Confused in Seattle (Vancouver, Rainier: renters, health insurance, job market)

[Blindtom]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Seattle photo documentaries on Skyscraperpage

Where is Skyscraper page? Skyscraper.com, I found it - duh.

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by Blindtom

Where is Skyscraper page? Skyscraper.com, I found it - duh.

Skyscraperpage.com

[pw72]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Skyscraperpage.com

I believe the correct address of the site you all are referring to is:

SkyscraperCity - Powered by vBulletin

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by pw72

I believe the correct address of the site you all are referring to is:

SkyscraperCity - Powered by vBulletin

Weird, I wasn't familiar with SkyscraperCity - it's actually SkyScraperPage that I was referring to (particularly this part of the website, as it's there where people post photo documentaries of cities)

SkyscraperPage Forum

But those two sites look almost like clones, but they're actually different sites.

[pw72]

OK, thanks for pointing that site out. However, look at the total posts and you will see that Skyscrapercity has 10X or more users than SkyscraperPage. Are you saying "skyscraperpage" is part of city-data? Perhaps a moderator can clarify. I don't see "skyscraperpage" listed on city-data's homepage, perhaps I missed it. Not sure who started what, but skyscrapercity is the predominent site for urban/land/building issues. I hope there isn't some sort of conflict between city-data and other sites. They tend to blend together to create a lot of good information and photos. However, if skyscraperpage is part of city-data, then I could see the conflict.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

I've been thinking about moving from NYC to Seattle for some time. I'm in Seattle right now exploring neighborhoods and looking for places to live and am not sure anymore I want to move. Where are kids, where are playgrounds? I have 2 playgrounds and a nice park 5 minutes walk from where I live. Some of my friends in Seattle saying NYC is not a good place to raise kids. Are they joking? Seattle is?

I'm driving like crazy all around the town trying to find something attractive, but other than natural setting... nothing. I have a couple of friends who live in Seattle with whom I'm staying and they say that it's not the city but natural setting. I do like some things like nature and climate, but freeways and single houses are killing me. Seattle looks to me not like a single city, but a collection of villages full of houses connected together by freeways. Is that not depressing? Now, instead of bringing my whole family, I'm planning to move alone and try it out for a month or two. I'll probably do it this January / February to "enjoy" the place during winter months.

Ballard, Capitol Hill... what is so special about them? Capitol Hill has Broadway, which is a bad version of Vancouver's Commercial Drive and 15th Ave and other than that houses... houses... houses. Even Belltown is dead after dark.

It's not the first time I'm in Seattle, but first time not as a tourist. Am I missing something? Other than nature, what else does Seattle offer? If nature is taken away, can it stand alone as a city? For now, it looks to me like a couple of skyscrapers in the downtown and the rest are houses and freeways. I'm really confused.

Quoted my own OP for your review.

So, after spending 7 days in Seattle, I hit the road and arrived in Vancouver, BC. Strolled all over the downtown area, especially Yaletown and West End areas. Today went to Kitsilano, especially the area around the W. 4th Ave. This is exactly what I was looking for and didn't find in Seattle. This is what my original post was all about. Kits is exactly what I was looking for. I found my place to live!

Thanks everybody for your tips and advice and also those who said I should not move to Seattle. Enjoy Seattle. It's a great place to live! As for me, I found my place in Vancouver, BC.

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

Quoted my own OP for your review.

So, after spending 7 days in Seattle, I hit the road and arrived in Vancouver, BC. Strolled all over the downtown area, especially Yaletown and West End areas. Today went to Kitsilano, especially the area around the W. 4th Ave. This is exactly what I was looking for and didn't find in Seattle. This is what my original post was all about. Kits is exactly what I was looking for. I found my place to live!

Thanks everybody for your tips and advice and also those who said I should not move to Seattle. Enjoy Seattle. It's a great place to live! As for me, I found my place in Vancouver, BC.

Your welcome! You have very good taste. Kitsilano is a very nice place to live. I remember when I was single going up there to talk to the ladies of seemingly every stripe, take in the gorgeous beach and admire the skyline with the mountains in the background.

