Anyone living near Seattle?

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

We just moved to the East side of the Seattle area. I have no idea what winters are like and so I don't exactly know how to prepare. Our winters were generally 40's and 50's starting in November or so. I have no idea what to expect. I was hoping for some help. I've heard that it's not very snowy and that's about all I know so far.

aglenn · September 2014

I'm an Eastsider too! Snow is about as frequent as it was when I lived in Charlotte, NC, honestly. There will typically be a couple of really cold weeks (kind of the flip side of the couple-week stints of really hot summer weather) but most of the time it's basically 40s and 50s. However, there is that constant drizzle and that makes it feel really chilly to me. Something about the dampness in the air. Get a wool blend coat with a hood and you are good to go.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

This is all good stuff to know! I can handle that sort of weather. My previous experience with weather was just north of Philly which was fairly mild (though they could get lots of snow sometimes) and Canada which used to get lots of snow.

Thanks for the help! This move hasn't been the smoothest. I am hoping that we can transition into the cooler weather better.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

I'm over on the peninsula, so more west Seattle. However, I can say that winters here are hoodie and rainboot weather. It sometimes gets below 30, but rarely. It's mostly just gray and rainy with a bit of a chill. We got 1 day of snow last year and it was pathetic. Usually it's about 1-3 days of light snow. Look forward to school closures the second there's any more than 1/4".

bumpuser5125333 · September 2014

Winters aren't too bad. You won't need snow gear unless you want to go to the mountains. Lots of dark cloudy days though.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

Amazingly enough, I feel happier with rainy weather.

Oh and I've been told that Halloween costumes need to be warmer. Or they should be bundled up.

bumpuser5125333 · September 2014

MoonlitPlumeria said:
Amazingly
enough, I feel happier with rainy weather.

Oh and I've been told that Halloween costumes need to be warmer. Or they should be bundled up.

Yeah it can get pretty cold at night and rains most years on Halloween.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

I'm calling shenanigans on north of Philly being mild. I lived north of Philly for 3 years. The weather there was horrible! Sooooo hot and humid during the summer, and soooooooo cold and snowy during the winter. My poor Seattle skin was just not used to that sort of weather. Not at all. I'll take drizzly, grey, and in the 50's for 9 months out of the year over that.

Stargirlb · September 2014

Vancouver, BC. You should build your igloo in late october because come november the winter chills will just be too cold for toiling.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

We only really had maybe 2 really bad storms North of Philly. And only one that we couldn't drive in. But maybe it's because I'd lived in Canada lol. Over in Ontario.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

MoonlitPlumeria said:

We only really had maybe 2 really bad storms North of Philly. And only one that we couldn't drive in. But maybe it's because I'd lived in Canada lol. Over in Ontario.

LOL that would explain it. Then Seattle is almost like year round tank top weather for you then.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

Ha! No one wants to see that. And after years of Louisiana weather, I'm out of practice lol.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

Well, crap! Anyways, you'll love it here. Seattle is amazeballs.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

So far, we've loved it! For awhile there, it felt like everything was going wrong, but things have started to go well lately! And the bad stuff was all stemming from the stupid Texas moving company.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

EatsRitz said:

nanaosaki06 said:

I'm calling shenanigans on north of Philly being mild. I lived north of Philly for 3 years. The weather there was horrible! Sooooo hot and humid during the summer, and soooooooo cold and snowy during the winter. My poor Seattle skin was just not used to that sort of weather. Not at all. I'll take drizzly, grey, and in the 50's for 9 months out of the year over that.

I moved from the peninsula to central WA a year ago, and I agree SO MUCH with the bolded. Seasons are overrated. I miss the rain.

Ugh, Central Washington. Driving through there just gives me the case of the boreds. I'm sorry.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

This thread makes me so happy.
H and I have been talking about moving to WA next year. We need to get out of North Dakota, like yesterday, and we both love Seattle.

Does anyone mind telling me what they think of Tacoma? Or should we look into areas closer to Seattle?

(also sorry to thread jack)

bumpuser5125333 · September 2014

4PrivetDrive said:
This thread makes me so happy.
H and I have been talking about moving to WA next year. We need to get out of North Dakota, like yesterday, and we both love Seattle.

Does anyone mind telling me what they think of Tacoma? Or should we look into areas closer to Seattle?

(also sorry to thread jack)

Tacoma is the literal worst. Anywhere other than Tacoma you'll be okay.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

Unless you want to get shot at by gangsters don't move to Tacoma. There's a reason COL is "lower" there. You could always try where I live in Kitsap County. Still easy enough to work downtown Seattle, just take a ferry back and forth. The COL is pretty reasonable out here than over in the greater Seattle burbs.

bumpuser5125333 · September 2014

I live about 30 minutes north of Seattle. The COL is much lower, but I am not afraid to walk out to my car. Tacoma also smells horrible.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

The aroma of Tacoma.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

That's crazy! Everything I had read about Tacoma said that it used to have a bad reputation but that it had improved! Thank you! That is so good to know! That definitely explains he low COL I've been seeing.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

Yeah, Tacoma is crap. They are trying to go through a renaissance downtown. There are pcokets that are nice, but it's pockets. My aunt used to live in the middle of it all in the Hilltop area. Their house got shot at 3 times, 4 houses were crack dens, and gangs would congregate outside their house on the side walk. This was during the beginning of all of this, but little has changed.

