Moving to Seattle Area, looking for input
 

Hey all, as the title states I'm moving up to the Seattle area in the beginning of May. I was hoping to get some input on a few things!

I will be bring my 2013 FRS up with me and I'm curious just HOW bad it will be to drive that thing in traffic in Seattle? Are there tons of hills? Is it stop and go everywhere always?

Also--coming from the desert I am not too sure what considerations I need to make for all the rain. I've gathered from other posts that as far as tires go a good all season tired will work well. Are rain guards actually helpful or needed at all?

And finally, I'm trying to figure out what area I want to live in (at least temporarily until I find a house). I've been told Capitol Hill, Freemont, Queen Anne are awesome. I've looked up some crime stats for them and I'm a bit concerned...and having someone mess with / break into my car is a big concern of mine. Are things as bad there as some of the numbers make it seem? Are there other areas near south lake union that you would recommend?


I appreciate any perspective that you are able to provide!

Driving in Seattle traffic? There really aren't any hills within Seattle (however, since you're coming from Arizona, you may consider some of the mounds, "hills" - ;). Yes, traffic is stop and go much of the day in the downtown area. It gets sparser the further you get away from downtown - except at rush hour. Rush hour is from 5 AM to 11AM and from 2PM to 10pm.- :sigh:

As far as tires, I have found that good all-season tires work well in this area. A set of chains are sometimes required going over the mountains to Eastern Washington. I have splash/mud guards on my FR-S, I feel they help keep it cleaner.

Where to live? If you're renting and concerned about your car, you may look for a place that has covered/secured parking. It seems that in this area, most car break ins are because the people left something in their car. That would include my granddaughter's small makeup kits, while parked at a movie theater - :mad0259:

If you are buying a house, a lot of where you live would depend on where you can afford to live. It's quite simple to figure out - the further you get away from Seattle, the less homes cost.

As far as crime, hell crime is everywhere. Just use common sense and be aware of your surroundings.

Get ready for some GREAT FR-S driving roads - :happyanim:


humfrz

Errrr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Seattle

Those are not "real hills", they are "drumlins".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumlin


This is a "hill", in a city - :D


:thumbsup:


humfrz - I took a geology course - :thumbup:

Seattle itself is flat, its a strip of land on the bottom side of a mountain that meets up with a lake and the puget sound.

You'll probably be living in Tacoma, or maybe to the east slightly. which all arent bad areas. Coming from the San Diego Area, the quality of life is a little better up there. If you can swing Redmond.... good on you


They don't salt the roads, and the weather isnt 'icy' enough for chains or studded tires unless you go into the mountains on the regular ( some do for the skiing) a good all season isfair. expect rain..

I learned alot on car dynamics in the Tahuya forest in the 5 years up there and never had more than a good all season. Really teaches you how to control a car when you cant trust tire grip. You learn alot about mechanical grip.

Drifting is huge up there.

There's a local tuning shop Drift Office LLC, if you go there tell him Craig says Hi. Bob is a good guy, pricey only because he is real with what it takes to make a car good and reliable. Another good shop ( also asian) is Ishii Motor Industries, in Bellevue. (also a nice place.. but expensive)

Just get the oem mud flaps and skip drilling the holes. If you're driving it up here, install them before you head out.

Seattle sucks. Downtown is hill city. Lots of homeless, dirty streets, terrible traffic, bad crime rate compared to surrounding areas, also higher cost of living compared to surrounding areas. Bothell, Kirkland, mill creek, kenmore, woodinville, Redmond, snohomish, Edmonds, lynnwood, best cities in that order.

Seattle area is also the “rainy” city, but by frequency not volume. Rains all the time, but not rainstorms. Mostly showers. All season is fine. Snows bad maybe once every four years. this year was pretty bad.

Much agreed with 86TOYO2k17
 

Been here for 25 years having lived in So Calif / LA prior. I would say 86TOYO2k17 pretty much nailed it. My work has me driving typically 50K miles a year in the area, luckily driving an automatic work vehicle. Only a few areas with hills that I would no doubt be using alot of E-brake assistance in the manual FRS due to stop signs on steep grades.
I think like most all major cities, your income will decide how far your commute will be if working downtown while living in a safe neighborhood.

We do hot have blazing hot weather so if sitting in stop and go traffic, you won't feel like your putting your life in the hands of your AC.

