Seattle prepares to receive its new Chairman

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An era has come to an end. After more than a decade where the East is Red, the dishonorable Chairman, his meretricious wife and diabolical son are leaving town, hitting the road Jack, getting the fudge out of this town.

The latest reports of apocalyptic toxic air notwithstanding, it’s time to move on for a number of reasons. Destination? USA, Pacific Northwest (desperately in need of more communists), which seems like an ideal location for a hideout or just a place to live peacefully in exile.

So my challenge to ye fellow GWJers, particularly those of you in Washington or Oregon, is that I have no idea about either of the cities we might be moving to—Portland (office in Lake Oswego) or Seattle (office in Bellevue).

To be honest we’ll probably end up in the Seattle area for career reasons (many more opportunities for posthumous dictators, apparently), but I’d still love to hear a compelling argument made for the Portland area. Moving in end of April, or early May.

If Seattle:

What’s the difference between living in Seattle and Bellevue or the other Eastside towns?

I’ve been told Kirkland or Redmond might be a good alternative. Any difference between living in any of these? We’re aiming for quiet suburbitude over urban excitement, if that matters.

We’ll be renting, at least to start with, what should I expect to pay for something like a 2br place, 1100-1500 sqft? Does the range vary quite a bit between Seattle/Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue? And any particular apartment complexes you’d recommend?

If we lived in Seattle, is it a pain in the ass to get to Bellevue? (is a car a necessity? Any public transportation?)

How depressing is the rainy-ness, gray skies?

Who’s the best internet provider?

If I care about school districts, is it true that the Eastside is generally better than Seattle?

If Portland:

Why would I like Portland over Seattle? I don’t mean to sound like it’s lesser somehow, I just want to know what is the lifestyle difference? I know it’s smaller in population, is known for hipsterness and microbrews, and has no sales tax, but is there anything else?

For either city:
I'm sure it's quite good, but how’s the SE Asian ingredients/food availability? Can you get pandan, palm sugar and kaya, for example?

What’s the best way to go about looking for an apartment? Should I try to find an agent, or is the interwebs pretty reliable for this kind of thing? Did I mention how new I am at this?

And as far as renting goes, since I have no meaningful work history in the US (labor camp manager doesn’t count I think), is it going to be difficult to prove I’m a swell guy with a rather empty—but highly rated!—credit history? Besides getting the relevant documentation from my company, anything else I can show to win landlords' trust?

There’s probably more questions but that’s all I got for now, and any other useful info you wish to throw at me, please do! Thanks in advance for your patriotic input!

As a denizen of Portland my first thought is that Portland is very quiet for a city that still has a great deal to offer. It's low-key, relaxing and overall a very chill place to live. Seattle is also this, but with the sprawl of a large city. I cherish that I can step out the door of my apartment, hop on a train or bus and be across the city in 20 minutes. Overall I think Seattle is prettier. All of that water, it's just gorgeous. However, Portland has easy access to the coast and the city proper is very green.

I'm not sure I can help you much. I love both cities. I live in Portland because that's where I started college. And because I like the vibe here overall. The economy in Seattle, the job market is better I think.

The bottom line for me is that both cities are quirky. Both cities have hipsters. In Portland they just seem more dense because the city doesn't sprawl as much. On the upside if you can put up with hipsters you can spend some pretty relaxing weekends in coffee shops or book stores listening to the rain and reading, etc. I really dig that about the Pacific Northwest. You can do that in Seattle as well, but not as frequently within walking distance. Plus that job in Lake Oswego (if that's a serious consideration) would be like 10 minutes from downtown. Things aren't very far apart here. I work in the suburbs and my commute is 10 - 15 minutes in a car or 30 minutes by train.

As far as Asian food goes Portland has a pretty decent Asian population and as such has many high-quality Asian markets, restaurants, etc. It's a very foody town anyway, but there are some really good stores. Can't compare them to Seattle, but Portland isn't lacking.

