Howdy all, Just moved to Seattle. Any suggestions on Gyms(golds, 24 hr, local). And places to live?! I'm in the city and have a place to live for a few months before I get my own place. Any info will help!!

Try the Olympic Athletic Club in Ballard.

Where to live depends on your budget and whether you're more into suburbia (LQA, Phinney, Magnolia), hipster town (Ballard), hippie town (Fremont), freak town (Capital Hill), yuppie town (Belltown, Greenlake, Leschi), college town (The U District, Ravenna, Wallingford), etc...

[This message has been edited by Pierce County Ag (edited 6/4/2012 2:44p).]

Awesome info!!! I guess I'm inbetween hipster/college/ and freak. Don't know about where Ballard is, I should take a look. I gots a lot of exploring to do. The office is in Bellevue but I want to live in the city. get the experience.

Welcome to Seattle!

Pierce County Ag gave a good summary of the neighborhoods. I live in Fremont and feel that it's a little more yuppie than hippie, but definitely a cool and quirky area.

Capitol Hill has a mix of college/grad students, hipsters, and freaks

I've heard good things about Olympia athletic club as well.

Today was till tag and Po box and get lost around town day. Tomorrow I go gym shopping. I'll look at Olympic. My office is in Bellevue so I'm gonna look out that direction tomorrow.

FWIW, living in Bellevue will save you a lot in time and gas. It doesn't look far from Seattle, but the daily commute is gonna suck...

If you commute from Seattle to Bellevue over 520, you are looking at about $7/day if you have the pass. $35/week, $140/month

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/TollRates.htm

A company I help run is building some houses around Seattle and Tacoma. If you are Interested let me know. We have all price ranges.

I've done some work for a few companies in downtown Bellevue, don't think I could live there either. Turns to nothing after happy hour ends, very strange area.

So, it looks like we may be relocating soon - wife is anticipating an offer to join Starbucks corporate today. So, I'll need to find a job up there as well. I've got 6 years in accounting and finance, mostly in public accounting. Does anybody have any connections? Ideally maybe something in one of the Big 4 might be the easiest transition.

I live near downtown Bellevue and love it (moved here in January '12). Definitely does not turn to nothing after happy hour ends, unless you just go home. It is a yuppie type area mainly but still has some diversity mixed in.

My work is typically on the Eastside so it makes sense for me. Commuting over the bridge(s) is not something I would want to do all the time. If you can carpool, you'll be ok on I-90.

We looked around Seattle a ton and still ended up in Bellevue. It apparently has grown up a ton in the last 5-10 years, not really just a suburb of Seattle.

My opinions aside - Pierce County Ag has the best descriptions for you for living in Seattle.

quote:

---

freak town (Capital Hill),

---

definitely true...went to Unicorn with my wife and some friends while visiting. interesting, but a lot of fun

Timely thread. Hubby works for a major software company and got an unsolicited offer for a job in their Seattle-area office. For a number of reasons, chiefly my MIL's poor health and us having a toddler and another on the way, I don't think the time is right for us to move out of state. But, given that it's pretty much his dream position, we're going to do our due diligence on the idea anyway. So, I'll be watching this thread with interest.

If we start to seriously consider this I'll have more specific questions but for now I'll just ask, what's your favorite thing about living there, and what is your least favorite? Anything you wish you had known before you moved?

If this does happen, at least I know there will be at least a few other Ags up there...

There's an A&M club here in Seattle that gets together for football games, Muster, and a summer BBQ.

I've been here for 2 months now and I can say that this region is something. While I haven't been EVERYWHERE, I do have some fun observations. 1. It's always cool here. Even when it's hot, it's not Texas up here. I sleep with the window open every night. I drive with the windows down. Sure it's cloudy a lot, but it's amazing when the sun is out. 2. The sun. I drove to Starbucks Thursday and the sun was out. I drove past office workers in suits and ties sitting on their office chairs..... In the parking lot. Enjoying some sun. At my office, when it's break time and the sun is out, everyone is gathered outside... In the parking lot, the grass..... Anywhere there is sun enjoying the day. 3. Everyone walks. Old, young, office people, it's a very walk friendly region. 4. Everyone recycles, I feel guilty when I walk up to trash can and I don't know if I'm throwing my trash in the right container. But when you look around, everyone does it and it's cool to know you are "doing your part". 5. Very family friendly. I have two nephews coming I visit soon so ive kept my eyes out for kid parks and what not. They are everywhere. 6. Boats boats. And more boats. Lakes everywhere. Everything is green!! And mountins are all over. I live in Seattle and work in Bellevue. My drive to work consists of a drive through the Seattle Arboretum. Amazing. Then I cross the 520 toll Floating bridge. It's a toll, kinda sucks, but you'll learn to love it. I see Mt Rainier most days. Amazingly beautiful. Then head to the hills of Bellevue. This are is full of lakes, hills, mountains, and crisp air. Sure, it's not Texas, but this place is really nice. My gym is in Redmond, Amazing. And last, festivals are every weekend in spring and summer. Downtown is amazing, the Pier, Bainbridge Island. Weekend mini trips and activities are PLENTY!!!!!!

