So I moved to Seattle

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I'm not sure if this should be a new thread, but all the existing threads I found were either old, or on a different topic.

I have a job interview this Monday with a company in Seattle (thanks to a Goodjer. No name, in case you'd prefer I didn't say, but you know who you are. Thank you).

On paper, Seattle is awesome, but I have never been there, so I wanted to spend a few days to see the city before I potentially decided to move there. I'm coming in Saturday morning, October 1, and leaving early Tuesday morning, so aside from time out for the interview itself on Monday, I'll have basically 3 days to explore the city.

I was wondering if there were any Seattle area Goodjers with the time and inclination to meet up for a pint and maybe show me around a bit.

I'd also appreciate any advice on inexpensive hotels downtown, and, should I actually get the job, places to live.

Thanks!

Update: I got the job! I'm moving to Seattle at the end of October.

Update: Roadtrip?

Update : I'm here.

Go to the EMP/Scifi museum!
Also, the Seattle Central Library
and
RED MILL BURGERS.

I regret that I will not be in town for your visit, but have fun out there.

Thanks for the ideas.

Anyone have others?

You haven't really given us much to go on as far as what you'd like to experience, or what kind of living situation you're looking for, or which part of 'downtown' you might want to be near...

I'm an ex-pat living near Dublin, having lived in Seattle for the previous 10 years. I love it and miss it every day.

Kick Edwin in the balls!

Symbiotic wrote:

You haven't really given us much to go on as far as what you'd like to experience, or what kind of living situation you're looking for, or which part of 'downtown' you might want to be near...

I'm an ex-pat living near Dublin, having lived in Seattle for the previous 10 years. I love it and miss it every day.

Fair point. Some more details:

One of my motivations for moving is that I'm sick of the the burbs and miss the city (though Madison, WI is just a tad smaller than Seattle, or Boston which is my other possible choice). Having to drive to get anywhere at all, and 30 to 45 minutes to get anywhere interesting is getting old. Ideally, I'd like to live within walking distance, or at least short bus / train ride of "interesting stuff to do", where "interesting stuff" means coffee shops, restaurants, clubs, parks, shopping, museums, theaters, places to take classes (art, cooking, dancing, martial arts, etc). Not knowing the area, I can't pinpoint which part of downtown that would be, but that's the idea.

As far as what I want to experience specifically, I suppose to a certain extent, all cities of a certain size are alike, but I'd like to see what makes Seattle uniquely interesting. Which restaurants, bars, clubs or whatever have a Seattle flavor that you don't see elsewhere.

Hope that helps make it clearer.

Amoebic wrote:

RED MILL BURGERS.

Please don't flay me alive and bury me in a coffin full of salt when I say this, but I have found a better burger.

Skillet's burgers make Red Mill pale into insignificance. Admittedly, it's a gourmet burger versus a (really good) fast-food kinda thing.

The Skillet Diner up on Capitol Hill is a good place to get one - better still to see if the Skillet trailer is somewhere nearby and have one for lunch. If you've got a first class ticket on the Indulgence Train, get the poutine too.

I'd be happy to meet you for a beer, maybe take a whistlestop tour around a few of the different neighbourhoods. Sending you a PM to organize deets.

Be warned, I'm a cheerleader for this town - take all of my enthusiasm for it with a grain of salt. But it's awesome and you should totally move here.

Jonman wrote:
Amoebic wrote:

RED MILL BURGERS.

Please don't flay me alive and bury me in a coffin full of salt when I say this, but I have found a better burger.

Skillet's burgers make Red Mill pale into insignificance. Admittedly, it's a gourmet burger versus a (really good) fast-food kinda thing.

The Skillet Diner up on Capitol Hill is a good place to get one - better still to see if the Skillet trailer is somewhere nearby and have one for lunch. If you've got a first class ticket on the Indulgence Train, get the poutine too.

I'd be happy to meet you for a beer, maybe take a whistlestop tour around a few of the different neighbourhoods. Sending you a PM to organize deets.

Be warned, I'm a cheerleader for this town - take all of my enthusiasm for it with a grain of salt. But it's awesome and you should totally move here. :)

That sounds great, man. Just replied to your PM.

One other thing I should mention is that (at least for the moment, not sure if I'll stick with it) I keep Kosher which means I'm effectively a vegetarian (technically pescatarian, since I'll eat fish) when I eat out. I can usually find something to eat at most places (Red Mill and Skillet look like they both have good options), but if you know of any vegetarian and / or kosher restaurants, that would be especially awesome.

Garden Ninja wrote:
Jonman wrote:
Amoebic wrote:

RED MILL BURGERS.

