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I'm going to be straightforward in all of this, I wish the same from any and all responses. Please keep conjecture to yourself when possible. Opinions are great, but I'm looking for more tangible, sensical objectivity.
I've never done something like this, lived in CA essentially my whole life. I come from a neglectful upbringing, so I'm in the dark when it comes to a lot of life's nuances. There's basic information I was never taught, and I don't know where to begin to search for it. That is, until I came across this forum.
I need detailed answers that can help this be as pain-free and smooth as possible. So, I ask you, if I am to be thorough, please be considerate and strive to be just as thorough in your answers, as well. Attention to detail is supremely appreciated, too.
Thanks for understanding, and I thank you especially for taking the time to read all of this through.
Here's the rundown:
I'm 29, my girlfriend is 21. We're planning on moving to seattle (hopefully) within the next 19 months. We're going to save at least 8k to cover rent, utilities, food and necessities for three months leeway (given whether or not we find a job there) - this budget was calculated from a $950/mo x3/mo rent including first month down and deposit, and $175 for utilities. If our budget went over any other established estimation, the safer we are. I say we plan for three months headroom in the case we don't immediately find a job *before* moving. I'll explain this below.
Our necessity to move, in spite of landing an job beforehand, is critical. I don't want to delve into any explicit detail, but will clarify it has nothing to do with legalities or any other sort of derogatory inferences. We merely come from bad homes, with crap families - we simply need to leave.
We're looking for 800-950/mo range, single bedroom minimum, which I've seen there are many places within that range including a few I found in what I estmiate is downtown Seattle. Obviously open/available listings will fluctuate over time, but I've got an accurate estimation of what I can expect to find, and the pickings seem good. The biggest issue with rent is my credit. It's sub-par, damn near into oblivion, and she hasn't started building credit to begin with.
There are a few areas of interest we've come to settle on when we decide to move:
-Renton
-Redmond
-Lynwood
-Kent
-Bellevue
-Tacoma
-Seattle (seen a couple listings within our range, so we know it's possible!)
Neither of us have special job experience - I've done specialty retail (electronics, software; video games, computers) w/2+ years managerial experience. I'm currently working for the City, parks & rec department, as clerical. My girlfriend has worked in retail as well, with supervisory experience. Our plan was to scour the area and research avaialable listings to apply to and hopefully make the move in tandem with a potential new job offer we'd start with the month we leave. I hear Amazon is "always" hiring, and there's always space in retail. But I'm curious about other potential openings I may not be aware of.
A little about myself:
My interest in Seattle stems from my love for (most likely) the typical inferences others have found to be intriguing about the area: great food, all things technological, cold weather (<3 RAIN!) and gaming.
I have a passion to learn 3D animation/rendering, and I know the general area is a haven for and caters to such endeavors, if not seattle (If I'm wrong in my observations) then Vancouver is a few hours' drive away, which is a known area to be very prevalent with the film/3D/Animation industries.
I also have a huge passion for tabletop gaming (board games, miniatures; etc), and I am also privvy to the general gaming scene up there (Canada, moreso) - this I'm sure of. Relating to tabletop, I have a business plan to potentially cater to that scene, if all else fails with 3D design. I'm well aware of PAX north, Microsoft; etc within the vacinity, too. Opportunity is plentyful for my career and genreal life choices, and the general well-being of mine, as well as my girlfriend's, personal interests.
I've done research, I've talked to people, I've read plenty of other forums: Seattle is where I know, for certain, I want to settle and start my life; where we both want to start our lives, together.
We're not party-goers, but do love exploring new live events. We're both foodies, but tend to stick to the familiar overall - we LOVE artisan foods, small nook-and-cranny/specialty shops; etc. We're both big on asian food, particularly and specifically chinese, korean and Thai. We can enjoy spending time inside as much as anyone does outside. We're not big on hiking as a basic activity, but love to go camping when we get the chance and revel in the overall beauty of nature - I want to get into kayaking, personally speaking. Where we're from, there's not a lot of places to go camping that aren't at least 3 hours away, and even so, they're crap locations - hot, brown, desolate, boring. We look forward to, most, the greenery of the surrounding areas.
We're coming from a beach town (Santa Barbara), and although we won't be missing it too much, It'd be nice to be relatively close to rivers, ferries to the various islands/capes, camping areas; etc; yet close enough to inner city-ish stuff where we can explore shops, live events, meet new people/friends and so on. A balance of all of it, if possible.
Most important, we want to stay away from high-crime/janky/industrial areas. We don't want to live next to dirt, so to speak. If possible, it'd be nice to find a place that emulates the small town feel we have here - everything within reach, just large enough to be considered a city instead of a town, but we still know where everything is by heart. SB/Goleta is 9 miles straight across. It's 15 minutes to either end on the freeway (which goes right down the center of the two cities), without traffic; or 30 minutes by the main road end to end (Hollister/State St, which are the same road). The other alternative is living right in the heart of the city of Seattle. Inversely, we also do NOT want to feel like we're living in the boons.
