Moving To Seattle
 

I have a really good job offer to join Starbucks (Corporate) in Seattle.

I have only been to Seattle on vacations (and for the 2 job interview trips with Starbucks, of course) so I am not all that familiar with the commute situation in that area. Here are my questions to locals or folks in the know:

(1) any recommendation for Seattle neighborhoods/apartment complexes within 5 miles of Starbucks' Corporate offices in SODO?

(2) Which good suburbs are convenient to south of Downtown Seattle? And how do I commute from there (bus? ferry? drive?)

(3) if you work for Starbucks or know of one, how's the corporate culture over there?

Thanks.

There are quite a few neighborhoods with easy commutes to Starbucks, including an increasing number of apts/condos in the SODO area itself, plus emerging areas like Georgetown (still on the funk side of funkadelic, but improving.) SODO is also convenient to the West Seattle bridge, so that opens tons of possible accommodations in West Seattle and Alki (our own little beach enclave.) Queen Anne, Beacon Hill, and pretty much anything on the SR 99 corridor (including downtown, Belltown etc.) is quite accessible.

Starbucks' location is convenient to SR 99 for airport-area suburbs like Burien or Normandy Park, but there's no need to go to the 'burbs if you don't want to. You can also use I-90 pretty easily, so Mercer Island, Bellevue and Issaquah are also within commute range. Private car or carpool would probably be the best solution; I suspect bus trips would require a change and backhaul from downtown, slowing things down.

Don't; can't comment.

Hi Blind, I went to law school in Seattle and had a few frends who worked at Starbucks in the GC office.

First, I lived on 12th Avenue near Seattle University when I was out there. It is very close to Starbucks Corporate and even walked to the stadium a few times from there. Downtown Seattle has a ton of great apartment complexes in both low rises and high rises. I lived on 12th and Olive in a complex called the Oliver. I loved it great. Very modern and very Seattle with a gym and great rooftop deck. It is a great rental to get started in Seattle.

If you want to head out of downtown it matters on what you are looking for... for older homes and older neighborhoods, I recommend Green Lake, Queen Anne, Ballard just to the North of Downtown. All very nice areas. If you want to venture out west but not all the way, Mercer Island is very nice and is the place to be if you are Jewish.

If you want something "newer" and more "suburban" then head out over the I-90 or evergreen floating bridges... Redmond and Woodinville are my favorites but the longest commute (about an hour or so). Bellevue and Kirkland, both fantastic areas are closer and just as nice. And then there is Issaquah, straight out on I-90 which is also another perfect area. You really cannot go wrong in any one of these suberbs.

As to the corporate culture... all my friends who worked there loved it and all wanted to go back and work there after school. Everyone works hard, but the environment is very employee friendly and considerate. Very happy workers with apparently phenomenol benefits. I think you will find most corporate culture in Seattle, at any company, far exceeds that anywhere else. The quality of life is just so far and beyond that elsewhere. Good people, clean air and a the best place in America to raise a family IMHO.

Enjoy Seattle. Especially Sunday mornings getting fresh fish, vegetable and fruit at Pike Place Market.

I really have nothing pertinent to say except...

Welcome to the 'hood!

Ummm... the difference between vacationing in Seattle and moving here is the difference between admiring a Ferrari brochure and actually trying to own and operate one. Have you been out here in the middle of a dark winter? Have you tried the I-5 commute on a rainy evening? Have you seen how lame and limited our mass-transit options really are? Think VERY carefully about this move. Seattle is beautiful in the warmer / lighter months and has a small, attractive downtown core (where you will not be working; Starbucks in SODO is a sort of desolate warehouse district). Seattle also has hideous growth / congestion problems, off-the-chart cost of living, timid and dissolute political leadership, increasingly fierce and destructive weather, and -- some say -- a culture that is very difficult for outsiders to penetrate. To the latter point, I have lived here 13+ years... when I moved to Washington DC in my mid-twenties, I had a bar table full of new friends by the end of my first week; when I moved to Seattle it was six months before anyone at my new workplace asked what I was doing for lunch. It's a far from uncommon experience.

