I miss Seattle! (Vancouver: apartment, for rent, crime)

[Jalhop]

Originally Posted by MargaretBartley

Traffic in Seattle during rush hour is horrendous.

Take heed, OP. For 20+ years I've been mentally blocking out rush hours as a possibility for driving. Many folk here shift their work hours to compensate a bit.

[PurpleBeam]

You all are so great! The most frightening story I heard about Seattle spiders was dealing with giant house spiders... which I hate! One poster said they aren't bad except when you try to get it and it does speed sprints across your living room. That creeps me out because I would hate knowing there was a spider somewhere in my place that I've seen, but couldn't catch! But I will survive, no matter what the spiders are like

I don't plan on moving until I get a job so I won't worry about a lease term yet. I hear you on the traffic. I wouldn't mind not having a car, but I do like to go on little trips and I think that would bother me without a car. I suppose I'd survive without though.

[kanhawk]

I think if you check craigslist or hotpads.com you be able to find apts. for $1000 or a little less even in the Queen Anne or West Seattle area, although most of those may be studios. Maybe not great places, but suitable.
Regarding spiders, yes we have some big, although relatively harmless, giant house spiders. I live out in the country so I see more, but when I lived in Seattle years ago in a dump of a place I never saw one. Keep your place clean and brush away any cobwebs you see and I don't think you'll see hardly any in a city dwelling. Overall, I think you find this area much less buggy than most other part of the country.

[Jalhop]

It seems the bigger the spiders get the harder they are to catch. I guess that's how they got big! I put a cup on one side of them and try to startle them into it.

[DJKirkland]

Originally Posted by PurpleBeam

You all are so great! The most frightening story I heard about Seattle spiders was dealing with giant house spiders... which I hate! One poster said they aren't bad except when you try to get it and it does speed sprints across your living room. That creeps me out because I would hate knowing there was a spider somewhere in my place that I've seen, but couldn't catch! But I will survive, no matter what the spiders are like

I don't plan on moving until I get a job so I won't worry about a lease term yet. I hear you on the traffic. I wouldn't mind not having a car, but I do like to go on little trips and I think that would bother me without a car. I suppose I'd survive without though.

Having lived in Seattle for almost 7 years now, I've only found spiders in my apartment (have lived in 4 different complexes) maybe twice, and they were small. Insects/spiders have been a non-issue for me here personally.

I agree if you can go carless it really frees up a lot of income for rent/entertainment/saving. The money you save can easily pay for a days rental of a car if you want to make a weekend trip somewhere. You'd come out ahead. The majority of my friends here don't have cars, or they share one between then and their significant other. Really doesn't seem to be an issue.

[motor80]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Under $1000 and in a safe area with mass transit and all the stuff people want (walkable, stores, shopping, etc etc etc) will be a challenge. Scratch that, impossible.

BS. Not only is NOT impossible, but it is affordable for a little more than what you're paying now. My girl friend lives 6 blocks from me in Fremont. 1 bed room apartment, close to 3 bus lines (others require a few more blocks of walking), and 4 blocks from a market, coffee shop, couple burger joints, video rental store, Italian restaurant, deli, etc. and just a 10 minute walk to downtown Fremont. She pays just over $700.

There are plenty of other affordable apartments in many other neighborhoods - just stay away from the "hot" and "hip" neighborhoods (Capitol Hill & Ballard) to stay on the cheaper side of things.

[awkiv]

Does anyone here have any experience with the 700 Broadway Apartments? I want to live in Capitol Hill because of the walkability of the area. Me and my partner could afford around 1000-1200 each month and their prices mach that and the building is really nice looking. I looked at others but they are very bland to me. Also we won't be moving until at least 2013, are rent prices going up lately or are they pretty steady?

[HometoGeorgia]

Originally Posted by tobester

Spiders are about the only crawly things we have here. Few mosquitoes, wasps for a couple of weeks, no flies, no cockroaches, no silverfish ... quite bug free - possibly cause the spiders eat most of them. Our house doesn't even have screens on the windows. My opinion is getting your placed sprayed often is far more hazardous to your health than the spiders sneaking around. The spiders here seem pretty normal ... nothing like those in the 50's horror movies.

I'll 2nd this. And as a bachelor I can get quite lazy when it comes to cleaning, dishes in the sink til the next morning....garbage needing to go out, and once I forgot about a pan of something on the stove and it sat there all night. These are all cardinal sins in Georgia and would NEVER happen if I wanted to be bug free. Heck, even when I had a spotless kitchen in Atlanta, to the point where you could eat off the floor, I'd still get crawly things coming in to visit me.

On the apartment issue, I pay $1,000 for a 2 bedroom in Ballard, one of the older buildings. It is 2 blocks off Market, and due to the changing nature of the neighborhood crime is up, we just had a robbery in our building, first on our block in a decade. It was THAT safe. But I'm inclined to think it was an isolated incident.

