Relocating To Seattle (Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue: sales, apartment, rentals)

[ClarityFuture]

Hello all,

I have been reading this forum for well over a year and it's a great place, however I have just now joined. I have been to over 44 states and I must say that Seattle is the one city that completely catches me and I absolutely love the atmosphere.

I am very excited about the possibility of relocating to Seattle, especially because of the weather, the sophistication, the coffee shops and the overall indoors atmosphere that the city can provide.

I currently live in Atlanta and while it's a great city, the overwhelming ghetto and hip-hop influence is just too much for me. I'm more of a laid back individual and really enjoy damp and rainy days in a cool vibe.

This is why I have chosen Seattle to be my new home, however I have a few questions. I am self employed and work from home as an internet marketer, I make roughly $145,000 - $175,000 per year and I am single. I am looking to live in the downtown area of the city as I really like the vibe of being "where it's at". I know I said I'm really mellow, but I just really like being in the middle of things so to speak.

Now my question is, how hard is it to find a nice 2BR place downtown? I will be living alone, one BR will just be for an office. Any ideas where I should look?

Also, another question - I don't drive...I can drive, I just don't want to. Atlanta doesn't has great mass transit, and the transit that we do have is covered up with people whom I don't feel comfortable around even in the broad daylight.

From what I have experienced and seen, Seattle doesn't have much of this problem, but how good is mass transit for someone living downtown? The only places I will need to go is to the grocery store, maybe Wal-Mart, restaurants and occasionally some retail spots. I also like the Public Market and the sea...

So if anyone can give me some advice and answer these couple of questions it would be greatly appreciated! Also, you Seattlites live in a wonderful city and I hope you love it as much as I do!

[sean98125]

Bus transportation downtown is extensive and free most of the time. You'll be able to get to restaurants and stores by foot, for the most part.

You won't find a Walmart in Seattle. The closest ones are an extremely dumpy one in Renton and a nicer one in Lynnwood, but both of those are a pretty long haul by bus. You can get to the Target at Northgate from downtown fairly quickly thanks to the commuter buses that head to the park and ride lots nearby.

Downtown isn't very well served by grocery stores. There is a Whole Foods on Denny, but that's a pretty pricey store. Another grocery store is going in a couple of blocks away from Pike Place Market.

One thing you might consider is signing up for Flexcar (Flexcar). You can rent cars for a couple of hours or even a weekend for a reasonable fee. The cars are located in parking lots all around the city, and you use your membership card to access the vehicles. The cars have fuel cards in them that you use to fill up the tank, but the cost of gas is part of the cost of renting the car. Most of the cars available are smaller cars like Honda Civics, but they also have Civic Hybrids, Subarus, Honda Passports and small pick-up trucks, too. You can reserve a car for a day that you want to drive out to do a cheaper shopping trip in the outlying areas or even to drive out to the mountains for a weekend. The rates are pretty reasonable and they have dozens of cars downtown and are always adding more.

[ClarityFuture]

Hmm, thanks for the good info! Interesting about no Wal-Mart in the city itself, but that isn't really a big concern, I'm sure there are smaller shops around the city to get whatever I need.

Also, I LOVE asian culture...So I'll love the fact that Seattle has alot of Asians...Thai food is my favorite, so I'm hoping there's some asian grocery shops around...

Also, how is the rail system for getting to different areas of the city? For some reason I just enjoy riding the train

Also, how is the singles scene around Seattle? I'm more of a country boy, but I'm sophisticated...I just have the southern accent, etc, haha...Some country music here and there...

Anywho, just let me know yall

[allforcats]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Have you checked out City-Data's statistical info? Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site


The best apartment resource is the combined Classifieds for the two largest local newspapers. The site is called NWSource.com. I selected for you to downtown and central Seattle, which has many neighborhoods, labeled on the map on that page. http://rentals.nwsource.com/rentals/...t=1&search2=No (broken link)

With a heavy and diversified Asian population, Seattle has lots of restaurants and shops serving different Asian cuisines and tastes. The most famous store is Uwajimaya, a smaller grocery-and-department store with heavy emphasis on Japanese and Chinese interests.

There is no "rail system for getting to different areas of the city". There is a vast bus system, called METRO, which goes everywhere, often, except from 1:00 to 5:30 in the morning. Beats a subway from which you can't see anything -- the bus system provides an inexpensive touring system :-)

The busses will get you to grocery stores, the Public Market, Puget Sound, entertainment, coffee shops, bookstores, expensive shops, a plethora of McDonald's. Not, however, to "the sea", which is a couple of hours away, requiring ferries and a car.

You can survive without a car quite well living in the city of Seattle, either actually in downtown or in a surrounding location (such as Fremont, Queen Anne, Wallingford, University District, Ballard, Greenwood, Ravenna, Capitol Hill, First Hill, etc.). The METRO bus system will get you to most places that are fairly close in to Seattle. You can also phone for a taxi from a variety of companies, or lined up outside major hotels, but "hailing" a cab on the street is pretty difficult as the taxis driving around are going to their dispatched calls.

If you want to look close-up at the Pacific Ocean, the mountains, forests, wildlife, glaciers, etc., or get to the deserts of eastern Washington, the perfect Japanese restaurants of Vancouver, B.C., or the largest bookstore in the world in Portland, OR, you will absolutely need a car. If you want to go anywhere outside of a pretty large radius from downtown Seattle, you will need a car. Pretty much all of the west is a car culture, having evolved from getting everywhere by one's own horse, not by public transportation.

[sean98125]

Currently, the only rail in the city is a short streetcar line connecting the shopping district downtown with the area around South Lake Union. It's only about a mile long. There are commuter trains running from Tacoma and Everett, but they are pretty much dedicated to commuters as they run into Seattle in the morning and toward Tacoma and Everett in the afternoons.

There will be a light rail line opening up in 2009 that will run from downtown to points south - Rainer Valley, Beacon Hill, Tukwila and the airport. They want to expand it to the north but the voters just said no to the tax package to fund that.

The bus system is pretty good, though.

Folks around here aren't nearly as friendly or as outgoing as they are in other parts of the country. There are plenty of singles, but you'll probably have to spend some time on Match or eHarmony to really meet a lot.

Prices are high here in Seattle, particularly for groceries. There is no tax on food, but you will be paying over 9% sales tax on everything else you buy.

[allforcats]

Sales tax within Seattle and most of King County is actually 8.8% -- it just feels as though it's over 9%!

[argo69]

Originally Posted by allforcats

[font=Trebuchet MS]

If you want to go anywhere outside of a pretty large radius from downtown Seattle, you will need a car. Pretty much all of the west is a car culture, having evolved from getting everywhere by one's own horse, not by public transportation.

Yep...true, although less true in San Francisco and Portland than elsewhere.

[sean98125]

It's actually pretty easy to get to downtown Bellevue and Redmond by bus from downtown, at least during the day and commuter hours.

[Treefriend]

craigslist


Why downtown, though? I live in Wallingford down by Lake Union.
It's just across the bridge to downtown. A couple days ago I
walked past a two bedroom house, with yard, in a quiet residential
part of Wallingford, yet minutes from the freeway for $2200.

I don't know if $2200 is a lot where you live now, but downtown is more expensive than it has to be, especially if you work from home.
If you want, I can go by there later and see if it's still for rent, but even if it isn't, you can get a lot more place for a lot less money by passing on the whole downtown thing.

From here, it is a 20 minute bike ride, with bike lanes all the way (no riding in traffic) to downtown.

[Treefriend]

On page two of my Wallingford Page you can sort of see the
downtown view...

Wallingford