West Seattle is probably the nicest close option, but very expensive and your only real commuting route is the West Seattle Bridge; one accident on there and you'll be an hour late to work. The Mt. Baker neighborhood is coming back and is near Lake Washington, which is nice. Mercer Island has a few upscale apartment complexes, and is considered a posh zip code, but I-90 is the only way on and off. (In good traffic it's 10 or 15 minutes from there to Starbucks HQ; in bad traffic it's an hour.) There are pockets of Renton that are OK. Stay away from Tukwila, South Park, White Center.

How much did you want to spend? You can look at the Sea-Tac area or a little further south to Federal Way -- lots of OK apartment complexes around there -- but some iffy areas too. As for commuting, you're going to end up driving. The bus service is thin and sclerotic. People who live on the islands and commute via ferry pay through the nose and spend their lives clutching ferry schedules; also, Colman Dock, where the Bainbridge / Bremerton ferries pull up, is a long way from Starbucks HQ -- not walkable.

I've done some projects there over the years. It's healthier than some Seattle work-cultures. (I really disagree with what GoCanes said about corporate cultures in Seattle "far exceeding" that found anywhere else... it's widely variable. A certain very large online bookstore based here, for example, is known for its psychotic/toxic culture.) It's self-consciously frenetic, quasi-disorganized, desperately seeking hipness... basically posing as an agile, fun workplace when it's as huge and humorless as McDonald's. Since sales stalled, accent on the "humorless" part. Anyway, the Starbucks Era has just about peaked, at least around here...

Hope that helps a little... don't mean to sound overly negative... it's just that Seattle is a pretty challenging place to live these days from cost / cultural / logistic standpoints. Not sure I'd move here again given the chance to relive my 1994 decision, and I'm absolutely certain I won't be here permanently. Good luck.

You brought up some very good points. I don't think they're negative at all. But there were a few things I had to comment on.

1) Hideous growth...what city doesn't have sprawl problems. Especially Atlanta where the OP is from.

Transportation from the suburbs to downtown is poor. However, within downtown/SODO is excellent. Busses are full of professionals, suit and ties. That's why I would suggest you find a condo/apt in downtown. Probably can live with one car if your married.

2) Culture is very different...minor differences from Atlanta, but it's still in the United States. People like to point out differences, but we all have Starbucks, strip malls, and cell phones wherever you go. Just takes a minor adjustment.

Co-workers took me out to a sportsbar and went skiing with me after my first week on the job. My wife was out shopping with co-workers on hers. Morale might not have been good at your workplace?

Fierce weather? The Pacific Northwest has the most benign weather in the country!

I would move back in a heartbeat if given the chance!

duplicate

Thanks, guys, for the feedback. All very informative.

Like one poster above mentioned, I live in Atlanta now, in the Buckhead area, where traffic is a ...... Prior to that, I was in Chicago, in the Wrigleyville area, which is just as bad as Buckhead during rush hours. Therefore, if I live within 10 miles of Starbucks, I think I'll be okay.

My wife and I are looking for at least a 2 bedroom apartment (preferably 3, to turn one as a guest room and another as a home office). Could I get something like this under $2k a month within a short distant of the office?

Many do, of course, but the difference here is Seattle's patent refusal to cope with them. In rainy weather it now takes up to two hours to drive I-5 from Everett to Seattle, a 20-mile trip whose "normal travel time" is 25 minutes, but there is no plan to do anything about it. We have a crucial downtown elevated highway, the "viaduct," that has been teetering on the verge of collapse since our last big earthquake in 2001. Everyone has known it for nearly seven years, but there is no repair or replacement plan. That's quintessential Seattle.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I've found my experience very common. Google the term "Seattle Freeze," or read this:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pac...213/cover.html

I and many others found it incredibly accurate -- it broke the "letters to the editor" volume record at the Seattle Times -- but the poor reporter who wrote it was practically tarred and feathered by the locals.