My advice to anyone coming to Seattle if they don't want to go the roommate route, is to just look hard and be prepared to pay a deposit and 1st month's rent down on the spot, especially if it's a 2 bedroom deal. Offer some kind of service in exchange and maybe they'll come down, we do maintenance and get 100 knocked off.

[HometoGeorgia]

Originally Posted by PurpleBeam

Hi everyone! I have enjoyed reading here for quite some time and love all the information this forum shares. Thank you for that!

I’m a 24 year old single female who currently lives in MN. I graduated college with a degree in elementary education… but unfortunately have not gotten a teaching job besides subbing so I am a nanny for the time being. I have a love for geography and although I haven’t traveled much, it is my dream to do so.

Last year, in November, I got in my car and drove out to Seattle. There was no reason for doing so... I just felt like checking it out. I fell in love and stayed for 3 weeks. And since then, I have been determined that I will someday move there. I was there during the Christmas tree lightings and it just felt so right for me. I’ve always lived in smaller midwest towns, with the exception of a year in Houston, TX and have never felt the way I did in Seattle. Of course, a nanny’s salary doesn’t allow me to just up and move so I have been doing research and seeing what my options are. Unfortunately for me, I don’t see the move happening anytime soon because I really need to be ready and know that I will make it okay financially there. Teaching jobs are hard to come by, so what might an elementary teacher with a love for geography consider as jobs to look for? I’ve thought about being a travel agent, but I’m not qualified for that. I think what would make me happiest is something dealing with travel. Any ideas?

Also, as a single female in my 20’s where should I be looking for an apartment? I traveled to Seattle alone and stayed in the Mediterranean Inn in Lower Queen Anne. Never once did I feel unsafe. I don’t know what my budget would be. Currently I only pay about $500 for rent and I realize that would be much higher in Seattle. I think a budget would depend on my job. I would like to stay under $1000 and still be in a safe area. Possible? And I'd prefer parking, but would easily be able to access public transportation as well. I don't mind commuting so I wouldn't have to be right near my job, but that won't help you anyhow without me having a job! I'd like to be near Seattle- either in it or a 'burb, but don't have to be right in the heart of it.

Please don’t tell me I need to further consider moving. I’m set on doing it, but I have arranged a date or anything. I realize what Seattle is like. I went in November to see what it was like in a non-summer month and still loved it. I don’t mind the gray or the clouds. I didn’t experience the Seattle freeze- the people I talked to were all very friendly and helpful- but I tend to mind my own business anyhow and don’t think I would mind other people doing the same as long as I had a few friends to fight the loneliness that comes from moving along.

I love to read and would like to know of any good book clubs/discussion groups out there. Also, I’ve read threads on the dating scene. I hope to find a nice man eventually in my life! I’ve heard both ways – it’s hard to meet men in Seattle and others had no problems.

So basically I’m just looking for good places to apartment hunt and job hunt. Again, I have no date in mind, but thought I’d get a head start. For all I know it could be where I end up retiring some day, although I really hope I make it within the next couple of years!

Thank you for reading my "book." I look forward to reading your comments

OP

-relocations; some people in our own lives or even right here on city would have us believe we are stuck with the state we're born with...NOT TRUE! I'm going on my 4th relocation and excited as can be.

-the freeze; the naysayers believe that it's what we make of it, but I've been here long enough to know it's there, just not as pronounced. Like most southern boys I'm pretty outgoing and never really felt like Seattle was a good fit for me, some people look horrified or even mad when my "good morning" interrupts their cellphone/ipod/laptop time, but it sounds like a perfect match for you.

-books; I'm not sure, I think all the J.A. Jance mysteries take place here if you're into that. And many of Ann Rule's true crime books do as well, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea. I read one and they were too ghoulish even for me, I probably never would have left my house let alone the state had I read it before moving here. But rent the movie Singles or Sleepless in Seattle; movies that were actually filmed on location and not up in Vancouver.

-dating; like any other city, it's all about social networking and online personals, two things that exacerbate the freeze effect. An introverted city will naturally thrive on the net, if you're into any kind of techy gadget whatsoever, you'll succeed in this town. I'm not and to the point I can't stand walking into a cafe in November only to find a room full of people less lively than some funerals I've been to.

[HometoGeorgia]

Originally Posted by lookitsaustin

Does anyone here have any experience with the 700 Broadway Apartments? I want to live in Capitol Hill because of the walkability of the area. Me and my partner could afford around 1000-1200 each month and their prices mach that and the building is really nice looking. I looked at others but they are very bland to me. Also we won't be moving until at least 2013, are rent prices going up lately or are they pretty steady?

Their steady in spots, slightly increasing in others because the housing crisis has tightened up the rental vacancies a bit.

I'd really avoid anything on Broadway itself, there are too many panhandlers and people passed out on sidewalks literally right on your doorstep; unless it doesn't bother you. But you can do far better just 1 or 2 blocks off Broadway and still be in the midst of Washington's most densely populated zip code.