Moving to Seattle

[shon7]

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
- Any good airports to fly out of (Cessna/Pipers) near Seattle
- Any suggestions on living accomodations (preferably near KSEA)
- Any other tips/suggestions

 

[bestpilot]

Seattle's Best....Good Kharma, Duuude

 

[Okaythen]

1) Verizon is probably best
2) There are several but BFI is the largest and most central with RNT being a close second I would say. BFI rental rates are probably higher, but I don't know for sure.
3) South of Seattle (closer to the airports) is not considered the nicest area, but there are exceptions. I would check out West Seattle and maybe Renton.
4) Cost of living is high, unless you're moving from CA and then maybe it will seem reasonable.

 

[Hansoma]

Umm... you're not going to be commuting to LAS or PHX are you?

 

[HAL]

Umm... you're not going to be commuting to LAS or PHX are you?

NO! NO! Not my precious jumpseat!!

1) All the major wireless companies work well in the Seattle metro area. I guess it all depends on what other bennies you're looking for.

2) BFI is good, but expensive. RNT is quieter and lower cost. If you're south of town Auburn or Pierce County (in Puyallup) are good options. North is Paine Field, if you don't mind occupying the pattern with a 747 or 777 now and then.

3) No matter where you are, bring lots of $$$. It's getting expensive around here. Hansoma jumped over the Cascades because of that! Apartments are probably cheaper very close to Sea-Tac, but you'll have to put up with all that noise.

4) Be relaxed. There's no easier way to identify a newbie in the Puget Sound area than someone with an attitude. MBA, Stoner, Preppie, Yuppie, or Hippie, it doesn't matter. Just don't get too stressed about anything. Enjoy our little slice of heaven!

HAL

 

[E-handle]

Bring a picture of the SUN, so you can remember what it looks like!

 

[321 busdriver]

Having grown up in SEA and having been on the east coast for the better part of 20 years, all I can say is you're going to love it. Laid back city, tons to do, great place to raise a family if you're into that. Like the AWA guy said, don't come with attitude, don't drop so much as a butt on the sidewalk downtown ( so clean you can eat off them and as likely as not someone will bust on you), cross the sidewalk on a red light and you're likely to get a ticket (no one is in a big rush here). Grab a Pantagonia jacket and head out. Good luck.

 

[Fox2]

shone 7:

321 busdriver hasn't experienced the changes to Seattle in the last ten or so years. 15-20 years ago, I would agrree with 321 busdriver. I now call this place "West New york." The streets are in fact some of the dirtiest of any major city in the U.S. The people are generally quite rude, and as HAL said it is very expensive, especially for what you get here. ($300k for a 2br/ 1.5ba postage stamp). If you want more house or yard, you have to put up with some of the worse traffic in the U.S., mostly because the greenies here won't build roads or mass transit.

Much of the neuvo riche have moved from the Bay Area to Seattle and have driven the prices of homes through the overhead. They have far left leaning attitudes that are reflected in the insane politics of the area. It is also the most anti-male state in the Union when it comes to divorce, child custody, etc.
Ask some of your divorced pilot bretheren.

Finally, the school system here is mediocre at best. Plan on spending some serious cash for a private school if you want your kids to learn more than it's o.k. to have two mommies.

Just my two cents, but I've lived here long enough to see the continued Californication of Seattle.

 

[321 busdriver]

I'm there once a week. I couldn't disagree more. If you really feel that way, why stay? I've lived in a number of large metropoliton areas, and overnighted in most of the rest and without question, Seattle is one of, if not the nicest big city in the country.

 

[Spooky 1]

Seattle

shone 7:

321 busdriver hasn't experienced the changes to Seattle in the last ten or so years. 15-20 years ago, I would agrree with 321 busdriver. I now call this place "West New york." The streets are in fact some of the dirtiest of any major city in the U.S. The people are generally quite rude, and as HAL said it is very expensive, especially for what you get here. ($300k for a 2br/ 1.5ba postage stamp). If you want more house or yard, you have to put up with some of the worse traffic in the U.S., mostly because the greenies here won't build roads or mass transit.

Much of the neuvo riche have moved from the Bay Area to Seattle and have driven the prices of homes through the overhead. They have far left leaning attitudes that are reflected in the insane politics of the area. It is also the most anti-male state in the Union when it comes to divorce, child custody, etc.
Ask some of your divorced pilot bretheren.

Finally, the school system here is mediocre at best. Plan on spending some serious cash for a private school if you want your kids to learn more than it's o.k. to have two mommies.

Just my two cents, but I've lived here long enough to see the continued Californication of Seattle.

