Those of you who remember the “Tell me about Seattle” thread may remember (with some trepidation), that AudreyK and I were thinking about moving to Seattle. Well, now it’s official.
I’ll be attending DigiPen (aka, “the video game school”) where I’ll be learning computer programming and thus bringing myself one step closer to the geek dream job of being a video game designer.
Anyway, Audrey and I will be looking to be living somewhere in the Bellevue/Renton area, and any help finding a place will definitely be appreciated. I’m checking a few sites online (one being the classifieds off of the Seattle Times web site), and things don’t look too bad. We’re looking for something under $900 (preferably under $800). Though a two bedroom apartment would be great and a one bedroom plus loft ideal (lofts are cool!), we’re flexible and can divide up a one bedroom apartment as well.
Thanks in advance, guys.
[sub]Man, moving again. This is all kinds of scary and exciting all rolled up together…[/sub]
I’ve been mostly packed for a year! I was looking online at 1-bedroom apartments in the North Seattle area, and I found some for around $700/month. I didn’t get a chance to look at any IRL though.
I’m trying to get a job before I move, but I keep getting the same story: “If you already lived here, we’ll talk to you; but since you’re so far away we’ll try to find someone locally.” I inherited a 50% share of a house in Westminster and it’s on the market. When it sells I’ll have enough to live up there for a long time without a job; but I’d rather have a job first.
Good luck with your move. If you happen to hear of anyone looking for a person with a buttload of TSO and JCL experience, plus a lot of Easytrieve Plus programming experience, I hope you’ll keep me in mind!
We look forward to seeing you. Please bring some sunshine and additional hydroelectric power. Oh and funding for our ridiculous light rail project.
FWIW, rents are a little cheaper in South King County (Renton, Kent, Auburn) but they lack a certain snob appeal, as they are considered sort of backwaters to the “real” suburbs. We’ve been happy here though. Most of the time the cows and sheep will move off the road if you honk at them.
Seriously, there is plenty of housing available in the area. My suggestion is to find what you think you like but only sign a six-month lease. That way you can re-locate after looking around. Issaquah is nice and borders Renton and Bellevue so it would be convenient, IMO. A fellow I work with just moved here and ended up in North Bend (same direction as Issaquah but further out) and he likes it there. YMMV.
Hey Johnny, does that mean we might run into you at another Dopefest one day? If so, we’ll have to talk about your penchant for plummeting.
pluto, I totally forgot about the geoducks. :eek: I’m not looking forward to my first encounter with one. Ugh, must change subject… Oh, how far is Issaquah from downtown Seattle? By my atlas, it looks like about twenty miles. Is that about right?
Does anyone have tips on how to ship a computer? Or how not to ship a computer, for that matter? I want to take my iMac with me to WA (from HI), and any tips on how to make that as painless as possible would be greatly appreciated.
KKB: TSO is Time Sharing Option and JCL is Job Control Language. These are used on IBM mainframe computers. TSO is system software from IBM that provides time-sharing on an IBM mainframe running in an MVS environment. JCL is a language for describing jobs to the MVS. (i.e., JCL is used to run your programs.)
I know what you’re thinking, but… eh, it’s a living.
As for buying a new G4, oh God, do I want to. But that would be at least $1600, and I’d rather put that kind of money towards present and future expenses. And I anticipate having quite a few of those. [sub]Yay.[/sub]
I give you 18 months before the grey skies drive you away.
Seriously.
Sorry, but someone has to throw some cold water on your plans. I hope everything works out for you and all, but the reality is that most people from SoCal truly can’t handle the weather here.
Seattle is the sunglasses capital of the US. Really. You have so much time between needing sunglasses, you lose your old ones. You rarely lose your umbrella – you always have it with you (unless you don’t use one, like us natives).
(Apparent) Rules for SoCal transplants:
Put super-aggressive studded snow tires on all four wheels of your SUV as soon as October rolls around, and leave them on until the end of March. (Even though we only get a few days each year where you might want or need studs.)