And in retrospect, I think Vancouver is more like the NYC of the Pacific NW, or the West Coast in general. The feel is more like a big city than Seattle or Portland, is more cosmopolitan, is also a major seaport, and is internationally recognized. So, I think you were basically searching for a NYC of the West Coast more than anything. More power to you and I'm glad you found something

Some things to think about:

1) Getting a Canadian permanent residency. If you can get a job there, or make a business, they'll welcome you. It's helpful to have a letter of recommendation from a prospective employer. Otherwise, you might have a tough time.

2) Traffic in Vancouver can be even more irritating than Seattle.

3) Cost of living. As I'm sure you already saw, it can be more expensive to live there, especially in a central place like Kitsilano.

4) East Hastings st. is very unpleasant. I saw a homeless woman get her shirt nearly ripped off by a group of about 10 guys, also homeless, around there before she went into an alley. Definitely avoid that area by night. Also, there can be friction between the various Chinese people (the Hong Kong people and their children generally hate the "mainlanders" ... the reason why so many people from Hong Kong are there is because a ton fled to Canada and other British Commonwealth states just before China took back control from Great Britain in 97, and there's frequent protests in front of the Chinese consulate).

5) Vancouver in most respects is also a very cool city.

[franklin42]

Congrats! I've always wanted to visit Vancouver, one day perhaps. As long as you and your family are happy, nothing else really matters(except if Mudhoney plays and they don't make it up to B.C. you have to drive down to see them!). All I know is that if you don't feel a certain vibe when you visit a city, it probably wasn't meant to be. Good luck.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Your welcome! You have very good taste. Kitsilano is a very nice place to live. I remember when I was single going up there to talk to the ladies of seemingly every stripe, take in the gorgeous beach and admire the skyline with the mountains in the background.

And in retrospect, I think Vancouver is more like the NYC of the Pacific NW, or the West Coast in general. The feel is more like a big city than Seattle or Portland, is more cosmopolitan, is also a major seaport, and is internationally recognized. So, I think you were basically searching for a NYC of the West Coast more than anything. More power to you and I'm glad you found something

Some things to think about:

1) Getting a Canadian permanent residency. If you can get a job there, or make a business, they'll welcome you. It's helpful to have a letter of recommendation from a prospective employer. Otherwise, you might have a tough time.

2) Traffic in Vancouver can be even more irritating than Seattle.

3) Cost of living. As I'm sure you already saw, it can be more expensive to live there, especially in a central place like Kitsilano.

4) East Hastings st. is very unpleasant. I saw a homeless woman get her shirt nearly ripped off by a group of about 10 guys, also homeless, around there before she went into an alley. Definitely avoid that area by night. Also, there can be friction between the various Chinese people (the Hong Kong people and their children generally hate the "mainlanders" ... the reason why so many people from Hong Kong are there is because a ton fled to Canada and other British Commonwealth states just before China took back control from Great Britain in 97, and there's frequent protests in front of the Chinese consulate).

5) Vancouver in most respects is also a very cool city.

Thanks, Eskercurve.

My spouse and me are Canadian permanent residents. We received Canadian "green cards" some time ago, but were always unsure about moving to Canada. However, our baby was born in the US after we got our Canadian permanet residency. We need to sponsor him.

And yes, I know about rhe traffic, the high cost of living, East Hastings (was there a couple of times) and Chinese gangs shootings. Did my homework. Trying to figure out how to earn our living in Vancouver. So far, have no idea how they support their lifestyle in Vancouver. And I don't mean reach immigrants who invested in the real estate but live somewhere else. I mean working Canadians who both live and earn their living in Vancouver. Any ideas?

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by franklin42

Congrats! I've always wanted to visit Vancouver, one day perhaps. As long as you and your family are happy, nothing else really matters(except if Mudhoney plays and they don't make it up to B.C. you have to drive down to see them!). All I know is that if you don't feel a certain vibe when you visit a city, it probably wasn't meant to be. Good luck.

Franklin, I absolutly love Mudhoney and will drive anywhere to see them play as long as they do. Went to their shows each time they played in NYC. You should really see Vancouver one day. It's almost as good as being at a Mudhoney show.