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!

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