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Old 02-12-2008, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Grand Forks
190 posts, read 812,240 times
Reputation: 93

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I'm a native New Yorker currently living in Miami. While here, I am working on my MBA and my girlfriend is in law school. I cannot stand Miami and I am very homesick and eager to flee. My girlfriend wants to go back home to Washington, preferably Seattle area, and wants me to go too.
Would I like it? Would I be able to make a living? I have an art degree. A background in IT, mainly desktop support and heavy on the Mac side; however, I have begun C# and ASP.Net programming. I'm hoping this work experience coupled with an MBA will set me apart in the workplace. My girlfriend will be a lawyer, I hope.
I know Seattle is something like the most educated city in the US, so will I be able to make a mark? Having a large network in New York I know I can get a job and get around no problem. But would I encounter stiff competition for jobs in IT even with an MBA? Will the fact that the MBA is not from an Ivy League school matter?
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:37 PM
 
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
8,298 posts, read 14,105,991 times
Reputation: 8104
Yes, you would like it. Yes, you will have stiff competition, but nobody in Seattle is impressed by Ivy League diplomas.
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Old 02-12-2008, 09:32 PM
 
Location: Grand Forks
190 posts, read 812,240 times
Reputation: 93
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof View Post
nobody in Seattle is impressed by Ivy League diplomas.
Thank God.
Thanks for the reply. Is there a vibrant job market in Seattle and is the cost of living as bad as the forum threads make it out to be?
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Old 02-13-2008, 02:23 AM
 
478 posts, read 2,297,259 times
Reputation: 378
Quote:
Originally Posted by schiphol View Post
Thank God.
Thanks for the reply. Is there a vibrant job market in Seattle and is the cost of living as bad as the forum threads make it out to be?
Yes and yes.

You're WAAAAAAAAAAY more likely to find a job (and quickly) in Seattle than any other place in the Northwest. However, the environment in which you may work is more than likely going to be quite different from anything you see on the East Coast.

I work for a CPA, and everyone here wears jeans to work. No one dresses up. I can't remember the last time I wore a suit anywhere!

The cost of living is a bear, particularly if you are looking to buy a home. If you are looking to rent, Seattle isn't a bad place to stay for a few years.

Something else to keep in mind is that the population in Seattle is primarily transplanted (almost no one is from around here) and transient. I believe that this has a profound effect on the social scene here. I, for one, have not had many problems with it, but others mention the "Seattle Freeze". I'm sure you will hear about it before too long.
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Old 02-13-2008, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
957 posts, read 3,342,256 times
Reputation: 139
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattlitefromNC View Post
Yes and yes.

You're WAAAAAAAAAAY more likely to find a job (and quickly) in Seattle than any other place in the Northwest. However, the environment in which you may work is more than likely going to be quite different from anything you see on the East Coast.

I work for a CPA, and everyone here wears jeans to work. No one dresses up. I can't remember the last time I wore a suit anywhere!

The cost of living is a bear, particularly if you are looking to buy a home. If you are looking to rent, Seattle isn't a bad place to stay for a few years.
Ironic-I'm looking for a job at a CPA firm at the end of the summer. I finish my Master's in May. Is getting a job at a CPA firm hard and is really that laxed? If so, that may definitely sway me to Seattle v. NYC. Hopefully the pay will at least be comparable.

Okay, for the real question, is renting a house less affordable or more than renting an apartment? I know here in TX some houses actually cost less than an apt. but I don't assume it's that way there. I looked online but don't know what neighborhoods I should look in (I prefer family-friendly).

Thanks!
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Old 02-13-2008, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Arizona
1,053 posts, read 3,080,510 times
Reputation: 465
Quote:
Originally Posted by LookingtoLeave View Post
Ironic-I'm looking for a job at a CPA firm at the end of the summer. I finish my Master's in May. Is getting a job at a CPA firm hard and is really that laxed? If so, that may definitely sway me to Seattle v. NYC. Hopefully the pay will at least be comparable.

Okay, for the real question, is renting a house less affordable or more than renting an apartment? I know here in TX some houses actually cost less than an apt. but I don't assume it's that way there. I looked online but don't know what neighborhoods I should look in (I prefer family-friendly).

Thanks!
Usually more for a house. Or maybe a 3 bed/2 bath apt will rent for maybe a little more or the same as a 3 bed/1 bath house with less or the same sq footage.
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Old 02-13-2008, 01:48 PM
 
Location: Cosmic Consciousness
3,871 posts, read 17,050,517 times
Reputation: 2700
Schiphol, a great place to browse for what kinds of jobs are available for you both, and what pay scales might be, is NWSource.com, the combined Classifieds of the two leading newspapers in and around the wide Seattle area.
Seattle area jobs, employment advice and information | NWjobs

The same resource, for rentals:
http://rentals.nwsource.com/rentals/

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Old 02-15-2008, 07:42 AM
 
Location: Grand Forks
190 posts, read 812,240 times
Reputation: 93
Thanks to everyone for responding. I got a lot of good info. I have visited Seattle and Yakima and I saw pictures in another thread and I think the area is absolutely beautiful. Seattle's definitely a top contender for me in terms of aesthetics, major companies to work for, and lifestyle.
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Old 02-15-2008, 08:37 AM
 
478 posts, read 2,297,259 times
Reputation: 378
Quote:
Originally Posted by LookingtoLeave View Post
Ironic-I'm looking for a job at a CPA firm at the end of the summer. I finish my Master's in May. Is getting a job at a CPA firm hard and is really that laxed? If so, that may definitely sway me to Seattle v. NYC. Hopefully the pay will at least be comparable.

Okay, for the real question, is renting a house less affordable or more than renting an apartment? I know here in TX some houses actually cost less than an apt. but I don't assume it's that way there. I looked online but don't know what neighborhoods I should look in (I prefer family-friendly).

Thanks!
Texas is pretty special in that regard. Whatever you saw in Texas, multiply it by 2.5 and you'll be in the ballpark.

You should be fine with regards to finding work. That should be the least of your concern. Only thing that I would caution is that, if you did not go to a local school, there may not be a reference with regard to the school that you went to and how well you did. Sometimes it works against you, sometimes it doesn't. I've seen it work both ways. Wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you, though ... I personally have not had any trouble finding work up here.
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