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March 18, 2013 at 5:15 pm #606825
TjFontenotMemberI currently live in Central Louisiana with my wife and my 2 baby girls. We have been discussing relocating to Seattle to give our girls a broad lifestyle with more opportunities. We enjoy the country life here and it’s basically all we know, but we are trying to live and show our kids a more diverse life with more excitement and more experiences. I have a couple major questions.
1. Is Seattle an expensive city to live and support a family?
2. Is Seattle a safe place for my family and is it a family oriented city?
I hope to hear from some of you..
Thanks
March 18, 2013 at 7:03 pm #786078
PLSParticipantFirst I’m glad you found the West Seattle Blog – the best evidence of how livable and friendly this place can be. And a great resource for what I’m sure we all believe is the best neighborhood in Seattle!
In answer to #2, Seattle is like any city its size … in general it is very safe. There are areas that are more safe than others and certainly more family friendly areas, though even downtown living fits some families. That’s probably not for y’all if you “enjoy the country life” though. One of the great things about Seattle is that the country is not far … 30-40 minutes in any direction from downtown and you are in the country. So you can be in quite, rural areas and still enjoy the bright lights when you want.
Now #1 is a tougher answer. I think Seattle is quite expensive relative to other places I’ve lived. Not the worst in the US, but housing is steep and other daily things are percentage points higher on average than I see in my travels. However many other things are probably on par. Don’t get me started on how expensive dry cleaning is, though!
We moved back here 2 years ago after evaluating seven cities around the country (San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Charlotte, Washington,DC) and Seattle won out hands down. So we feel its worth every extra penny.
March 18, 2013 at 7:13 pm #786079
TjFontenotMemberThanks for the post PLS
This is helpful in many ways..I have been looking for a city that basically has it all. I feel this city can bring greatness and new expieriences to my families lives. It’s just very far from our families and we are trying to get an insiders opinion. It’s a tough decision to pick up and move that kind of distance and not really know the insiders scoop.
We are planning a trip up there in early September. Thanks for the post and hope all is well for you and all of Seattle.
March 18, 2013 at 9:31 pm #786080
AARParticipantWe moved here a little over a year ago, and I’m so happy we did. I have lived in Southern California, Maryland and Atlanta, and hands down West Seattle is where I feel most at home. In the past year, we’ve been able to camp, ski and hike within a 30 minute-1 hour drive. We’ve also gone camping by the Pacific Ocean in the Olympic National Park, which is about a 3 1/2 hour drive (but totally worth it!).
As PLS stated, there are definitely more rural areas within a 30 minute drive from downtown Seattle. I am a huge fan of West Seattle…I feel like I’m living in a smaller, relaxed beach-y town with many interesting people and very family friendly.
All that said, Seattle is somewhat expensive, but it is what you make it. If you’re up for putting in work on an older home in a more “desirable” area, then there are plenty of those. The more rural areas are more affordable as well, even those that are within the 30-minute downtown commute.
Good luck with the decision! I know it’s not an easy one…
-A
March 18, 2013 at 9:38 pm #786081
DBPMemberIs Seattle affordable?
–That depends on your income. If you’re in the six-figure range, you’ll do fine here. If you’re much below 40k, with a couple of kids, you’ll struggle. Unless you’re a very thrifty person.
Your income, in turn, depends on the job sector you’re in. If you’re a well-networked exec, a skilled tradesman, or a software programmer, you’ll do well. If you’re a general laborer, you’re going have a tough time of it.
The housing market is tight. We regularly have out-of-towners come on this forum looking for affordable housing here on the west side. They get discouraged when they see what the rents are like.
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Family oriented?
–Well, Seattle supposedly loves kids, but it seems to me like singles-oriented activities predominate here.
There ARE plenty of little-league sports for kids to be involved in, and downtown has the Pacific Science Center.
There are plenty of parks, too. As in green parks, not theme parks.
Great libraries.
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Safe?
Relatively speaking. For a city it’s size, yes.
March 18, 2013 at 10:55 pm #786082
KatherineLParticipantIf you come here in September, you’ll probably find beautiful weather. September is a summer month here. But we do have months at a time where we don’t see the sun for days and days. I don’t want to discourage you; I like living in Seattle. I like West Seattle. But the grayness does get some people down.
March 19, 2013 at 12:51 am #786083
kgdlgParticipantI would come in the winter months instead – this will give you a more realistic picture of the seasons and the type of grey rainy weather that dominates here. September usually isn’t representative of the weather at all – too sunny!
