Our First 6 Months (Seattle: to rent, home, job market)
Seattle areaSeattle and King County Suburbs
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I apologize for the absence but it took a little time to get settled here. Seattle certainly is a different world than NYC, with many wonderful things and a few drawbacks. So, in a tribute to my own hubris, I’d like to post some of my thoughts.
Pros (with a few cons):
1. The City’s Look: Seattle is a truly beautiful city. In some brilliant flash of design, Seattle’s city builders seemed to have decided to stick trees wherever they couldn’t think of a place to put something. And it makes the city a lovelier place for it. I have never lived somewhere so green and bucolic. I love it.
2. The City’s Costs: Seattle is surprisingly expensive. I say this and I am coming from NYC. By far the largest price difference is in groceries. My grocery bill went up 30%, and that’s not just because of tax. The local QFC in Capitol Hill on Broadway is, frankly, criminally priced. We shop at Trader Joes which is less expensive, even if you have to rent a Zipcar.
3. …’s Transportation: The Bus System is great if you live between downtown and the U-district. Outside of that buy a car. But inside of that – no need! And there’s Zipcars all over this place.
4. …’s Restaurants: I have never eaten better food in my life. Say whatever you want about Seattle not being a world class city, this city has possibly the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. And at a cost that’s lower than NYC (amazingly, compared to groceries.)
5. …’s Single Scene: Come here married, or about to get married. Do not date in Seattle. Even my gay friends here say the (new) dating scene is tiny because everyone here has dated everyone else.
6. …’s Art Scene: Tiny but the higher arts are awesome. Seattle has a wonderful ballet and opera company. If you’re looking for smaller galleries or artists, there are very few gems.
7. …’s Activity Scene: Unless you’re into outside sports, etc., there’s surprisingly little to do in Seattle. Most of the most interesting things to do in Seattle involve outside activities – which are a blast – including kayaking, hiking, running, biking, sports, etc.
Cons (with a few pros):
8. The City’s Vibe: Present company on this forum excepted, most people in Seattle are just plain weird. There is an enormously passive-aggressive vibe with a lot of the people here. They won’t directly come out and call you an *******, which I’d prefer, but just be really snotty about it. And if you’re not snotty, you are ice-cold silent. Especially in Capitol Hill, people look at the ground a lot. If you look them in the eyes, they’ll look to the ground. If you talk to them, they’ll look embaressed, silent, eyes to the ground and walk away. People don’t really just strike up conversations with other people unless they’re hitting on you.
And speaking of dating and sex, there is, what I feel to be, a tremendous undercurrent of sex and drugs in Seattle that – I suspect – is due to the weather. Because there’s not much inducement to go outside 9 months out of the year here, people “cave” themselves a lot, drink, and have sex. There is a tremendous “swinging” scene here – especially in Capitol Hill – and in our 5-6 months here, we’ve had two incidences where when meeting new couples, we were invited to “swap” partners. Sometimes the invitations were subtle, sometimes they were blatant – but all were surprising.
And drugs are everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Everyone around us seems to do them. Walking from Cap Hill to downtown, I smell a lot of weed, and that’s because people just kinda chill and smoke it on the street. And weed’s not the problem – it’s the hundreds of meth addicts in our neighborhood. So yeah, lots of sex and drugs in Seattle.
And homeless. For what we pay in rent, I am surprised that I feel uncomfortable letting my significant other walk home at night alone, from the bus stop to home – a whopping 4-5 blocks. Seattle teems with homeless of the creepy variety, and a surprising amount of teenage homeless kids. Or teenage kids who try an awful lot to look homeless. In many ways, this place feels like Berkeley in the early 90s.
But this is not doing justice to the nice things about the people in Seattle. We have also met a handful of really wonderful people here. What is surprising about it, however, is that they were all in the particular clique of my fiancée’s professional world. They’re all friends from her job. And that’s the key to meeting new people here – you meet and make friends with people basically inside your immediate social circle. In NYC, we had friends from all walks of life – my fiancée and I met on the train – and both those things would never happen in Seattle. This place must be impenetrable for new people who don’t have existing connections in Seattle.
