Seattle

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:19 am

So it looks like I'll be moving to Seattle come summer. I've got a job lined up with a decent income, but being a life-long East Coaster I don't really know the area. Can anyone recommend areas where I can get a 1-bedroom apartment for around $800/mo (utilities need not be included) and get to Interbay relatively easily, by public transit if possible? The 15 and 18 run right past the office, and I'm not afraid of a mixed-mode commute as long as it's not something bizarre like ferry to trolley to bus to other bus...

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:18 am

Sweet, I live in Seattle. For $800 a month you probably won't live downtown, Renton and Bothell may have cheaper rent. The bus system is pretty good, I don't know where Interbay is but you can type in two addresses and find out how to get there here:

http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/cgi-b ... resptype=U

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:46 am

For the record, Interbay is between Queen Anne and Magnolia.

I certainly don't mind not living downtown if it means lower sales tax. I can't believe I paid $7 for lunch at at McDonald's when I was there.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:05 pm

I'd say you are going to be in for some sticker shock here.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:17 pm

Richard Cranium wrote:I'd say you are going to be in for some sticker shock here.

in town?? Oh yeah... hey... maybe you could shackup with Vulcan!

(j/k V.. don't hurt me!!)

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:28 pm

I'm pretty sure Lothar and Drakona live in Seattle, as well.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:43 pm

yup, near there at any rate. There are quite a few of us that live in the NW area and many in the Seattle area.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:56 pm

Well I did a bit of calling around today, and I was indeed a bit low in my estimates.

I did some figuring, though, and I actually save money if I swallow the extra cost and sacrifice the car.

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:12 pm

You should live in Tac, that would be a lot cheaper.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:03 pm

DCrazy wrote:Well I did a bit of calling around today, and I was indeed a bit low in my estimates.

I did some figuring, though, and I actually save money if I swallow the extra cost and sacrifice the car.

Honestly, you can't live in the NW without a car. Too much stuff around here doesn't have good access to public transit or if it has access it will take two ours to get anywhere. My tax dollars at waste!

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:17 pm

Practically speaking, I don't know if I'll need one to start out. I don't have any family or friends in the area, so I have nobody to visit. I've taken the bus to the office from the downtown area before, so I at least know how to get there. I will need to rent a car when I get there so I can do fun things like buy furniture... anyone used ZipCar?

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:17 pm

I don't but my boss does. That would be in Portland Oregon, about 200 miles south of Seattle. So I would imagine that it's there too. ^_^

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:42 pm

Think about dates.

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:43 pm

I lived up near Seattle for a few years. The car commute is absolutely awful though. All traffic is squeezed down through either I-5 or across the 2 floating bridges from the east side and they're doing MAJOR construction on I-5 right now.

You'd probably want to find an apartment somewhere near a bus line, but at your price, it'll be a lot farther away from downtown. South of Seattle should be cheaper. All the ritzy neighborhoods are to the north and to the east in Bellevue and around Lake Washington and Mercer Island. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

You'll also get major weather shock. I live in Oregon and it's bad enough here, but Seattle gets A LOT of RAIN and OVERCAST skies, more than I get in Corvallis, OR. There is a joke saying in Oregon; \"You don't get a tan here, you RUST!\" That being said, the Pacific Northwest has absolutely GORGEOUS scenery and oodles of snow skiing possibilities and that more than makes up for the weather. But I'm biased, being a native.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:34 pm

SilverFJ wrote:Think about dates.

Hm. That's a good point... but I'm a programmer, so maybe not.

tunnelcat wrote:I lived up near Seattle for a few years. The car commute is absolutely awful though. All traffic is squeezed down through either I-5 or across the 2 floating bridges from the east side and they're doing MAJOR construction on I-5 right now.

I noticed that in the cab from the airport... we sat on the 509 for a while.

tunnelcat wrote:You'd probably want to find an apartment somewhere near a bus line, but at your price, it'll be a lot farther away from downtown. South of Seattle should be cheaper.

Well here's the math I'm working with, using two areas where I'm finding the most availability:

Belltown
Rent: $1100/mo

Kent
Rent: $850/mo
Parking: $100/mo
Car Payment: $350/mo
Gas: $100/mo
Total: $1350/mo

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:04 am

Check out Issiquah, my mom lives there.

Drakona · Post by **Drakona** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:03 pm

Foil wrote:I'm pretty sure Lothar and Drakona live in Seattle, as well.

Indeed. Well, technically Tukwilla.

