is hiring. i interned there a few years back and it was a wonderful place to work...they are quite supportive of their young staff and encourage creativity and exploration. personally, it's my benchmark in terms of an office environment and support for professional development...and they do good work to boot!!

see this thread for more info on seattle, also do a search...i recall seattle popping up quite a few times here

pgb, no state income tax so you'll have a few xtra bones in your pocket every month. what intern couldn't love that?

yeah, i'd do a search and check out past threads. i and others have said quite a bit about what to expect. if you have any specific questions, let us know.

pgb, where are you moving from? just curious.

I guess I have two main questions that come to mind:

What are the best communities / Area of town to live in for the money?

Do you feel it is difficult to break into the architecture community as some one moving to the city?

plastic:
Thanks for the link, I have read that thread in the past and it has a great discussion of the two cities. It actually help convince me to go after seattle at this point in my life. would I be best off applying for one of there 6 mo intership posistions or as architectural staff? I graduated in May and have been caring for an ill family member, so I do not have any long term office experince.

e:
great comparison of Seattle and San Francisco previous threads

Devil Dog:
I went to school at Art Center, and the Savannah College of Art and Design and am temporarily living in Grand Rapids Michigan. So I guess you could say that I am moving from both the north and the south... I used to be a very avid skier and am looking forward to being near mountains again!

as with most cities, i don't think you will have a problem breaking into the archi community. ppl are look for skills and talent. if you have that, you'll do fine. that said, it is a small city by comparision to nyc or sf. everyone knows everyone. the old adage of not burning bridges is important here.

with regrads to areas, in general, the closer you live to downtown, the more expensive the rent. i live in wallingford and is moderate in price. it's a 7 minute drive by car and 20 minutes by bus. what type of area/situation are you looking for? more urban? schools? house or apt? anything else?

Congratulation pgb!
I have been thinking for a while to make this move or not. I actually live i n Boston. I visited Seattle one month ago. It’s a great city. Very interesting designs all around, even that some were in smaller scale compare to Boston. I went to Vancouver as well. That is definitely a great city to hang out in weekends. It seemed much more relaxing than Boston. The only thing that is stepping me, is that except for Vancouver there are not much getaway for weekends, considering that with 1 -2 hour drive in new England you can see a lot more. I thing I need more time end more trips to make my mind.

pgb-
housing in seattle is moderately expensive if you are coming from anywhere but nyc or sanfran.
there are tons of rentals available, and lots with perks like no deposit or free 1st month. alot of this seems to be because everyone wants condos or single family homes.

check capitol hill, belltown and lower queen anne for rentals that are easily accessible to downton (10-15 min bus ride). obviously more nightlife in these areas too. for listings see craigslist, the stanger or the seattle pi.

for condos, capitol hill, first hill & belltown are worth exploring.

not many cheap lofts left in pioneer square (after the dot com) but you might get lucky.

for single family homes, ballard, freemont, west seattle and a few spots in the central district are popular (= costs more). if you are looking for an investment, research the new light rail lines (finished 2009) and the monorail (finished god knows when) and check out beacon hill, columbia city, rainier beach and fauntleroy.

I think 35mm gave a pretty good synopsis on some of the neighborhoods.. I lived in the U district and on capitol hill in my time in seattle. Most of the closer in neighborhoods are pretty accesible to downtown by bus ranging from a 10-15 ride to 30 mins + depending on time of day. Most of the neighborhoods also have the benefit of a central business district that has shops/restaurants within walking distance or a bike ride depending on where you live. You might just check out the rental listings and drive around to different neighborhoods (if you have access to a car) and see what you like. Depending on what you earn, you can definitely afford a studio and probably a one bedroom (depending on location) in many of the close in neighborhoods.. It may be difficult to get an apartment without a job.. many landlords are hesitant to rent to the unemployed, so if you have a place to stay for a few weeks, that might be helpful..

I'm not really sure what isnen is talking about, there are plenty of things to do on the weekends (especially outdoor related activities) within an hour or two drive.. And if you're just moving to seattle you could easily spend the weekends of your first year or so exploring different parts of the city.

good luck.

pgb-
one other thing on pencrush's note...for some reason seattle landlords tend to distrust new, single renters from outiside the area. if you have any backup on places you currently rent (or have rented), bring them with you. some letters or references saying you paid on time, etc. would help your standing.


and welcome!

Thanks for all the great info!

I am looking forward to making the move.

i agree pencrush. i'm not sure what isnen is refering to either.

pgb--I lived in the U district, Capitol Hill, and the CD district. All good places, but there are so many more. I had friends living on QA Hill, in Ravenna, in Montlake, all very livable (QA is so expensive, though).

My best advice: if you want to get to work on time, make certain there isn't a bridge between your home and office.

snjr, my wife crosses the fremont bridge every morning and doesn't have a problem getting to work on time, and the fremont bridge is one of the busiest bascule bridges in the world. i think, like the climate, you just have to learn to embrace it. it's part of the place.

I don't know. I grew up there, went to college there, and I'm not sure I ever felt the need to "embrace it." If I worked downtown, I'd want to live in Belltown or Capitol Hill. I'm a "one bus, no transfer" kind of person.

yeah, i wouldn't mind living in belltown, but who can afford it? it's all 1/2 mil condos these days. i hear you regarding the one bus thing. i was the same when i lived in sf. btw, my wife take one bus from wallingford to downtown.

pgb,
I think we received your resume. Little firm on the island. Your the kid from savannah right? shoot me an email or call us when you get into town.