And a little aside: We know we’re almost home when we see the enormous ***** dangling from the powerlines above the street, close to our house. True story. The sex vibe in Seattle is nuts.
9. …’s Job Market: The city is in for a major bust. We were fortunate enough to both move here with jobs but for those coming without them, I wouldn’t advise it. WaMu is already burst and there are for –sale or for-rent signs everywhere. Seattle seems to be behind the rest of the country’s economy by a year. In 8-12 months, I expect things to get significantly worse here.
Neutrals (depending on taste)
10. The coffee here is really, really spectacular.
11. Nobody here seems to know of, or talk about, Frasier, which is weird to me. In NYC, New Yorkers quoted Seinfeld all the time – but here, no one quotes Frasier except me. And I consider Frasier to be a far superior show.
12. The rent here is as expensive, technically, as it is in NYC, but what you get here is just a different world than in NYC. New, clean, renovated, cool housing. I’m very happy with our living situation, which is a good thing since, as previously mentioned, people “cave” in Seattle.
13. It doesn’t really rain here very much. It’s just gray a lot. Not rain, but very little sunshine. Still it’s not as bad as everyone says it is. However, during winter, it gets light around 8-9 AM (late for me) and gets dark by 5 PM (early for me).
14. There are almost no children in Seattle city proper. This is amazing to me and very disturbing because in Brooklyn, I got so used to the sound of children’s voices and school bells. There are NO kids here, in the city proper, and as far as I can tell no public schools. We went to an art-show recently in a building that was an old public school. The school fell into disuse because there weren’t any kids to go to it anymore. I found that darkly humorous. On a recent trip to Seattle’s “family” neighborhood, Queen Anne, I counted a total of 4 families on an afternoon walkaround. I find it immensely creepy that, at least in Seattle’s city limits, the only kids I see are homeless teenagers. No mothers with babies at a café or anything. I don’t like it.
15. There isn’t really a nightlife here beyond singles bars. Almost everything closes up in our area – Capitol Hill – by 10pm. And Capitol Hill is apparently the most night-life-ish part of the city. This is bad, on one hand, because we miss staying out until 2am partying. On the other hand, we’re saving money hand-over-fist and getting lots of work done. So it balances!
So, right now, 6-months in, I really do like Seattle very much. I knew it’d be different than NYC. However, I have immediate doubts if this is the place I’d settle permanently, primarily because I do not want to raise a family within this city. Way too many drugs and a very weird, sexualized culture. And no other kids for my potential children to socialize with except for the seemingly homeless.
I do not want to raise a family within this city. Way too many drugs and a very weird, sexualized culture. And no other kids for my potential children to socialize with except for the seemingly homeless.
Hi Hamza. Nice to see you back.
As for that "culture", I've never seen it. Maybe someone else has. Anyway, you can move to the suburbs and find both a different culture and a children-filled culture.
Keep on having fun!
2. The City’s Costs: Seattle is surprisingly expensive. I say this and I am coming from NYC. By far the largest price difference is in groceries. My grocery bill went up 30%, and that’s not just because of tax.
I would certainly hope your grocery bill isn't high because of tax, considering unprepared food is not taxed in this state.
Seattle - sunrise on December 10 at 7:47, sunset at 4:18
New York - sunrise 7:09, sunset 4:28
Chicago - sunrise 7:07, sunset 4:19
I don't think that 10 minutes are a big difference
Wow, that's very interesting. This is one of the few things I telle people I don't like about Seattle. I never knew it was common in other places...then again being from arizona common is unknown.
If you go to neighborhoods in Northeast Seattle there are kids galore! So many that the schools are overcrowded. You won't see a lot of kids running around in the streets but that is because it is cold and wet and kids tend to be over scheduled in lots of activities (of course "over-scheduled" is an opinion, but it's mine!)
Seattle - sunrise on December 10 at 7:47, sunset at 4:18
New York - sunrise 7:09, sunset 4:28
Chicago - sunrise 7:07, sunset 4:19
I don't think that 10 minutes are a big difference
That's quite a bit more than 10 minutes. The sun rises almost 40 minutes later. But to be honest, it feels much later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by allforcats
Hi Hamza. Nice to see you back.