Follow cars on the freeway at 1/2 car-length, especially when it rains. Act surprised and blame the guy you just rammed for stopping too quickly, when you rear-end him.
Drive singly in the HOV lane until you are past any slowdown. Be sure and change as many lanes as possible to get to where you are going.
Complain about the weather until we get drought conditions, then complain about your non-native landscaping drying up.
Buy a nice old place just so you can tear it down and build an abominally large, ugly, box of a house.
FWIW, This Southern Californian likes rain! And I hate hot weather. And my sinuses don’t bother me and I don’t live on antacids when I’m in Washington.
Nope. Heck I go off-roading with the stock Goodyear Wranglers. Sure they slip a bit in the mud, but they’re better on-road than snow tires would be. If it snows enough that I need more traction, I’ll buy chains.
Okay, Californians are known for following too close.
On the other hand, I always try to maintain vigilance and adjust my speed and distance accordingly.
Are you sure you’re seeing Californians? Here in Los Hideous it’s a minimum $271 fine for a single occupant (except motorcycles) to be in the HOV lane. I almost never see single occupants in the HOV lane (and I do look).
I’ve seen this. Mostly by people driving Honda Civics, although I’ve seen many different types doing it.
I prefer northwestern landscape. I’ll complain about the weather if it gets too hot (like here, in about two months).
Some people have no taste. Northwestern architecture is much more interesting than it is here.
BTW: I do know how to pronounce Puyallup and Sequim.
Scotti: Still trying to sell the inherited house down in Westminster. Sis wants to rent it out, but I think I can make more by investing in a mutual fund. Once that’s sorted out, there’ll be nothing keeping me here. (Although the bosses are making noises about promotions and opportunities “if I decide to stick around”. snort Right. :rolleyes: )
Ah, you forget (or, more likely, never knew), I’m a transplant. So I drive like a Hawaii driver - sane speeds, no tailgaiting, totally oblivious to the existence of snow tires. And as Johnny said, HOV violations are financial suicide so I’ve never even thought about doing that.
I do, lose sunglasses like a mofo (and those mofos lose their sunglasses a lot, what with all that mofoing and all), so that could really suck. As for the gray skies in general, I’m a moody sort of guy, so the gray skies should indulge my moodiness and maybe even be conducive to my getting some writing done. That wouldn’t be too bad at all.
Can’t wait to meet you, too, Scotti! My fingers are crossed that both Johnny and silent_rob will also be able to join us.
Robot Arm, I’m sorry. But, um, well, see, I once accidentally stepped on a slug with my bare feet, and it grossed me out completely. (The slug lived, by the way, and was extremely offended; it slimed away in a huff.) We regularly have slime smeared across our living room carpet after late-night drunken slug excursions. I’m not a fan of slugs (as you probably guessed). The baby ones are cute, sure, but they grow up to be nasty little cretins.
I’m sure what I just said will come back to haunt me one day.
Grey skies sound fine by me, too. I was never a fan of the climate here in Hawaii. (So Danalan, don’t worry. You’re not getting more Southern Californians, you’re geting more Hawaii transplants! )
I guess I need to invest in a pair of sunglasses, huh?
Hey! It only rained twice last week. Once for three days and once for four days.
To answer your earlier question Audrey, your estimate of the distance to Issaquah was about right. Unfortunately the important thing around here is not distance but bridges. Issaquah (and Bellevue) are on the wrong side of Lake Washington from Seattle. So you have to cross one of two bridges to get across the lake, both of which are a hassle at peak commute times. OR you can go around the lake, either to the north or south, which is usually farther and also messed up at rush hour. So if you’re living on the Eastside (Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond) and working in Seattle you’ve got a tough commute, trafficwise. If you’re going in the opposite direction it’s better, or at least no worse than anywhere else around here. My advice is to locate close to where you’ll be working, if you can.
