Moving to Seattle?

I was wondering if anyone has lived in Seattle and could give me some insight? My husband has a job offer :D that would move us to Seattle and I know it's the right career move but not sure if it's the right place for our family. I know this has nothing more to do with cruising except we could catch a cruise easer, sorry. We don't know anyone who's actually ever lived in Seattle or more precisely one of the southern suburbs around Tukwila.:rolleyes: Is it really more expensive? We went last weekend and looked at groceries apartments and gas and they are cheaper or just slightly more then here. We used to live in Colorado and think that Seattle has a similar feel. Is the weather really that bad? locals brush off the rain and cloud cover but everyone else says it's so bad. :confused:

Visit this web site ... it's where people like yourself ask questions about relocating:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle-area/

One of my neighbors LOVES the grey skies and rain. My other neighbor can't wait to retire and move to a sunny climate. You'll either like it or you won't. No one can predict how you'll take it.

On a clear day there's nowhere more beautiful than the Seattle area, but the rain is just too much. I'm in the process of moving.

Tukwila is not my favorite area. Where is the job located?

You'll get many more responses by posting at this site. You may be able to find the answers to your questions without posting.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle-area/

I was wondering if anyone has lived in Seattle and could give me some insight? My husband has a job offer :D that would move us to Seattle and I know it's the right career move but not sure if it's the right place for our family. I know this has nothing more to do with cruising except we could catch a cruise easer, sorry. We don't know anyone who's actually ever lived in Seattle or more precisely one of the southern suburbs around Tukwila.:rolleyes: Is it really more expensive? We went last weekend and looked at groceries apartments and gas and they are cheaper or just slightly more then here. We used to live in Colorado and think that Seattle has a similar feel. Is the weather really that bad? locals brush off the rain and cloud cover but everyone else says it's so bad. :confused:

I live in one of the southern suburbs around Tukwila (Tukwila is just a few blocks away, actually). It's not the most fashionable part of town, and you'd want to avoid living too close to International Boulevard, but we've been here for almost 15 years and we like it a lot. Tukwila and SeaTac are very diverse, culturally and ethnically, which we like (and you definitely don't find that in all parts of Seattle). The area is within pretty easy reach of Seattle proper, and transit access is good (the light rail stops in Tukwila). There are some really good restaurants in Burien, next door, and for major shopping, Southcenter mall is close. We've had zero problems with crime here. We don't have kids, but I hear the schools are pretty good.

The cost of living here is...relative. I don't know what things cost in Kansas, but I know many things (rent, gas) were far cheaper here than in California when I moved from there 20 years ago. I do hear other folks complain that it seems so expensive to them, but I think it's mostly a matter of what you're used to. The tech boom has made housing prices go up at a pretty fast rate, especially certain neighborhoods of Seattle, but that affects us less down here. If they're offering your husband a decent bump up in pay, you should do okay.

I've never lived in Kansas but I did live in downstate Illinois, which I think is not too dissimilar, weather-wise. In my personal opinion the weather is about 1,000% better here! No miserable, sticky, humid summer heat, no harsh winter with the wind whipping across the prairie, and hardly any snow. Oh, yeah, no tornadoes!! Sure, it's gray a LOT in the winter (and, okay, fall and spring). That drives some people crazy, or into a deep funk, but other folks are fine with it. I don't love that part, but it makes me appreciate the sunny days (and we get a few of those, even in the dead of winter) even more. And the summers are glorious! You said that the locals brush off the weather but other people have told you it's awful--but are they people who've actually lived here, or are they just repeating what they've heard? it's such a cliche that it rains all the time in Seattle, it's become running joke here for locals encourage out-of-towners to believe it, so they won't move here!

I moved to Seattle from Santa Barbara--not exactly a bad place to live. You couldn't pay me to leave now. The clean air, the scenery, the weather, the culture, the attitudes, the mountains, the water...there's a lot to love.

You can find a lot of information on moving here on the /r/Seattle Sub-Reddit at http://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/wiki/index

I was reading the above post and had to laugh re the part about cultural diversity.

I grew up in the Midwest. Chicago, southern Illinois, St. Louis,,, then the military brought me out to the Seattle area in the mid 80's.

When we say cultural diversity in the Seattle area, we don't mean black/white.

We have neighborhoods, but we don't have "projects". When we say cultural diversity, we mean black, white, asian, pacific islanders, native American Indians, etc. We pretty much run the gammot and don't tolerate racism like I witnessed and experienced in the Midwest. Blue state. rather liberal. We believe gays have the right to be as miserable as hetero's when it comes to marriage :D. We just legalized marijuana.

Weather

In the winter,, high 30's low 40's. cloudy, rainy, maybe 2 snowfalls, max a couple of inches and will bring the city to it's knees for a couple of days.

Summer,,, sunshine, A/C comes on in the car when the temp reaches 65. Normally in the high 70's. 3 -5 days a year temp might get into the 90's.

Too hot? Too Cold? An hour drive west, you're at the ocean. An hour drive east, you're skiing in the mountains.

Cost of Living?

all relative. No State income tax. High sales tax (9%). Gas about 4$ a gallon. Average house 3bedroom 2 bath 2400 sq ft $250 - $300K

I live on the "Eastside" in Issaquah. We've been here 17 years and I absolutely love it. It's expensive and the traffic sucks, but I can't imagine living anywhere else. The schools are great and the scenery is incredible. The salmon have started running and the town is gearing up for our huge Salmon Days festival next weekend.