Rents are pretty cheap still in Portland. Partly because the economy still isn't great. If you find your way this direction and you're concerned about being able to rent a place my wife and I are slumlords, renting out our home as we live in downtown now. We'd be happy to consider a fellow GWJer. It's in the suburbs, but it's always an option that's out there.

Thanks DS--that's a great description and a kind offer! I'm hoping to pay a visit to both before deciding. We're leaning toward Seattle/Bellevue since my overlords are mostly based there and part of the reason for the move is to work more closely with them, but it really sounds like both areas are very nice places to live.

Even if we don't end up in Portland, I'm sure we will be visiting there often. Will keep you guys in mind when we do!

Hi Chairman,

I live in North Seattle but recently got back from a trip to Portland. Both cities are great places to live, but I found Portland a little too small for my tastes. That being said, Portland is definitely the more walkable city and seems less "corporitized." There seemed to be a lot more independent stores in downtown Portland than Seattle, where the small indie shops tend to be spread out across several neighborhoods. On the plus side for Seattle, I think there are better fine dining and more vibrant nightlife than Portland.

Downtown Bellevue is definitely becoming a mini-city in it's own right, but Redmond is more upscale suburbia. Both Eastside cities have a lot of nice restaurants and boutique shops, but overall the Eastside is very affluent and a bit snobby. I like working there during the day, but I'm not sure I could put up with the pretentiousness as a full-time resident. Eastside schools tend to have a better reputation. You'll also have access to more authentic Asian cuisine and more Asian speciality stores in Seattle.

I guess my first and biggest question for you would be - do you have a job offer or promising customer leads if you're an independent contractor? Seattle's economy sounds like it's doing better than Portalnd but it's still brutal. Not only will you be competing against a lot of unemployed local talent with great experience, but you will have lots of transplants who are looking to come enjoy the mountains or take up sailing. I don't know how many times in the past I thought I had nailed an interview only to be told, "well you did great, but then we just interviewed this guy from a top NY firm who wants to a closer drive when he goes snowboarding."

One final economic thing to think about - Washington has a high sales tax but no income tax while Portland is vice versa. If you make pretty good income and are not a big spender, Washington may be the better choice just for that reason.

I live in Kirkland after moving out of Ravenna (north of the University District).

For apartment searching, I like Padmapper. If you want more city like living, live in Bellevue proper. Downtown Bellevue is pretty nice and as mentioned, it's become it's own legit city. If you want more laid back living, Kirkland and Redmond are good for that but beware of the traffic getting to and from work as 520 and I405 are pretty bad for traffic, even on the bus.

If you want to retain that Chinese/Asian feel, the International District and parts of Bellevue are your best shot. Lots of ex-pats in the area from all over, but mostly Chinese and Taiwan. The school districts here are quite good too with Asian only language schools available too so Mao Jr. can still learn and retain his Chinese proficiency. Kirkland/Redmond has the highest of the rankings (I think) with the Lake Washington School District.

Depression:
The weather can be a bit depressing sometimes, but it really depends on your brain chemistry and life. Some vitamin D, therapy light and exercise will be helpful. A therapist is also good to have as it is state law that insurance covers therapy and mental health counseling. There isn't that stigma here that other places around the world has in regards to being crazy and all that. Everyone here has one and it's ok to have someone to talk to a vent about things.

Internet Providers:
Century Link is good if you live in one of their upgraded areas, but once Century Link bought Qwest, they added a monthly cap. Parts of Redmond, Bellevue and Bothell have Frontier FIOS. The best right now is Condo Internet that offers 100 Mbps for $60 or 1000 Mbps for $120. Eventually, Gigabit Squared is coming to other parts of Seattle so you should be ok either way.

If you want to do scouting trips, you're more than welcomed to crash on our couch or if you are bringing the family, we have a guest suite at our apartment complex. It's pricier than some hotels but its a full apartment so you can make up the money on cooking at home. This doubles as a good opportunity to learn the local Asian grocery stores.

You're going to be fine in either city. What does your wife do for work? That may be a deciding factor here too.

Bookmarked for future long-windedness.