You may love the long summer days and forget what the sun looks like during the winter.

Oh yeah the summer of endless days and winters of stupid long nights.. like.. sun wont come up till after 7 and around 3 starts going back down.

Depends a lot on where you'll be working.
Once you get that nailed down, then you can set your commute comfort level.
I always prefer to stay off the highways and link up surface street routes.
I5, I90, 520 and 405 all clog up and you'll be creeping most of the time.
Creative mapping can save some time.

South Lake Union is mostly Google and Amazon and will be crowded as.
I think most of the new housing near there will be tiny apartments without parking at all.
The City of Seattle is trying desperately to make it difficult for downtown residents to have a car at all.
This week they were talking about a congestion tax on cars coming into town like London.

Fleece and layers, some shoes that won't sog out in a puddle.
I wear glasses, so a hat with a brim to keep the drops off.
I keep a collapsible umbrella in the trunk.

Likely won't need chains with good A/S tires around town.
A lot of the hills can be avoided by going farther around a different way.

On days with heavy snow, the mountain passes require chains for 2wd vehicles.
Chains are strongly dis-approved by Toyota and Subaru for the twins. I never got any.

Within the city, it will be rare for you to go above 50mph, and even rarer to go above 65. Traffic sucks, and the road layout sucks. It's fine moving north/south, generally, but there are no good ways to go east/west.

There are hills, yes, but you'll be fine if you know the handbrake trick. Potholes suck. This city is very unfriendly to lowered cars.

Get whatever tires you want. Like others have said, the rain is pretty light, so standing water usually isn't a concern. There may be a week where things freeze or snow, and you can think about getting winter tires for that, but I just stayed home until things unfroze.

Crime is mostly of the petty property variety. There's a large homeless and drug problem, so just keep your stuff locked up. The crime can vary greatly from street to street, so just make sure you're like 2 blocks away from any sketchy areas. We street-parked my BRZ and a C7 corvette for over a year with no issues.

I used to live in Queen Anne, and it was fine. Housing there (and in Freemont and cap hill) will be smaller and more expensive, and you're far less likely to get a garage. Freemont and cap hill are some of the cool places to be, but idk if I'd want to live there. I'm in the Wedgwood area now, and while there's less excitement up here, I have way more room and a garage. Good trade.

Another option to consider in Pierce County (as opposed to King County). Housing in Pierce County is about half of what it is in King County (generally).

Pierce county is only about a 45 minute train ride from downtown Seattle.


humfrz

Thank you everyone for your input! Sounds like I won't be punishing myself too much by taking the car up there, and I've decided to grab some all season tires this Saturday! I'm still a bit up in the air on where to live. I checked out some of the recommended neighborhoods--I love the housing in Bothell but holy hell that commute looks brutal (I'll be working with Amazon so south lake union area).

@kch You mentioned that you live in Wedgwood, google maps says the commute down to south lake union is 12-35 minutes at 730am--is that anywhere near accurate from your experience?

Does anyone have experience commuting from somewhere like Fremont or Magnolia into the South Lake Union / Capitol Hill area?

Thank you again everyone!

https://st2.depositphotos.com/195208...rning-card.jpg

HA! I've loved being up there the times that I've visited. I'm actually really excited!

Look at the crowd you will be hanging with!


https://media.giphy.com/media/WA1lm83IwXNwk/giphy.gif

Yes, that's about right. For me, it takes me anywhere from 20-40 minutes (barring major issues) from Matthews Beach all the way to downtown. You'd be taking the Mercer exit, which always backs up a bit, but shouldn't be terrible at 730am. There will usually be traffic over the ship canal bridge, but it's doable.

You should also scope out public transit options. Depending on where you live, you could have a really quick bus ride to SLU.

Edit: you asked about Magnolia to SLU--that's one of the situations where you really see how hard it is to go east-west in this city. It's a nice area, though. But your main north-south route there (like to the airport) is going to be Aurora and the new toll tunnel, so take that into account.

Edit2: One thing to note is that people generally stick to their own neighborhoods. If someone wants me to come hang out in Fremont, I'm inclined to say screw it because I don't want to either find parking or take a $30 uber each way. So if lots of your peers are planning to live in the SLU area, I would consider doing so as well. It'll be more expensive, less car-friendly, etc. etc., but you'll have less FOMO.

