jobs in the high tech area. They are also much more affordable than LA or Sac. My brother's income is about the same as your's and he found Redding to be affordable and nice. It doesn't get a lot of rain and is hot in the summer, but just to the east are foothills and Mt. Shasta looks just like Mt. Rainier to me.

I made a trip to the Chehalis, Rainier, Yelm area and was surprised how conservative it was. These towns are heavily dependent on the large military bases in the area. I have doubts that a young couple would be happy in that area. I've heard nice things about Lacey and Olympia, but outside of Seattle would have much more to do and would have more jobs.

[ShadowXOR]

I really need to be close to fancy amenities. My girlfriend would like to be further away. So I think outside of Seattle would be a good trade-off. I don't want to live in some forest city with no commercial buildings. If I can I want to take a trip up to Washington so I can check out all the cities surrounding Seattle. Right now I actually am pretty lucky because I live VERY close to my job. I hate driving long distances. Olympia sounded nice on paper but from how you guys explain it, it almost sounds too empty for me. Maybe I'm just getting the wrong impression? Once again thank you for all your help. I'm not exactly familiar with the area...I think Seattle may be against water on one side...but in general, what is the nicest (preferably most affordable) section to live in general. East, west, south, or north of Seattle? It seems to me everything is East or South of Seattle, but I'm not sure which is best in general.

[ShadowXOR]

Also, a low crime rate and less run down neighborhoods is VERY important to me. So should I stay away from Renton? What should I be leaning towards?

EDIT: Well I found out I live in an area with a relatively low crime-rate and most of Washington's is much higher than where I live. Should I be worried about crime in the Seattle area? I definitely want to live/work/play in an area with little crime.

EDIT 2: Wow! Bothell has a very low crime rate! Unfortunately Renton's is very high. Does Bothell feel like a city? Nice commercial buildings (Barnes & Noble, etc.), yet relatively close to the city, and a ways away from high-crime areas?

EDIT 3: This is the first time I've ever researched a move (I just went wherever my parents went before). Now maybe every place has this issue, but every city I look up has one issue or another. I'm hearing Bothell has really nothing to it besides houses and that it's relatively expensive. I'm really confused...any help on general moving? Obviously nowhere will be perfect so I'm going to have to give in one category or another...

[FistFightingHairdresser]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

Seattle proper is not "run down" like one might observe LA as being. It's what I'd consider a vibrant city. Congestion is unbearable, though. Well, at least it was to me. That's one of the reasons I left.

It's the only city of that size that doesn't have a rail system in place. Sure, one's being built now but decades too late. Because of this, you can imagine the traffic congestion. The freeway system was built without any foresight ...like the SR520 bridge, gimme-a-break! c'mon, what were they thinking??! We voted down freeway expansion in the 60s, voted down rail in the 80s --now the area is showing that lack of foresight.

Because of the hourglass shape of the city proper, I-5 going through the city is generally gridlocked the majority of the time now. I believe the suburbs are just as congested as the ones in LA. Again, to me, the Seattle area traffic is a nightmare that I don't wish going back to. Unlike the suburbs of LA or Las Vegas, the streets aren't wide to handle traffic. I'm amazed at the size of the streets in the burbs of Las Vegas or the Henderson area! Seattle's suburbs have nothing like that and can't handle the same volume of traffic.

So, if you want less traffic, get out of the greater Seattle/Tacoma/Everett area ...you'll just be back to the same kind of congestion you're used to in the LA burbs. Olympia might be nice (or nicer), then.

--'rocco

Too true. But if you work in Seattle and live in Seattle, driving in traffic is actually manageable. It's a nightmare when you have to get out across the lake or on I-5. And for a techie, Seattle has a huge concentration of jobs.

As I've told many folks here, check the Stranger Classifieds. www.thestranger.com. Or the Seattle Times. Then there's Craig's List. You can probably find yourself a fine 2BR in one of the better in-city areas for about $1300. Look in Queen Anne, Magnolia, Fremont, Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Capitol Hill, Wallingford, Greenlake to start. There are other nice areas too.

[scirocco22]

I don't know, Shadow, I think you've narrowed it down and it sounds like Bothell is the compromise you're looking for.

Yes, it's perhaps more "expensive" than Renton but you'll reap the benefits of lower crime. But nothing besides houses? ...where'd you gather that from? It has a nice little downtown area, and like I mentioned before, it has a small but new college campus and a huge industrial/office complex (North Creek).

If you're wondering about places to shop, don't. There are plenty. There are small shops in the downtown area but there are also strip malls and other commercial places up near Thrasher's Corner in the north part of the area.

The closest Barnes and Noble, I think, is in downtown Woodinville which is only a few minutes away. Downtown Woodinville also has a nice commercial center. Again, downtown Woodinville is literally only about 5 minutes (at the most ...but not during rush hour) away from downtown Bothell if you're taking the freeway.

To me, it sounds as if Bothell is going to be the closest to what you're looking for. Nowhere will be perfect or exactly fill all the things you're looking for so you have to make some sacrifices but, personally, I think you've found what you're looking for in Bothell.

You might check out Kenmore while you're there. Again, it's probably more "affordable" but with that could come a slight increase in crime. Kenmore is not as quaint as Bothell.

And as Firefightinghairdresser has said, if you are into city life, those places mentioned are in the city limits of Seattle and are ecletic and are ideal urban settings. Like we've said, Seattle isn't a run-down place as a lot of metropolitan cities are becoming or have become.

--'rocco