The Bus Driver must be staying somewhere else besides the Seattle that I live in. The place is a pig pen with homeless, druggies, every sort of tattooed freak and low life on the streets at any any one time. This problem is not about alternative life styles, but rather poor goverment and a social order that is really out of control. I live within ten blocks of downtown on the northside, which is a lot better than the ten blocks on the south side of town where getting knifed, or robbed is a nightly event. Don't go there if you can avaoid it.

I am not sure what happened to this city, but I feel sorry for the folks like Bus Driver who obviously have fond memories of the past. There are movements to clean up the city and build new afordable housing and develope areas for light industry/research, but these are frequently stimied by various special interests while the rest of the decay slowly creeps further out.

Yes I am working on leaving the area, but my kob requires a certain response time and this is where I have settled in for the moment at least. There was a time early in my career that Seattle was on the very tip top of my list of places to live. Somehow when I got here, things had changed dramtically, or I just got a little less understanding in my old age. The geographical features are truly breathtaking, but even things like Lake Union look pretty much like a boating slum when you look hard at the details. Probably a candidate for an EPA Superfund, if there ever was one.

 

[psysicx]

Stay away from Tacoma.

 

[FlyWithSean]

Congratulations on your 909th useless post psysicx!

I am suprised you didn't ask about pay and quality of life.

 

[Flywithmike]

Psysicx, I was wondering what the pay and quality of life in Tacoma is.

 

[LAZYB]

It is also the most anti-male state in the Union when it comes to divorce, child custody, etc.
Ask some of your divorced pilot bretheren.

Californication of Seattle.

I lived in the Seattle "area" for 28 years, and I miss it. Haven't been back as much lately. Keep hearing about the traffic, but since I "live" in SoCal it goes in one ear and...

My brother still "lives" in the area and is going through this 4-5 year child custody, support sh1t. Goes to court at least 2-3 times a year, it seems. Seems like that WA has never heard of, or doesn't care about, vexatious litigation.

 

[psysicx]

At least people talk to me on this board.I have no friends besides flightinfo. Now I'm waiting for Diesel or English to post. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Otterjock]

Stay away from Tacoma.

Hey I live in Tacoma, which is a lot better than Seattle. This week the Tall Ships Festival comes to Tacoma, bypassing that liberal bastion known as Seattle. Remember who's statue is located in Seattle's Fremont district.

For flying rentals, Pierce County Airport (Thun Field) and Tacoma Narrows Airport (Gig Harbor) are cheaper than BFI.

OJ

 

[English]

At least people talk to me on this board.I have no friends besides flightinfo. Now I'm waiting for Diesel or English to post. Thanks for the kind words.

Hi psysicx...you rang?

 

[LAXSaabdude]

Hey I live in Tacoma, which is a lot better than Seattle. This week the Tall Ships Festival comes to Tacoma

Tacoma is great, actually. What you see from I-5 is not the greatest, but once you get into downtown, it is actually pretty nice. Get a little north and west of downtown (Ruston Way, Old Town, Point Defiance Park), and it's absolutely gorgeous.

LAXSaabdude.

 

[shon7]

Thanks for all your replies. Am looking forward to the move and experiences that will come with it. Will post some of these (experiences) once I'm settled in.

 

[SneakyJake]

Don't knock T-town.

 

[Spooky 1]

Wtf

Don't knock T-town.

Sorry, but I don't get it?

 

[WillowRunVortex]

I lived in Gig Harbor (just across the Narrows bridge from Tacoma) from 2000 til 2002. I am from the East so I have no prejudice one way or the other. My experience would fit right in the middle of all the good and bad posted here. I will say that if you are going to be on reserve or a pager, dont get too far from the airport as I-5 turns into a parking lot every morning and every evening (and I mean PARKING LOT). and there are ZERO alternative routes. Unfortunately this will put your living situation in the most undesirable part of the area. Get north of Ballard or south of Federal Way (the 2 arm pits of the city) and it is beautiful. Oh and trade in your flip-flops, wake -board shorts, and sun glasses for Hikers, anything Fleece, and a Canoe rack.

 

[othello]

shone 7:

[Finally, the school system here is mediocre at best. Plan on spending some serious cash for a private school if you want your kids to learn more than it's o.k. to have two mommies.]

Just my two cents, but I've lived here long enough to see the continued Californication of Seattle.

Don't know where you do your fact finding? But the Bellevue school district alone has 3 of the top 50 ranked High shcools in the nation. Ten mins to RNT and only 20 mins to Sea-tac.

 

[Wang Chung]

Don't knock T-town.

I used to work in an Emergency Room in downtown Tacoma so unfortunately I sorta associate the city with puke, blood, urine and feces, overdoses, drunk homeless dudes and assault victims.

The same things that I associate with my apartment on a Saturday night.

But really, Tacoma had some nice areas when I lived in the Puget Sound and I've heard that it has improved in recent years. I'd love to move back to Western Washington, it's still a great place even with the growth and the traffic.