Okay, time to point out some of the positives. For context, I lived in Houston/Austin my whole life but moved up here about 1.5 years ago.

1) There are multiple surprisingly-decent ski areas within a 1.5 hour drive from here. Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie are both solid.

2) The ramen and sushi are really good.

3) Spring/summer can be glorious. Get used to opening windows, because that's generally all you'll need to keep things cool indoors. (I would still suggest getting an AC unit, though--it can get into the 80s in late summer, which sucks without AC).

4) Re the "seattle freeze" - People don't go out of their way to be friendly, but most people are friendly if you force an interaction. People aren't nearly as douchey here as they are in, say, Denver.

5) There are decent racetracks within striking distance. Pacific Raceways in Kent is under an hour. Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton is under two. Oregon Raceway Park is about 4 hours.

I can only speak from experience but depending on the time of day, getting to SLU from Fremont can be hell because of Westlake anytime after 4PM or so. If you work relatively early, the commute isnt too bad. It takes me less than 30 minutes to get from lynnwood/bothell/mill creek area to Fremont at 530AM (Might be a bit early for most lol). If you are taking the bus, theres a lot of park and rides that you can park your car at.

I am still riding on the stock primacies year around besides snow, but I have the luxury of working from home if it snows.

Like some say, the mercer exit sucks but no avoiding that since amazon.

I would also suggest joining the 86 Nights facebook group if you haven't already! Hopefully you'll enjoy living here regardless!

Seattle is my least favorite US city I've been to, worse than LA.

Traffic is horrible because the infrastructure is so far behind the volume. Drivers are total fucking assholes and morons, the worst I've seen in my life. You will only get home by being a bigger asshole.

Get a 6 month rental, so it won't matter too much where you live. Then figure out the place and move to where appeals to you. For me, Woodinville is too damned close to Seattle. I liked Mukilteo.

Very insightful Humfrz, I had imagined that you lived out in the sticks with your farm animals and only come across "people" if they got horribly lost and needed some teaching!!...

What EVER gave you that idea - :iono:


humfrz

Come for the scenery, stay for the meth!


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw[/ame]


Here's the skinny on Seattle - they stopped policing homeless and drugs ENTIRELY a few years ago. Property crime is sky high. Seattle is part of King County and known for never meeting a tax they didn't vote for. If you MUST reside in King County, do your best to plant your flag on the East side (bellevue, issaquah, kirkland, renton etc).


If possible live in Snohomish County which is North of King or my preference, Pierce county which is South of King. Both of these counties still believe in the rule of law (for now) so the homeless/drug/property crime isn't nearly as epic as it is in Seattle.



WA is a "Shall issue" state as well - I recommend you get your permit.

KOMO is owned by the Sinclair Group of stations.
Made ALL of their on screen presenters stand front and center on air to swear loyalty to the Sinclair Group.

One really should view their presentations as "entertainment" along with FOX.

Wow. Lots of Seattle hate in here!

OP, I love living here. Like most cities, finding the right neighborhood and the right people can make or break your experience.

It is a booming city. We are in the midst of serious growing pains. That doesn't make it a terrible place to live.

Yeah, that was a weird video. I'm not sure if it had a specific political angle other than "be angry".

Fear and Loathing

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/5f/ac/19/5...s-thompson.jpg

What neighborhoods do you recommend? I'm most likely going to be in queen anne / lower queen anne for the first 6 months or so, but I will be looking at where to buy a home after that. My ideal location is east (bothell, kirkland, etc) but I'll be commuting to South Lake Union until Amazon moves their offices into Bellevue and I've heard that the commute will be balls...

No real "Don't go there" spots around.
Lived in Ravenna for a few years. The only downside was the street and hill a block away with trucks going up all night long.
Most of the houses close in are very old and if there IS a garage, it will be scaled for a model T at best.
If the property had a coach house, it will have been changed to housing already.

Once you get here, take a lot of time to tour the area and find what appeals.
Rent until you do though. There are noisy spots even in the most upscale neighborhoods.

Counterpoint: White Center. I mean it's not like you'll get shot driving through, but I certainly wouldn't live there.

It's changing. People who used to live there are being priced out.
Homeland Security facility is right next door now.

People used to say the same about the central district.
Most of the dissing of various places is outright racism.
There was a lot of bank imposed redlining. Only allow loans for "those people" in certain areas.

