He's my bottom line problem. . . (Seattle: rent, house, living)

[Hamza]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

I keep getting advice to visit Seattle several times before moving. My problem is that if my husband gets the job, they'll likely have him in Seattle by mid-September. Maybe late Sept... (cut)

Woaaaaaaaaaaah! Your hubby/friend/whomever is way, way out of line! Definitely visit the place. I just got back from an exploratory visit and am glad I went.

Forget the weather. I could go on for pages talking about why you need to visit first, especially in Seattle, but I'll bring out some easy points.

- Seattle is, even more than NYC, a city of n'hoods. In order to be happy there you need to find the hood that offers you everything you want. And you won't find the best deals on rentals any other way but walking around the n'hood you want to live and just calling buildings you pass. I did this and found a great place in Capital Hill. For some reason, Seattlites don't post their apartment rentals or homes to Craigslist or NWSource in any great number. You have to walk around the n'hoods.

- Plus, becuase of the death of the real estate market, there were vacancies everywhere -- and I mean, everywhere. Not a single building we called was fully rented out. There were lots of deals to be had. But none were listed online.

- You'll get an understanding of the city's transportation issues, if you're not going to drive. Seattle is NOT a bikeable city. That's bullsh*t, and I'll challenge anyone who says otherwise to a game of shenanigans. I am an extremely physically fit young man, and even I looked askance at folks telling me how bikeable Seattle is. Seattle is, like Frisco, a city of many, many hills. You will huff and puff walking around all day. But you'll get a feel of it and you'll figure out where all the buses go. This will be critical, since Seattle can feel really isolated at times. You have your n'hood's "center"/main street, then nothing but residential houses, then another n'hood center. Get to know your hood center.

- Again, I cannot overstate how much the n'hood you live in, in Seattle, will affect your happiness and the success of your move. I've found that n'hoods in Seattle are wildly different from another. Go and EXPLORE all the n'hoods to find the one that fits your vibe. What you find in Cap Hill, I felt, you don't find in Fremont; what you find in Central is not what you'll find in, say, West Seattle, etc. Or in Queen Anne, for instance, "foothills" (or is it called "South"?) Queen Anne is really ghetto/"different" compared to "north" Queen Anne.

- Also, if you look at enough apartments like we did, you'll probably run in to infamous Seattle landlord "Skintag", which will be something special to haunt your dreams for many years to come.

- Also also, you'll be able to look at the companies hiring. In my experience, at least, every employer I spoke to told me to drop them a line when I was in Seattle.

- And finally, you'll find fun places you want to explore and things you want to do when you finally get there, helping to build up some excitement.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by jenlion

We joked about Microsoft having the power to do the bait-and-switch even on the weather, but we moved up end of January, and I had no issues with the weather, coming from sunny Dallas. The only part I didn't like was the first two weeks of June, because they were more flat-gray consistently cloudy until sometimes in the evening when it would clear up. Then mid-June somebody flipped the switch and it was summer. Amazing. :-D

Yes, this winter was a very mild one...not typical rain until you drop winter. IN fact, this winter was the best since I've been out here.

[Jennibc]

"Also, if you look at enough apartments like we did, you'll probably run in to infamous Seattle landlord "Skintag", which will be something special to haunt your dreams for many years to come."
What/Who is Skintag? I've lived here several years and never heard that expression

[Alicia64]

Thanks, Hamza. Great advice. No worries about me biking around Seattle -- hadn't even dawned on me.

Actually, I love Bainbridge Island. We can't afford to live in Seattle proper so we'd be outside of Seattle. We have two little boys and need to be in a great school district which Bainbridge has.

We'd rent and buy much later down the road.

What do you think of the weather? It sounds like you like to be outside.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by mrman78

I agree quality of life DOES mean more than $$$, which is why I'm trying to get out of Houston and move to Seattle. Houston is super cheap and you get a lot more for your money. BUT you have to sacrifice a whole lot of things for that $$$ savings.

Quit freaking this poor woman out purely based on the weather!

