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I have wanted to move to Seattle for years now, I love what I hear about the weather, people, and coffee. (hehe ) I am going to be a new graduate soon (yay) and will be looking for a job there as a Nurse. I have looked at many percentages and they all say that RNs make around $70,000 to start in Seattle.
I was wondering if this is a good number to live off of there. I am a single female and will have a car. I have been looking at many apts there and it seems that in order to find one I really like, it's going to run me about $1,500.
Is there any advice or "fun tips" you guys could give me? How open is Seattle to the GLBT community?
I am moving from NC and just do not enjoy my surroundings. I'm not a country person in the least, I love shopping and street markets. I love areas that are surrounded with malls and bookstores and coffee shops, places that have people who can hold an intellectual conversation. I really think Seattle is right for me, I'm friendly and optimistic and hope I fit in.
Any advice would be wonderful!! Thank you.
The thing a lot of people don't realize from out of state is that while Downtown Seattle only has about 600,000 people, the metropolitan area has about 3.5 million. Most people live North or South of Seattle and commute to work every day (expect lots of traffic)
Once you start getting farther away from Downtown, housing gets cheaper. Cost of living/rent here is a lot higher than many places in the US, and can come as a surprise depending on where you're coming from. If you travel north of Seattle (which I would suggest, much less crime and pollution etc.) you get into the cities such as Edmonds, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace. These are all places within 15-20 minutes of Seattle, but housing/rent is much cheaper. You can easily rent a nice apartment for around $900 and still be able to commute to Seattle every day.
If you really want to live in Seattle specifically, there are different neighborhoods in Seattle that aren't downtown, kind of like the boroughs of New York City. Some of them are Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna, University District, Fremont, Magnolia etc. These are going to be a little spendy but not as much as downtown or the East Side (Bellevue etc.) Not sure where you are getting $1,500 from because that seems extremely high for just one person, unless it's downtown or on the East Side. My sister has a nice 3 bedroom in Ballard for $1,200.
There is LOTS of shopping and lots of street markets in Seattle. Make sure to visit Pike Place Market, it is amazing.
The fact that you have a car is great, but there are a few things you should expect as a driver here.
1) Gas prices are HIGH. The pacific coast gas prices are generally MUCH higher than other parts of the US. About a month ago gas was around $4.40, now they have dramatically dropped to around $3.50 and for us, that is good. But coming from elsewhere, it may be a shock.
2) Traffic is bad. Seattle is known for our heavy dependence on cars, and try to avoid the freeway from 5-7 each day!
3) We have a great bus system here, and you may want to look into it. Many people use it, not just the "low class"
More about driving in Seattle:
Seattle has LOTS of hills. Maybe comparable to San Fransisco, especially downtown. The hills are very big and steep. Also, roads in Seattle are very narrow. Many times you will have to pull to the side of the road to let another car come through the road before you can go. (Especially because there will usually be cars parked along the street on both sides) Sometimes it can be scary.
Parking downtown is EXPENSIVE! You have to pay to park just about anywhere. It can sometimes be 5-10 bucks. For my 18th birthday I rented a nice hotel room, well I got there and they charged me an extra $20 to park my car over night in their garage when I had already paid an arm and a leg for the hotel room!
I would also greatly suggest visiting Seattle during the winter months before you move here. Many people underestimate how the weather will affect them, and are disappointed once moving here. Look up "Seasonal Affective Disorder". For about 10 months out of the year expect dark, overcast skies with a light mist of rain. We don't usually get showers of rain here that's a myth, it's usually just a mist all of the time. What gets people is the grey gloomy skies every day. In the winter months it may be dark when you leave for work and already dark when you get home! We actually just started to get some sunshine about a week ago. But that's just how it is up here, you either love it or you don't
Look up the Seattle Freeze. I don't know if this has to do with the weather, but I suspect it may because this doesn't happen so much during the summer when it's sunny out.
One more thing, expect lots of delicious coffee shops everywhere! And it is not uncommon for two different Starbucks to be across the street from each other. With maybe 5 more a block away. They are EVERYWHERE!
Well, hope I didn't scare you away with anything because Seattle is a lovely place and it's SO beautiful here, there are just some things to know before moving here from a different region! We are generally laid back, polite and very open minded people. Some may even call us weird. Oh well Good luck!
Map of Seattle Neighborhoods:
Last edited by forevergreengirl; 07-13-2012 at 12:15 PM..
The thing a lot of people don't realize from out of state is that while Downtown Seattle only has about 600,000 people, the metropolitan area has about 3.5 million. Most people live North or South of Seattle and commute to work every day (expect lots of traffic)
Once you start getting farther away from Downtown, housing gets cheaper. Cost of living/rent here is a lot higher than many places in the US, and can come as a surprise depending on where you're coming from. If you travel north of Seattle (which I would suggest, much less crime and pollution etc.) you get into the cities such as Edmonds, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace. These are all places within 15-20 minutes of Seattle, but housing/rent is much cheaper. You can easily rent a nice apartment for around $900 and still be able to commute to Seattle every day.
