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Seeking SEATTLE info

nvrstuk

Contributor
Just a Bronco driver for over 50 yrs!
Joined
Jul 31, 2001
Messages
8,605
I live on the East side of the State...Yes, there is a LOT of disdain for the Wetsiders...We can't trap a mole because traps have been outlawed. I was raised as a kid over there...

Traffic...wow, you can't imagine how bad it is. 1 hour to go about 15 miles is average during daylight hours.

Many coommuters live over here and are driving our real estate prices thru the roof because they work from home, fire fighters, pilots all making about double or more than the mean wage here...come over with suburban beliefs to farm land. All want 3 acres that they don't take care of (weeds), don't like farm equipment running at day break, etc.

Anyway, real estate prices have literally gone thru the roof within 2 hour commute of Seattle. Friends that live there send me pics of real estate signs with a 1.5mil house that less than 5 years ago was 500K... true story...

They seem to all come over here for weekends/vacation and love to "let loose"...and the trails and roads are closing due to abuse and overuse and lack of money to keep them open because of all the frivolous lawsuits.

Still overall probably the most beautiful part of the entire country and I've visited a lot of it. Mtns to the East and West, salt water bordering the city, freshwater lakes all over, one poisonous (east side only), only one real poisonous spider, etc...easy to live here...WAS easy to live here.

Used to be fun to go fishing...that's all we did on weekends and vacations for decades...literally! Now it's just a battle...try launching your boat with dozens of people who can't back a trailer up... lol hundreds of boats at every fishing hole. People throw crap at each other as they cut them off when trolling.... get's ugly. I don't salmon fish on the "wet" side any more ...not worth it.

Sorry I rambled on but unless you are making enough money to retire in 5 years it isn't worth the traffic & real estate...
 

charlie6976

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
404
Loc.
Grand Coulee WA
Like Nobdy said (#18), spend some time on the wa st dot traffic cameras during your proposed commute time. Plenty of cameras to look at. You can learn where the current toll freeways (toll freeways?), toll bridges, toll tunnels are. And decide if you want them in your commute. Then look up the ST3 project. If live, rent or buy, in that area your vehicle tabs will be enormous.
Then next, I believe, is ST4. That will be in the Everett area.

Now, ever couple years, the governor tries to pass a carbon fee. This would raise the price of everything. But over 40% of the people were for it.
 

AZ73

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
3,541
You might want to ask your wife to see if her program is available as ASU. Arizona is a great place to live for a couple of years she'll be in school. You might even decide to stay here like I did. I do real estate and have helped many out-of-staters find rentals and homes. ;)
 

charlie6976

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
404
Loc.
Grand Coulee WA
By chance, have you looked at the U of W's Bothell campus? A little north of
Seattle. Would depend on programs offered I guess. My daughter graduated from there a few years back.:cool:
 
OP
OP
7

74BroncoCO

Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
2,374
We would love to try AZ. Have some really good friends already there (Scottsdale as well), but the program isn't offered there. It's really in only about 10 schools in the whole country. Bothell is a no-go as well.

Thanks for all the PM's guys. I am soaking in all I can and weighing the options.
 

KJHill

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
May 26, 2004
Messages
455
Loc.
Central WA
We just moved our son from the U District (UW campus area) to Bellevue. You'll want to avoid rentals anywhere near the campus. Just north you'll find more options or East. We love Seattle, and the whole state! I'd say just find a rental within the hour or so commute. I'm in the center of the state and it takes me about 2 hrs to get to Seattle. You'll love it here if you can handle the crazy people!;D
 

CraigS

Sr. Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2001
Messages
368
Go to UW, live on the west side of the Sound and commute via motorcycle. First on and off the ferries.
 

lt1fire

New Member
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
41
Loc.
Seattle
Lived here for 3 years

First thing I need to say is you need to say what your budget is for a house. I can tell you that in King county that house you mention would be anywhere from 800k to 4 million dollars. (Have to say i'm a commercial appraiser so I look at average cost every day and its slowed a bit lately but still moving upward). That said I have no clue what that kind of house would cost you where you currently live so I can't give any advice as to where and what you should look for.

The cheapest housing relative to UW is on the west side of the sound but you would have to take a ferry over every time you need to be in the city and that isn't cheap doing it 5 days a week. Much cheaper if you don't need a car in the city though.

When I first got here we lived in Bonney Lake in Pierce county but the drive to work was anywhere from 90 minutes on a perfect day to 3 1/2 hours. Drive home after 6 wasn't terrible about 90 minutes.

We then moved into an apartment in down town.... loved the commute and location but Parking for my wife's car was $250 a month and I stored my other cars back in bonney lake, add to that our apartment was about 400 sq feet, but had some great amenities and was right next to the stadium so we could watch Seahawks games from the roof.
It was expensive though and I needed more room and a garage. So we bought in south king county in federal way. 3bd 2 bath 350k. Commute to UW from there would be an hour on a perfect day to 2 1/2 hours most likely... we both work in the south of the city so that might not be super accurate.

My thoughts about living here. I love it. Access to nature is everywhere and it is very beautiful.

The only things that get to me is the traffic and the occasional bad year where you don't see the sun for months.

The rain doesn't really bother me and really we got a higher average in NC than I do here. But the lack of sun can get to you after a while.
 

lt1fire

New Member
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
41
Loc.
Seattle
I should add that if you can commute to the city for work and school by train then it opens up lots of possibilities of where you can live. I take the train to work every day, my wife unfortunately has to drive.

But the sounder station in seattle is right next to the light rail station that goes straight to UW
 

McLeod

Full Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
296
Lived here for 3 years

The only things that get to me is the traffic and the occasional bad year where you don't see the sun for months.

Is this based on your last three years of living here?
I have been here for over 50 years and I find the opposite to be true in regards to the weather.
It's an occasional year when you DON't go for months without seeing the sun in the winter.

Winter 2016-2017 was unusually wet and cloudy, but not too far from usual.

https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/4/24/15415036/seattle-wettest-winter-2017

But there are large variances in either direction within a 2 hour drive.
Forks and peninsula area are 3x wetter and the west slopes of the Cascades are 1.5 times wetter than Seattle.
Ellensburg is dry at probably single digit annual rain fall.

Come on in, the water is warm......;D
Help support the outrageous house prices that all the newcomers have paid...:eek:
 
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