On to the inquiries:
I would like the insight and expeirience of those already living, have been living, or those who have recently moved there (esp CA transplants!) with help in figuring out the details concerning localities, demographics and such. I'll make a general list of questions, and you can answer in the same manner, listed by number. Details are a plus! Thank you for any and all the help. Any questions for me, please feel free to ask.
1) What can I do about my credit situation in regards to potentially renting anything? Apartment complexes that don't check credit (link/info)? What if my partner has zero credit, can she co-sign or be the main signiture? If she starts building her credit by this spring, would it suffice by the time we move? What are our options. We're in the dark about any of this, other than generalities we've learned by hear-say.
2) This is a general request for any unknown job opportunites I may not be aware of. Please list any/everything you may have to suggest for either of us, me or her, in regards to our experience listed, but please keep in mind the locations we've decided upon. I wouldn't mind commuting up to 30 mins, but we'd only have one car. Depending on our situation, if I could work full time, that would be my personal preference. She'd have to be within inter-city/ walking distance if (in the more than likely event thereof) she gets a job.
Our only idea was to merely submit applications around our time of travel and hope for the best. We're in the dark about how this could potentially work better to our advantage, if there is anything else we could do instead.
3) In regards to our personal interests, our desire for what type of location, and specifically what locations we've settled on, what would be the best recommended area for relocation? Why/Why not? Please be specific.
4) Are there any other locations that would be recommended? Yay or nay to our location decisions? Pros and cons? etc
5) Pros and cons of public transportation? How affluent is PT in seattle? If we're not living in the heart of Seattle, how easy is it to get there? Is there a reason to go there in the first place, if we end up located in the surrounding area?
6) Any board-game/tabletop geeks to attest to the scene out there? Comic shops, Warhammer, board games, computer gamers galore: where are my fellow nerds located?
I'm certain more questions will come up over the course of this post, depending on how many responses I get. I do hope to hear from experienced Seattleites, and especially general/CA transplants. If there's anyone out there that has had my same situational experience, I'd like to hear from you and how you and/or a partner made it out there.
Thanks ahead, for any feedback. Every bit of help is apprecaited, god knows we need it.
Last edited by jbrackett; 02-08-2016 at 05:36 PM..
If you can put off moving, I'd recommend seeing a consultant to see what you can do to repair your credit. Having bad credit will likely sink your efforts to find employment and housing in the Seattle area. They will check.
While one-bedroom apts can be found for under $1,000 in Seattle, they aren't plentiful. For many more choices, and a better chance they won't turn their nose up at your credit, look at Tacoma. You can take Sounder commuter rail to Seattle (one hour from the Tacoma Dome Station).
I went to UCSB for a year, worked across from Stearns Wharf and played a lot of beach volleyball on those great sand pits. The use to call it the town of the "newly wed and nearly dead" as it was so expensive. For the record, there is very little snow in Seattle, maybe twice a year (none this year) and not a lot. In the mountains an hour from Seattle, there is as much snow as you would like, great skiing and snowboarding.
Last edited by homesinseattle; 02-08-2016 at 05:57 PM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I'll comment on the computer animation goal. I had an employee at my business majoring in that field in the late 90s, for $40,000/year tuition at the Art Institute of Seattle. They are cranking out a lot more graduates than there are jobs, she's now in New Orleans tending bar.
Also, I would concentrate your apartment search on the Columbia City/Othello area, based on your budget and access to restaurants.
Rents are cheaper in Everett and Lynnwood. There's transit into Seattle from there. There are cheaper rents in the north end of Seattle, too, in the general area of Northgate Mall, which is a transit hub, so it's convenient. There are apt. buildings in the area that are nice, and cheaper than elsewhere in town. Some recently reduced their rents significantly.
Jobs: Seattle Parks Dept. is huge. Check their website. There are definitely people in town who work in animation. I don't know how you'd connect with them, though. Also, to build on your office experience, there are the local colleges and universities. Do you have a BA? They usually require one, even for office admins. But the city administration anywhere around there also hire office admins, and experience can substitute for education. Get a good written recommendation from your current employer before you leave. Retail management shouldn't be too difficult to find a job in, either, though it's generally underpaid, unless you're into high-level management.
You could try having your gf be the one on the lease. Some owners of mother-in-law apartments don't require a credit check, but in many cases like that, it's about making a personal connection--renting from someone you know, or the friend of a friend. Work hard to repair your credit. I don't know what your specific problem is, but with a sure and steady approach, it may not take longer than a year, and you're planning a year and a half out.
I would say a greater problem for both of you would be if you arrive without a single job in hand. You'd need to provide proof of income to get a rental, so without that, you'd be SOL. You'd have to have at least one job between you sewn up in order to rent. If your gf, for example, works for JC Penney, Nordstrom or Target, she could look into getting a job in the Seattle area through some inside contacts, possibly.
Last edited by MountainHi; 02-08-2016 at 08:00 PM..
I have close friends I've known 25 years in Santa Barbara, folks I can just pop in on. I do that every year two. Nothing like Goleta Beach Park or the Gaviota Coast a few days in the winter when it's miserable here.
