Reasons I love living in the Seattle Area/The PNW

     I have lived in the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest my entire life.  I'd love to live here for the rest of my life as well.  Besides the familiarity, there are a lot of reasons why I hope that will be the case, and I'm going to share them with you.  
    First, we have (I think) the best weather in the country.  Sure, there's southern California and Florida and Arizona, but they can have unbearably hot summers and not enough cool days in the year.  We have one or two unbearably hot days all year.  Our winters can be cold for those who aren't used to it, but once you've lived here a while, they become extremely mild and tolerable.  It's why winter is my favorite season.  Oddly, we get a lot of precipitation in the winter months but not that much snow.  But on the rare times that we do get snow, it's beautiful.  I don't know if I'd change a single thing about our climate.  I wouldn't even change the rain, which helps make our area so green.  And you can't beat our springs and falls, both beautiful in different ways.
    Another thing I love is our sports teams.  The Mariners ended their playoff drought and are and have been a very likable team for years.  The Seahawks are among the Top 10 NFL franchises regarding ownership, success, stadium, and fans.  We also have a few other teams that I enjoy following, including the Sounders, Kraken, Storm, and Huskies, all of whom have had at least a modicum of recent success in various sports.  Not one of our franchises is unlikable.  The only negative thing is we are still without an NBA team, something that hopefully changes soon.  Once we have the Sonics back, our sports scene will be one of the best in the country.  Our stadiums are consistently ranked in the top half of stadiums in their league, and there's no bad place to catch a sports game in the Seattle area.
    As I've gotten older, I've realized that I'd much prefer to live in a blue state and a Democratic market.  Fortunately, that's the case now.  That's the reason I wouldn't be happy in Florida or Texas.  Washington is one of the bluest states in the country.  Unfortunately, we have that weird cousin we call Eastern Washington that leans more right, but hopefully, over time, that'll at least become purple-ish (mix red and blue).  I enjoy being on the left, where women have control over their bodies and everyone has equal rights.  Imagine living in a red state where they try to restrict what kids learn because they think they will be "indoctrinated".  
    One thing I love about our area is how many people and companies have ties to the Pacific Northwest.  We're home to Starbucks, Microsoft, and Amazon, and Nintendo of America.  We have been the home to Chris Pratt, Rainn Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kenny G.  Outside of perhaps Silicon Valley, the Seattle area is arguably the largest tech center in the world.  So many video game companies (outside of Microsoft and Nintendo) have been located around here, including Bungie and Humongous Entertainment.  I love hearing about ties to our area, knowing virtually every other city pales in comparison.
    We have great food options as well, with most national chains having plenty of locations here to choose from.  In the past decade or so, we got Chick-Fil-A.  Perhaps someday we will get In-N-Out, but we have our own version, "Dicks Drive-In".  Not to mention there are tons of locally owned and operated restaurants that are among some of the best in the nation.  A lot of southern chains have not made their way up here, which is a bit of a shame.  The thing the Seattle food scene is lacking is good southern options.  But we're one of the best in the country in selections for steak, seafood, Asian cuisines, and in my opinion, Hispanic foods.  
    The biggest downside to living around here is the housing market and how costly it is.  We have one of the highest costs of living in the country and about the fewest amount of on-the-market homes available.  A lot of people, myself and my family included, keep moving further and further away from Seattle/Bellevue.  But I still can't imagine living in another state.  I could maybe see myself in Oregon, but that would be only if a job or opportunity presented itself there.  
    If anyone was thinking of moving here, I would highly recommend it.  Granted, I am biased, but I think we have one of the "homiest" places in the country.  You'll want to live here, start a family, and enjoy everything Washington has to offer.  I know I want to.  

We're Moving!

After two and a half years at Scout (formerly Hunter's Run), Amanda and I are moving!  The main reason for the move is the massive renovations the complex is undergoing.  They rebranded (from Hunter's Run to Scout) and they've already replaced the roofs and windows of apartments.  Our lease we signed late last summer only went until the beginning of April, because Scout has to have construction guys remodel the inside of our apartment.  I've seen what they've done to other apartments; they completely gut them and replace everything.  It would not be possible to stay in the apartment during that.

They have not reached out to us yet (but I expect they will soon), but Scout will probably offer us a comparable apartment that's already been renovated.  Unfortunately with the remodel, they are raising rent in the remodeled units, a rent we cannot afford.  We've checked online and while the apartments are nice, we just can't afford it.