A lot like Hilltop in Tacoma used to be. Not anymore.
The artisinal soapmaking snowflakes have arrived.

You may be right, but I have a friend who lives in WC whose house just got rammed by a car driven by a guy running from the police after stabbing someone.

I mean it's just one story, but

yknow


EDIT: I haven't lived here for that long, and I don't know the context around why certain neighborhoods have a bad reputation. I'm just going off my brief experience in the area.

Had a serial murderer hold up in a camper in the next lot over in Ravenna.
Police shootout. Bullet holes through my house (rented).
Think he went by "Hollywood" if you want to look it up in the back issues.

Yeah. Can happen nearly anywhere.

Seattle really did have a serious racist problem. A lot of the oldsters are still stuck where they were.
Chased out the Chinese, first to intern Japanese in WWII, sent a posse to Everett to kill Woblies(world wide workers union), etc...

Wild wild west innit?

The commute is going to be tough for sure. If you weren't a car person, I'd just say rent an apt next to your work location and give up on car ownership. If you have to commute try to research alternate means of travel vs a car - which leaves little option if you plant your flag on the east side.



The downside to going east is that it's expensive out there too. If you're going to take on a commute in favor a retaining car ownership and finding a lesser cost of living, then you're gonna have to head a bit south (or WAY north). I've often taken the light rail from Angle Lake (federal way) into downtown and it's super convenient. Living in Fed Way and using light rail to commute is a pretty damn good way to crack that nut - there's also the Sounder train that has major hub at Kent Station which is a cool little area. You can probably even find a house you like in Fed way, Redondo or Kent/Auburn.

You should plan on living somewhere that does not require driving into downtown even if you are a car person. Driving into downtown is not pleasant and likely costly assuming your employer does not offer free parking. If means allow, pick a place in South Lake Union where you can walk to work. Otherwise, Capitol Hill, the East Slope of Queen Anne (off of Dexter), and Eastlake offer short commutes by bus or bike. If the place you choose to live does not offer parking at a reasonable rate you can keep your car and work on it here: https://theshopclubs.com/

as a transplant as well with an fr-s, having a car here is a big trade off. basically comes down to how much you value your freedom.

with regards to driving here, traffic isn't as bad as any other major city... and definitely not as bad as places like LA. the major issue is the city has unofficially declared war on cars; there's dedicated bus only streets and lanes through downtown which makes traffic downtown annoying.

hills are fine, just with the car being so low you'll have to creep up so you can see. lots of unprotected intersections.

the car is pretty fun in the rain though.

speaking from experience shelling out 250 bucks for parking in downtown bellevue is way more balls.

I would look at the light rail planned stops and base your home buying decision on that. Once we get a bart-like system in it's going to be pretty nice.

If you have to be anywhere within proximity to downtown, get a place with garage parking or a house. Seattlites don't give two sh!ts about hit and running your car, dinging your doors, etc. If you don't care too much about the physical appearance of your car, park on the street at your own risk. Try to avoid areas with homeless camps nearby, they've personally caused me some nightmares with my vehicle. Left my car,\ in a spot for 2 days and returned to some nice screwdriver holes on my fenders and tires. Don't leave anything in your car worth value. If you have to stow it, keep it in the trunk. I've lived in/near downtown for 11+ years and my car doors look like golf balls.

I HIGHLY recommend getting a front and rear dash cam with parking mode, mine has already paid for itself on multiple occasions.

I don't drive too much these days as i mostly rely on public transportation or ride/car share apps. Car2go is great, you can park the car in most spots(paid or not) and not have to pay for parking. It's also much cheaper than all the ride share apps.

Eastlake/SLU is a quiet neighborhood with low crime, but parking is tight. Cap Hill/Most of downtown, parking can be a nightmare if you don't have an assigned spot. North and South Seattle are generally quiet, but are becoming havens for the homeless.

Burien/White Center has high crime, but is gentrifying so it might not be a bad place(to invest in) if you are planning to buy a home.

The Eastside is mostly crime free, but if you work in Seattle i'd stray away from it because the commute is a nightmare.

I don't have anything constructive to contribute in this topic but I just want to say... replace "Seattle" with "Portland" and just about everything you guys are saying still applies.



Welcome to the PNW!

I think you could replace Seattle with just about any largish city in the US or Canada and everything they are saying applies. The names of the areas are all that would change.