People fleeing "from" Santa Barbara are interesting, in that if I could afford it I'd flee "to" it instead. No way to make money down there, though, in terms of diversity in jobs and general opportunity in what I do. They like it that way, a place where a house comparable to mine in square footage and quality of neighborhood is at least $1.2M. Nuh uh, but that does tend to weed out the pikers. Incredible place, there and points west and north, and far enough away from the Los Angeles lunacy to have a pretty good quality of life with that special California twist. I'll be reeeeeal tempted to do some boondock living in an Airstream down that way in about eleven years. We'll see.
Seattle is quite different from all that, so you know what you're getting into. I've walked the streets of both one end to the other, and other than I'm not legally allowed to defend myself properly in SB due to schizophrenic laws, can't say I was (or am) too terribly worried in either place. Both have aggressive bums and gangSTAS but not tons of either, assuming you pay attention to surroundings.
I don't have time or interest for detailed "Q&A," doubt anyone else will either. I might however suggest Capitol Hill as the place to go. I'm too old for all that but it does seem to fit your demographic and needs. Look into it, tons out there. My pals from SB prefer to hang out there, or Belltown, when they're here.
Oh, one more thing: your "fellow nerds" are mostly contractors at companies big and small. Seattle is styling itself a Cloud apps sort of place, the programs I'm managing these days are mostly Azure or otherwise Cloud-dependent as the world moves that way. Rapidly. If you have marketable skills and the ability to shamelessly and relentlessly self-promote and network, you'll find work. If not, guess you won't. I'd be pretty cautious exploring if there actually *is* work here in whatever you do, I couldn't quite puzzle it out.
I wouldn't try renting with "bad credit," it's a seller's market. Good luck with that, I'd do a recon mission first, ask around and be ready to put cash down, and see what happens.
I agree with checking out Tacoma. You said you've seen apartments for $950/mo in Seattle, but keep in mind, everyone wants an apartment that cheap, so it probably got at least 20 applications on the first day and half of them could be Amazon workers making over $100K per year with perfect credit. The best chance you're going to have with poor credit and no job is to focus on an area that other people aren't as anxious to live in.
Tacoma is not in as high of demand as Seattle. If you don't have a rental or job lined up, you're less likely to lose both of your shirts in Tacoma. Have you considered asking someone at your work to make a call for you and see if they know someone who can help you with a job up here? Is Nintendo still down in Tacoma? Or did that ship sail?
There was a time when you probably would have been just fine moving up here empty handed and seeing how things go. Unfortunately for you, you're choosing a time when Seattle is one of the fastest growing and most expensive cities in the US. We have a severe lack of housing and there is a huge demand of people looking for places to live. I just don't want you to set yourself up to fail.
Having a dream and some drive is great, but just make sure you're being smart about it to and don't only listen to what you want to hear. Listen for what reality could be.
I wouldn't recommend moving from SB to Everett, it's not worth it IMHO from having worked up there. If you have retail experience/current jobs could you parlay that into some sort of transfer within the same company? Would not recommend coming here with no job and bad credit as others have said.
Have you ever visited Washington state? I say that as a long ago CA transplant. Initially it can be quite a shock particularly if you're from SoCal or SB. If you can do a trip to visit first it would help you figure things out.
UCSB graduate here, also former Orange County resident.
I think you will be fine in any of those cities you mentioned. They are all within 25 miles of Seattle and much cheaper than downtown. They are filled with the amenities you may need, and are all safe, which is a really important thing.
Please GTFO of Santa Barbara because although it's a fun town, there really is no reason to live there if you're over 24. It's a college town filled with college-aged mentality. That gets old...VERY quickly. There are also no jobs there and the cost of living is stupid. Do you want to live in a town where there's 8 college bros sharing 1 toilet? And you're 29? Dude, you belong in a big city or at least near a big city. The only thing I really miss about SB is the fact that the nightlife is small and literally the only 4 clubs are within walking distance, ultimately making it easier to mingle since everybody is close together instead of spread out in distant like it is in a big city.
Anywhere you go around the Seattle area, you are without a doubt always near some great hiking, parks, or lakes. That will be perfect. Also, there are still buses even if you aren't downtown. They might not come as frequently, but it's better to have buses that come every 20 minutes instead of buses in Santa Barbara / SoCal that only come for the disabilities kids.
As far as the money goes... taxes and what not. Coming from California, the lack of state income tax in Washington doesn't make that much of a difference to me at least because I don't get paid a lot. But aside from that, there has been no shocking state law that has caught me off guard. There also hasn't been any weird state policies, (except for the one where hookah bars require yearly memberships), but even that isn't a big deal. Pay 5 bucks for the whole year? No big deal. But other than that, it's been pretty easy to live here coming from California. No big surprises.
Just get out of Santa Barbara. There really is no reason for you to be there. Maybe Seattle isn't right for you? Fine. Then go to Denver, Portland, Dallas, Austin, somewhere in Florida, or anywhere...
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