Looking for Honest Input Regarding Relocating to Seattle, WA (Bellevue: best neighborhoods, real estate)

[MissyDee]

Considering relocating to Washington State early 2014 (earliest May/latest August). Currently residing in Long Beach, CA since May 2003.

I'm a 54 year old single African American female. I'm a veteran with an Administration background currently employed but my program term will be ending March of 2014 - so with knowing that, I have embraced that it may be best to move on to new adventures.

While I have no problem with heading out to the park for a picnic lunch solo, I do enjoy activities and entertainment with a diverse group of down to earth people. I would prefer quaint neighborhoods safe to walk my little man-pooch. Enjoy the local cafe vibe - variety of entertainment without having to travel a great distance (all major entertainment happenings are in Los Angeles and you would typically plan on heading to the area at minimum 2-hours prior to the event although LA is about 30-minutes away - the joys of traffic).

Not concerned with the climate - lived in Springfield, MA so I know cold (smile) and I don't feel that the rain would be a challenge for me, yet, the rain is the first thing individuals mention to me when I express my interest in Washington.

Would you be so kind to provide helpful advice regarding the things that I should consider when looking at cities and/or counties to reside in.

Thanks to those who respond...I greatly appreciate it!

[west seattle gal]

It's difficult to tell from your post if you would prefer a cute urban neighborhood anywhere in Seattle (walkable, but with light traffic and curb parking) or the suburban Eastside (ie. Redmond, Bellevue, Woodinville). Or maybe even just a downtown condo near an abundance of cafes and shops, and even a dogpark (ex. Belltown). All of these are safe and enjoyable places to live. There are awesome dogparks scattered all throughout, where your dog can swim, hike through easy wooded trails, and even socialize with only small dogs if you want.

I will try to post links for the dogparks and neighborhood maps. A one bedroom condo would be much more affordable and easier to find than the alternatives. Do a real estate search to see general prices in each neighborhood.

[tobester]

Subject line implies a move to Seattle ... text implies a move to Washington (it's a big state). I'd first suggest narrowing your search a bit. If in Seattle, might I suggest the Columbia City neighborhood - near a dog park, many small clubs with local music/comedy.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Madison Park, Madrona, Capitol Hill, Phinney Ridge, Columbia City, Fremont, Queen Anne are just a few neighborhoods that comes to mind. I think much will depend on what kind of home you invision...a house with a backyard might be nice for you and the pooch but apartment living often comes with amenities as well as ease. All of the neighborhoods I mentioned are "walking" neighborhoods with restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, shopping, community centers etc!

I often think that if one is new to the city it is nice to be an area with an active and vibrant community center where many types of programming is available including dances classes, book clubs, live music, farmers markets as well as a host of other activities all in one place. A great way to get to know fellow neighbors!

[Ira500]

There are all kinds of pleasant, fun neighborhoods within Seattle. But what I think is that where you land a job should have a big impact on where you live. If you get a job in Bothell, don't live in Columbia City. You don't have to put up with LA commutes.
But I'll echo what Tobester said: Columbia City comes to mind. Fun, vibrant, diverse, nice parks nearby. Genessee Park has the off leash area, but nearby Seward Park is huge and beautiful and I walk my dog there a lot.

[GatsbyGatz]

I also moved from LA to Seattle, so I'll give you my most biased and opinionated response to my move (because that's essentially what you probably want to hear--a SoCal Native's impressions.)

Weather:
Just putting it out the obvious, you're going to miss the weather and beaches. This winter it is about 30-40 degrees daily. I won't sugar coat it or defend it; it just sucks compared to LA. June-October here was awesome, weather-wise. This is a stunningly gorgeous region and arguably one of the most beautiful places to live, and during the sunny months it's truly spectacular. But the winter, my god, is terrible (in comparison to LA, obviously. Different story if you moved here from the Midwest.) It's only the beginning of December and already my fiancee (another SoCal native) and I incessantly whine about it. Literally every day we make the same comment ("it's so cold!") as if we don't already know. It's dumb and we're whiners and spoiled. Just have to put it out there since you're coming from SoCal. The rain isn't bad at all; it's more like a drizzle here. It really doesn't bother me at all.

Traffic:
If you're going to be moving to Seattle proper, expect traffic that is nearly as bad as LA. That errand you have to run which involves driving just 6 miles away will take you close to an hour to get there and an hour to return home depending on the time and if it's rush hour.