I live in Portland and really love it here. Things that you'd expect based on scale between the two cities will definitely hold true. More people = more total job opportunities and worse traffic for Seattle. More people = a wider variety of cultural activities vs the greater likelihood of seeing an interesting event especially music in a more intimate venue.

We moved here in part for some of the lifestyle differences of living in our previous home Chicago. My commute is about 10 minutes and my home was a lot more affordable than Seattle. The hour plus commute time each way was a drain before moving here.

The cities are similar enough that if you think Seattle gives you a better career potential I can't argue against that particular if you are trying to rebuild US connections and credit history.

I don't really have any input. I'm sure you'll be happy in either place. Enjoy the PNW!

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I don't really have any input. I'm sure you'll be happy in either place. Enjoy the PNW!

Seattle and Portland poke fun at each other, but I think we all agree that either city is preferable to most of the country. When I was out of work a couple years back my target cities were Seattle then the Bay Are. It's hard to shake the PNW if you like it here.

In summary, I can only tell you what I like about Portland. But both cities are great. Makes me really want to do a S&T or PAX. I miss my GWJers in the PNW.

Thanks all, this is great feedback. JDZappa, I'm transferring within my company to a similar position in the US, so I think (fingers crossed) I'll be ok job-wise. I'm about 98% sure I'm fine but won't be 100% sure until about mid-April, so who knows, this whole thing might fall through!

Edwin, thank you will keep your offer in mind! And very glad to hear about the Internet options, I'm really tired of .5Mbps upload speeds and serious throttling of international net traffic. While we don't need to live in an Asian community, having Chinese language school as an option would definitely be a plus.Wife will be a stay-at-home mama at least until she gets a green card, but your question raises another one for me--what are daycare options like? My company pays benefits for something called sittercity, but I know nothing about the quality/reliability of this service. Sounds like it's just for babysitting though, not a daycare provider.

Rahmen, interesting to hear about your experience moving from Chicago. I have a friend who just moved there (despite me pestering him to consider the PNW) and now I feel obliged to rub it in his face that he made the wrong choice.

DS a PNW S&T would be a great idea! My wife is not into video games but I think she likes board games, and I bet she'd enjoy the chance to get to know people in the area.

We lived in Portland for 6 years, and are now exiled to rural Washington. Right now, we tend to spend a lot more weekends in Seattle when we need a city fix, as it's a lot closer to us. And we've gone back and forth on moving to Seattle vs. Portland when the time comes. Here's what I think between the 2, some of these things are repeating what others have said:

Seattle Pros: Bigger city. Beautiful, access to water. Close to the San Juan Islands. Very good restaurants, and farmer's markets. Closer to Canada. No state income tax. Major league sports.

Cons: Bigger city, bigger hassles. People seem more east coast in attitude, sometimes, less friendly than PDX. Traffic feels worse to me than Portland. Housing is a little more expensive than PDX. High sales tax.

Portland Pros: Smaller city. Amazing restaurants, and food cart scene. Great bookstores, great airport, good public transportation options if you live in close proximity to transit. People seem friendlier as a whole than Seattle to me. No sales tax.

Cons: Smaller city, sometimes feels like PDX is a little self conscious that it's not Seattle. No major sports besides MLS if that's your thing. High state income tax.

We've decided to move back to PDX when the time comes, although i know we'll be visiting Seattle a lot. Either place you live, the other is a great place to visit.

How old is the kiddo? There are a lot of early start schools and pre-k options in the region that you can choose from.

http://www.nwchinese.org/home.htm
http://www.seattlechineseschool.org/

These have pre-k options. http://brbacademy.com/ http://www.apls.org/
This one is pre-k and childcare options. http://www.washingtoninternationalsc...

Edwin wrote:

How old is the kiddo? There are a lot of early start schools and pre-k options in the region that you can choose from.

http://www.nwchinese.org/home.htm
http://www.seattlechineseschool.org/

These have pre-k options. http://brbacademy.com/ http://www.apls.org/
This one is pre-k and childcare options. http://www.washingtoninternationalsc...

