Moving to Seattle

[joejoejoe1]

Hello All!

My wife and I are moving from San Diego to Seattle in the next month, and would love your advise. We currently have two cards and the furniture to fill a one bedroom condo. We are planning on selling one car and getting rid of a lot of furniture (planning on keeping Bed, Couch, TV among other things), so we are planning on using a POD service to move the furniture.

The best quote so far has come from UPack, but would love to hear ideas on how to make this move as affordable as possible. We are open to driving a truck, but the quotes we have received that include a hitch for the car are more expensive than the truck by about $600. Please let us know if you have any advise. We greatly appreciate it!

+Any current/past Seattle residents, I will be working in Bellevue, so any advise on neighborhoods will be welcomed too! Married couple with no children.

[Laserjet3051]

I've used PODs before (in San Diego)  and they offer incredible convenience that you just can't get with a truck, whether you drive it yourself or use a moving service. That said, several competitor's to PODs have shown up on the circuit over  the years, providing the same service at a lower price point. I went with one of these competitors for my last move and was happy with them (can't remember the name, it may have been UPack).

The luxury of taking ones time to load and unload over days or even weeks cant be beat. Not to mention the flexibility in pick up and drop off of the POD if timing on moving out/in changes. Just make sure to tie everything down well and insure cargo appropriately.

Before PODs, moving was always a huge stress/hassle, with PODs (or similar) it is quite easygoing and watching them lift the POD onto the truck is quite a show.

[honeybbq]

Welcome! Most people who live here will call your move 'to the East Side' rather than 'Seattle'. I have no suggestions with movers so I'll move on to the area:

Welcome to ridiculously high housing and rent and unimaginable traffic jams. I hope you have a place to live already? If not, find a place yesterday.

The good news is there are lots of nice bike lanes on the east side and you could probably bike commute if that is your thing, otherwise find a house on the bus route.
Driving in and out of Bellevue will make you crazy! Where is your wife working?

Nice areas include:
Downtown Bellevue. Not very mustachian but can be fun in you are DINKS. You could walk to work, etc.
Sammamish: can live by the lake, lots of bike paths and access to the mountains
Kirkland: more family oriented, houses are cheaper
Marymoor: again, more family oriented with access to outdoors

What's important to you? That can help us guide you. And get used to lots of Costco trips. :D

[Glenstache]

When you say hitch for the car, are you talking about towing the car or using the car to tow a uhaul (or similar) trailer and installing a hitch? Most modern cars are pretty easy to install a $150 bolt on hitch on *provided* your car has the towing capacity to actually pull the trailer.

[shelbyautumn]

I've made a couple moves across the country. One from Southern California to Colorado in 2013 and most recently from Colorado to Mississippi last July.

CA -> CO (1000 miles+, 2 day trip, 1 night in hotel)
Dad has a work truck so he towed a small U-Haul trailer for us.
I drove my car (loaded with stuff).
DH drove his car (loaded with stuff).

CO -> MS (1130 miles+, 2 day trip, 1 night in hotel)
Step-dad drove a Penske truck. I ended up buying a AAA membership for a discount. I booked early so it was about $850 including the AAA membership.
My mom and I drove my car.
DH drove his car.
 
It may even be worth it to invite a friend or family member to help drive and fly them back on a one-way ticket - that might mean you can drive straight through and don't need to stop one night. Definitely look up promo codes. It will save you HUNDREDS.

[seattlecyclone]

I recommend living on the Eastside, as close to the office as you can. As much as I prefer Seattle as a place to live over the suburbs, life's too short to drive over Lake Washington every day. Perhaps the situation will change in five years when there's a train to downtown Bellevue. For now, pick a home near your job. If you find you want to move somewhere else, look into moving jobs too. There are great opportunities all over.

[merlin7676]

I live in Seattle and work in Redmond (next to Bellevue). Like the previous ppl said, you should expect very HCOL whether you're in Seattle or Bellevue. Lots and lots of traffic.  Getting anywhere takes forever whether you drive your car or use public transportation. Finding a condo can be problematic since developers aren't building condos much anymore; it's all apartments being built.

[nwhiker]

I have used UPack and I would recommend it over POD. POD was more expensive and it couldn't guarantee when the POD could be delivered beyond stating it within 30 days of request. So he could be delivered the day after you arrive at your home or a month later. That just wasn't my cup of tea, plus more expensive. With UPack the price they quote is based on estimated space for your size home. When the pick up the trailer they measure and if you can pack tightly and boom you get charged less. When I moved I got several friends and it turned into a giant game of Tetris. I was able to shave 5' off the estimated space and saved a few hundred dollars.

[HPstache]

Welcome!  Don't mind the gray... it'll get better in a few months.

[joejoejoe1]

Hello All,

Thanks so much for all the help! I used the advise of the majority of people here and booked a moving package with UPack. I also just found a place in the eastgate neighborhood of bellevue for a pretty good deal. This place is only a 10 min. drive or a 30 min bike ride from work.