If you really want to live in Seattle specifically, there are different neighborhoods in Seattle that aren't downtown, kind of like the boroughs of New York City. Some of them are Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna, University District, Fremont etc. These are going to be a little spendy but not as much as downtown or the East Side (Bellevue etc.) Not sure where you are getting $1,500 from because that seems extremely high for just one person, unless it's downtown or on the East Side. My sister has a nice 3 bedroom in Ballard for $1,200.
There is LOTS of shopping and lots of street markets in Seattle. Make sure to visit Pike Place Market, it is amazing.
The fact that you have a car is great, but there are a few things you should expect as a driver here.
1) Gas prices are HIGH. The pacific coast gas prices are generally MUCH higher than other parts of the US. About a month ago gas was around $4.40, now they have dramatically dropped to around $3.50 and for us, that is good. But coming from elsewhere, it may be a shock.
2) Traffic is bad. Seattle is known for our heavy dependence on cars, and try to avoid the freeway from 5-7 each day!
3) We have a great bus system here, and you may want to look into it. Many people use it, not just the "low class"
More about driving in Seattle:
Seattle has LOTS of hills. Maybe comparable to San Fransisco, especially downtown. The hills are very big and steep. Also, roads in Seattle are very narrow. Many times you will have to pull to the side of the road to let another car come through the road before you can go. (Especially because there will usually be cars parked along the street on both sides) Sometimes it can be scary.
Parking downtown is EXPENSIVE! You have to pay to park just about anywhere. It can sometimes be 5-10 bucks. For my 18th birthday I rented a nice hotel room, well I got there and they charged me an extra $20 to park my car over night in their garage when I had already paid an arm and a leg for the hotel room!
I would also greatly suggest visiting Seattle during the winter months before you move here. Many people underestimate how the weather will affect them, and are disappointed once moving here. Look up "Seasonal Affective Disorder". For about 10 months out of the year expect dark, overcast skies with a light mist of rain. We don't usually get showers of rain here that's a myth, it's usually just a mist all of the time. What gets people is the grey gloomy skies every day. In the winter months it may be dark when you leave for work and already dark when you get home! We actually just started to get some sunshine about a week ago. But that's just how it is up here, you either love it or you don't
Look up the Seattle Freeze. I don't know if this has to do with the weather, but I suspect it may because this doesn't happen so much during the summer when it's sunny out.
One more thing, expect lots of delicious coffee shops everywhere! And it is not uncommon for two different Starbucks to be across the street from each other. With maybe 5 more a block away. They are EVERYWHERE!
Well, hope I didn't scare you away with anything because Seattle is a lovely place and it's SO beautiful here, there are just some things to know before moving here from a different region! We are generally laid back, polite and very open minded people. Some may even call us weird. Oh well Good luck!
It's sounding more and more ideal for me as a I research it and you post helped a lot. I'm used to busing systems so that would come in handy.
I would be open to commuting to Seattle from one of the other cities with less crime and pollution as well.
The gas is actually sounding the same as it is in the town I currently live in, the drop was an amazing thing to happen.
It may seem a bit odd but I love misty, cloudy, gloomy weather. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to when moving there.
Overall I'm very excited because it sounds like a quirky area and that's where I fit in best.
Thank you so much for your info!
It's sounding more and more ideal for me as a I research it and you post helped a lot. I'm used to busing systems so that would come in handy.
I would be open to commuting to Seattle from one of the other cities with less crime and pollution as well.
The gas is actually sounding the same as it is in the town I currently live in, the drop was an amazing thing to happen.
It may seem a bit odd but I love misty, cloudy, gloomy weather. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to when moving there.
Overall I'm very excited because it sounds like a quirky area and that's where I fit in best.
Thank you so much for your info!
You're welcome!
If I think of anything else I'll let ya know. It is a very quirky area, a lot of us don't even realize because we have been here our whole lives. We just sort of do our own thing, it's kind of like living in a different world IMO.
As for the weather, it's not too bad. But the feeling here when the sun comes out is indescribable. Just about everyone will be out at the beaches, lakes, etc. People will have their convertable tops down, everyone just seems so happy. And it will be 65 degrees. 65 degrees here is when the shorts and sandals come out
If I think of anything else I'll let ya know. It is a very quirky area, a lot of us don't even realize because we have been here our whole lives. We just sort of do our own thing, it's kind of like living in a different world IMO.
As for the weather, it's not too bad. But the feeling here when the sun comes out is indescribable. Just about everyone will be out at the beaches, lakes, etc. People will have their convertable tops down, everyone just seems so happy. And it will be 65 degrees. 65 degrees here is when the shorts and sandals come out
I forgot to ask, how bad is the crime in Seattle? Are we talking New York/LA scary or just a "remember to lock your car up" type crime?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It sounds like Seattle will be a great place for you. The crime is not at all scary, there are certain areas to avoid at night but it's really low crime for a city it's size. My only concern is with the salary you mentioned, from what I have seen it's more like $55-60,000 for entry level. Look at the employment pages on websites for the hospitals here to confirm.
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) I am going to be a new graduate soon (yay) and will be looking for a job there as a Nurse. I have looked at many percentages and they all say that RNs make around $70,000 to start in Seattle. 
How open is Seattle to the GLBT community?
