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czent
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  Quote czent Replybullet Topic: Movin' to Seattle
    Posted: 01 Jun 2011 at 9:22pm
Hello all!
I'm planning on moving from the Northeast US (Dartmouth College) over to the Seattle area. I've been perusing a couple of guidebooks, but figured I'd get some inside knowledge from you guys and gals if you're willing to help out.
If I'm living in the city, how far do I have to drive to get to good paddling? I'm a confident class IV+ boater who likes to foray into class V when the feeling's right. I'm definitely a creeker at heart (I'm going to miss the NE...), but I enjoy getting on the water no matter what. It looks pretty easy to get North or South out of Seattle, but a little harder to get East/West (except for I-90)...
Is it worth looking at living options outside the city? Don't have a job just yet, so things are still a bit up in the air. (Also, if you're looking for an up-and-coming mechanical/medical device design engineer, send me a PM .)
Any help is greatly appreciated! If all goes well, I'll be up that way by August and I'll get the chance to meet some of you on the river...

Thanks,
czent
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  Quote throwrope Replybullet Posted: 01 Jun 2011 at 10:06pm
Howdy. I am a recent addition to Seattle myself. I lived somewhat in the rural southeast Ga/NC area so driving around here has been an eye-opener. As it goes for boating I am still learning the area, but from a fresh point of view here in Seattle here it goes. If you need a job in the city live in the city or close surroundings. You will be working 5 days/week and playing on the weekends/occasional evenings. It is hard to get in and out of the city. You have Interstae 5 N/S followed by Interstate 90 and Hwy 2 E/W. Here in seattle there are several fun class III runs within an easy 1 hr drive. I am still learning about the creeking scene so less sure about that. I know there are places close when they run ( exa. fall in the wall), and can't wait to get on them. I am sure others will give more valuable advice, but in my opinion it would suck to live outside of the city and try to get in/out everyday. Thats my .02 as a newbie. Please respond for additional questions from a recent Seattle addition. And by the way... The outdoor recreation possibilities and adventures have far surpassed my expectations! 
 
Bobby
 
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czent
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  Quote czent Replybullet Posted: 01 Jun 2011 at 10:25pm
Thanks for the reply! Your comments about getting in and out of the city are pretty much what I expected.

"The outdoor recreation possibilities and adventures have far surpassed my expectations!"
Definitely glad to hear that haha!
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  Quote PowWrangler Replybullet Posted: 01 Jun 2011 at 10:55pm
The whitewater options and length of season out here will far surpass anything in the Northeast.  Most runs are easily accessible via a nice road and there are a lot of 4+ options within 1.5 hours of Seattle. 

I'm not interested in living outside of Seattle and luckily that works with our jobs ok because you do have to plan a reasonable commute to your work or you'll start hating it.  Try renting something short-term till you get a job and then move within a few miles.  Hopefully that lands you in Seattle and not the burbs (not that they're bad, but the city is much funner/cooler imo). 

Have you looked into Medtronic (PhysioControl)?

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  Quote PaddleGirl Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 7:51am

Hey.  I just moved out to seattle from Charlestown, NH. You'll love the boating out here, there's a lot of good stuff.  The season is long too and you can boat all year round. 

My advice is also to live close to work.  Keep in mind that 3 miles in a city is not at all close.  I ride the bus to work (downtown) and it takes me forever to get home to my car and boats to get out after work.  i could drive but parking is a lot more expensive than the bus (anyone have any hints/suggestions on parking downtown?) so I plan to move when my lease is up.  If you aren't working downtown or don't have to pay for parking.. then it's a different story.
 
Someone suggested Beacon Hill to me, as it has great highway access.
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  Quote James Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 8:36am
Ok so I know folks are going to laugh at this but I always thought it would be super cool. Live in West Seattle and paddle to work every day. There is a slip inbetween pier 72-73 (the MTV pier) and one down by pier 60 where Argosy docks that will sell you monthly space for a sea kayak. Then on days when you don't feel like paddling you can take that walk on shuttle with your bike!

I always thought the idea of living just across some body of water from work would be cool.
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  Quote rokmnky Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 10:04am
Living in the city is the way to go. I personally moved 2.5 mi from work and usually ride my bike. It's only a few min difference between driving. There are a lot of great neighborhoods in Seattle and where you live really depends on what you want in your immediate area and how much of a commute your willing to deal with. My work is in SODO, the international district so I moved to Georgetown which is the closest neighborhood to work. I hate commuting though.

When your looking around. I would suggest looking at access to highways. Ballard for instance is really cool and I would love to live there but it's horrible to get to and from the interstates. Where as Georgetown is right on I5 and min from I90, 99, and 509 (most major highways here) The downside is it's right beside an airport and it's small.