If you were looking in South Seattle, I'd totally recommend the place where we live. It meets most of your parameters and is just generally pretty awesome. Not if you need to work up by Queen Anne, though. Tunnelcat's right: the commute through downtown is NOT FUN. I mean, it took a solid three months of me driving it daily before Lothar suggested we should just up and move.

You're kind of in an expensive neighborhood, though, and all of the neighboring neighborhoods are expensive too. You're boxed in between Ballard and Downtown which are totally expensive, and Fremont is . . . well, it's a special place to be. Last I checked, their local newspaper had declared them the center of the universe. I don't know how pricey it is, but if you've always wanted to live in San Francisco, you could try Fremont.

The only advice I can give you is to look up toward North Seattle. We used to live up around Northgate, and it wasn't too bad -- and you've got a straight shot down 15th or Aurora to work. I wouldn't do South Seattle. It's cheap, but you'll pay for it in the commute -- I suspect you'll quickly draw the same conclusion we did: 90 minutes a day is totally worth $100 a month. "Eat the rent and live in Queen Anne/Downtown" might be a serious option, especially if you're willing to go carless. That might be a good idea anyway--I remember parking in Queen Anne being no fun whatsoever.

On the other hand, the 'get a car' advice is decent. Depends on how your job is set up, but I find that the freedom pays for itself in terms of overtime opportunities. Your mileage may vary. I'd go the cheap used car route myself, but you don't really have to--transit really is good. Just don't go too far north or south to where the systems change. Topher's link is good for checking bus compatibility -- I use that tool a bit.

Also, you should talk to Lothar about neighbornoods. His job requires him to drive all over the city these days, so he knows a lot about traffic and just generally getting from Point A to Point B.

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:32 pm

Drakona wrote:
Foil wrote:I'm pretty sure Lothar and Drakona live in Seattle, as well.
Indeed. Well, technically Tukwilla.

No, actually, Seattle. But we both work in Tukwila, and the line dividing the two is about half a mile away.

The advice is pretty sound. Commuting through downtown from the south is very not fun, and probably not worth the hassle, even on the bus. And you're not going to find cheaper apartments going north until probably past Crown Hill, which puts you possibly riding the notorious 358 bus (hint: if your commute requires you to ride the 1, 7, 174, or 358 at ANY time, find a different way to go.)

A quick search on apartments.com gave me a place called Oakwood that has tiny studios available for just under $900, but it's within just a few blocks of Interbay and within walking distance of Seattle Center. Seems like that's about the going rate at the low end in that area.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:21 am

Drakona wrote:The only advice I can give you is to look up toward North Seattle. We used to live up around Northgate, and it wasn't too bad -- and you've got a straight shot down 15th or Aurora to work.

I've been looking at Northgate a bit, and it's alright. Buildings certainly look nice, and the office is on 16th Ave.

Drakona wrote:"Eat the rent and live in Queen Anne/Downtown" might be a serious option, especially if you're willing to go carless. That might be a good idea anyway--I remember parking in Queen Anne being no fun whatsoever.

We have a parking lot, so I wouldn't need to park on the street. From my quick scouting the only street parking available is 2 hour limited anyway.

I'm more than willing to go carless; whether or not that's practical is another matter -- see SilverFJ's comments for aspects I might not have considered. I spent my high school years in NYC, where a car is nothing more than a hassle; I've spent my college years in Maryland, where a car is a necessity if you want to eat for less than $15 a meal.

Lothar wrote:The advice is pretty sound. Commuting through downtown from the south is very not fun, and probably not worth the hassle, even on the bus.

If my experience on the 509 coming from SeaTac to downtown is anything close to representative, I know what you mean.

Lothar wrote:hint: if your commute requires you to ride the 1, 7, 174, or 358 at ANY time, find a different way to go.)

Any other buslines I should avoid? The 15 and 18 run right up 15th Ave, so that's the line I'd start/end on.

Lothar wrote:A quick search on apartments.com gave me a place called Oakwood that has tiny studios available for just under $900, but it's within just a few blocks of Interbay and within walking distance of Seattle Center.

The Oakwood place (Oakwood Terrace?) doesn't have the greatest accommodations. I'm heading out in early April to check places out in person, but from what I've gathered online and over the phone it's a bit lacking. While it's a few blocks from work -- easily less than a 15 minute bike ride -- the bus is a whole different story; it would involve me riding down into Belltown just to catch the 15 or the 18.

Thanks for the advice, both of you!

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:17 pm

I'm actually moving to Seattle after the next season, we'll have to hang out.

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:34 pm

Indeed, I think it's high time for a Seattle LAN party of some sorts...

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