Seattle's Urban Villages

Seattle Survival Guide: Helpful Information for Moving to Seattle

If you are moving to Seattle, or recently arrived, then here is a tip for YOU!   

A few months before I moved to Seattle from Southern California in 1994, I found a very helpful book called "Seattle Survival Guide II".  Since I did not know anyone who lived in Seattle I found this to be a great resource (pre-Internet!) to help me get to know Seattle before making my Big Move.

   

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A few weeks ago I was browsing a bookstore and found a book called "Seattle Survival Guide. 4th edition".  My curiosity made me pick up the book to check it out because it reminded me of my old book with all the highlights, and notes on the margins.  I decided to buy it and see if it was the updated version of my old helpful book.  As it turns out, it is the newest edition of a series of books on Seattle, now with web addresses as well as street addresses.  Great resource if you are relocating to Seattle, the Eastside or the other surrounding areas.

It was fun to see the changes between the my older version and the newest edition which is subtitled "The Essential Handbook for Seattle and Eastside Living".  The older version did not have any web addresses since the Internet had not really arrived yet.  The new book includes many more areas like Bellevue , South Seattle areas and cities, as well as the Islands; Mercer , Bainbridge , and Vashon.

One of the topics is employment in Seattle, and both editions list the top 10 companies.  There have been some major changes there too.  Microsoft did not make the top 5 in the older edition.  Amazon had only just come into existence and was just a little start up no one had heard of.

If you are thinking of moving to Seattle, or your job is causing you to relocate to Seattle, this might be a good resource for you...it was for me!

John L. Scott launches "Neighborhood Wizard" Search Tool for Home Buyers!

Last night around midnight, John L. Scott launched it's new online toy for Home Buyers to make searches easier with the Neighborhood Wizard search tool.  The Neighborhood Wizard allows searches to be customized by "drawing a boundary line" with the mouse around the area that the Home Buyer is interested in.  This allows a narrower search area than could be done before, and helps to make sure a Home Buyer does not miss a home that the Listing Agent may have entered under a different neighborhood name, or perhaps the Home Buyer is unaware of.

So just after midnight I was playing around with this cool new tool and did several searches to get a feel for how it works.  The last one I did was a complicated boundary outline around Alki which was fairly easy to do once you got the hang of "clicking" at each point before changing direction. 

Bravo to John L. Scott (Okay confession...JLS is my broker so I am a little biased, but this is a really cool tool for Home Buyers!) for continuing to be a major leader with Real Estate innovation!

3 Things to Know About Seattle Before Moving to Seattle...

There are lots of popular Myths about Seattle that need to be corrected if you are thinking of moving to Seattle.  Here are My Top 3 Things to Know When You are Thinking About Moving to Seattle.

#1.  That we are basically a two industry town; Microsoft and Boeing - Myth.                                              

Seattle actually has a very diverse industry base .  Yes, both Microsoft and Boeing are large employers and we have industry leaders in Biotechnology, International Trade and Shipping, Technology, Retail, Philanthropy, Arts.  Our University of Washington (UW) even has an established program for cultivating future business innovation and entrepreneurship called "The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship"

#2  That we only drink coffee - Myth.

While Seattle does boast the origin of Starbucks and Starbucks has unloosed Seattle's (and the World's) hidden inner caffeine fiend, we are also well know for our Microbreweries , and supporting Eastern Washington's growing Wine Industry with wine tastings and educational programs from the Enological Society (okay so they are not all focused on Washington's wineries!)

#3  That "...it rains Nine Months of the Year in Seattle" - "Sleepless In Seattle " - Myth.

Yes, we do have a lot of drizzly gray days but our average Seattle rain fall is actually only 36 inches compared to 60" in New Orleans, 58" in Miami, 44" in Boston, 40" in New York City, 39" in Washington DC, 34" in Chicago, 19" in San Fransisco, 12" in L.A. per our Northwest Weather Room .  We can have a month of straight gloomy, gray drizzle usually in November, and we can have dazzling sunshine in the middle of January like we did several times last January and on the weekends too!  The Grand Opening of The Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park on January 20th & 21st 2007, was an outdoor celebration in bright sunshine, and wow (!) did Seattle come out to see it's newest outdoor space!

So now you know a few things about Seattle to overturn what I think are the 3 Top Myths about Seattle.  Of course I am sure there are more...let me know what you have heard about Seattle...and I'll add some more to my Things to Know About Seattle!

My journey to "The Center of the Universe" the third day after I moved to Seattle....

I moved to Seattle the fall of 1994 not knowing a soul in town.   But when I arrived my best friend who had moved to Lewiston, Idaho a few years before, met me at my new apt. in a suburb of Seattle - Tukwila.   

It was in the afternoon when I pulled in the parking lot driving the huge rental moving van and pulling the trailer with my VW Bug (the late Bugasaurus).  My friend helped me unload the van, and some nice neighbor guys helped with some larger things.  The following day my friend and I unpacked and set up my home for the 15 months until I was ready to buy a home in Seattle.

My third day was the beginning of my Seattle Adventure of exploring what I now call Seattle's Urban Villages.... 

We went to Fremont, self proclaimed Center of the Universe!  There, resides the Giant Troll hiding under Aurora Bridge, a kitschy 53 foot rocket ship stands ready at launch, and a statue of Lenin is frozen mid-stride in a plaza.  Fremont also hosts it's annual Solstice Parade (June 16th) with it's wild and fun celebrants both on the street and along the sidewalks, and as the Fremont Chamber of Commerce notes, Fremont is "Far from Normal".

We explored shops like Les Amis, Deluxe Junk, and Fremont Antique Mall, that are still our favorites to stop by every time we visit.  I had my first Thai food that day and of course my first official cup of coffee in Seattle!

This funky and fun introduction to Seattle began what would eventually transform into my interest in sharing Seattle's Urban Villages to the world with blogging and, as a Seattle Real Estate Agent, allow me to help my buyer clients know where to look when buying a home in Seattle that best suits their goals and lifestyle.

Why I Moved to Seattle...My Top 10 Reasons!

Moving to Seattle from Southern California (San Diego via Orange county) in October of 1994 was a wild idea since I did not know a soul, but I had my reasons! 

#10 - I was never going to be able to afford to buy a house in San Diego or Orange County. 

#9 -  Seattle reminds me of what I like best about San Diego...both are hilly, have lots of coastline, are close to mountains...but Seattle is greener and has a lot more trees! 

#8 - The Mountains....Mt Baker, Mt St. Helens, the Cascades, the Olympics and...ahhhh...Mount Rainier!  That fabulous, snow-capped volcano...just takes your breath away when you see it. 

#7 - Art - lots of Art!  There is a very vibrant art community in Seattle.

#6 - The Ferries an instant get-a-way! 

#5 - Who wouldn't want to see (if you're very lucky) Orcas swimming in the Sound ? 

#4 - Spying Bald Eagles soaring in Seattle skies while driving...WoW!  I will never stop being excited seeing one! 

#3 - The outdoor activities are wonderful, and because of the weather, you can enjoy indoor activities without the guilt wasting a sunny day!  A mini vacation get-a-way!

#2 - The weather...I got so tired of what I called "relentless sunshine" while living in Southern California.  Okay, so now in February I get a little tired of our "relentless drizzle" and begin to crave spending some time in So. Cal. or Tucson where I was born!  I love the cooler marine weather we have in Seattle, my favorite temperature range is 68 to 70 degrees!

And my number 1 reason is.......The coffee, you just can't fully savour a cup of coffee when it's 80 plus degrees and bright sunshine!