Nice thanks. He turns 1 in April so we still have some time before pre-K, more just thinking about what our options are if my wife wants to start working again before he's ready for pre-K. My company might have some kind of daycare in the office, but I'll need to check with them next week.

So my challenge to ye fellow GWJers, particularly those of you in Washington or Oregon, is that I have no idea about either of the cities we might be moving to—Portland (office in Lake Oswego) or Seattle (office in Bellevue).

I've spent a little bit of time in both cities. Seattle is probably more scenic.

But what really struck me about Portland was this: I felt like the asshole driver. Seriously. I'm quite polite, I nearly always signal before turning or changing lanes, I don't speed very much, I make room for people. I'm just not in a big hurry, usually, and even when I am, I'm aware that driving "fast" doesn't usually shorten trips that much.

But, in Portland, I felt like I was the big asshole on the road. People are extremely careful there. They drive slow, they leave huge following distances, they signal as far in advance as they can. I've driven lots of places in the country, and that's the standout for me in terms of seeming safest. It's like the anti-Boston.

Of the two, I really liked Portland better, after a brief exposure. It just felt gentle.

Oregon drivers are terrible in general, although, I've never thought they are like what you describe. I've always felt that I drive as you describe yourself driving. There are tons of drivers that just don't pay attention, don't signal, speed, and tailgate for starters. Most Oregon drivers can't merge for crap. If it happens to "snow" in the city, that's when it gets hilariously awful. At any rate, that's always been my view. Don't get me started on how badly cyclists do not obey the rules of the road. *shakes head in dismay*

Maybe I'm actually one of the annoying extremely careful drivers you describe. I've never been in an accident or received a ticket. I haven't owned a car the last few years, though.

Regarding traffic I think it's a matter of what you're used to. I think Oregonians are exceedingly polite, but now that I live here I have had time to see the warts. That said when I drive in any city larger than Portland I feel like it's a crazy dystopia. Left hand exits, 8 lane highways, people not signaling. No thanks.

Yeah, I can see that if you're used to driving on the East coast, Portland would seem super polite. But that's such an extreme. I remember when I moved to Boston, the first thing i learned was how NOT to signal a turn, because that told other drivers what you were going to do, and then they would try to cut you off. Crazytown.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Oregon drivers are terrible in general, although, I've never thought they are like what you describe. I've always felt that I drive as you describe yourself driving. There are tons of drivers that just don't pay attention, don't signal, speed, and tailgate for starters. Most Oregon drivers can't merge for crap. If it happens to "snow" in the city, that's when it gets hilariously awful. At any rate, that's always been my view. Don't get me started on how badly cyclists do not obey the rules of the road. *shakes head in dismay*

Maybe I'm actually one of the annoying extremely careful drivers you describe. I've never been in an accident or received a ticket. I haven't owned a car the last few years, though.

They're both terrible and polite, which inspires conflicting feelings. I do my part to bring the state up to California standards. (Alabama, actually, where asshole driving may be even worse than California.)

Lake Oswego's sort of an odd part of Portland. The Portland Mercury once described its typical resident as "an alcoholic housewife and her purebred wolfhound." It's the Richie Rich part of Portland, and it's actually whiter than the rest of the city, which is a pretty giant accomplishment, all things considered. The city is centered around a large private lake which is fiercely guarded against unauthorized peasant entry. The place has it's charms, but it's not where I'd choose to live. If you're planning to walk to work, it might be a big strike against Stumptown.

As far as Asian ingredients go, I can't imagine you'd out-obscure Fubon.

jonnypolite wrote:

Yeah, I can see that if you're used to driving on the East coast, Portland would seem super polite. But that's such an extreme. I remember when I moved to Boston, the first thing i learned was how NOT to signal a turn, because that told other drivers what you were going to do, and then they would try to cut you off. Crazytown.

Oh geez. I just couldn't do that. I'm very mathematically minded and logical about driving and how the rules should work. I wouldn't be able to handle that. I would just get too pissed off to be able to drive. I can barely handle Oregon!