I have decided to move to Seattle for many reasons, and yes I have visited when it was gloomy and when it was sunny. To me, the ONLY negative in Seattle IS the weather compared to where I am now. So to me, that seems like a decent sacrifice for all the amazing things you do get. Don't even get me started on the negatives of Houston... Personally, I am a temperature guy. I can still get out and about in cloudy weather, even drizzly weather, but April to September in Houston? THAT is a whole other story. That DOES force you to stay indoors due to possible heat exhaustion. I'm not saying that the weather won't bug me eventually at times up there, but it's all in how you choose to handle those feelings. I'd rather go out hiking in cloudy weather, than not do it at all...

Basically, everyone has their preferences and how they handle them, but to say that the weather there is EVERYTHING in your choice to move there is your personal opinion and how you choose to let the weather affect you. I would never put my life on hold for weather, but temperature is a whole other issue

Can't let this one go by...more proof that people like different things. We moved from Seattle and Portland to Houston (after 10 years) and we couldn't be happier. I am so much better able to handle the sun and heat. When it is very hot and humid, we just go swimming.

The gray drizzly winters, on the other hand, were really getting to us after so many years.

To Alicia64, I think it is reasonable to want to visit before your family decides to move. And I think living in the Pacific Northwest for a few years for career advancement could be a good thing, although if you have concerns about SAD, you might not want to stay there permanently. My husband and I didn't even think we had SAD and our moods have improved so much since we left the gray climate.

[VeronikaW]

We moved up here after I had been in Seattle once for about 24 hours for a business trip several years ago, and my husband was up for like 2 or 3 days for his interview. I had been up in February, but the day was partly sunny, and my hubby was up in late April/early May and had great weather.

My husband hates the weather, but for me, it's one of the few things I like about it here (I don't enjoy being hot). Even though with a baby, the rain is sort of a pain in the butt. And one night it snowed and we couldn't get up the hill to our house without buying and installing chains, which was a first, and a little scary with a 3 month old baby in the car.

V. =)

[CityGirl72]

Hamza's advice is good but his is all WITHOUT kids

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

I keep getting advice to visit Seattle several times before moving. My problem is that if my husband gets the job, they'll likely have him in Seattle by mid-September. Maybe late Sept.

I say I'd like to go along and visit at the in person job interview -- and my husband keeps saying, "what's the point? The weather will be beautiful and you won't know what a long winter is like there anyway. Waste of money."

So the dude wants me to move there sight unseen. (I visited briefly in Sept. about twelve years ago.)

What do you think? He has a great point, but the idea of just moving to a region I've been in all of four days when it was unbelievably sunny and California-like totally freaks me out.

Oh, and we'd be moving from Sacramento, Ca. I was born and raised in No. Cal.

Thanks,

Alicia

Alicia,

The weather here is truely awful except during 3 months of summer. I say that as a native of Western Montana, who grew up with nearly identical weather in Seattle. There aren't words to describe what it is like when it rains for weeks on end, or (this will be new to you) what it is like when in December it gets light around 9 and dark around 4, while raining the whole time.

However, if you visit in the winter, the rain will be a nice change and it may feel actually nice - just as the hot sun feels to us in Seattle. But many people get tired of that after a while, too.

I think visiting in September sounds great, but not to check out the weather. Check out the parking situation in Seattle proper (it's awful), check out the traffic and the limited number of roads, check out how you like living among 100' trees, check out all the things that you may not like.

Seattle's great for a lot of reasons, don't get me wrong. But I always encourage people to visit first, then decide to move because visiting is the only way you get a good feel for a neighborhood.

Then if you like it and your husband gets the job, welcome to Seattle!