March 19, 2013 at 12:57 am #786084
JanSParticipantI remember when I first moved here from the east coast…in January. It was gray, gray, gray. I hated it. That was 1975, and I’m still here. It’s home…
March 19, 2013 at 1:49 am #786085
Talaki34ParticipantI lived in Lake Charles for a couple of years. I think your choice in considering the Seattle area as a possible place for you and wife to raise your family is a good one. Have you thought of coming up for a look? Spending a week traveling the area might give you a better idea of what to expect.
For the kids…camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, horseback riding, windsurfing, museums, parks (Federal, State and Local), sports, libraries, trains, zoos, festivals, fishing…Too much to list!
March 19, 2013 at 1:53 am #786086
BonnieParticipantI have a friend who is from New Orleans and has been here for 15 or so years. She never plans on returning. She says the heat is too much in NO.
It is expensive here. I have lived here in the Seattle area all my life though. You do get used to the gray but it can really get you down. Make sure to plan a vacation back ‘home’ to visit family during January or February.
There is crime here as in any other city. I don’t think you can really get around that.
Good luck!
March 19, 2013 at 6:35 am #786087
QueMemberSeattle is a very safe city for its size. It is expensive, but pay tends to be commensurate with the more expensive nature of the city. Much more temperate climate than you are accustomed to. Summer tends to max out with a week where it hits about 92 and we all act like we will faint away in a swoon. The rest of the summer tends to be in the low 80s and sunny. Winter is mild and rainy. It is like a marathon of gray. We all take Vitamin D supplementation to stave off Ricketts and depression. (sort of kidding)
That being said, I moved here 16 years ago and I totally love it. I have lived in lots of places around the country, and this is the one that feels the most like home to me.
March 19, 2013 at 4:33 pm #786088
WorldCitizenParticipantTjFontenot:
I feel like your question is tailored directly to me. I grew up in Youngsville and Lafayette in the 80’s and spent four years in NOLA from ’03-’07. I return often as I have family in Lafayette, Opelousas, Ocean Springs, New Orleans, and Houma. I moved directly from NOLA to Seattle in ’07 and lived there for 4 years with my wife and two little girls. While in Seattle we lived in Wallingford, Alki Beach and currently have a house just south of the Alaska Junction (In West Seattle). Now we live in Berkeley, CA but return to Seattle very regularly to visit friends and take care of our house and tenants.
The question about affordability has already been answered very well in the posts above. It’s one of the more expensive places to live in the country. Not on the level of New York or the Bay Area, but to make it in a place that is nice with close access to a variety of things to do, six figure income helps. You can do it on less, but it gets much harder pretty quickly. That said I know families who do it with significantly less and live within their means…a trait all too rare these days, but that’s for another discussion.
As for Safety and kid friendly questions, well that’s a MUCH tougher question. Safer than NOLA? MUCH SAFER! Safer than most major metropolitan areas? Without a doubt. You have to take what people up here say about the area with an idea of the perspective they have. If they’ve been here for a while it is extremely skewed. Seattle is without a doubt the safest city I’ve ever been in bar none. There are NO projects or centralized areas of extreme poverty. There are drugs and violence, but on an immensely different scale than other large cities. It really is very minor. That said, city sensibilities are warranted and you should conduct yourself as you would in any other city regardless, ie. don’t walk around with your head buried in your phone or a map, lock your car and don’t leave valuables laying around, etc.
If it’s diversity you’re after, Seattle doesn’t have it. I mean technically it does, but it’s one of the most racially segregated cities I’ve ever seen. There’s a huge Asian population here, but generally speaking it’s concentrated in one area. There’s an African American population but again, it’s pretty concentrated in one or two areas (generally south) of the city. The rest of the city is VERY white and homogenous feeling. There’s of course exceptions but they’re just that…exceptions.
Another hard one for me to swallow was the food. The Vietnamese and Chinese food is top quality. There’s even a few food trucks that are interesting and tasty. And of course, there’s Paseo, one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Period. After that it gets a bit sparse. The ingredients around Seattle are second to none. The cooks/chefs, however, aren’t. The general palate of the folks and cooks here is white-bread plain. They’re scared to season their food here and it kills me.
The oysters in the Puget Sound region are the best in the world. But you pay for them. A dozen P&J’s on the half shell in Louisiana will run you $10-$14. Here they’re $2-$3 (not P&J’s) per oyster! But man, they’re AMAZING! Really …amazing. I can’t stress this enough.
