Any Seattle folks?

rainydayluck · March 2014

I have a offer letter coming from a company I interviewed with for a job in Seattle, WA.
I have been twice and it happened to be beautiful weather and really liked the city.
I'm concerned about the cost of living (moving from the Midwest) and I guess I will see what their salary offer is and if it will be a cut.

If you live(d) there, do you like it? Is it good for families? Where are the good areas to live? How is the cost of child care? TIA!

rt4life · March 2014

I live in Tacoma. Just be prepared for rain rain and more rain. The summers are amazing. But it rains SO MUCH.

daizijayne · March 2014

I do! First of all, congrats on the offer! As pp said, it is often very gray here. But the rain is mostly a drizzle, not a constant downpour or anything like that. Our summers are beautiful. And all that rain is what makes it so green here!

The cost of living is high, but after spending seven years in the SF Bay Area, it seems downright affordable to me. We were even able to buy a wonderful house in Seattle--that wouldn't have happened for us in the Bay Area. For us, it is worthwhile to live here.

DH and I love living here, but we are WA natives, so we are probably biased.

I keep reading that there are not many children here relative to other cities, but I just don't see it. Maybe it depends on your neighborhood? Our neighborhood is full of families and there is always something to do. There are plenty of good areas to live. If you wish to live in Seattle proper, my favorite neighborhoods are Queen Anne, Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Greenlake, Wedgwood, almost anything north of downtown. If you would be working on the Eastside or would prefer something a bit more suburban, Bellevue, Issaquah and Kirkland are all very popular.

Childcare varies a lot by location as well. Our neighborhood is almost exclusively centers or nannies, as opposed to in-home childcare. Prices at the centers range from $1500 to $2000 per month for an infant, on average. I hear nannies cost in the ballpark of $15/hr. Waitlists for infants and small children can be as long as one to two years at the centers. To be honest, the lack of available childcare is what led me, in part, to decide to SAH when we moved here in mid 2012.

Sorry if I rambled. I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have. Good luck in your decision!

SunnySky06 · March 2014

We just moved to the area a month ago, tacoma/jblm area, from Oklahoma. I'm originally from the south and absolutely love it here. It does rain a lot but the days when it doesn't rain have been beautiful.

The housing prices are more expensive than where we have lived previously but from what I've seen and heard, the wages are much higher. I haven't noticed groceries or anything like that to be more expensive either, but gas is of course.

I don't have much info on Seattle since we live 45 miles south but I wanted to weigh in since we just moved here and from the Midwest(ok is considered Midwest, right?)

lauralou3x3 · March 2014

I just moved from Kansas to Olympia last May. I love it here so far! Yes it rains but you don't have the extreme heat, snow, wind etc like you do in the Midwest!

Will you be living directly in Seattle or a neighboring city? I live about 45 mins away. I know cost of living actually in Seattle is higher but on the cities PPs and I have mentioned it does run a little higher but not much more than where I was in Kansas. I don't know anything about the child care tho.

lauralou3x3 · March 2014

@SunnySky06‌ and @rt4life‌ we are neighbors! My husband works on base

rainydayluck · March 2014

Well the office I'd be in would be Bellvue, but since I'd be a consultant, I'd be driving a bit. DH's office would be in Tukwila.
Thanks for all the info! I appreciate it.

SunnySky06 · March 2014

@lauralou3x3‌ yay for neighbors! I love Olympia! We've gone there a lot over the last month. We live on post, it was too convenient for DH to turn down. I know it's creepy, I don't post often at all, but I'm desperate for friends so if you ever feel like grabbing coffee or something shoot me a PM.

OP Bellevue is great, but it is pretty pricey there! DH's grandmother lives there so I've been there a few times. There are tons of options so I think you would be able to find something in between.

lauralou3x3 · March 2014

rainydayluck said:
Well the office I'd be in would be Bellvue, but since I'd be a consultant, I'd be driving a bit. DH's office would be in Tukwila.
Thanks for all the info! I appreciate it.

I hope the best for you! It's a great area and I'm sure you'll love it

Lizmullen · March 2014

I have been here for a year from the Midwest also. I would say the cost of living is much higher but the company I transferred with did offer a nice cost of living increase so I would hope most companies do the same.
The weather now was a shock for me. It is very beautiful but you have to just continue on with your life even if it is raining. Walking dogs in the rain constantly was an adjustment. Invest in a nice rain jacket and ALWAYS have it handy.
I miss the Midwest mentality also. A lot of people here are how I like to put 'independent' not necessarily mean but not totally open!
We are military. I'm in Puyallup. It was as close to Midwest as we could find after almost moving to federal way!

lauralou3x3 · March 2014

@Lizmullen‌ I agree with you that people here are different. When I first moved here I was so shocked at how many people would bump into me at the store and glare at me. I'm used to an "excuse me". Or a nice wave when someone lets you over when driving. But I've noticed many people here don't follow those "rules".

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