As for that "culture", I've never seen it. Maybe someone else has. Anyway, you can move to the suburbs and find both a different culture and a children-filled culture.
Keep on having fun!
Yeah I hear you. That's why I kept saying -- "at least in our area" -- because everyone seems to say the same thing: "the suburbs are different, that's why we live there."
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitsuturbo
I would certainly hope your grocery bill isn't high because of tax, considering unprepared food is not taxed in this state.
I think it has alot to do with QFC -- their prices are crazy. That's why we go to TJs. Even then, I'll be honest -- no clue how poor(er) people make it here. The food prices are insane.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tada
The sunrise is about 40 minutes later compared to those cities though.
Yup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennibc
If you go to neighborhoods in Northeast Seattle there are kids galore! So many that the schools are overcrowded. You won't see a lot of kids running around in the streets but that is because it is cold and wet and kids tend to be over scheduled in lots of activities (of course "over-scheduled" is an opinion, but it's mine!)
That's quite a bit more than 10 minutes. The sun rises almost 40 minutes later. But to be honest, it feels much later.
Yeah I hear you. That's why I kept saying -- "at least in our area" -- because everyone seems to say the same thing: "the suburbs are different, that's why we live there."
I think it has alot to do with QFC -- their prices are crazy. That's why we go to TJs. Even then, I'll be honest -- no clue how poor(er) people make it here. The food prices are insane.
Another interesting note -- I don't see many children or elderly. Must be the hills!
View Ridge, Wedgwood, Laurelhurst are not really suburbs, they are in-city neighborhoods anywhere from 6-8 miles from downtown. That's what I meant by Northeast Seattle - that is Seattle proper. Additionally, Wallingford, Greenlake, and Phinney Ridge have many families. Their school don't seem as overcrowded so I am not sure if it is because more of those parents go the private school route.
Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I apologize for the absence but it took a little time to get settled here. Seattle certainly is a different world than NYC, with many wonderful things and a few drawbacks. So, in a tribute to my own hubris, I’d like to post some of my thoughts.
Pros (with a few cons):
1. The City’s Look: Seattle is a truly beautiful city. In some brilliant flash of design, Seattle’s city builders seemed to have decided to stick trees wherever they couldn’t think of a place to put something. And it makes the city a lovelier place for it. I have never lived somewhere so green and bucolic. I love it.
2. The City’s Costs: Seattle is surprisingly expensive. I say this and I am coming from NYC. By far the largest price difference is in groceries. My grocery bill went up 30%, and that’s not just because of tax. The local QFC in Capitol Hill on Broadway is, frankly, criminally priced. We shop at Trader Joes which is less expensive, even if you have to rent a Zipcar.
3. …’s Transportation: The Bus System is great if you live between downtown and the U-district. Outside of that buy a car. But inside of that – no need! And there’s Zipcars all over this place.
4. …’s Restaurants: I have never eaten better food in my life. Say whatever you want about Seattle not being a world class city, this city has possibly the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. And at a cost that’s lower than NYC (amazingly, compared to groceries.)
5. …’s Single Scene: Come here married, or about to get married. Do not date in Seattle. Even my gay friends here say the (new) dating scene is tiny because everyone here has dated everyone else.
6. …’s Art Scene: Tiny but the higher arts are awesome. Seattle has a wonderful ballet and opera company. If you’re looking for smaller galleries or artists, there are very few gems.
7. …’s Activity Scene: Unless you’re into outside sports, etc., there’s surprisingly little to do in Seattle. Most of the most interesting things to do in Seattle involve outside activities – which are a blast – including kayaking, hiking, running, biking, sports, etc.
Cons (with a few pros):
8. The City’s Vibe: Present company on this forum excepted, most people in Seattle are just plain weird. There is an enormously passive-aggressive vibe with a lot of the people here. They won’t directly come out and call you an *******, which I’d prefer, but just be really snotty about it. And if you’re not snotty, you are ice-cold silent. Especially in Capitol Hill, people look at the ground a lot. If you look them in the eyes, they’ll look to the ground. If you talk to them, they’ll look embaressed, silent, eyes to the ground and walk away. People don’t really just strike up conversations with other people unless they’re hitting on you.
