Moving to Seattle from Russia (fit in, luxury, construction)

[pw72]

Seattle is very welcoming to Russians. When I was a kid, we hosted a USSR student for a week. He loved it.

Yes, Russia has changed. But it is still also a different world. Seattle is probably one of the best entry cities for Russians. Tolerant, similar in climate, northern latitude, etc. Clubs, fashion, street life? Not sure how important that is, but Seattle doesn't completely lack those.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

Really? Are you talking about Russia 50 years ago? Russia changed a lot over the years. It just showes how little he knows about Russia. Nowadays, Russia is like any other European country. You really think every Russian is a racist? And how much an average American knows about foreign countries, even about Canada, anyway? Not much.

Actually, racism and xenophobia is quite a problem in Russia today.

American Thinker: Resurgent Racism in Russia


BBC News: Russian racism out of control

Just a small example of the state of race relations in Russia today.

An example that hits closer to home was the gang rape of a very close friend who happens to be a black women working in Moscow. It was made clear to her that it was because she is black...

[eskercurve]

Guys, before we go on dissing Russia for its race relations problems (and forgetting that in some corners of the USA such behavior is still going on), or any other non sequitur, let's focus on what the OP was asking.

Yes, you can afford $1000 / month 1 br apartments. Your english is fine as far as we can tell! Totally understandable. If you can speak half as well as you write, you will be fine.

Fremont is nice, so is Wallingford. The latter is quieter, except along 45th st. Ballard is also nice, but at that point you are at least a 1/2 hour busride from the campus. To the east of the uni is a nice community with lots of college kids, young couples with kids, and a nice little mall with everything you need there. It is also closer to the rec center so that should be a plus, and you get to climb a hill every day. Not like you need much help finding outdoors activities to do in Seattle.

I hope you enjoy your stay!

[seattlenextyear]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

Really? Are you talking about Russia 50 years ago? Russia changed a lot over the years. It just showes how little he knows about Russia. Nowadays, Russia is like any other European country. You really think every Russian is a racist? And how much an average American knows about foreign countries, even about Canada, anyway? Not much. And how exactly progressive is the US (Seattle excluding, of course)? No racism? Everybody behaves? People live in harmony with each other?

I guess not all the Slavic Evangelicals who run the anti-gay protests around town are strictly from Russia.

[Lavrans]

Thanks for all the info. It really helps!

Nice to hear, that there is a huge Russian community in Seattle, but actually it’s not my goal to communicate only with Russians. I really hope I can meet some “true American” friends.

Originally Posted by azoria

I don't know where in Russia you're from, but if it's either Moscow or St. Petersburg.....you're in for for a goodly dose of culture shock.

In Seattle there is virtually no club scene, no fashionability, no street life, and almost anything fun is either completely prohibited and/or is closed on Sunday. In general, America is a very conservative country where citizens abide by the law even when the militsia is no where to be found. Yes, even when the law is stupid and makes no sense, Americans tend to be very law abiding. It takes some getting used to.

The police are not your enemy here. In general they are polite and usually helpful. Do not fear them. Corruption in the Russian sense is very uncommon.

Housing is generally much larger and much nicer than in Russia, even when it is low-end and inexpensive. I have never seen anything in America that resembled a Soviet flat. You should be pleasantly surprised.

America, particularly the west and south, was developed around the car. Public transportation is primitive and very limited. You will find it difficult to survive well without a car. Cars are not a luxury and a comfort here, they are a necessity. Therefore, you should look for housing relatively nearby your workplace.

There are some Russians scattered about Seattle, but as far as I can tell the largest Russian community is in Bellvue, an affluent suburb, and on the other side of Lake Washington. Public transportation around Bellvue is limited as most people have cars, but there is decent bus service from Bellvue to Seattle (a rather tedious commute on the bus). There are no subways in Seattle. Bellvue has several Russian groceries and restaurants.

There are a great many immigrants in the Seattle area from east Africa and asia, as well other varieties of peoples. The level of racism which is acceptable in Russia is NOT ok in America. Particularly Seattle. You must learn to cohabit amiably with all kinds of different looking people from all kinds of places. Pay particular attention to this advice.

Yep, I’m from Moscow! But I’m quite sure I will be able to find some fun
I’m a rather law abiding person too, so I’ll be fine!
I’m not going to buy a car at first so I will try to find a place to live near the University.

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

Culture shock, no club scene, no street life, militsia, blah blah blah... I'm not sure this post was helpful at all. Don't pay too much attention to it.

No, no, this post was really helpful! We do have some problems with our police (militsia). And I’m afraid racism is still quite a problem in Russia today, even in Moscow. But movingwiththewind is right, not every Russian is a racist!

Originally Posted by fiveten

Yeah if the police stop you; do not try to bribe them. Magharich does not work here.

Thanks! I will keep it in mind

Thank you very much for all your thoughts. I will definitely check out Wallingford and Ravenna.

[Afryer66]

