OldJuddian

Did you decide where you will be staying?

If you live on the Eastside cost of housing seems proportional to commute time.
What I find amazing is that just outside of Redmond city limits you are in farmland and then wilderness.
I looked at a lot of places and in the end optimized for a short commute to Redmond (15min in morning, ~30min in evening), with Bellevue being 10 min further West.

Kooky.

No firm plans but thinking to initially make it Bellevue, close to the office - which is near the Hyatt Regency. Unless anyone warns us off that of course. My husband stayed an extra day so he could have a look around, did view a few apartments and also went up to Kirkland (on HR's suggestion). Unfortunately I can't do a looksee trip as we have a terminally ill cat that needs medicating 3 times a day. (I won't move until he's no longer with us. Just two cats to move then.) Unless I go without my husband - now there's a thought.

We're only looking on zillow at the moment - any alternative sites and any suburb information would be very much appreciated. We're starting with a budget of USD3.5k pcm (based purely on searches - opinions welcomed) and but I think we'll only get a 2-bedder for that. That's perfectly doable but we have a 3-bed 2-bath 3-balcony apartment here so are used to a fair bit of space. Oh and that doesn't factor in the cat rent. (How do they all justify that when they also demand a non-refundable deposit?)

carcajou

Well, good for you! As you've seen there are plenty of posters here knowledgeable about Seattle. So ask away whenever you are ready.

Harveyspecter

I second this. My wife is from Yakima, about 2hrs south east of Seattle. She loves Seattle but admits she wouldn't want to live there mainly because the traffic, I've been a few times and its a wonderful city. However, for me as a brit if I had moved there it would have been similar to the UK. High house prices, bad traffic and lots of rain! We ended up moving to the midwest for a job and although I miss the sea and she misses the mountains we are both happy here.

If it all works out I say go for it, if you get fed up there then move to CA like you planned. It's a long way off by my wife and I have discussed retiring to CA. I hate the cold so won't want to tolerate cold winters when I grow old haha.

michaelr711

Exactly my logic for not moving back out there. Midwest provides well priced housing, cheap gas and a decent quality of life! I do miss Seattle, but know i'm a lot less stressed here.

Harveyspecter

Agreed.

Kooky.

Hello, just a quick update for anyone remotely interested.

Mr K got his E3 the last week of April, which was just as well as he had booked his flights and arranged to take over an apartment on 4th May. I went to Melbourne the other day for my visa interview and am told it's now on its way with a courier. I've booked my flight for 17 June. As mentioned we had a very sick cat that was keeping me here until the inevitable - which happened at the end of March (the early hours of the day I left my job - it was quite a day). I also needed to finish some major renovations we had in progress.

Between now and when I fly I have to decide what I'm shipping and how (mostly personal effects), Mr K is coming back in a week's time to help me finalise everything and get it taken away, and to pack up two cats. He's going on the same flight as them on 31st and they're flying into Vancouver, then taking a road trip. It's only slightly longer than SYD-LAX and means they only have one flight, and less waiting around scary and noisy places. Once the shipping, cats and husband have gone, the painters move in and do the whole place, then I clean up, pack my bags and off I go. All sounds so easy, hey?

Against all knowledgeable advice we're living smack bang in the middle of Downtown, on the 27th floor of a new complex, with some pretty awesome views. By the time I get there I think I'll need a holiday.

michaelr711

Hey, if you ever miss British food - there is a place called the British Pantry in Redmond. Pretty good pub style food, good selection of bakery items and groceries too!!

Kooky.

I'll bear that in mind, thank you. I am partial to the occasional bangers and mash or fish and chips but TBH I've been out of the UK so long I'm more likely to crave a good pad thai or char kway teow. And I'd already sussed out the Din Tai Fung locations before I agreed to go I'm also in an Aussies in Seattle FB group but, as an import, I don't share their love of tim tams, violet crumbles, and definitely not chicken salt.

Anian

I've been there a few times,although not for a few years now. The owners might be British but the cooked food wasn't quite right IMO, all a bit different to British food for some reason. Lots of prepackaged stuff though.

naomi

You'll enjoy living downtown, lots to do, and very close to all the other neighborhoods (Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, Ballard is just a short drive or Uber away). A fun day trip if you want to get away from the city--take a ferry over to Bainbridge Island, and walk along the waterfront. Go to the Harbor Pub, great location right on the water. Welcome to Seattle!

Neillc37

British pantry is expensive. I very rarely go there. I found it was just much easier to switch to the American food. Go eat prime rib at the outback (just closed in Kirkland so you have to go will Mill Creek).
I have lived in Redmond/Kirkland for 21 years and we love it. Worked for Microsoft and Google over that time. Seattle is a total mess and I hate going anywhere near it.
In Bellevue we went to P.F Changs and my wife was telling me how we don't go anywhere fancy when Bill Gates walked in with his wife. Do I play that up a lot!

michaelr711

kimilseung

14 year resident in Seattle here.
Food wise for British food in Seattle, "Nosh" is a food truck and its arrival means I no longer have to go to Portland or Sequim for acceptable fish and chips. One concession they do for America is the mushy peas are served cold like a mint pea salad (and it works) During the last couple of summers they have had a residency at "Machine House" brewery in Georgetown. Its a Brit owned Brit style beer, and a better chance there of getting a decent pint of mild than back in Britain.
Just checked their web page and looks like not operational at the moment, I hope they make a return.
Nosh The Truck
http://www.machinehousebrewery.com/

Neillc37

I was actually thinking about the desire to eat British bacon or sausages. So strong is this desire in some that a butcher was delivering British style back to one of the Microsoft buildings at one point.
I am reliably informed by Australian friends that the outback has nothing resembling stuff from Australia. I wasn't recommending P.F. Changs as we rarely eat there. The notion that Americans don't eat Chinese is contrary to all the people I see in the restaurants :-),