Just riding in a car in Boston is white-knuckle territory for me. In rereading, I realized that my wording was poor up above: I have not actually driven in Boston. But I have taken some cabs, and after those experiences, well, let's just say I was surprised at how much paint they still had. This was during the Big Dig, and things may be a little better now, but I'd never drive there unless I had to. Sufficient motivation to do so would probably involve a firearm.

The thing I remember most about New York is the way the drivers treat the painted lanes as suggestions by idiot bureaucrats.

Atlanta is a scary place to drive, too, because there's no coherent local traffic strategy - it has drivers from all over the country, and it's very hard to know what any specific person is going to do. And freaking nobody knows how to merge there. They merge on speed, not position... the goal is basically never to slow down, ever, under any circumstances, no matter how difficult they make it on other people. I've been actively cut off by people who sped way the hell up so that they wouldn't have to slow down.

Portland.... people are just scrupulous in Portland. I've never been anywhere else in the country with such law-abiding drivers. There wasn't that much traffic where I was, so I didn't get much of a chance to gauge their skill levels, but they really seemed to believe in the traffic signs.

Sounds like I won't have an issue with Portland drivers then

Beijing drivers are probably some of the best in China, and they're pretty much worse than anywhere you'll find in the US.

Another question I have is about shipping stuff. Are there companies in the area that you can ship things to that will store them until we arrive?

Also what's the rule of thumb on rent? I remember hearing something like 1 month rent shouldn't be more than 1/40th your annual salary, but that was a long time ago. And do apartments come fully furnished like in China?

Since Portland is taking a lot of heat regarding traffic, I need to point out a few things about Seattle drivers. We have a weird dynamic where the native drivers are way too nice and differential ( to the point of seriously holding up traffic), and we have a lot of transplants from California that are the opposite. Now, I lived in California for several years in the Bay Area and the drivers are insanely aggressive, but since everyone else is the same it completely works. When laid back Northwestern driver meets Car Wars Californian driver, it's bad.

Here's an example. Two natives are at a stop sign. No joke - it won't be uncommon for one driver to wave and signal for the other guy to go. Then the other driver to politely wave and signal back for the first driver to go. 30 seconds later one of the natives finally starts to go - right at the same time the Californian treats the stop sign as a suggestion and barrels through.

Our overly nice drivers have even been lampooned in commercials if you dont believe me:
http://www.werealotlikeyou.com/mobil...

Oh and driving in the snow is also horrible. People will actually abandon their cars in the middle of the street if they get a little bit stuck. Fortunately,we don't get much snow.

Sorry for the tangent Mao. Regarding your latest questions, there are plenty of storage units available if you need to put stuff in storage. It can be pricey - we have a medium sized unit and it's about $100. Rent is pretty high in Seattle - we definitely have large metro prices but not as bad as say NY. You should be able to get a nice 3 bedroom apartment or rented house for $1500-$2000/month. Most units will come furnished with stuff like fridges and a stove, but not other furniture.

30% of your monthly income for rent is the rule of thumb that no one can follow.

The prices are higher than you'll get if you visit, but aptsforrent.com should give you a rough overview of the various areas, and the relative rents. Craigslist has become a thing since I was last renting, and I gather that the prices listed there are closer to the ones you'll get with shoe leather. But Internet apartment shopping in general will cost you more than shopping locally; you'd think that the instant ability to look things up would tend to drive prices down, but I've found exactly the opposite.

Thanks all! I checked out padmapper, I like how it aggregates from several different sources, and I'll try aptsforrent.com too. Malor you're right that craigslist rents did seem a bit lower, and overall I'd say it looks like we should be able to find something decent in our budget.

I understand it's common for landlords to do background checks that include credit rating, work history and references. I am wondering whether a lack of references will be an issue, since I'd only have ones in Chinese and would be pretty much impossible to verify? Is there other info I should have on hand to compensate?

Chairman_Mao wrote:

Thanks all! I checked out padmapper, I like how it aggregates from several different sources, and I'll try aptsforrent.com too. Malor you're right that craigslist rents did seem a bit lower, and overall I'd say it looks like we should be able to find something decent in our budget.