 

[Fox2]

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.

 

[gt1900]

Hate to say this......But Fox is an idiot when it comes to Seattle. Its the most beautiful city in the U.S. in my opinion. The highways suck, but what do we care, we don't have 9-5 jobs anyways. There are parts of Seattle that are extremely clean, and parts that aren't. People don't get shot or stabbed everyday in the south side. (I'm sure he's probably talking about the Pioneer square area). But MLK up by Rainer you might want to stay away from late at night (during the day your fine). There are bumms on the streets in some areas, but aren't there in every major town? If you want to look at the bad, you can find it, but it will be much easier to see the good of Seattle than find the bad. The roads suck, but guess what, it ain't going to change. You have water on the east and west sides of Seattle, so no matter what they do, simple demographics will keep the roads crowded. I sometimes question the politics, but I do enjoy the laid back liberal attitude that many of the people have ( and I am by no means a hard core liberal). In general, the people are friendly. You will be hard pressed to find better restaurants in anyother city. Seattly has some wonderful seafood. BTW..For those that think T-Town is a pit, well, the city has done a ton to fix the problems of the past, and they are doing a great job. The UW Tacoma area is nice as well as Ruston and Old town. The hill top area isn't what is used to be and you can still get housing at a reasonable price. (in 20 years we will probably all wished we would have invested in T-Town since I think that's where the money will start going). Its people like Fox, that probably have a bad attitude about everything, that ruin it for people who can look at the bright side. BTW....Seattle gets less rain than NY or ATL. BTW...Fox, if you would have invested in Microsoft like all those who live in Bellevue, you would be able to easily afford one of those big houses in Bellevue or Redmond! If you thought being an airline pilot was going to pay your way, your sorely mistaken!

 

[Yank McCobb]

Basically, we have a guy who is moving to Seattle (already a done deal, based on his questions), who came here for help with some basic questions about wireless service, areas to look at for a residence, etc...

He got a couple of quick answers, then the thread degenerated into typical flightinfo...people pushing their ideas about politics, their views of the socio-economics of Seattle, and generally anything BUT what the guy asked for.

Typcial.

Hopefully he found somewhere or someone else to help with his questions.

 

[Fox2]

Actually, Shon7 asked for accomodations and other suggestions and comments.

Unbeknown to him, gt1900 just spent an entire paragraph agreeing with the deteriorating conditions of Seattle; the Hill-Top community in Tacoma (the murder capital of Western Washington) the horrible traffic and the pervasive liberal attitude. The only thing we both forgot to mention is the taxes...highest gas tax in the nation, high real estate taxes, high sales tax. True, there is no income tax, but the others more than offset that fact. I have lived in many other states with an income tax and can attest to that.

If gt1900 could just get beyond the ad hominum attacks, he may realize how extraordinarily similar are our views of Seattle.

One last note for shon7. You can indeed find good things in the Seattle area (seafood, outdoor recreation). I just thought you'd like to know that Seattle has another side to it that isn't as pretty as the scenery. Depending on your own personal situation, you can decide if the information is pertinent to you or not. I simply don't believe in the Political Correctness and sensorship that our liberal friends gt1900 and yank McCob ascribe to. If shon7 had wanted all roses he could have just asked for a brochure from the Chamber of Commerce.

Good luck

 

[E-handle]

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
- Any good airports to fly out of (Cessna/Pipers) near Seattle
- Any suggestions on living accomodations (preferably near KSEA)
- Any other tips/suggestions

If what you are saying is to be in General Aviation, then plan to be realy poor. I know. Lived there for 3 years. Many people who had been there in the past told me not to go. I did not listen, and they where right.

Good luck

 

[Yank McCobb]

One last note for shon7. You can indeed find good things in the Seattle area (seafood, outdoor recreation). I just thought you'd like to know that Seattle has another side to it that isn't as pretty as the scenery. Depending on your own personal situation, you can decide if the information is pertinent to you or not. I simply don't believe in the Political Correctness and sensorship that our liberal friends gt1900 and yank McCob ascribe to. If shon7 had wanted all roses he could have just asked for a brochure from the Chamber of Commerce.

Good luck

He wasn't seeking roses. He was seeking infomation about certain things he would require for his MOVE TO SEATTLE. He has a job, he is commited to the move. Pontificating about political correctness, liberals, and the "other side" to Seattle accomplishes WHAT as far as shon7 is concerned? Nothing. It simply is another excuse for you to spew whatever comes from you undersized brain and oversized mouth. You just "thought he'd like to know. Yeah, right. You could care less what he "knows" as long as it is your version of what you think he needs to know.

Get a clue or STFU. Oh, I forgot. This is flightinfo. That's not possible.

BTW, the word is "censorship" with a "c". I guess education isn't your strong point, either.