Looks like I’m being brought up for an in-person in the next few weeks, so hopefully I can get a better sense of the area while I’m there. I like to describe it as, “I just want to live my life of peace and harmony…but fuck you and everyone you love if you do anything that gets in the way of that!”Īll things considered, I think Seattle could be a good fit. I skew very left ideologically, but the Santa Cruz mindset is something else entirely.
Small town vibe and geographic isolation (it’s not really part of the Bay Area proper), the insane cost of living for what you get ($1000+/sq ft that likely wasn’t built to code and is consequently either infested with black mold or about to fall over), and the general ignorance, lack of diversity, and hypocrisy of a town full of 60-something hippies. The biggest drawback of my time in Santa Cruz has been that there is no way I can see myself settling here long term, for a variety of reasons. Packing up and moving somewhere new every few years was fun in my 20s, but at 35 it’s a lot less exciting than it used to be. My biggest qualifier for any relocation is that I want to find an area to settle into for at least a decade, possibly the rest of my life. 10+ years in coastal California has acclimated me to the inherent “tax” of living in a desirable area. Even though cost of living is expensive in Seattle, so is anywhere else I’d consider living. Single, no kids, dog, built-out adventure van that is too tall for urban garages (though I’d be willing to part with it if it makes sense.) I don’t need or necessarily want a lot of living space, but I do like to have some kind of outside area for the pup during the day (patio, yard, etc.), which probably disqualifies most urban apartments and condos.īeing a completely new city I’d try to rent for at least a year before looking at buying a place…though at the same time if housing prices continue to skyrocket it might be worth buying right off the bat. This will be much easier in person, so I’d very likely be commuting more than 50% of the time, at least to start. While there’s the possibility of hybrid remote work, part of the role involves really embedding myself in the company culture to get to know it from the inside out. Not to get too deep into my personal life, but here goes: In general the Seattle area seems to fit in nicely with the things I’ve found I like the most in a spot, at least geographically - proximity to mountains (to ski, hike, and camp), water (because it’s pretty), and a proper city (ballgames, art, museums, melting pot culture…the usual stuff.) I feel you, and I appreciate this perspective. When my wife and I talk about where else we might want to move, we always come back to the fact that we have everything we want here. I don't have family here, so nothing that creates a solid tie. With my job being remote, I can move anywhere I want.
Will my kids be able to afford to live here? Unlikely.
Has it changed significantly in the 20yrs I've been here? For sure.
I'm minutes from great MTB, awesome hiking in under 30 minutes, waterskiing on Sammamish in 10 minutes, 40 minutes to Alpental and 10 minutes from I90 and getting to wherever I want to go. I live Eastside, work remote and have a family. There's a lot of information we don't know about you and your situation that impacts recommendations.