Seattle sans car

[Alex+R 0]

Having sat through a summer of 90-100F weather of 90% humidity, I'd say it’s a good compromise!

We don't live too far from Newark. It is most certainly not the Hyatt.

Well now I'm getting excited about Seattle.

We can move to New York someday, when I actually have a career goal or something.

[Ban Hammer 13,340]

Yes, I'm afraid we'd end up in Newark, with even Brooklyn/Queens charging 1000 for a studio.

Seattle still has the high-tech stuff, right? I know Microsoft is outside of there. (My SO is a web developer/software engineer/programmer/whatever it is they're supposed to be called.) Doesn't seem like anyone *dislikes* much about Seattle except its weather.

i've heard taxes in washington state are bad.

[kittykatwoman 0]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

[Alex+R 0]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Woof.

KKW, will you live in Seattle proper?

PS If I could live in Paris legally I would in a second. I used to live there and I'm still convinced it's the best city on earth!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Lower cost of living up there - so it balances out.

[Ban Hammer 13,340]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Lower cost of living up there - so it balances out.

link

seattle ranks as #7

METROPOLITAN AREA (US AVERAGE = 100)

New York (Manhattan) NY 234.5

Boston MA 142.5

Philadelphia PA-NJ 125.5

Washington DC-MD-VA-WV 125.4

San Diego CA 121.9

Los Angeles-Long Beach CA 119.7

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA 115.0

Detroit (Oakland Co.) MI 113.4

Riverside-San Bernardino CA 112.4

Pittsburgh PA 109.5

Portland-Vancouver OR-WA 108.0

Miami FL 107.7

Milwaukee-Waukesha WI 105.4

Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria OH 104.4

Denver CO 103.4

Phoenix-Mesa AZ 103.3

Minneapolis-St. Paul MN 101.4

Baltimore MD 100.4

Atlanta GA 99.5

Dallas TX 98.9

St. Louis MO-IL 98.7

Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News VA-NC 98.5

Kansas City MO-KS 97.5

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL 94.3

Houston TX 93.8

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

NYC rules. I wouldn't live there myself, but I strongly encourage people who like mass transit and a vibrant culture to go check it out. If you're like the average American, you'll probably tire of the lifestyle after a few years (and want to get a house and SUV on Long Island LOL) but those few years will always be years you remember.

Edited August 21, 2006 by Gupt

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Washington has no state income tax though. You are quoting sales tax.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Lower cost of living up there - so it balances out.

link

seattle ranks as #7

METROPOLITAN AREA (US AVERAGE = 100)

New York (Manhattan) NY 234.5

Boston MA 142.5

Philadelphia PA-NJ 125.5

Washington DC-MD-VA-WV 125.4

San Diego CA 121.9

Los Angeles-Long Beach CA 119.7

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA 115.0

Detroit (Oakland Co.) MI 113.4

Riverside-San Bernardino CA 112.4

Pittsburgh PA 109.5

Portland-Vancouver OR-WA 108.0

Miami FL 107.7

Milwaukee-Waukesha WI 105.4

Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria OH 104.4

Denver CO 103.4

Phoenix-Mesa AZ 103.3

Minneapolis-St. Paul MN 101.4

Baltimore MD 100.4

Atlanta GA 99.5

Dallas TX 98.9

St. Louis MO-IL 98.7

Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News VA-NC 98.5

Kansas City MO-KS 97.5

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL 94.3

Houston TX 93.8

All I know is we were paying $900 a month in LA, along with 8.25% CA sales tax (and $200-$300 per month for health insurance).

Seattle rents were around $600-$700 by comparison, and NJ rents $1000+.

Wages are of course a little lower in WA, but as Microsoft has its HQ up in Redmond, they don't pay those people peanuts.

[kittykatwoman 0]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Woof.

KKW, will you live in Seattle proper?

PS If I could live in Paris legally I would in a second. I used to live there and I'm still convinced it's the best city on earth!

First I move by Olympia, at my in-laws' then i think we will get closer to Seattle.

We live Paris because my husband doesn't speak french good enough to have a good job, while i speak english so we leave

[Alex+R 0]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Woof.

KKW, will you live in Seattle proper?

PS If I could live in Paris legally I would in a second. I used to live there and I'm still convinced it's the best city on earth!

First I move by Olympia, at my in-laws' then i think we will get closer to Seattle.

We live Paris because my husband doesn't speak french good enough to have a good job, while i speak english so we leave

Where do you live in Paris? Why didn't your husband learn French in 2 years there in France? Was he working in English? (Sorry I am being nosy)

[raymaga 25]

We live about 45 minutes south of Seattle and the one thing that drives (pardon the pun) me crazy is the TRAFFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely hate driving the freeways around Seattle and am so happy when I get to drive back in Canada.

Where we live, there is no bus service, so a car is absolutely necessary, but right in Seattle, there are many bus routes to get you almost anywhere.

The weather is "typical Northwest"...... nice Springs, hot summers, beautiful falls, and mildly cold and plenty wet winters. Last winter, it rained almost continuously for 5 months!!!!!!!!! It WAS very depressing. I should be used to it, being I'm from Vancouver, Canada, but I never like it anymore year after year.

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Most West Coast cities that have reasonable job opportunities have a very car dependent infrastructure. You will have better luck in hte East Coast.

Seattle is one the few exceptions on the west. another would be San Francisco, but dang, cost of livving there is sky high.

We live near Sacramento(California), the bus/rail(mass transit) system is not very good. Other than that we love it here. The old joke is that we are in the middle of nowhere but just 90 minutes away from everything. 90 minutes to the sophisticated city of San Francisco; 90 minutes away from the absolutely gorgeous natural wonder of Lake Tahoe; etc...

prolly not your thing though. I haven't found decentescargot around here.

Daniel

:energetic:

[Alex+R 0]

Most West Coast cities that have reasonable job opportunities have a very car dependent infrastructure. You will have better luck in hte East Coast.

Seattle is one the few exceptions on the west. another would be San Francisco, but dang, cost of livving there is sky high.

We live near Sacramento(California), the bus/rail(mass transit) system is not very good. Other than that we love it here. The old joke is that we are in the middle of nowhere but just 90 minutes away from everything. 90 minutes to the sophisticated city of San Francisco; 90 minutes away from the absolutely gorgeous natural wonder of Lake Tahoe; etc...

prolly not your thing though. I haven't found decentescargot around here.

Daniel

:energetic:

I would love that kind of thing!! I'm big on natural beauty too, which you can't get much of in the big cities of the East. The problem is, I sort of sold my POS car for 500 dollars to a charity for parts before I left for Brazil with the idea that I didn't want to store it and would be moving to New York. Then I ended up with this fiance.... sigh. I can't buy 2 cars and we can't carpool everywhere!

Now I'm concerned about what everyone said about weather. This may be why I loved the idea of San Diego before I realized I would need 2 more cars than I have. But thank you all for all this advice! I heart VJ.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

According to my husband it's 7.9 or 8.8%

Woof.

KKW, will you live in Seattle proper?

PS If I could live in Paris legally I would in a second. I used to live there and I'm still convinced it's the best city on earth!

First I move by Olympia, at my in-laws' then i think we will get closer to Seattle.

We live Paris because my husband doesn't speak french good enough to have a good job, while i speak english so we leave

Paris is a great city, although I could never get the hang of the moped riders on the pavement; and that roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe is insane - not to mention the nightmare parking. I swear all the cars, had dings from (literally) parking bumper to bumper.