Los angeles to Seattle? (Bellevue, Shoreline: house, unemployment, transfer) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

dianamo90 · 03-08-2011, 04:08 PM

im from los angeles... currently living with my parents... i want out! its about that time where i need to make decisions on my own... ive been looking into out of state transfers... i just got fired from my current job... and im in school fulltime... i am willing to cut that to a part time schedule and get the hell out of here...

i was considering moving up to northern california or maybe seattle... any advice?... money isnt such a great issue considering i have alittle over 25k to get me started in a new state....

here are some of my questions:
What are the people like?
i need to go to school too! any suggestions? community colleges?
is finding a job difficult?
is it expensive to live there? ( IMPORTANT)

any suggestions are appreciated!

Seacove · 03-08-2011, 04:27 PM

What are the people like?
Very polite but not necessarily overtly friendly. It can take time to get to know people.
i need to go to school too! any suggestions? community colleges?
There are many schools in the Seattle Metro area, including community colleges. Out of state tuition may be an issue at first.
is finding a job difficult?
It is competitive. We have 9% unemployment here, so it depends on your skills. The IT sector can be better than others depending on your skills and background.
is it expensive to live there? ( IMPORTANT)
It depends on what you're comparing it to. It is less than Los Angeles, but more than most other parts of the country. It is more expensive the closer into Seattle you are and less further out, but with that comes a lengthy commute. Traffic is less than Los Angeles but more than many other parts of the country. You might read through some of the threads to get an idea.

dianamo90 · 03-08-2011, 04:41 PM

what about Shoreline or Bellevue?... well i dont know much but i just want a friendly not so much party-crazy calm community... where i can go to school and work and on my free time take a walk in the park without having to worry about getting jumped like in LA.

Seacove · 03-08-2011, 04:46 PM

Shoreline and Bellevue are different in every way. Bellevue is slightly upscale, older, lots of retired people but also very good public and private schools. Mostly older homes on large lots. Shoreline is north of Seattle, older feeling, more middle class with a variety of places to live but not upscale. Neither place is dangerous and there are parks all around. You might take a look at the Green Lake area.

lalagonegaga · 03-12-2011, 02:44 AM

Hi there,

I'm responding to you because I feel I'm pretty qualified to answer on certain points. I'm an L.A. native and I made the mistake of moving to Seattle about 3 years ago. I say 'mistake' for a variety of reasons, but it's nothing sinister or awful, just REALLY not GOOD FIT. Oh, and for what it's worth, I've lived in 7 states as an adult, including Washington, which is where I'm currently "trapped". Not really... just saving $ because I can't wait to get outta here =)

I don't know if you're aware of what's called the "Seattle Freeze", but it a special kind of reserve that can be VERY hard to take. People are polite to a fault, but that is pretty much where it ends. Someone upthread touched on this, the 'getting to know people is hard' thing. I can't overemphasize this because coming from L.A., you'll be so very excited by the seeming "pleasantness' of it all until you realize that folks here are very tough nuts to crack. Very. L.A. ain't perfect, but people are pretty open, so this might be something that wears on you, much like the weather. Yeah the the weather thing...you should really think about that long and hard. I mean really think about that. And then think again. Seriously.

And this may sound silly, but there is a very small town mentality here. Seattle is only a city (if you're coming from L.A. or any other big city) technically speaking. There is a bias against people from California (I'm serious, it's hard to get into on this forum, but just trust me). It's great if you know someone who knows someone, but without that, it will be tough to get even a crappy job.

There's more I could mention, but that's just a little info for you to consider from someone who has a perspective that pertains to your situation. Oh, and I know what it's like to need to get the H_LL away from your parents and such. Just make sure that whatever move you make is not about "fleeing", but about being where you WANT to be. Try not to let the circumstances dictate everything.

Seacove · 03-12-2011, 09:51 AM

^^^Very interesting. I work for a large company so people coming and going between Seattle and California is so common it's treated as nothing more than a longer commute.

I agree, Seattle has a small town feel, both literally and figuratively. A few weeks of following the news or reading the paper and you will have the politics and the people down. You could not do that in LA.

