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Seattle, WA?

snakesqzns

snakesqzns

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 26, 2007
146
0
Anyone here live in Seattle, WA?

I've applied for a few jobs there recently and will be moving out if I get them. What's the economy like out there? Where are the good areas to live? I'd be working in the 98121 zip code.

I really need to get my family out of the east coast! :|
 
Lived there for 10 years until I moved out to Philly. Nice you will be working downtown, lots to do after work.

Economy is really good, I would say better than most areas. Mainly due to microsoft over in Redmond and a lot of high tech and medical. It has a high income average and is a pretty educated area.

Living really just depends on how much you want to spend. Where you are is going to be belltown/downtown area. Expensive, but close to everything and you won't need a car. Places that are nearby I wouldn't mind living are capital hill, just north of where you are. Capital hill will be a little cheaper just because you aren't downtown. Then there is West Seattle, which is just over the West Seattle bridge. Rent is cheaper, but you have to be sure you aren't in the ghetto. Basically follow the West Seattle bridge and it turns into fauntleroy, any area north of the bridge and west of fauntleroy is a good area. Rent is cheap and a bus will get you right downtown in 20 minutes.

You can live in Pioneer square just a mile or two south of where downtown is. A kind of mix of a nice neighborhood and an older neighborhood. Turns into a party at night.

Where did you apply? If you end up moving there I can give you some favorite places (happy hours!) and other things to do.

Just remember in Washington state there is no state income tax, so its a nice raise. Then if you ever need something big to buy, like a computer, you can head down to Oregon 2.5 hours away and not pay tax.
 
I applied to a bunch of fed positions at Health and Human Services. They're hiring a bunch of IT people to build out the new healthcare infrastructure.

I've been working for the government for the past five years in DC. If I didn't have a wife and kids it'd be fine to stay here, but it's a really crappy place to raise a family. Schools sucks, property taxes are insane, crime is out of control, traffic is horrible, the summers make me want to commit suicide, and housing prices are beyond my means ($600k minimum for anything decent within an hour from DC).

We're really hoping I get one of these HHS jobs! It'd be nice to maintain the stability of a government job, be able to work on something new, and continue to do good work for us taxpayers.

If HHS doesn't work out I'll probably start looking in the private sector again. Do you know any good tech companies out there beside Microsoft?

Thanks for the info :)
 
that's a good thing. used to work at Microsoft out in Redmond and Canyon Park, the rain and clouds are horrid, i take northeast with our 4 seasons any day. :D
 
Disc Golfer said:
There isn't a "ghetto" in Seattle. Unless that is you're an idiot and call non-caucasian parts of town "the ghetto".
Click to expand...

To each their own. Our opinions will differ. All places are great to live in Seattle, so just go for the cheapest I guess. :D

OP if you have any questions, put them up here or you can PM me.

Good luck on the job search. Other places that have major roots in Seattle are Costco, Boeing, Nintendo, Qwest, Weyerhauser, University of Washington, Group Health Cooperative and Amazon.com. Verizon or T-mobile does as well. Nordstrom may too.
 
Thanks kellen!

BTW: Do you guys know of any good tech recruiters in Seattle?
 
My advice ...DONT

If you move there, they will suck you dry....I lived there two thirds of my life its a ****ing pit.

Other major industries there are Meth, street gangs, gun violence (The Maurice Clemmons case was not the exception but the rule), burglary, homelessness.

The biggest thing that the locals aspire to doing is leaving there permanently.

Edit:

but hey If you need to find an AA meeting or a church Western Washington has one on damn near every corner
 
Ttownbeast said:
My advice ...DONT

If you move there, they will suck you dry....I lived there two thirds of my life its a ****ing pit.

Other major industries there are Meth, street gangs, gun violence (The Maurice Clemmons case was not the exception but the rule), burglary, homelessness.

The biggest thing that the locals aspire to doing is leaving there permanently.

Edit:

but hey If you need to find an AA meeting or a church Western Washington has one on damn near every corner
Click to expand...

If you had such a bad experience in the NorthWest, why reference it in your MR location? From what I experienced when I moved out here in '78, born and raised Seattle people like it fine. They just want folks like me (transplants) to move out. What about AA? I'll take a sober area anytime.
Remember that the presence of AA means sober people, not drunks. The interesting thing about all those churches is that the NorthWest has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the US.

Enjoy NY. I was there once. I like Boston, but not NYC.

Dale
 
Designer Dale said:
If you had such a bad experience in the NorthWest, why reference it in your MR location? From what I experienced when I moved out here in '78, born and raised Seattle people like it fine. They just want folks like me (transplants) to move out. What about AA? I'll take a sober area anytime.
Remember that the presence of AA means sober people, not drunks. The interesting thing about all those churches is that the NorthWest has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the US.

Enjoy NY. I was there once. I like Boston, but not NYC.

Dale
Click to expand...

First just because there is an AA doesn't automatically mean sobriety they still drink AA is not sobriety, second as a native from the area its a lifelong goal for many to leave, third move there if you like but consider the risk that your idiot neigbors idiot spawn in the suburbs may blow up the house next door to you building a pipe bomb for jollys or running a crude meth lab in their basement. on top of all that the state has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and a continuing rapid rise in gun violence because criminals don't care.