So we began our apartment search.  We found a place in Bothell called "Griffis North Creek" just off the Bothell-Everett Highway.  It's got the nicest amenities I have ever seen in an apartment complex.  To start, it's got:

- A pool table
- Swimming pool, large enough to do laps in
- Jacuzzi
- Full size gym
- Yoga studio (with hot yoga capabilities)
- Shuffleboard
- Full-size coffee and tea bar
- Brand new Apple computers for use
- Two gas grills anyone can use

And more.

But our apartment, where we'll be spending most of our time, is very nice as well.  It's got a kitchen with all new stainless steel appliances, a small pantry, a coat closet, walk-in closet, washer/dryer, and my favorite part: Garbage valet service.  Because it's such a huge complex, it's quite a walk to the nearest garbage dumpster, so they offer a garbage valet service.  Five nights a week, a trash person collects garbage people leave out in front of their door.  It's awesome.  Oh, also each apartment is fitted with sprinklers, so in case of a massive fire, our belongings will not get burnt and lost forever.

But for the first time, I will not call Kirkland home.  I have lived in Kirkland my entire life, but unfortunately it's just become too expensive to live in.  My sister moved out of Kirkland a few years ago.  My parents moved out just last year.  Now in just a few weeks, I will move out of Kirkland myself.  I love the city, and it will always have a special place in my heart, but it was time to move on and move out.  At least I will stay on the east side and within driving distance.

Our apartment is on the small-ish size at 659 square feet, but that's okay to me.  It will encourage Amanda and I to get rid of stuff we no longer need.  My plan in these next few weeks is to put all-non essentials in our storage unit we rent, and then as time goes on, make trips to the storage unit and decide whether to keep things and put them in our new apartment, or get rid of them.

My least favorite part will be our commute.  I did some research and when traffic is bad, it could take an hour to get to work, which I am not looking forward to.  Depending on how it goes (or if I can find an alternative route to 405), I might get a Good-To-Go pass so I can drive in the toll lanes.  We also might carpool on occasion, even though we work an hour apart (she starts and gets off an hour after me).  Unfortunately, the carpool requirements during peak hours is 3 occupants, so we wouldn't be able to use the toll lanes as an HOV lane for free.

I'm excited for this move.  We're going to get our keys and set up everything Saturday the 28th, and move our furniture the following day.  We then will use the following week up until our lease expires to move the remaining things and clean the old apartment.  I'm hoping that our current residence does not make us deep clean all the appliances and counters they're just going to replace anyway. 

I will probably post an update after move, sometime in April, about how the transition to Griffis North Creek has gone.  I am looking forward to taking advantage of the amenities when possible.  Wish me luck with the move, it's definitely a change for me!

My Thoughts on Amanda's Move Up Here

Amanda will be moving up here in about a week, so it's time I give my thoughts on it.  All I can say first off is that it's about time.  We've been in a long distance relationship for four years, and it's about time something happened.  We love each other and we had to see what a regular relationship would be like between us.

The reason she's moving up here and not me moving down there... well there are a few of them.  One, she is more financially able to do the move.  She makes more money per hour than I do.  Two, we agreed that Washington is a much better place to live than California.  Washington's weather is calmer, the people are nicer, and traffic isn't quite as bad (usually).  Also, Amanda is more comfortable here than when I am in California. 

The move will hopefully happen smoothly.  We will be driving a Pennske truck all the way up I-5 North, about 750 miles worth.  We'll stop in Oregon for one night so we don't put too much strain on ourselves or the truck.  All the while we will be towing her car behind us so she can have it up here.  We've done a long driving trip before, when we drove from the Bay Area all the way to Los Angeles/Anaheim.  This is certainly going to be a taxing trip on both of us, but we both know that in the end, it's worth it.

This is something that I've wanted to have happen for a long time.  I've never even really been in a normal non-long distance relationship.  It will probably take some getting used to and I can't wait for Amanda to adjust to life here and start at our store and make new friends.  I truly feel she will love Washington.  We will of course visit her family whenever we can, perhaps for the Christmas season later this year. 

I can't wait for this to happen, but more importantly, I can't wait for the move and everything to be over.  I can't wait until Amanda' s transfer has fully gone through and she has a job here, and I can't wait until she finds a place that fits her, and I can't wait until she possibly gets a new car.  I will do my best to help her out with each of those.  There will be an adjustment period for us, but we've always adjusted well to new situations. 

I know she's a bit anxious for the move, but to be honest, so am I.  There's a lot of things I'm worried about for her.  I still feel like there are many things that could go wrong.  That's just me though.  I'm a worry-wart.  I know in the end, even if things go wrong, that it will be all right in the end.  Now let's get this move started!  I'm tired of waiting.