Please don't flay me alive and bury me in a coffin full of salt when I say this, but I have found a better burger.

Skillet's burgers make Red Mill pale into insignificance. Admittedly, it's a gourmet burger versus a (really good) fast-food kinda thing.

The Skillet Diner up on Capitol Hill is a good place to get one - better still to see if the Skillet trailer is somewhere nearby and have one for lunch. If you've got a first class ticket on the Indulgence Train, get the poutine too.

I'd be happy to meet you for a beer, maybe take a whistlestop tour around a few of the different neighbourhoods. Sending you a PM to organize deets.

Be warned, I'm a cheerleader for this town - take all of my enthusiasm for it with a grain of salt. But it's awesome and you should totally move here. :)

That sounds great, man. Just replied to your PM.

One other thing I should mention is that (at least for the moment, not sure if I'll stick with it) I keep Kosher which means I'm effectively a vegetarian (technically pescatarian, since I'll eat fish) when I eat out. I can usually find something to eat at most places (Red Mill and Skillet look like they both have good options), but if you know of any vegetarian and / or kosher restaurants, that would be especially awesome.

I'm completely ignorant as to what is and isn't kosher, so bear with me.
Is beer kosher?
Is sushi kosher? Lots of good sushi joints in Seattle.

The only vegetarian-only restaurant I know off the top of my head is Tilth, which is fancy-pants vegetarian, but gets mad props from my friends that have been there. A bunch of Indian restaurants skew vegetarian too. Like I say, not sure whether there's stricter requirements that come from being kosher.

Here's my go-to for finding new restaurants: I've linked their top 10 vegetarian places. I can personally vouch for Tamarind Tree, and I'm not a fan of Coastal Kitchen (overpriced, and the quality is variable to the point of being often disappointing).

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a huge fan of Indian food, and I've noticed that they do tend to be veg friendly.

As far as keeping kosher goes, I'm pretty lenient, and didn't want to bog down the thread, so I only mentioned that matter. If I were really strict about it, I wouldn't eat in non-kosher restaurants, but there are precisely zero of those around here, and I like eating out too much. The rules are a bit more involved, but for eating out, it just means no meat. Most fish is fine, (though not other seafood, so no crab, lobster, squid or whatever).

Beer is definitely fine. Which brings up another question: Obviously, we can discuss in person also, but what are the good regional beers to try when I'm out there?

Also, any good food co-ops? Madison is a pretty hippy-dippy town with a couple of good, small food co-ops. I'm told Seattle is similar in that regard (honestly, Seattle sounds like a bigger Madison in a lot of ways).

Garden Ninja wrote:

Beer is definitely fine. Which brings up another question: Obviously, we can discuss in person also, but what are the good regional beers to try when I'm out there?

There's a bunch of really local breweries. I'm a big fan of Georgetown brewery, which is about a mile from where I work. One of their beers, Manny's is one of my go-to's for all day quaffing. Hales Ales and Maritime are located in Ballard (one of the cool neighbourhoods I'll probably take you to), and some of their beers are good. Red Hook and Pyramid are both local (Woodenville and Seattle respectively), but I'm not a big fan of either. YMMV.
There's quite a few brewpubs around too - The Elysian up on Capitol Hill is a favorite among my circle of friends.

Spread your catchment area even further, into Oregon and further afield in Washington, and there's a lot of good beer to choose from out here.

Garden Ninja wrote:

Also, any good food co-ops? Madison is a pretty hippy-dippy town with a couple of good, small food co-ops. I'm told Seattle is similar in that regard (honestly, Seattle sounds like a bigger Madison in a lot of ways).

Yeah, there's some. Ironically considering where you're moving from, Madison Market is a co-op with a bunch of outlets scattered around. There's a whole host of CSA schemes (community supported agrictulture) that will deliver a veg box to your doorstep weekly.

I don't live in Seattle proper - I live out in what they call the Eastside. But if you guys are planning a dinner/get together or something for Saturday or Sunday night, I wouldn't mind trying to come into town to join you.

There's always Dick's if you want your cholesterol quota for the year filled.

LightBender wrote:

There's always Dick's if you want your cholesterol quota for the year filled.

Friends don't let friends eat at Dick's.

Garden Ninja wrote:

One other thing I should mention is that (at least for the moment, not sure if I'll stick with it) I keep Kosher which means I'm effectively a vegetarian (technically pescatarian, since I'll eat fish) when I eat out. I can usually find something to eat at most places (Red Mill and Skillet look like they both have good options), but if you know of any vegetarian and / or kosher restaurants, that would be especially awesome.