And speaking of dating and sex, there is, what I feel to be, a tremendous undercurrent of sex and drugs in Seattle that – I suspect – is due to the weather. Because there’s not much inducement to go outside 9 months out of the year here, people “cave” themselves a lot, drink, and have sex. There is a tremendous “swinging” scene here – especially in Capitol Hill – and in our 5-6 months here, we’ve had two incidences where when meeting new couples, we were invited to “swap” partners. Sometimes the invitations were subtle, sometimes they were blatant – but all were surprising.
And drugs are everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Everyone around us seems to do them. Walking from Cap Hill to downtown, I smell a lot of weed, and that’s because people just kinda chill and smoke it on the street. And weed’s not the problem – it’s the hundreds of meth addicts in our neighborhood. So yeah, lots of sex and drugs in Seattle.
And homeless. For what we pay in rent, I am surprised that I feel uncomfortable letting my significant other walk home at night alone, from the bus stop to home – a whopping 4-5 blocks. Seattle teems with homeless of the creepy variety, and a surprising amount of teenage homeless kids. Or teenage kids who try an awful lot to look homeless. In many ways, this place feels like Berkeley in the early 90s.
But this is not doing justice to the nice things about the people in Seattle. We have also met a handful of really wonderful people here. What is surprising about it, however, is that they were all in the particular clique of my fiancée’s professional world. They’re all friends from her job. And that’s the key to meeting new people here – you meet and make friends with people basically inside your immediate social circle. In NYC, we had friends from all walks of life – my fiancée and I met on the train – and both those things would never happen in Seattle. This place must be impenetrable for new people who don’t have existing connections in Seattle.
And a little aside: We know we’re almost home when we see the enormous ***** dangling from the powerlines above the street, close to our house. True story. The sex vibe in Seattle is nuts.
9. …’s Job Market: The city is in for a major bust. We were fortunate enough to both move here with jobs but for those coming without them, I wouldn’t advise it. WaMu is already burst and there are for –sale or for-rent signs everywhere. Seattle seems to be behind the rest of the country’s economy by a year. In 8-12 months, I expect things to get significantly worse here.
Neutrals (depending on taste)
10. The coffee here is really, really spectacular.
11. Nobody here seems to know of, or talk about, Frasier, which is weird to me. In NYC, New Yorkers quoted Seinfeld all the time – but here, no one quotes Frasier except me. And I consider Frasier to be a far superior show.
12. The rent here is as expensive, technically, as it is in NYC, but what you get here is just a different world than in NYC. New, clean, renovated, cool housing. I’m very happy with our living situation, which is a good thing since, as previously mentioned, people “cave” in Seattle.
13. It doesn’t really rain here very much. It’s just gray a lot. Not rain, but very little sunshine. Still it’s not as bad as everyone says it is. However, during winter, it gets light around 8-9 AM (late for me) and gets dark by 5 PM (early for me).
14. There are almost no children in Seattle city proper. This is amazing to me and very disturbing because in Brooklyn, I got so used to the sound of children’s voices and school bells. There are NO kids here, in the city proper, and as far as I can tell no public schools. We went to an art-show recently in a building that was an old public school. The school fell into disuse because there weren’t any kids to go to it anymore. I found that darkly humorous. On a recent trip to Seattle’s “family” neighborhood, Queen Anne, I counted a total of 4 families on an afternoon walkaround. I find it immensely creepy that, at least in Seattle’s city limits, the only kids I see are homeless teenagers. No mothers with babies at a café or anything. I don’t like it.
15. There isn’t really a nightlife here beyond singles bars. Almost everything closes up in our area – Capitol Hill – by 10pm. And Capitol Hill is apparently the most night-life-ish part of the city. This is bad, on one hand, because we miss staying out until 2am partying. On the other hand, we’re saving money hand-over-fist and getting lots of work done. So it balances!
So, right now, 6-months in, I really do like Seattle very much. I knew it’d be different than NYC. However, I have immediate doubts if this is the place I’d settle permanently, primarily because I do not want to raise a family within this city. Way too many drugs and a very weird, sexualized culture. And no other kids for my potential children to socialize with except for the seemingly homeless.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
...and shocked! 
... interesting post...