Seattle people are just reserved. Here is a Seattle example:

When my husband and I moved here, it was just before Google Maps and gps systems. We had a house full of furniture in a U-Haul with a car on a trailer behind it and I was driving the other car. Eastside streets are numbered and subtle differences can mean miles. As we made a second pass down a neighborhood street looking for the storage place, a well dressed man came up to the drivers side and asked my husband if he could help. My husband showed him the address and he said no problem, he would lead us there. He got in his car with our vehicles following and proceeded to get on the freeway. We followed him several miles as he took an exit and lead us right to it. We were embarrassed and grateful. In other places, you might have learned his name. In Seattle, he shook our hands, wished us all the best and went on his way.

When people talk about the Seattle freeze, I get it but I also see a Seattle that is reserved yet giving to a fault.

lalagonegaga · 03-12-2011, 05:06 PM

Seacove, you make a valid point. It can definitely go both ways. I just feel that someone coming from L.A. specifically might really just want to consider how the day-to-day reserve might get to them. I'm not just talking about the occasional, anecdotal evidence of the "politeness" that everyone seems to be on the same page about. Folks in L.A. are, to a great degree, outgoing. Folks here in the PNW are, to a great degree, not. Just food for thought for the OP.

JJTheDamager · 03-12-2011, 07:32 PM

Dear OP please don't come to Seattle the traffic is bad enough and it seem's many people from California don't know how to drive in the rain. It rains a lot here so..... any who it's your decision. When I was in San Diego last summer I got my hair cut and the barber told me he use to live in Seattle. He said the difference between the people in Seattle and San Diego-L.A., Seattle people are gloomy like the weather and people from Southern California are outgoing but most of them are full of S$*! I couldn't help but laugh. You would probably be better off in Cali unless you don't mind the rain and long cold winters. It seemed to me the girls in California were friendlier and more outgoing. I've lived in Seattle and the surrounding areas my whole life and while I have had many girlfriends a lot of girls in this area don't smile much and a lot of them aren't easy to approach like girls in California. The mall in San Diego blew me away got so many numbers and smiles. Well now I'm rambling and I'll end it by saying I hope you reach your goal and get away from your parent's I know how you feel.

415_s2k · 03-12-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lalagonegaga

Seacove, you make a valid point. It can definitely go both ways. I just feel that someone coming from L.A. specifically might really just want to consider how the day-to-day reserve might get to them. I'm not just talking about the occasional, anecdotal evidence of the "politeness" that everyone seems to be on the same page about. Folks in L.A. are, to a great degree, outgoing. Folks here in the PNW are, to a great degree, not. Just food for thought for the OP.

I'm a Seattle native who then moved to Boston with his family in his teens... then moved to LA for school and lived there for five years... then to the Bay Area for a year... then back to Seattle for a year and a half... now back in the SF Bay Area.

In Seattle, people are more likely to smile and wave at you than they are in San Francisco, and about as likely as they are in LA, but I guess the best way to describe the difference between the two is that in LA, you're more apt to wonder if they're screwing with you, if that makes any sense.

The main difference is that I had many situations in LA where someone being polite at work, school, in a bookstore, etc. meant that we'd exchange numbers and meet up for a drink later. It took awhile for me to adapt to the fact that, in LA, if you were at a bookstore and someone was in the same section as you and you recommended a book to them, more often than not it'd lead to a conversation; if not a conversation, it led to a polite, "thanks!" In Seattle, I did this a few times at Barnes and Noble or Borders, and people looked at me like I was a psycho. The sort of passing banter that was the norm in LA or SF, or in pretty much any other big city I've ever been to, was practically taboo in Seattle.

I just couldn't take it and moved back as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Before moving here, I'd suggest trying to take maybe a week or so before the weather gets nice and see how it works for you.

Vinylly · 03-12-2011, 07:52 PM

What are the people like? They're all like me, -ugly and mean.
Any Community Colleges? There are lots of Community Colleges.
Is finding a job difficult? Just like everywhere else, very difficult.
Is it expensive to live here? Brother, you don't know what expensive is until you live here.

moderator interpose: To participants in this thread, please keep all the discussion about the "Seattle Freeze" in the thread dedicated to this subject. We DO NOT want 8 or more threads going at once on this topic as has happened in the past. Thanks.