The only Cholov Yisroel place in town went out of business, but it sounds like you're not that strict.

Bamboo Garden is the only certified sit-down place in Seattle... they're both vege; we don't have supervised meat. There are also a couple bakeries, a Krispy Kreme, and a couple bagel shops (near us, come get a bagel ).

If you're willing to drive a bit, Teapot in Redmond and Pabla in Renton are supervised.

And you can't throw a rock without hitting a vegetarian restaurant here, so if you stretch that far you can pretty much eat in every neighborhood. There's a vegan Thai place near us that isn't supervised, but is as parve as they come.

Edit: the grocery store near us has deli, too.

Tekman wrote:

*By the way Jonman, do you know about this site? Washington Beer Blog It seems to team with everything you ever want with Washington beer.

I didn't, but I do now!

Skillet looks amazing, putting that on my list, thanks for the heads up:)

jonnypolite wrote:

Skillet looks amazing, putting that on my list, thanks for the heads up:)

No word of a lie, best burger I've ever had.

Mind you, I'm a filthy foreigner - what the hell do I know about the noble acme of American cuisine?

Holy crap there's a lot of good stuff in here. I definitely have a lot of stuff to look over. Nice to know that there are plenty of veg and kosher options available. Thanks everyone!

For meeting up, Saturday or Sunday work for me. Jonman suggested meeting up Sunday afternoon for a tour, then a beer or two afterward. Anyone else have any preferences for days / times?

I work Saturday night so I would be out. But Sunday would be cool. Maybe go to Card Kingdom in Ballard for food, drink and games.

Edwin wrote:

I work Saturday night so I would be out. But Sunday would be cool. Maybe go to Card Kingdom in Ballard for food, drink and games.

So, I'd planned on taking G-Ninja on a tour of neighbourhoods (Cap Hill / Central District / Belltown / Ballard / Fremont) by car on Sunday afternoon. Figured we could cover more ground that way, and I'm praying to the PNW weather gods so we can put the top down and get the last few photons of sunshine before fall sets in. Maybe we finish up in Ballard at Card Kingdom for a beer and get-together with other peeps?

That would be cool.

Now I have to find Card Kingdom.....

Card Kingdom was great! Edwin & Clover brought me there and I drank many hard ciders while we not-finished a game of Talisman.

momgamer wrote:

That would be cool.

Now I have to find Card Kingdom..... ;)

Map here.

Pretty easy if you can find your way to the Ballard bridge (although I understand your navigational skills are legendary) - go over the bridge heading north, take the immediate exit and hang a left on Leary. Should be on your left after a few hundred yards.

What time are folk interested in being there? Shall I suggest 4pm? 5pm?

Super busy yesterday. I just have a few things left to pack. Excited for this trip (less excited about waking up at 3:00 AM to get on a plane by 6:00).

Card Kingdom looks pretty sweet.

Card Kingdom is great.

Most of your concerns have already been addressed but I wanted to throw a specific recommendation out for Puget Consumer's Co-op. I've only been once so far but I liked it a lot.

gregrampage wrote:

Card Kingdom is great.

Most of your concerns have already been addressed but I wanted to throw a specific recommendation out for Puget Consumer's Co-op. I've only been once so far but I liked it a lot.

The best hangout-able PCC is the Fremont one, in my opinion. Nice big deli, and a covered outdoor area to eat in.

Just moved to Seattle from Madison myself six months ago. Come on in, the water's fine Seattle reminds me a lot of Madison, right down to the locals' affinity for fleece jackets and vests at all times of the year.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned: the traffic can be quite crappy, especially by Midwestern standards. I'd consider it essential that you live on the side of the lake you're going to be working on. If you're going to be working downtown, that give you downtown as well as Capital Hill, Queen Anne, and North Seattle. If you're going to be working in Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue trifecta, stick to living in the eastern burbs. You know: unless you really want to get back to an hour commute.

Fremont/Wallingford/Ballard has a much more Madison feel than Cap Hill/Downtown IMHO. Walkscore.com is a great site to sussing out the walkable attractions for any place you might be considering. But overall it's lovely town, we're glad we moved.

What time Sunday? We have our weekly D&D game from 12:30 PM - ~5.

Made out through security theater. Now I get to waitan hour for my flight. Turns out I get in at 11 but am not supposed to check into my hotel until 3, so ulises the let me cheek in early I'll have time to kill I guess.

regarding when to meet sunday, Jonman be suggested 4 or 5. I'd be fine with a bit later but I'm not sure how that works with other peoples schedules.

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