Moving to Seattle

[OrcasC180]

I'll be moving to Seattle within the next month. Need help/advice with the following:

- Which is a good phone service (wireless) for the area

AT&T Wireless (now Cingular) has great coverage in the area. AT&T Wireless is/was headquartered in Redmond, so I guess they take care of their own.

- Any good airports to fly out of (Cessna/Pipers) near Seattle

Boeing Field has about anything you would want to rent, but is very expensive. If you're living way south, Spanaflight at Pierce County (Thun Field) in Puyallup is probably a good bet. There's also Crest Airpark in Kent and Auburn Municipal between the two, but I don't know what is for rent there. If you're north of Seattle, Paine Field in Everett has several options (Regal Air seems to have a good rep) and Pro-Aire at Arlington is good if you prefer an uncontrolled field.

- Any suggestions on living accomodations (preferably near KSEA)

It all depends on what you're looking for (and what your family situation is). There are a lot of older suburban neighborhoods along the sound between Seattle and Tacoma (e.g. Des Moines). There are newer homes along the valley between Renton and Puyallup (e.g. Kent and Auburn). The closer you are to Seattle the more you'll pay. If you're single, I think the Georgetown neighborhood (just north of Boeing Field) is starting to clean up quite a bit and has the potential to become a trendy LoDo type of place. The Eastside and Northend are nice, but are expensive and a much longer commute to SeaTac due to all the traffic issues already brought up.

- Any other tips/suggestions

You'll hear people say it rains all the time and others say we get less rain than NYC or anyplace in the south. Both are true. It rarely really rains in Seattle. It is more of a constant mist (October-April) that never amounts to a large number of inches of rainfall, but keeps everything moist and green. If you let that keep you inside, you'll hate the area. If you just accept it and dress appropriately, there is no limit to the outdoor fun you can enjoy here.

Just my $0.02 as someone who use to live in Seattle (UW in the 80s and working in the 90s) and still lives in Western Washington.

-DJ

 

[NRHPilot]

SEA area schools ranked in the top 100

#24 | Interlake* | Bellevue | Wash. | 4.018 | 31

#32 | Newport | Bellevue | Wash. | 3.809 | 6

#41 | Bellevue | Bellevue | Wash. | 3.551 | 6

Interlake as #24, what? That place sucks. Stay away. I grew up less than a block from there and that school is horrible. Lots of drugs in there. Bellevue and Newport are much better schools. Good thing I moved east of Bellevue about 10 miles before getting into that mess.

 

[321 busdriver]

You know, I wasn't going to respond to your original babble but couldn't resist after your second post. I think that if you're that miserable in Seattle, you're the kind of person that will be just as miserable anywhere you live. I bet you wake up pissed in the morning and carry that around with you most of the day. Sort of a glass half empty kind of guy. If you don't like what you see in the morning, maybe it's you that needs to change more than your surroundings. Belive me when I say that there will be no tears when you finally depart for "greener pastures". There are alot of us doing crazy commutes and there are places like North Bend, La Conner, even Bellingham that would cost you an hour and a half of your life each way for housing much less than $600 grande. Now, that gentleman who is moving there is obviously excited about it and it would seem that rather than put your grey cloud of doom over the city, you might try to either point out what's good or just restrain yourself. There is no perfect place out there but SEA is certainly better than most. So, go grab yourself a raincoat,a good latte, maybe go fishing and try to put a smile on your face. It's out there. You just have to look a little harder than most of us.

There's always some guy, like othello, who thinks that the exception proves the rule. Of course the dirty little secret of those rankings is that they don't include any private schools in their rankings. But, even if one considered Bellevue schools above average, the last time I went house hunting in Bellevue, the cheapest house I found was over $600K...and that was seven years ago!!!!
And you'd still have to commute across I-405 which is a virtual parking lot twice a day.

If you want your kids to grow up indocrinated in hating America, send 'em to Utopia...I mean Seattle.

 

[Spooky 1]

Amazing discussion

How is that we all can disagree so much on a fairly simple subject and let it turn in to such a low level debate with all of these personal attcks when discussing the merits of one city?

Doesn't say much for the inhabitents I am afraid.

 

[ghostrider64]

Well I moved here 15 years ago...Tacoma (Browns Point)...West Seattle...Downtown and now on Beacon Hill...I'm refered to as homie in da hood....But guess what...It's the best and least expensive area in town...But it's being discovered quickly....Takes 10Minutes max to BFI 20 max to SEA....I can walk to both Stadiums in 20 minutes or I can drive, park and walk again in 20 minutes

There are a few alternative school choices in the public system which are wonderful...The bad news is you can't get in them...always full...My kid is in a private school that costs way more than I can afford...