As to my location despite how ****ed up the area is I am still a fan of the Mariners and BJ Shea
 
Ttownbeast said:
running a crude meth lab in their basement. on top of all that the state has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and a continuing rapid rise in gun violence because criminals don't care.
Click to expand...

Just wondering how the gun laws are strict. WA is an open carry state and their concealed laws are pretty lenient. Not saying you are wrong, but unsure of what else could make them strict. Unless you mean gun punishment laws.
 
Ttownbeast said:
If you move there, they will suck you dry....I lived there two thirds of my life its a ****ing pit.

Other major industries there are Meth, street gangs, gun violence (The Maurice Clemmons case was not the exception but the rule), burglary, homelessness.
Click to expand...
This ranty post is more true for the hickish areas in the sticks outside the sprawl, and could apply to anywhere in America. If someone actually lived here and didn't experience how amazing it was, it's because they have personal issues that go beyond location of residence.
 
Very interesting discussion...I've planned on retiring in the 'Seattle' area when that fateful day comes mainly due to the locales [which I pretty awesome from what I've been told] and the weather. 'Horrid', overcast, rainy days are my cup of tea.
 
Ttownbeast said:
My advice ...DONT

If you move there, they will suck you dry....I lived there two thirds of my life its a ****ing pit.

Other major industries there are Meth, street gangs, gun violence (The Maurice Clemmons case was not the exception but the rule), burglary, homelessness.

The biggest thing that the locals aspire to doing is leaving there permanently.

Edit:

but hey If you need to find an AA meeting or a church Western Washington has one on damn near every corner
Click to expand...
Ok, but you could say about just about any city/state in the country... not specifically the methd, gangs and violence, but every city or region is going to have its advantages and disadvantages.

I could say "Hey, come to Ann Arbor." but conversely, someone could say.. "Eew, Ann Arbor? They're all stuck up and it's in Michigan for chrissakes!". I don't think any single area is going to be immune from -something- being wrong with it... it all depends on what you want and what you are willing to sacrifice to get it.
 
Disc Golfer said:
This ranty post is more true for the hickish areas in the sticks outside the sprawl, and could apply to anywhere in America. If someone actually lived here and didn't experience how amazing it was, it's because they have personal issues that go beyond location of residence.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Couldn't agree more.
 
stonyc said:
Ok, but you could say about just about any city/state in the country... not specifically the methd, gangs and violence, but every city or region is going to have its advantages and disadvantages.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Seattle does have its worse areas (I refer to them as ghettos, you may not) but its a good city and I think relatively safe.

Hopefully we haven't scared him from moving out here. I would be surprised if Seattle was higher than other major cities in crime. Maybe auto theft, as most people I knew have had a car stolen, but major crimes were rare for the most part during my 10 years in Seattle.
 
kellen said:
Agreed. Seattle does have its worse areas (I refer to them as ghettos, you may not) but its a good city and I think relatively safe.

Hopefully we haven't scared him from moving out here. I would be surprised if Seattle was higher than other major cities in crime. Maybe auto theft, as most people I knew have had a car stolen, but major crimes were rare for the most part during my 10 years in Seattle.
Click to expand...

Yah right, "relatively safe" the co host of a morning radio shows house just got burglarized there this week.

As to the gun laws try buying one there legally, or getting a concealed weapons permit for that matter.
 
Ttownbeast said:
Yah right, "relatively safe" the co host of a morning radio shows house just got burglarized there this week.

As to the gun laws try buying one there legally, or getting a concealed weapons permit for that matter.
Click to expand...

one robbery?

What is the problem with gun laws in wa? They are a shall issue state and have to do it within 30 days. Buying one? Go to one of the ranges and buy it. You have to pass a federal check but no wait if you have a concealed permit.
It's legal to open carry as well. Seems lax to me.
 
These are the 2007 crime stats for DC, New York State and Washington State.

DC: 1414 violent crimes, 4914 property crimes (1292 auto thefts)

New York: 414 violent crimes, 1979 property crimes

Washington State: 333 violent crimes, 4031 property crimes (500 some auto thefts)

DC leads the nation in auto theft.

I lived in Boston for four years and had my Beetle stolen twice. I've been in the Seattle/Tacoma area for 32 years now. Two burglaries and zero auto thefts. I like it here and the crime rate has nothing to do with it. I love the water, mountains, fishing and above all, I love the people.

Dale
 
I was born and raised in the Greenwood neighborhood and have lived in the Tampa bay area, Central Illinois and Colorado Springs and have been to 44 of our states. In December I moved back to the Seattle area because it really is just a nicer place to live.

Yeah, Double R's house was broken into but what crazy stuff doesn't happen to and/or around that guy? Deciding the whole area is garbage because of something that happened to Double R is just silly. Meth labs aren't exactly common in the city either.

The gun laws here aren't strict compared to other places. I've been through the process and it is pretty painless. In fact, I'll be acquiring a new gun fairly soon as well as a CWP and I'm sure everything will go smoothly.

The biggest problem with the area is traffic and the fact that every road project seems to get slowed/shut down by little neighborhood groups. If you can live car free or spend very little time behind the wheel then you won't even notice, just ask The Men's Room.

To the OP: Give it a shot. If there is anything I've learned from moving around our country is that if you don't like it you can always move somewhere else :D
 
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