Enough about food. The people here are generally nice, courteous, thoughtful, progressive, and well educated. They’re also distant and detached compared to what you’re used to. I’ve never had a harder time meeting people than I have in Seattle. Look up the term “Seattle Freeze”. It’s true. Unfortunately. Now, taking that into account, we have met some lifelong friends here. Just remember, the onus is on you to go ou and make the effort. You have to invite the people over to your place. You have to arrange things to make them happen. Cracking that nut is tough, but once you’ve cracked it, there are some wonderful people here. But there’s a lot of very uptight (relatively speaking) folks in this area. For reference, I’ve lived in Louisiana, Florida, Rhode Island, California, Mississippi, Utah & Seattle to name a few, and the only place I’ve ever had any trouble meeting people is Seattle.
There’s lots of kids stuff to do, and if they’re in school they will make plenty of friends. If they’re earlier than school aged, then it will be a lot tougher to find people to connect with. Just make hay while the sun shines (which is only from July 5th- October ?th.) because that’s the only time people are really out and about. Once the rain/clouds come in, the people go inside to.
I’ll leave you with this major positive…Seattle is the most beautiful city you can imagine. Tree covered hillsides descending into cold clear lakes and rivers with mountains surrounding it and cool clean ar. There’s an immense amount of outdoor activities including, hiking, biking, running, camping, skiing, snowboarding, boating, diving, foraging, fishing, hunting, etc. I’ve never been in as good a shape as I was when I was in Seattle. Great Baseball, Soccer and Football (both college and pros). And that last one kills me as I’m a lifelong Saints fan and was at the playoff game a couple years ago when Marshawn Lynch brok off that run to seal the game for the Hawks which set off readings on the Richter Scale. Loudest stadium and fans I’ve ever heard. And I’ve been to lots of LSU and Saints home games. Truly a sportman’s paradise.
So there’s a lot more info than you asked for, but hopefully it sheds some light on your decision.
March 19, 2013 at 6:36 pm #786089
GAnativeParticipantI agree with a lot of what WorldCitizen said…
I moved here from Metro-Atlanta almost 8 years ago when my husband was transferred but I’m counting the days (years) until I can move somewhere warmer and sunnier.
Seattle is a great city with great people. Very different attitudes and opinions from the south and that’s not a bad thing. It was an experience to live in a blue state during the last 2 presidential elections. I think my kids are much more open minded and accepting by living here.
But it is expensive…gas cost more, groceries cost more, utilities cost more (my water bill in GA was approx $40/mo and here $200+/mo) and the cost of housing is insane. I sold my 2400 sq ft house on an acre there for $165,000 and bought a 3000 sq ft house on 1/8 of an acre here for over $500,000.
If you like doing outdoor activities get used to doing them in the rain. Nothing gets cancelled due to rain. I could tell I’ve been living here too long when I was home last Christmas and took my kids and my nephew to the Atlanta Zoo in the rain; my mom and sister asked me several times if I was still going, the girl at the ticket counter they asked if I was sure I wanted to pay and we only saw 1 other family in the entire zoo. The difference is that it was 75 degrees in Atlanta that day.
There are tons of things to do here but will you do them? We haven’t. The kids are busy with their activities and we’re busy working to afford to live here. We haven’t been to Canada, whale watching, Mt Rainier, Leavenworth for Oktoberfest or Christmas, etc.
That week that it gets above 90 in the summer we do “faint away in a swoon” because the houses don’t have air conditioning. Yes, $500,000 for a house without a/c.
Kids here don’t just go out and play with the kids in the neighborhood. Everyone schedules “play dates”. And the neighbors that you see outside every day in the summer will hibernate (so will you) come fall and you won’t see them again til next summer. I have some neighbors, on my block, which I only see at Halloween when the kids knock on their door.
The city has its problems (infrastructure, transportation, education) but probably no more than any other city this size but its affects us more living in the city vs the burbs and its always in the news.
I would have no problem staying in Seattle if it were south of the Mason-Dixon line; it didn’t take long living here for me to realize that I’m solar and thermal powered.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
March 21, 2013 at 10:38 pm #786090
TjFontenotMemberI would like to thank everyone for taking the time out to give me some insight on what they know about Seattle. Many great points were discussed and a lot of it is what I have been hearing while I’ve been digging for info. Thanks again to all I will post if I have anymore questions.
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