I understand it's common for landlords to do background checks that include credit rating, work history and references. I am wondering whether a lack of references will be an issue, since I'd only have ones in Chinese and would be pretty much impossible to verify? Is there other info I should have on hand to compensate?

It depends on the type of place you rent from. Very large corporate landlords would probably be able to work with Chinese references. It sounds like you might prefer a large corporate landlord just because they make the process easier. Finding a place on craigslist can often mean renting directly from a single owner who many not be a professional landlord. Going that route can save money but can also invite problems if/when something goes wrong.

For what it's worth I just moved back to Portland myself and I love the Northwest in general. I'll helpfully recommend both cities as good places to live, and can also verify that Lake Oswego is definitely the Richie-Rich white suburb.

As a side note, I would definitely be interested in a S&T now that I've moved back to town.

It's funny how I'm seeing so many people say that Oregon drivers are bad, but all the born-and-bred Oregonians I know complain about the NON-Oregon drivers being bad (especially the Californian transplants). All a matter of perspective I guess (I don't drive, by the way).

Also:

Chairman_Mao wrote:

Pacific Northwest (desperately in need of more communists)

HAH!

All this being said, I can't really give any perspective either way. I live in semi-rural southern Oregon and I've only been to Portland twice, and both times were just an in-and-out while going someplace else (the first time to Mt Hood Community College for a Thespian Society convention, the second en route to Seattle with my dad as he was going to a locksmithing convention or something of that ilk).

This thread, man. This thread. I've dreamed of moving to either Seattle or Portland (wanted to ever since watching the movie Zero Effect. Weird, right?) for quite a long time now. It's not going to happen any time soon, so...LIVE MY DREAM, Chairman!

I moved to seattle last oct and love it. Im also in portland this weekend and it seems nice but im here for wizard con (my first con ever) so i cant say much about portland.

In the PNW, you're going to be spending a great deal of time indoors, because it rains so much of the time, so go for a little more space than you otherwise might.

No idea how they do it in China, so if I were telling a teenager how to find his first place, I'd explain that most apartments complexes will have covered parking, and you typically want a complex with assigned spaces. You'll need one space per car, and you will probably need one car per worker; it's somewhat unusual to be able to get around well on public transit, except in the largest cities. You'll probably want a car just for grocery shopping, even if you don't need one for work.

You will need to get insurance to be able to drive, which could potentially be fairly expensive if you have no U.S. driving history. You may want to look up some insurance agents in the area where you will be living; ideally, call several. Typically, agents that represent multiple insurance companies will be able to get you better pricing. "Monoline insurers" usually only represent one specific company, and tend not to be as cheap. Insurance companies can be good or bad; some are really quite awful. If they do business in that area, both Farmers and Allstate Insurance are quite reputable. Farmers is particularly good.

You will need utilities. Sometimes water and sewer are included with your rent, but power almost never is. Usually, there's a single large power company in the area. They may require a deposit to start service, typically a couple of hundred dollars, if you have no credit rating. I imagine climate control won't be horrifically expensive in the PNW; power probably won't exceed $100/mo. (I have a vague idea that power is pretty cheap up there because of all the hydroelectric.) If water and sewer are not included in your rent, you will need those too; those are often run as a combined bill by the same company, usually about $20/mo total, maybe more if you use a lot of water. Most apartment complexes will have large dumpsters where you can put trash; I've never lived in a complex that didn't, so you shouldn't need to worry about trash pickup.

Oh, I almost forgot! Check if the apartment uses gas or not. Sometimes the power company will provide gas, sometimes it will be someone else. Gas is usually used for heating and for running your dryer, if you have a clothes washer and dryer in your apartment. (which you will probably want; be sure to look for "W/D hookups" in your feature list.) Without gas, you will cook and dry clothes with electric power, which is more expensive, and not quite as good, at least for cooking.

As far as what comes with an apartment: most apartments provide the walls, the kitchen cabinets and counters, a refrigerator, stove, and some method of climate control, but you will be expected to provide everything else, from furniture to beds to cooking utensils to any other appliances you want, like a washer and dryer. (Buy those used; they're pretty expensive new. You can get them for less than half price if you buy used.)