I'm originally a California girl, so the weather does get to me at times. I'm usually okay in the fall and through the holidays, but January and February are really depressing. I wish I had the time and money to cruise somewhere tropical that time of year. I have acclimated to the cooler weather and will wear shorts if it's over 60 and think it's too hot if it hits 80. I own a good rain jacket and don't let the weather stop me from doing things.

I'm not fond of Tukwila. If I had to live down that way, I'd look more at Maple Valley, maybe Covington, but I like smaller towns with more open spaces rather than bigger cities.

I am born, raised and have lived most of my life in Seattle. I have also traveled extensively throughout all the states in the U.S. Some thoughts for you:

1. Gray skies - there can be times during the winter when you will not see any sun for two months, just gray skies and some rain. Clouds hang low in the treetops. There are some who get really depressed.

2. Neighborhoods are a big deal in Seattle. If you are looking at neighborhoods you will want to look at school districts, because school districts have a big impact on home values and resale. If you are looking at apartments, visit a potential neighborhood during the week, during the evening, and on weekends. You will know if you will feel safe and if you will fit in with the local residents. Walk the streets. Get to know the local parks and grocery stores.

3. Seattle is very diverse and multi-ethnic. Downtown Seattle is also eclectic and somewhat liberal. If this is outside your comfort zone, consider living elsewhere. Seattle is in King County and King County tends to be on the leading edge when it comes to local politics and issues.

4. Our mass transit exists, but is not the best. We are working on it. It is slowly getting better.

5. We deal with traffic, lots of it. It is not good. As our economy has improved in the past couple of years, the traffic has gotten even worse. If you are visiting our area and considering relocation, drive your chosen route to work during a rush hour or two to get the feel of your daily commute.

6. Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. We have incredible natural beauty. We enjoy being outdoors doing all kinds of activities. We have superb boating with Puget Sound and numerous lakes. There are endless opportunities for exploring.

7. Taxes - our real estate property taxes can be high. Our sales tax is one of the highest in the country. We don't tax food, but do tax almost everything else, including many services. We fund our schools out of our property taxes. We raise our gas taxes when $$ are needed and the legislators can't find other ways to get extra dollars. You will most likely spend more dollars for license tabs, wine, beer and liquor, and other permits and fees because, while we don't have a state income tax, we do have to get the tax dollars from somewhere. Our medical costs tend to be high. Insurance costs for medical professionals tend to be higher here and those costs get passed along to us. Our groceries can also be higher because of the trucking costs to get food to the NW corner of the country. Cost of living comparisons can be difficult. In my travels around the country I have lived for weeks and months in various towns and cities, so my somewhat subject analysis is that Seattle has a comparatively higher cost of living.

This is a bit long-winded, but I hope it is useful information re relocation.

(Also, we have some great Alaska cruises that depart from Seattle!)

I've lived near Seattle for about 18 years now, and I quite like it here. As others have said, I would recommend looking to the South for housing (I'm looking to buy soon, and I'm thinking that the Sumner area seems like the most likely place for me to end up.) A few things I'd say:

-I currently live in Bellevue, which I quite like, but houses are very expensive around here. Much of the Eastside (Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue/Issaquah) is the same way.

-I wouldn't recommend living in Seattle itself. Everything is horrendously crowded, the politicians are idiots, and if I didn't work in Seattle I'd probably just stay away from the place. In fact, quite a few people I know have opted to get away from King County entirely when looking for houses to buy.

-For the most part Summers are actually pretty nice around here (it gets fairly warm, but not too hot.) It's the other 9 months that are the problem. That said, even though there is generally plenty of rain during Fall and Winter, we rarely get much snow in the lowlands (the mountains, on the other hand, get plenty.)

-As noted, there is no income tax in Washington, but sales tax can be close to 10% in some areas (but most groceries are not taxed.) Hard liquor is taxed at a rate of 20.5% plus $3.77 per liter. Gas taxes are also quite high.

- If you're a fan of the outdoors you won't be disappointed with Washington. There's plenty of good hiking, skiing, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities to be had. A lot of people who live here also own boats, and there is no shortage of places to use one here.

Seattle gets less annual rainfall than Kansas City, except ours falls in the winter and KC's more in the summer. There are a lot of gray days between October and May, but also quite a lot of sunny ones. You're farther north than KC, so the winter days are a bit shorter and the summer ones a bit longer.

Housing is expensive throughout the region; however utilities tend to be much less - cheap hydroelectric energy, no need for air conditioning, warmer in the winter. Unlike Missouri there's no state income tax; sales tax is around 1% higher in Seattle than in KC. No twisters but we do have the odd active volcano and the occasional earthquake. Our football team is better, our baseball team not...quite...as good.

As for where to settle, a lot really depends on your budget and preferences. It's a trafficky region, but not as bad as some (locals who complain the loudest usually have never lived in LA or the metropolitan east.) You might consider making your relocation a two-step process - rent someplace for a few months, and spend some time looking at different neighborhoods, what it's like to commute, etc. - then make a more "permanent" move when you have more local knowledge.

the way to get around the cold and the grey is to go skiing...60-90 minutes, and you are in the snow skiing people go after work... and you only have to drive for 5-10 miles in snow.

it drizzles more than rain..but then a few big storms come in.. but the summer and fall are beautiful.

there is great camping, hiking, boating...or anything else you might want to do. there is lots of farming too. so lots of fresh food.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I really pushed for Seattle but we ended up choosing WI to be close to family. Everywhere is expensive ;-)