If I had my ruthers and didnt mind the commute I would try and be somewhere around the freemont, phinney ridge, wallingford, greenlake area. The social scene there is great and walking/biking around the neighborhood is great. It's also where a lot of my friends ended up living.

I would stay away from west seattle for 2 major reasons. 1, you will never find people willing to come over. People think of west seattle as another state, people who dont live there wont cross the bridge. It ends up putting the burden on you to come out to everyone else. I lived there for 1.5yrs and it's great. Amazing for a family but not for a young, single person that goes out a lot. 2, at some point the major highway that you would use to connect with the rest of the city, 99, will be torn down/under construction for the new tunnel. We dont know when construction is going to start and if it's anything like Boston's big dig (they hired the same company) then we can expect a decade or better of f'd up roads.

Your best bet is to find a short term lease somewhere close to work or to a highway and learn the city. Getting out usually isnt an issue. The 3 local runs are the Skykomish, The middle middle on the snoqualmie and the green gorge. All are around an hr away. Creeks are just a little further and no matter where you live you will deal with traffic. I personally like to deal with it only when Im going somewhere to have fun and not to and from work.

Let us know when your in town and we can show you around.
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  Quote JayB Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 10:16am
You part of Nick Gottlieb's extended posse? Don't know him well - but ran into him once or twice on the river when I was living back there.

Boated with a bunch of Dartmouth Folks for a day via my one and only Wells River Rumble back in '08. Good times.

The only thing I think you'll miss about boating in the NE are the fall colors, dam releases, and access to lots of runs with very low volume and high gradient. Plenty of gradient out here, but the lower volume stuff doesn't seem to be quite as abundant.




-Jay
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czent
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  Quote czent Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 10:28am
Again, thanks for all the advice!

Pow - I have been keeping an eye on Medtronic and I'm waiting on replies from some other groups as well.
PaddleGirl & rokmnky - Sounds like good advice. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of a long commute. Your detailed responses are exactly what I was hoping for!

James - That does sound cool! A paddling commute would be quite interesting, especially in a city! Cool idea.

JayB - I'm actually good friends with Nick (same class year). I have learned a lot boating with him and will miss his company on the river (he looks to be settling in to the NE for a while). Glad you had a chance to partake in the wonder that is the Wells River Rumble! It's always an experience.
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  Quote PowWrangler Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 11:06am
Ya, like Rokmky said, if you're young and want to have a lot of similar aged folks, food and drinks nearby, you can't go wrong with those neighborhoods.  I currently live in Fremont, I walk a couple blocks to the bus stop with my son, he sits on my lap for 15 minutes, and then were downtown where his daycare is and I work.  Couldn't be easier.  Recreating requires leaving 25 minutes earlier than if you live on the east-side but it's worth it. 
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  Quote jP Replybullet Posted: 02 Jun 2011 at 5:41pm
I may have suggested Beacon Hill. Having lived there for years, I considered it ideally positioned.

Literally right on I-5 and I-90, you can't ask for better blast-off potential when its time to jet on a Friday.

Also: it is a 10min bike ride to downtown, and a 10min ride to Capitol Hill, where you got lots of arts, nightlife, and people who may be too hip to give you the time of day, if you're into that sort of thing.
Hwy 99 is also right down at the bottom of the hill, but expect that route to be increasingly FUBAR'd from here on out, as Dave said.

west Seattle is like Ballard: to much effort to claw your way out to go boat. Kirkland would be ideal if you worked there, but like Dave said you may dig Seattle more culturally- depends on who you are and what you like. I've had my fill of Seattle's fashionistas, hipsters, and PC bourgeoisie-
If I moved back to Seattle I'd move to Kirkland and hang with the GQ Frat boys and glamorous people, because for me its all about access to the water.

Edited by jP - 02 Jun 2011 at 5:43pm
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  Quote rokmnky Replybullet Posted: 03 Jun 2011 at 7:05am
JP, I can not see you ever living in Kirkland. I can't see many of us living there for that matter but you right about being better located. The east side has its own haunts of which I know none because I generally don't care for the people that live there. I will say that Kirkland is the most dangerous area to ride bikes in. On rides around lake Wa we have to watch out for cars most there because of the bobble headed bimbos. I feel like its our version of orange county.
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czent
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  Quote czent Replybullet Posted: 03 Jun 2011 at 4:03pm
I can't thank all of you enough for your help! It's hard to know the character of different areas without an inside perspective.
I'll let you know when I get up there. I look forward to meeting/paddling.
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