If you want cable TV service, you can get it, but it's usually quite expensive if you want lots of channels. ($100/mo is not at all unusual if you go higher-end.) Internet service is usually available both via the cable company and via the phone company. Cablemodems are usually faster and cheaper, but if you have a bad cable provider (they usually have local monopolies, so there will be only one), then the slower DSL may actually be more appealing. Good Internet is usually about $50/mo; you can spend quite a bit more if you want lots of bandwidth.

Receiving mail and packages is free. Mail will always be in an actual, official mailbox, built to official US postal standards. UPS and Fedex, the major private carriers, will usually drop stuff on your doorstep. Sometimes they leave a note, have you sign it, and then drop it the next day. Occasionally, there will be large lockboxes on premises that shipping services can put stuff into, and then drop the key in your mailbox; a couple of places I've lived have had those. To send mail, you just stick a stamp on an envelope and put it in the 'out' box that will be close to your mailbox. If you need to send a package, you will need to visit the post office, FedEx, or UPS. The post office is usually cheapest, but slowest. UPS is midpriced, but they're rough on packages. FedEx is most expensive, and they seem to be the most careful of the shippers.

You can find lots of foods in supermarkets. American supermarkets are absolutely loaded with pre-packaged foods, much of which is full of very strange things. Nearly all supermarkets have tons of staples, though. Different supermarkets will have different strengths. My personal favorite brand is Publix, followed by Safeway, which I think are both in the Portland/Seattle area. Both Publix and Safeway usually have very good produce sections. Much of the produce for the US comes out of California, and you won't be too far from there, so you should have a dizzying number of eating options. Small ethnic groceries can sometimes be very good places to find things as well; if you end up missing some foods from China, that's where to get them.

If there's a Costco anywhere near you, buying a membership online can be a very smart investment. In theory, it's a limited-membership warehouse, charging $50/year to belong, but they allow anyone to enroll online now. Costco is one of the best retailers going; their prices are excellent, and what they stock changes all the time. You usually have to buy large quantities of staples (like, say, flour comes in fifty pound bags), but they are usually much cheaper there than anywhere else. Flour, for instance, is about 1/4th as expensive at Costco as buying the smaller bags in grocery stores. You can get many small appliances, lots of electronics, some outdoor furniture, and even clothing there as well. But if you see something you want at Costco, be sure to buy it within a few days, because they change stock constantly. Some things are always there, but a great deal of their stock rotates. They'll let you in to look around without having a membership, so you can go check one out before plunking down your fifty bones.

Hmm. Oh, you'll need a bank account. Basically, just look for one that's convenient. You will probably want one that provides a 'check card'. All ATM cards will let you withdraw money from your bank's terminals; using other terminals will usually cost a surprising amount of money. And all ATM cards will let you buy things over the 'debit' network, which most retailers support. A 'check card' adds one more thing: it will also let you make purchases over the Visa and Mastercard networks. It still comes directly out of your checking account, but it will work anywhere that they do. Debit networks are not ubiquitous, but credit card networks absolutely are. A credit card will always work for a purchase, unless they make a really big deal about cash only. This almost never happens.

You may also want actual credit cards, but that can usually wait.

You will give your work your 'direct deposit' routing information, and within one or two paychecks, your money will just show up, magically, every week, without you having to deal with a check. It should be active in your account on payday morning. (alternate Fridays is most common.)

If you have access, through your work, to a 'credit union', they function more or less like banks, but are usually much cheaper and far friendlier. You may want to just set up a bank account to get started, and then look for a credit union when you have more time. Credit unions always have some kind of membership requirement, often just geographical proximity, so you typically need to find one that serves your area or employees of specific employers, which happens to include yours. Banks usually suck very badly, and credit unions suck much less, so switching over will be good -- but that's something to do once you're here.

Hmm, I think that's enough to keep you alive until you can figure out the rest.

Tldr; holy sh*t malor TLDR;

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