living in Seattle

[momino]

Hi all. DH has a job opportunity in Seattle. Not sure how I feel about it. Excited but it would be a massive upheaval.

Is Seattle a family orientated city? will the weather get me down? is the cost of living ridiculous? any pros/cons or advice appreciated!

Seattle is FAB!!

Pacific Northwest lifestyle, very bohemian compared to the rest of the US.

Had friends who were posted there for a couple of years and they loved it. We lived in Vanoucver at the same time and used to nip down to see them.

My bil & sil used to live there,we visted a couple of times and it's fantastic. Very envious, you'd be bonkers not to go.

There is masses to do,lovely city and surrounding area.We did some fantastic things. The Puget Sound has some gorgeous islands you can take a ferry to and stay on.We stayed in a gorgeous log cabin on a beach. There is a rain forest Olympic National Park I think.

You must visit Elliot Bay bookshop in Seattle,Space Needle,lots of nice coffee shops,Pike Place Market. You can get down to Oregon easily with that famous beach they have sand castle competitions on. There is also an Austrian type town near by(quite cheesy but we loved it),Mount St Helens etc.We went white water rafting,snow shoe-ing,hiking.....If you're veggie we went to some fab veggie restaurants.

My in laws lived on the Microsoft campus and everybody seemed very friendly from what they said.

can you tell?

We went at Xmas and Easter and didn't experience the rain just snow,it can't be worse than here surely.

I've only ever visited Seattle during spring break when I lived in Portland,OR. But I loved it, such a hip city and easy to get around on foot..pike place market was good & the space needle and surrounding museums.
Its a lovely area pacfic northwest, mountains and coast all with easy driving distances. Columbia river gorge was one of my favourites and mt St Helens.

I'd move back to that part of the states in the morning.... currently in new mexico and I'm really missing the green(orginally from Ireland)

*pacific

thanks all. I've only read a little bit so far about moving to Seattle and it was mostly negative so I appreciate hearing a more positive point of view!

I've no doubt about its beauty, and the thought of a lot of rain bothers me. But then I'm thinking like Mila in that it can't be worse than here (surely?).

I also like the sound of it being a easy to get around on foot. We're currently in a 'walkable' city where I've not had to use the car at all for most of the week since we walk to school, shops, museums, etc. I know it's more common in the US to drive everywhere but perhaps Seattle might be a happy medium.

It really depends upon the job offer (if it comes!) so I'll let you know.

Thanks for your replies .

hi momino
we are in a similar position, weighing up the pros and cons of moving to seattle. let me know how you get on.

I've never lived in Seattle (just NJ for six years), but we visited a bunch of times and LOVED it and the whole Pacific NW area. The summers there are gorgeous - hot and sunny and not humid - and I loved the laid back feel of the place. We travelled around a bit too - Mt Rainer NP, Mt St Helens, Portland, OR, all really nice places to visit. Lovely hiking in summer, you can ski in winter. If we ever moved back to the US I'd want to either move there or Northern CA. FWIW I'd much prefer the mild/damp winters over there than the freezing, snowy ones on the east coast.

Oh, and the seafood and Asian food over there is the best!

thanks juneau, i am getting more excited by it i tell you, at first my heart sunk at the idea but now...

my last big issue is schooling! do you know if they have private/international schools which follow the UK curriculum?
we would be aiming to come back in 3 years and DD1 would be sitting tests for selective secondaries, so she can't fall too far behind.

DDs are 5 and 7

TIA

I'd be very surprised if there is a British school over there. There's one in NYC (which is very expensive!), but there are TONS of Brits in NYC. Seattle - I doubt there are enough Brits with school-age kids.

Can you find out what skills will be tested when your daughter takes her entrance tests and, if necessary, get her a tutor when you get back?

yes, potentially if there was enough time. i have a tutor lined up anyway, but this is just for paper practice as their school doesn't prep them for these exams.

DD1 is bright and on track for a very difficult to get into school, just worried about the impact on their education if the US kids have only just started, plus she might go insane if she has to do all the equivalent infant curriculum again...

plus DD2 has settled well in school, reading and writing. she's only 5 so wouldn't be starting US school for years.