Hi all, We are a recently married couple with no kids and have been in the Bay for about 3 years now. Things have lately been getting frustrating when it comes to traffic, housing, cost of living, noise, commutes, absence of a strong public transport system etc. We are thinking to get the fuck out of here. We have been to Seattle a few times and I felt I liked the place much better than this shithole. Housing seems to be much cheaper, and public transportation scene seemed decent. Looks like there are are also a good bunch of residential places under 40 minutes of commute to downtown and Bellevue/Redmond. We have explored Lynnwood, Bothell, and they seem decent. Weather seems to be concerning but we are fine with it. In a nutshell, we are looking for: - good house to buy for under 750k - commute under 30-40 minutes door to door - saving more money then we do here in the Bay - decent schooling wherever the home is So far it seems we can have all these in Seattle, but i would like to know from people who have experience with these places, what exactly is better in Seattle than the Bay? Would it be worth the move? Are there any things we'd miss? Thank you a ton!!
If you are ok with grey skies for half a year then you'll be fine here. But I had friends that couldn't stand it and moved back to California after a few years.
Half a year? It's worse than that.
*better (for those of us who hate direct sunlight and like mild weather)
Seattle is colder. During the winter there are only 8 hours of sunlight. If your concerned with the weather after visiting, then you might want to do a winter test trip? Commuting is worse here, check out the 2019 polls. The Seattle freeze is a social phenomenon and it’s real. The Bay has better public transportation. Traveling the greater Bay Area via public transit is much easier than it is in the greater Seattle Area. The people are nicer, I miss the people. It did cost more to rent in Bay, but Seattle prices are rising.
Thank you for the insight. I may have overlooked at the public transportation but in the Bay I find it hard to think it's good enough.. there is infrastructure but it's not all over the place. For example going from East Bay to the peninsula/south bay is a pain in the ass..
Traffic, housing, cost if living etc are all only slightly better in seattle and you have to give up career prospects, weather, and culture. Commuting in particular is worse in seattle if you have to cross a bridge. Schools are great if you can increase your housing budget. If you are going to make the move maybe consider a larger change? Good luck!
Career prospects in the sense? There are a good number of big companies in Seattle right? Some startups are there too?
Definately, but no where near as many as the valley.
I also think this is shithole but if you are married and both earning money this is reasonable shithole. Seattle is little better if you ignore weather but if you think to spend life there, trust me weather is concerning fact. All in all if you want to get the fuck of this shithole your best bet is Austin or somewhere in northern Virginia, north Carolina raliegh, Boston suburbs , something like this kind of sub urbs where quality of life is better.
Considered Raleigh NC for long enough, somehow the companies there aren't very appealing, worried about career growth really. Other than that it's a great place to sit back and relax.
Raleigh is nice but career dies here if you are early in your career
Moved to Seattle Eastside from Bay Area. It’s awesome.
U mean Bellevue?
Kirkland, yes. Same variety of tech opportunities, gorgeous evergreen nature, cheaper housing, no state tax, great schools, infrastructure is expanding and building rapidly. No questions why the richest people in the world settle here.
I live in Seattle. All 3 of your criteria can be met in Seattle. I live near Bellevue and my door to door commute is 40 minutes
How much to own an 3 bd 3 bath townhouse in Bellevue?
Depends, you should research on redfin or another site. Downtown Bellevue is very expensive but as you move further out it gets cheaper (but definitely not cheap). Bellevue has very good schools as well but is the burbs. Very different vibe than Seattle.
People are less pretentious in Seattle than Bay Area!
I’d move to San Diego over Seattle
You’ll probably find that there’s some trade off between house price and commute times in the areas you’re looking at. I’ve heard of Bothell-Redmond commutes taking an hour or more by car depending on where you are. If you’re able to stretch your house budget just 100 or 200k you’ll have a lot more to work with. But your plan sounds good overall.