[texastrigirl]

I moved here a year ago today exactly from Austin, TX because my husband was tired of the heat, topography and allergies and needed a change. He also happened to find a dream job. We had visited Seattle before and one of my BF's from college lives here (the other is in Portland) so I was given the speech on the weather and cost of living beforehand. It was a rough transition for me initially mostly because I loved Austin and we had built a community there. It really had nothing to do with Seattle, which I had always thought was a fine and cool city and was #1 on my cities to live in if I couldn't live in Austin list. I was sad about leaving Austin and the rainy weather made that even harder. But about April, it started to feel like home. I have made great friends, have gotten involved in my community, enjoy all there is about the great outdoors here...amazing parks, hikes, daytrips, kayaking, skiing, hiking, biking Burke Gilman, etc. and especially breathing clean air. I just visited Austin for two weeks and as much as I missed it when I first moved here, Seattle is now home to me. I feel spoiled by the natural beauty and understand now when those who have lived here a long time can rationalize winter because of the amazing summer. I will be one of those. I have never in my life experienced a more amazing summer than I have here and I have literally only been here for 2 weeks this whole summer. I am enjoying it now and have a whole new perspective now that I have rooted. I am definitely a "bloom where you are planted" kind of girl though so I would probably end up happy in most places. Heck, I didn't even think Dallas was that bad when I lived here for a few years. My husband also gave me an out and told me that if I hated it after two years, we'd leave. Maybe you could negotiate that deal? BTW, my kids have adjusted beautifully after 4-5 rough months. They had a great time visiting Austin but as my 8 year put it...I love Austin because my memories are there but I love Seattle because of all the fun things I get to do there. That sums it up for me too.

[Hamza]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

Thanks, Hamza. Great advice. No worries about me biking around Seattle -- hadn't even dawned on me.

Actually, I love Bainbridge Island. We can't afford to live in Seattle proper so we'd be outside of Seattle. We have two little boys and need to be in a great school district which Bainbridge has.

We'd rent and buy much later down the road.

What do you think of the weather? It sounds like you like to be outside.

I would suggest you try looking at even a few places in the city proper. You say you can't afford it and I believe you -- never the less, there were vacancies literally everywhere. I'm not sure how many kids you have, but you could find deals on 2 or even 3 bedrooms. And looking is free! You don't have to sign on anything. Never-the-less, yes, Bainbridge is gorgeous. You'll find something easily... I sensed alot of desperation in Seattle to rent since selling is impossible and unprofitable.

Originally Posted by Jennibc

What/Who is Skintag? I've lived here several years and never heard that expression

Bwahahaha... really? We were at a lunch party by friends of ours (my lady and I) in Seattle and we were relating a horror story earlier that afternoon. Suddenly someone says, "OMG... you met Skin Tag?"

That's when we heard the legend of Skin Tag. Skin Tag is a landlord who manages several buildings in the "south Queen Anne" area. When meeting the guy, you immediately recognize that he's not all there. He curses, alot, then immediately apologizes for it afterwards, has teeth falling out of his head, and has massive leisons all over his legs and arms. Yet he wears shorts and shortsleeve shirts.

All this would be fine, however. It's not fair to castigate a person based on their appearance right? But oh no, no, that's not enough for poor Skin Tag.

What really does it is his behavior. We went and saw a downstars apartment in a two-story building, and he asked us to take off our shoes and socks while we walk in the apartment "since the carpet was just cleaned." The carpet was sopping wet and as soon as our feet are on it, he says loudly, "That's not water..." but doesn't elaborate on what it is. When we ask him, he doesn't answer. Weird silence. He then proceeds to spend several minutes swearing at the carpet cleaning company. He then apologizes for his swearing. Wtf??

After we declined to see the apartments, he spent the remainder of the visit encouraging us and pushing us to go "behind the building" and "have a look at the stairway to the upstairs apartments." Really, "we should go have a look," because if only we "go have a look" we'll "appreciate the building" and "how beautiful the upstairs apartments are." He spends good other 15 minutes describing the abject majesty of the upstairs apartments.

"Oh!" says I, not wanting to be rude, "Do you have any for rent?"

A pause. A grimace and a leer -- literally -- like I was perhaps the stupidest person he had ever encountered in his entire life.

"NO!"

Between that and his constant leering at the lady, we left fast.

This guy seemed to have quite a rep. We were told that some years back he was known to leave junky cars on the streets that just accumulated tickets. He refused to pay them, because it was cheaper for him to just have the city tow them away and trash them than dispose of them himself. Maybe it's all rumor and terrible lies, but if our experience with Skin Tag was indicative of any of it being true, we'd prefer to stay away from the "upstairs apartments."