I think you will find Seattle to be a great city in which to start your journey to the US. I am a transplant from the Eastern coast of the US but my mom and her family moved to the US from Poland. When she visits me here she says this is the most like a European city of any that she has been to within the 48 lower states. There are a lot of regulations on trash and recycling and such (perhaps not as much as Russia, I wouldn't know!) but once you get used to the little rules of the game, I think you will find it is a great place to grow mentally, spiritually and emotionally. There are a lot of dark and cloudy days which cause one to do a lot of self-reflection (perhaps similar to many Russian cities), but the weather overall is fairly moderate and you don't get the extreme highs and lows as you get in many other parts of the country. Once you start to find your niche here I think you will love it, and even if it doesn't become a permanent home for you I think you will take a lot from it. I highly recommend visiting other cities, too, while you are here in the US as Seattle is a relatively small town compared to LA, Chicago, NY and San Francisco, each unique in their own ways. It will give you a much bigger taste of Americana as Seattle is a truly independent kind of city that sort of stands on its own and doesn't necessarily reflect the rest of the country in its behaviors and practices, which is what makes it such a cool place, just not the ONLY place (as I'm sure you have already realized). I live in the Holly Park neighborhood which is a good ways south of the city, but it is an interesting place to live because of the extreme diversity (the population is mostly Asian, followed by African American, then Caucasian). It isn't for everyone, and as a single person you would probably want to be closer to the nightlife that is more prevalent in the downtown areas, but the neighborhoods closely surrounding Columbia City are really quaint and interesting and quite a bit cheaper than the neighborhoods closer to downtown. You would perhaps be able to afford a small house to rent, with a yard, as opposed to a condo or apartment. It all depends what you are looking for. Columbia City is a fun and growing community with a lot of people in their 30's and 40's who want to be near the city but don't necessarily want to have the traffic and parking nightmares that tend to go with city living. People around here have goats and chickens in their yards and then they'll go to work in an office downtown~it's kind of quirky and interesting like that. Good luck and I truly wish the best for you!

[southking500]

Lavrans, I also would recommend that you ignore azoria's longwinded and inaccurate post.
I am sure you will enjoy your time in Seattle, there is no shortage of fun. There are plenty of apartments available for under $1000.00 near the UW. I would recommend looking on craigslist.com searching under University District (not University Place), Fremont, Wallingford, Maple Leaf, Ravenna, Laurelhurst, Ballard, Eastlake, Green Lake, all nice areas and an easy bus ride to the UW. However if you get a response from someone in Nigeria don't answer! You can get a smaller place in one of these areas for $700-800, a bigger or more luxurious place will be more of course.

[bamba_boy]

Seattle is a GREAT place for you. It's right in the middle of former "Russian America" - the strip from northernmost California to Alaska first colonized by Tsarist Russia. I'll bet there are original descendants of those 19th century Russians still in the area. Anybody know?

[svartkatt]

Hello, and welcome to Seattle (Здравствуйте, и дорбо пожаловать в Сиэтл!) I studied at UW (Slavic languages and Russian studies), then spent almost a decade working in economic/business development with Russia. I have traveled/worked there extensively and worked very closely with people from all over Russia, from Petersburg to the Far East. I have also lived in Seattle 15+ years, so hopefully can provide some useful information for you.

First off, you should easily be able to find a 1-bedroom in the $1000 range in the neighborhoods mentioned above. Ravenna, Fremont, Wallingford, Capitol Hill and even Ballard are all reasonably close. Unless you forsee wanting to live right near thousands of college kids, you should probably look outside the U-District (University District, surrounding UW). All of these neighborhoods have decent transit connections (bus) to UW. A side-note about apartments - in Seattle it is normal for apartment buildings 7 stories and lower to be of wood, not concrete construction, as is more common in Russia. This can come as a shock to people who are used to concrete-only buildings because of the level of noise they might experience. Taller buildings are concrete/steel, and if this is more appealing, you'll need to look more in the neighborhoods of Downtown, First Hill, Belltown and South Lake Union. We are in a very long process of building rapid mass transit - so far there is only one line from the airport to downtown. Depending on where you live, you may find this "primitive" (if you're used to subways), or not.

There is a very large Russian-speaking community in the region, primarily living in the suburbs like Overlake, Bellevue, Crossroads, etc. Lynnwood, Kent and Edmonds also have Russian-speaking populations (I'm including Ukrainians, Belarusians, etc.) Most of the businesses geared towards the Russian-speaking community are in Bellevue/Overlake/Crossroads, which are part of what we refer to as the "Eastside" (being east of Seattle and across Lake Washington). In these areas you will find more single-family housing, fewer apartments, and longer commutes. There are two sites that might be of use to you: Russian Washington and Russian America | Seattle if you are intersted in learning some more about the Russian-speaking community here.

Now, I don't know you at all obviously, but if I were to move to a foreign country/city, I'm the type of person that would want to immerse myself in local culture, as opposed to finding an area full of Americans, so living in Seattle may suit you more if you are that type of person. You will still be able to access the Russian-speaking community, while also experiencing American life.

You'll find many, many posts about Seattle in this forum, so I won't go into detail here. I'll leave it at this: We are a mid-sized and growing Western American city with a nice, dense central business area, some interesting neighborhoods, stunning nature, a very educated population, and a huge univerisity community (not just UW, but private as well). Seattle is primarily white, but we have a large population of immigrants from all over the world - Asia, Africa, former USSR, and of course Mexico/Latin America, and people here are, I would say, very tolerant and accepting of these cultures. As opposed to the commenter above, I think Seattle has a very good nightlife scene for a city this size, including dance clubs (even a weekly Russian club night at Contour in downtown) and live music. There are many cultural outlets besides nightlife - opera, ballet, theater (national and local), dance, etc., and more outdoor activities right in and near Seattle than you could do in a lifetime. Really depends on your taste and interests. You'll definitely find many differences with Russia, and probably some culture shock, especially if this is your first time here, but thousands of people come from all over the world and call Seattle home.

BTW your English looks excellent, and there is nothing like living abroad to really sharpen your language skills! Good luck! Если есть другие вопросы о Сиэтле, пишите. Постараюсь ответить.

[svartkatt]

Lavrans, sorry for posting twice, but I didn't notice the second page of comments. Based on your response above, I would definitely look in the Seattle area for housing in the neighborhoods that have been mentioned. What will you be doing at UW? Will you be working in a specific department or college? UW is a great place for making social connections, especially in your professional/academic area of interest, and as previously mentioned, people here are very accepting of those from other cultures. I should think it would be a good environment for making some good local American friends. Again, good luck!