Similar COL would be around where I live. Though I would caution against Bremerton unless it's closer to Silverdale (aka East Bremerton), Port Orchard, and Belfair. South Kitsap, Mason, and Bremerton school districts aren't very good. It's also either meth lab city or the "bad part" of town.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

:x you are all awesome. I really appreciate the advice!

nanabanana06 · September 2014

I'll give you points for the wine. However, it's snoozeville over there. It's all flat and windy. It's farmer territory.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

gwinny said:

I'll give you points for the wine. However, it's snoozeville over there. It's all flat and windy. It's farmer territory.
Yeah but, no commute. And there's some mountains, sweet orchards & farms, MOREL SEASON.

Ok, but I live in the burbs. If I run out of milk it's a 5 minute trip to the store. If I need a new pair of jeans Old Navy is 1 mile away. Nobody that I know has to commute much more than a few minutes, but thats cuz all my friends are Navy lol.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

It is very pretty. I'll give you that. My grandpa used to live in Idaho. I grew up making the drive across the state multiple times a year. My favorite was always the wild horse sculpture across the bridge near The Gorge.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

gwinny said:
I actually have friends & family that love Tacoma. From what I hear it's on the upswing. Also Gig Harbor is in that area - people seem to love it.

H found a house while looking online in Gig Harbor that he loved. Obviously it won't be for sale when we move, but it made him curious about the area.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

4PrivetDrive said:

I actually have friends & family that love Tacoma. From what I hear it's on the upswing. Also Gig Harbor is in that area - people seem to love it.
H found a house while looking online in Gig Harbor that he loved. Obviously it won't be for sale when we move, but it made him curious about the area.

Gig Harbor is snooty, but nice.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

The COL where we live is higher than we're used to, but cheaper than where we originally looked in Bellevue.

[Deleted User] · September 2014

I really love my state!

Unknown · September 2014

This content has been removed.

[Deleted User] · September 2014

bay511 said:

STAHP MAKING ME WANT TO MOVE TOMORROW. I swear, at least three times a week I declare that I'm selling all of our shit and driving to Seattle.

I missed you!!! I feel like we haven't talked in forever. Yes, you should sell everything and move here. NOW!! You have to be here in time for our haunted corn maze.

[Deleted User] · September 2014

gwinny said:

I actually have friends & family that love Tacoma. From what I hear it's on the upswing. Also Gig Harbor is in that area - people seem to love it.

Tacoma has gotten pretty nice and the city has plans to clean up a lot of the neighborhoods. I love Seattle but if we were to ever live in the city again we would probably move to Tacoma.

Monkeybabe · September 2014

gwinny said:

We really, REALLY need a PNW gtg.

If this happens, I really need to be invited. I think I'm the last Portland reg. There was another manateearmz? but I haven't seen her in a while.

elsa1688 · September 2014

I love seattle. All of washington really.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

guiltypleasures said:

gwinny said:

I actually have friends & family that love Tacoma. From what I hear it's on the upswing. Also Gig Harbor is in that area - people seem to love it.

Tacoma has gotten pretty nice and the city has plans to clean up a lot of the neighborhoods. I love Seattle but if we were to ever live in the city again we would probably move to Tacoma.

I hope it's true. I really like what I've read about Tacoma.

MoonlitPlumeria · September 2014

EatsRitz said:

MoonlitPlumeria said:

The COL where we live is higher than we're used to, but cheaper than where we originally looked in Bellevue.

Bellevue is ridiculously expensive. But it also has some of the best schools in the nation, so there's that.

That's true. We also looked into Redmond. We're just renting now, but we're hoping to buy somewhere in the near future.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

I think almost everywhere near Seattle is always pretty competitive for houses. That's the reason my parents first bought a house in Everett even though they worked downtown and when we moved back we bought a house in Port Orchard since you could get 3 acres and a 2000 sq ft house for 150k (back then). Sure they commuted a lot since it was all ferry commuting, but doable. It's still pretty similar. We were looking at a short sale not too long ago as an upgrade. 3600 sq ft for 320k in a good area in a nice development. Thats a steal for most of WA.

4PrivetDrive · September 2014

WhineCellar said:
The market has cooled a bit but I think it's smart to rent first so you can check out your options with a little less pressure.

We are also debating if we should rent first. It might be easier than trying to hurriedly find a house we like during a visit before we move.

Any realty companies in the area that you would recommend or stay away from?

aglenn · September 2014

I definitely recommend renting first. We rented for a few years and lived in 3 different neighborhoods before we bought and I was so glad we did. We ended up somewhere totally different from where we initially thought we wanted to be.

nanabanana06 · September 2014

Yeah, I get what you mean! There are many area's currently really up and coming though. Places like Spanaway and Puyallup have grown immensely since my Aunt bought their house in 97. Now it's housing development central. Great place to live though. While places near me are growing. Granted, it's mostly due to the fact that Bremerton is shooting themselves in the foot taxwise. So everyone is building near Silverdale and Poulsbo. The navy doesn't help with that either.

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