The weather is thankfully getting better and better now, so it's looking pretty great. Again, thanks for all the help!

[Syonyk]

+Any current/past Seattle residents, I will be working in Bellevue, so any advise on neighborhoods will be welcomed too! Married couple with no children.

"As close to work as you can afford."  Traffic is awful and getting worse daily.  The "highways" are a joke 4-5 hours of the day - I could literally ebike faster than traffic on the highway.

I suggest an ebike for transportation.  It solves the hills nicely, and will typically outrun a car over a typical route.  Build something with 1500W (nobody checks the limits), or buy a Rad Wagon/Rad Rover, make sure it has the best wrap around fenders you can buy, get rain gear, get a neon helmet cover, and it will reduce your misery somewhat.  Biking in the rain sucks.  Sitting in traffic in the rain is worse.  And after the random storm knocks down trees all over the area, you can still get home in less than a few hours.

Most modern cars are pretty easy to install a $150 bolt on hitch on *provided* your car has the towing capacity to actually pull the trailer.

No reasonable car has the capacity to tow a moving trailer cross country.  Period.

If the "car" is a 3/4 ton pickup or greater, then it should be fine.  Otherwise, use a proper tow vehicle.

Thanks so much for all the help! I used the advise of the majority of people here and booked a moving package with UPack. I also just found a place in the eastgate neighborhood of bellevue for a pretty good deal. This place is only a 10 min. drive or a 30 min bike ride from work.

Did you check the drive time during rush hour?  It's probably closer to 30 minutes during rush hour.  An ebike should do it in 15-20 minutes.

The weather is thankfully getting better and better now, so it's looking pretty great. Again, thanks for all the help!

Don't worry, it'll abuse you again.

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/seattle_weather is accurate.

Everyone out there has Stockholm Syndrome about the weather.  "It stopped beating me for a minute, isn't it amazing?"

Get a sun lamp and vitamin D supplements.  Use them.  It reduces the misery, slightly.  As does coffee.

Your rent will probably increase 10%/yr, so plan for that.

You're on the east side, so you probably won't have as many meth addicts stealing everything that isn't bolted down, though I expect they'll start moving over that way in the next few years.

Getting into Seattle is a selection of dreadful options.  All suck.  All are slow.  Everything is expensive.

Anyway, good luck.  I moved out of the Seattle east side a few years ago (to rural farm country), and could not be happier having left that circle of Hell.

On the plus side, I hear that people have mostly gotten the "Wowie, we can buy marijuana!" out of their systems so the entire region doesn't reek quite as often...

[Glenstache]

+Any current/past Seattle residents, I will be working in Bellevue, so any advise on neighborhoods will be welcomed too! Married couple with no children.

"As close to work as you can afford."  Traffic is awful and getting worse daily.  The "highways" are a joke 4-5 hours of the day - I could literally ebike faster than traffic on the highway.

I suggest an ebike for transportation.  It solves the hills nicely, and will typically outrun a car over a typical route.  Build something with 1500W (nobody checks the limits), or buy a Rad Wagon/Rad Rover, make sure it has the best wrap around fenders you can buy, get rain gear, get a neon helmet cover, and it will reduce your misery somewhat.  Biking in the rain sucks.  Sitting in traffic in the rain is worse.  And after the random storm knocks down trees all over the area, you can still get home in less than a few hours.

Most modern cars are pretty easy to install a $150 bolt on hitch on *provided* your car has the towing capacity to actually pull the trailer.

No reasonable car has the capacity to tow a moving trailer cross country.  Period.

If the "car" is a 3/4 ton pickup or greater, then it should be fine.  Otherwise, use a proper tow vehicle.

Thanks so much for all the help! I used the advise of the majority of people here and booked a moving package with UPack. I also just found a place in the eastgate neighborhood of bellevue for a pretty good deal. This place is only a 10 min. drive or a 30 min bike ride from work.

Did you check the drive time during rush hour?  It's probably closer to 30 minutes during rush hour.  An ebike should do it in 15-20 minutes.

The weather is thankfully getting better and better now, so it's looking pretty great. Again, thanks for all the help!

Don't worry, it'll abuse you again.

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/seattle_weather is accurate.

Everyone out there has Stockholm Syndrome about the weather.  "It stopped beating me for a minute, isn't it amazing?"

Get a sun lamp and vitamin D supplements.  Use them.  It reduces the misery, slightly.  As does coffee.

Your rent will probably increase 10%/yr, so plan for that.

You're on the east side, so you probably won't have as many meth addicts stealing everything that isn't bolted down, though I expect they'll start moving over that way in the next few years.

Getting into Seattle is a selection of dreadful options.  All suck.  All are slow.  Everything is expensive.

Anyway, good luck.  I moved out of the Seattle east side a few years ago (to rural farm country), and could not be happier having left that circle of Hell.

On the plus side, I hear that people have mostly gotten the "Wowie, we can buy marijuana!" out of their systems so the entire region doesn't reek quite as often...

On the other hand, some of us quite like Seattle. :)