Entertainment/My biggest complaint:
I don't know how important entertainment and outings are to you, but mind you LA is the entertainment capitol of the West Coast. My fiancee and I were the kind of couple that liked to go out every weekend. There are hundreds of "mini-downtowns" in SoCal meaning that you can go to a different neighborhood every weekend for restaurants, bars, clubs, comedy clubs, parties, surfing, laying at the beach, etc. I liked to go to a different neighborhood every weekend and I NEVER got bored! So much fun can be had in Santa Monica, Venice, West Hollywood, Westwood, DTLA, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Malibu, Sunset Strip, Hollywood, Pasadena, El Segundo, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Brea, Fullerton, Anaheim, even San Diego wasn't that far away, and there's also Vegas. I also have connections with people in Disneyland so I can always get in for free (which is great because it's like $100 per person for that place... love it though!)

The Seattle area, in comparison, is tiny. My fiancee and I have only lived here shortly but are actually rather bored of Seattle. There are a couple fun neighborhoods here and there in the city, but outside of Seattle proper, it's very suburban and rural (again, relative to LA). SoCal is limitless in the number of places to go and things you can do (and ways to spend your money!). The Seattle area is a small place. The city of LA alone has a higher population than the entire Seattle metro area. The LA metro area has around 14 million people in it. LA is practically its own country whereas Seattle is a mid-sized city in a mid-sized metropolitan area. Seattle is also isolated.

You say you're from Long Beach. Long Beach itself is a decently-sized city at 400K population. Imagine how bored you would be if you didn't have the rest of LA and Long Beach was the only place you could go to for entertainment. Puts it in perspective.

Again, I don't know if this is important to you. It depends entirely on how much spare money you have and if you're the outgoing, "need to do something every weekend" kind of gal. I like to go out every weekend, so this is the biggest negative factor of the LA to Seattle transfer.

Quality of Life
Much better in Seattle! I know I just discussed about how I disliked the relatively small entertainment quantities of Seattle, but that's more of a personal taste sort of thing. In terms of your daily life, Seattle, I feel, offers a much better quality of life than LA. If you're rich then by all means LA is great, but Seattle has an actual middle class still. There are no ghettos or shady places really and people are pretty civil and respectful here.

Overall, I love Seattle. It's gorgeous and living here is nice. I do wish it had more entertainment options, but I suppose saving money by not going out so much is a good thing in and of itself.

[west seattle gal]

Neighborhoods:

Seattle Magazine | Shopping/Home and Garden/Real Estate | 15 Best Neighborhoods in Seattle

http://seattle.findwell.com/seattle-neighborhoods/

http://jeffcroft.com/blog/2010/dec/1...nsive-seattle/

[MissyDee]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

It's difficult to tell from your post if you would prefer a cute urban neighborhood anywhere in Seattle (walkable, but with light traffic and curb parking) or the suburban Eastside (ie. Redmond, Bellevue, Woodinville). Or maybe even just a downtown condo near an abundance of cafes and shops, and even a dogpark (ex. Belltown). All of these are safe and enjoyable places to live. There are awesome dogparks scattered all throughout, where your dog can swim, hike through easy wooded trails, and even socialize with only small dogs if you want.

I will try to post links for the dogparks and neighborhood maps. A one bedroom condo would be much more affordable and easier to find than the alternatives. Do a real estate search to see general prices in each neighborhood.

I'm initially considering Seattle but location will be dependant upon where I ended up being employed so I am trying to go into this with an open mind in not being fixed on any one location but to be open to other areas.

I will keep your information in mind - Thank You so much!

[MissyDee]

Everyone, you all have provided me with some homework. I did think that I would have had the employment aspect finalized but not yet. While transition and change is always unnerving, I have to be thankful that it's just me and my dog and I don't have to factor in schools or daycare for little ones.

Time to invest in a nice picnic basket and try my hand at some new recipes!

I'm sure the nerves will kick in late January - early February....yikes!

Thanks to all for the feedback - it is appreciated...you are all awesome individuals!

[The Siobhan]

Originally Posted by MissyDee

Everyone, you all have provided me with some homework. I did think that I would have had the employment aspect finalized but not yet. While transition and change is always unnerving, I have to be thankful that it's just me and my dog and I don't have to factor in schools or daycare for little ones.

Time to invest in a nice picnic basket and try my hand at some new recipes!

I'm sure the nerves will kick in late January - early February....yikes!

Thanks to all for the feedback - it is appreciated...you are all awesome individuals!

As an African American female in my early 30s, I'd implore you to look into south King County, also. It's my observation that some members of this board like to paint south King County in a bad light, or just plain ignore it, because a) it has a larger African American and Latino population and b) it tends to be more working class or middle-range middle class folk. Some will comment about the high crime rate as reasons to avoid this area, but there are obviously good areas to consider.

With your veteran status, there are several companies that will consider you. Many are pushing a veterans preference hiring initiative, plus you will be very close to a few Naval bases, Fort Lewis, and McChord AFB (now known as Joint Base Lewis McChord). I am not sure if you have any experience in education, but I know that a reserve unit was looking for an educational resource specialist (or whatever they call that).