The negative things: it's far from Texas. Because of distance and time zones, you face a 6 hr flight to Houston ( 4:15 in the air + 2 hr time change). But to fly to Seattle, it's only 2 hours. Odd, I know. 2. The tv is weird. Pacific Time Zone makes your shows all off from what we're used to. But, there's always DVR. 3. Most city streets have no stop signs, they all have small islands with trees in them, kinda cool, but odd. 4. Traffic can be bad, well not for me, but make sure you tak that into account when finding a place to live. 5. It's always cold at some point in the day so carrying a hoddie or jacket is mandatory. Even in summer. 6. Since we are far north, day times really varies. In summer, the sun sets after 10 pm. At the solstice, I could see sun at 10:28pm here!!! But by New Years, it will be dark by 5.

Ok, I'll stop, I did this on my iPhone. I'm sure I misspelled every other word. :-/

[This message has been edited by 19aggie99 (edited 7/28/2012 3:02a).]

You'll get used to all of those things. The climate is a little different down here in Portland, but we love it.

Your first football season is going to be pretty weird...games at 9 a.m. are interesting.

On clear days we can see Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. I will never get used to driving around a corner and seeing a huge mountain in front of me. Driving around here is really fun too...all of the curves and sights are great.

The plus of this is that the game is over by 1pm and you have the rest of your day free.

quote:

---

Your first football season is going to be pretty weird...games at 9 a.m. are interesting.

---

Gotta leave work early on Mondays to catch Monday night football.

quote:

---

I see Mt Rainier most days. Amazingly beautiful. Then head to the hills of Bellevue. This are is full of lakes, hills, mountains, and crisp air. Sure, it's not Texas, but this place is really nice.

---

Of course it's not Texas.... because it's beautiful. Apart from the emotional attachment Texans have to their home state, there is not really anything beautiful about the state.

quote:

---

I see Mt Rainier most days. Amazingly beautiful. Then head to the hills of Bellevue. This are is full of lakes, hills, mountains, and crisp air. Sure, it's not Texas, but this place is really nice.

---

You haven't been through a PNW "winter" (i.e. Oct-July). I grew up here (Port Angeles/Sitka,AK), so I'm used to it, but check back in after not seeing the sun for nine months... (I know you think I'm exaggerating.)

50% of southerners like it and the other 50% can't wait to GTFO after 2-3 years.

[This message has been edited by Pierce County Ag (edited 7/30/2012 4:32p).]

Here's a local saying for ya:

"If you can't see Mt. Rainier, it's raining. If you can see Mt. Rainier, it's about to rain..."

[This message has been edited by Pierce County Ag (edited 7/30/2012 4:31p).]

quote:

---

The plus of this is that the game is over by 1pm and you have the rest of your day free.

---

unless you drank a lot for breakfast.

quote:

---

You haven't been through a PNW "winter" (i.e. Oct-July). I grew up here (Port Angeles/Sitka,AK), so I'm used to it, but check back in after not seeing the sun for nine months... (I know you think I'm exaggerating.)

---

The winters in Portland aren't bad. Sure it's cloudy a lot, but I don't mind that at all. Plus I lived through 3 Michigan winters, and I would take drizzle over that much snow anyway. People LOVE to complain about winters up here though. And they LOVE to say "oh talk to me after you've been through winter." Winter in Portland really just means drizzle and 40 degree temps. Not so bad.

You're one of the 50% that doesn't mind, and yes, I'd take a Seattle winter over an Alaska winter any day. But, the fact of the matter is most folks *****...especially southerners who move up here during the summer. I'm like the designated shoulder to cry on, once people know I lived in Texas.