Three or four winters ago it rained every day for one hundred days. Last December we had a ferocious December windstorm that uprooted thousands of trees, knocked out utilities in my entire county, and left some in the dark for literally weeks. Two weeks ago we had a record rainstorm (six inches in one day measured out on Bainbridge) that caused multi-billion-dollar flood damage in Thurston / Lewis counties, derailing trains, drowning thousands of cattle and destroying hundreds of homes; it was on the national news. Seems like lately we have one of those "hundred-year storms" every 12 months or so. Weather patterns in general are getting more severe and we are very vulnerable to more violent Pacific weather systems.

Let's not even get into earthquake vulnerability and the tsunami warning system.

In about nine years, when my kid is through school, I'll make you a deal on my house. ;) For the OP, however, I would agree that it would be best to take a downtown apartment, perhaps in Belltown, rather than camping in the suburbs.

It is said that New York City is a community where your superficial exchanges are gruff or aggressive (with the deli counterman, building super, etc.) but you soon make friends who remain friends for life. Seattle is a city where your superficial exchanges (with the barista, dry cleaner, etc.) are warm and friendly, but you spend one New Year's Eve after the next at home by yourself.

Sprawl is not Seattle's problem. It's the suburbs' problem.

I would definitely suggest you start looking at craigslist.com for rentals. You can definitely find a 2BR apartment for $2K or less. Neighborhoods I like:

Madison Park, Leschi, Laurelhurst, Upper Queen Anne (away from the Seattle Center), Greenlake, Wallingford, Columbia City (still undergoing gentrification but areas are nice and it's definitely up and coming). I have lived in the city until 2 years ago when I moved to Bainbridge. I love living on the island when I'm on the island but the commute (I work downtown Seattle) has gotten old and I'll be moving back to the city next year.

The bus system is fine imo. You might have to wait a bit but it works and is easy to get within walking distance of where you need to be.

As far as *$ is concerned, well. . .I personally know of 5 people that have recently left since they're not finding it "enjoyable" anymore (and 3 of them moved to Microsoft!). But I also know 2 people who have worked there for awhile and like the company a lot. So it depends.

As far as Seattle not being friendly. I'd have to agree with that. I've lived here for most of my adult life and although people are superficially nice; getting "deeper" friendships is difficult at best. If you have kids though that will help a lot. There are many outlets for meeting people too e.g., political groups, volunteer organizations, sports.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or if I can assist in any way. I think you'll enjoy Seattle quite a bit. Four friends of mine moved from Marietta GA two years ago and said that they wish they had done this a lot sooner! :)

If your budget is in the 2K range then definitely look at West Seattle! You have the best of all options in that the community is relatively isolated and on the water with a huge beach to access, restaurants, views of Seattle across the bay or Olympic mountains and the sunset to the west. Unlike other areas of Seattle, this area feels like a resort community with many upscale condos and apts. that would fit within your price range; you might even score a waterfront place.

The only "caveat" about West Seattle is that the only way in/out is through the Viaduct which will probably be coming down in the next year or so (plus an e-quake would bring it down faster!). Not to be a negative Nelly; just being realistic. I love West Seattle but keep that in mind when searching.

Ditto on West Seattle; possibly the Admiral area. A friend lives there and loves being able to walk to Metropolitan Market, Starbucks, the library, etc. Alki Beach area is a great place to go running/eat at cafes and restaurants -- not yet overwhelmed by chain restaurants like some of the burbs.

There are three different ways to get into downtown Seattle besides the Viaduct (which wouldn't be taken anyway if SODO is the destination). The West Seattle bridge could be the choke point.......school is not out regarding the fate of the Viaduct. Earthquake threat is always a possibility but not to be paranoid about.

Alki beach and Harbor Avenue offer some 5 miles of flat biking, roller blading, walking, running, etc., all along the water's edge!

I would believe that bargains could be found in rents since the community is primarily an older neighborhood and not as "yuppie" as others across the lake.

Good luck in your search......:)^