I always rented at Galvins...good equip and good maint...Pay more but so what..If the engine quits on a piece of crap you got cheap you'll wish you paid more...

Don't know what your looking for, or your lifestyle but if you have $1000 bucks for rent GO DOWNTOWN...it is the only way to go...Too much fun to be had...free bus service...everything is walking distance...

BTW I've been wanting to leave here every year but for some reason I don't go when the opportunity arises...Guess that says something about Seattle

Welcome

 

[gt1900]

Fox2....I didn't agree with a thing you said. The hilltop isn't the murder capt. of western wa like you think. Its been cleaned up, which the last time I looked, is the oposite of deteriorating. But hey, I could be wrong. If you don't like it, move, and don't let the door hit you on the arse on your way out.

 

[FL510GV]

Well, I live in the Seattle/Tacoma area.... so, If you're from California, it rains all the time, it rains all the time, it rains all the time and real Washintonians don't like you because you drove housing up so high we all moved out of Seattle. Now Seattle decides all the state elections, even though the rest of the entire state votes on the "other" side of all the issues. Did I mention it rains all the time?

 

[LAZYB]

Emmett, is that you, speak to me...

Well, I live in the Seattle/Tacoma area.... so, If you're from California, it rains all the time, it rains all the time, it rains all the time and real Washintonians don't like you because you drove housing up so high we all moved out of Seattle. Now Seattle decides all the state elections, even though the rest of the entire state votes on the "other" side of all the issues. Did I mention it rains all the time?

Watson's Lesser Seattle campaign—slogan: "Keep the bastards out"...
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0503/050119_news_mossback.php

[font=VERDANA,ARIAL,GENEVA]A local curmudgeonly columnist named Emmett Watson was the champion and founder of something called "The Lesser Seattle Movement". Their only action, besides old Emmett's published rants, was to print up bumper stickers proclaiming "Seattle's rainy season - September to July." [/font]

http://www.seattlesucks.com/halloffame.php

 

[TR4A]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002357581_mcdermott05m.html

McDermott makes list of author's 100 worst Americans

Almost as bad for the United States as McDermott is the city of Seattle, which is described as "ground zero for overpriced coffee," home of more "progressive loonies than anyplace else on the Left Coast."

"100 People" is the latest in a trilogy by Bernard Goldberg, an Emmy-winning former CBS News correspondent, who hit the jackpot in 2001 with "Bias," a book on the alleged liberal leanings of the media. His follow-up was "Arrogance," again decrying liberals. The books became bestsellers after they were widely touted by conservative think tanks, blogs and talk-radio folks.

 

[100-1/2]

GV,

Yes, it rains MOST of the time. Also has the highest suicide rate in the nation. Has something to do with the californication affect of southern DIScomfort. Ah, exactly, what is wrong with a few less californians roaming the surface of the earth anyway?

I cannot believe of all the Seattle-ites "in the know", no one has mentioned living in Bremerton and commuting by ferry. Once you get away from the hustle and bustle of the yuppie crowd densely packed on the shores, property values are nice and you deal in whole acres rather than fractions and you have access to one of the larger GA airports (PWT) with reasonable prices and equipment. Cost of living is much lower and if you are of the outdoorsie type, Olympic Nat'l For. is just an hour or two away with great hiking and camping. Otherwise, Snohomish, Aurora State, Puyallup or Olympia are all great areas and decreasing costs respectively and have local facilities beyond BFI and RNT limitations. If you are not tied to SEA, Arlington is out in the northern country with plenty of competing Schools and local accomodations with much lower costs of living.

As for Tacoma. Somebody had a bad experience and knows little of what they speak. Dude, probably got the local welcoming committee while visiting the Tacoma Mall in his fine Pilot duds and cap! Around there, you are dead meat afterdark in anything other than Fubu and Sonics' Getup. If you can get over yourself, the worst thing about Tacoma and the 'Aroma' is the traffic. sucks 24/7 but it seems to move better and faster from 8pm to 6am. Unless 50Cent is at the Dome, then the cops saturate the area with their absence. Wrecks on I-5 Clear themselves after a matter of hours waiting for five-O to show-up to do a police report. Something about getting out of their cars and being an easier target for the doped-up driveby9. "exchange info and tell us where to mail the forms".

All things considered, nightlife is the best, the closer to downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, Issiquah, Queen Anne and yes even Tacoma. No dry counties here and I don't remember ever hearing a "last Call". Maybe once in Queen Anne, Udubbies can hardly hold their liquor and common sense at the same time, something usually lets go and uniforms have to come in and shut it all down.

Cheers. FWIW, the further north from SEA you live, the more sunshine you will see annually. Then you talk about nightlife, Canadians know haw to party and they like the green backs!

100-1/2