Anyone emigrated to the US (Seattle specially)...

[PTADER]

...and can shed some light please? Having our 63rd meet up with some old reservist and Jln Kayu childhood friends and kakis at KM Restaurant (not too sure how the food there is so can't recommend to anyone as yet) and we would like to discuss the pros and cons of settling there.

And I thought, where else to fish for useful info like this but in Sammyboy emigration forum? (BTW, great job Sammy and everyone and thanks for this very informative forum)

And since this is my final (real final ) post before going away, thanks in advance and Happy New Year to Dr Paul, Bro Albert and everyone else,

PTADER

PS: My word that all advice and information given is safe...why else would I not have reveal information I know??? Life is too short, my friend. Better to spend time smelling the Rose instead of fighting. We are all getting old. My word. My bond.

PPS: And for Pete's sake, nothing about about fishing in Seattle please. I don't believe in fishing . Thank you once again.

 

[scroobal]

Forummer Eatshitndie, you are the closest to Seattle, could you give the headups. Other forummers in the US, please throw some light. Ptader is a vet of the old SBF and has contributed significantly. He continues to contribute via another nick in this forum so, any help is appreciated.

 

[eatshitndie]

settle in seattle? is that an intended pun?

never been to seattle. will be there next year for a pleasure trip. however, have many friends from washington state who settle in norcal. they complain of fog, rain and grey skies for much of the year. in summer though, it's like vancouver - mild, sunny, long days, skimpy clothes - since they're so close to each other. i suppose redmond and bellevue (seattle suburbs) should have pretty diverse cuisines, due to the international crowd in tech jobs. it's a great place for housing though, much more affordable than in the bay area or vancouver. it's also a great port to take a cruise up to alaska. will be doing that next summer.

 

[redbull313]

...and can shed some light please? Having our 63rd meet up with some old reservist and Jln Kayu childhood friends and kakis at KM Restaurant (not too sure how the food there is so can't recommend to anyone as yet) and we would like to discuss the pros and cons of settling there.

And I thought, where else to fish for useful info like this but in Sammyboy emigration forum? (BTW, great job Sammy and everyone and thanks for this very informative forum)

And since this is my final (real final ) post before going away, thanks in advance and Happy New Year to Dr Paul, Bro Albert and everyone else,

PTADER

PS: My word that all advice and information given is safe...why else would I not have reveal information I know??? Life is too short, my friend. Better to spend time smelling the Rose instead of fighting. We are all getting old. My word. My bond.

PPS: And for Pete's sake, nothing about about fishing in Seattle please. I don't believe in fishing . Thank you once again.

We went through Seattle on our way to the east coast. It was once voted America's most livable city, I remember enjoying the pacific northwest and I remember driving the 2 hours to Vancouver too. Nice downtown area, it has a chinatown, on the other side pike's place market is a must and the needle. lots to see, do and the economy has been very strong in Seattle where other areas have struggled. Seattle housing is still very affordable and I remember meeting up with a friend there who owns a beautiful property on a lake. More affordable housing can be found near U of Washington. Job market is very strong too with Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, etc........

Weather wise it rains alot there, but summers are very nice but then there is a weather effect that prevents it from becoming freezing cold and snowy, mainly just rain.

If you have specific questions post them here and I will try to answer what I can. We ended up on the east coast but drove across the country on the way here.

 

[Meltdown]

...and can shed some light please? Having our 63rd meet up with some old reservist and Jln Kayu childhood friends and kakis at KM Restaurant (not too sure how the food there is so can't recommend to anyone as yet) and we would like to discuss the pros and cons of settling there.

And I thought, where else to fish for useful info like this but in Sammyboy emigration forum? (BTW, great job Sammy and everyone and thanks for this very informative forum)

And since this is my final (real final ) post before going away, thanks in advance and Happy New Year to Dr Paul, Bro Albert and everyone else,

PTADER

PS: My word that all advice and information given is safe...why else would I not have reveal information I know??? Life is too short, my friend. Better to spend time smelling the Rose instead of fighting. We are all getting old. My word. My bond.

PPS: And for Pete's sake, nothing about about fishing in Seattle please. I don't believe in fishing . Thank you once again.

I stayed in Seattle for 3 weeks visiting my friend who's working for Microsoft. But, I ended up settling down in San Francisco.

In terms of the economy, the Seattle's economy is much stronger than the rest of the country given that major companies like Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, etc... are headquartered there. Boeing used to be headquartered in Seattle too before they moved it to Chicago. Also, many Asian immigrants settled down in Seattle which makes the city & surrounding suburbs with high Asian population.

In term of the climate, it's often cloudy & rains very often. If you have been to the UK, you know how often it rains there. But Seattle doesn't have bone chilling winter like in Toronto, Detroit or Chicago.

In terms of traffic, the traffic congestion on the freeways are very congested during rush hour. They have dedicated car pool lanes on the freeway, which can't be used by lone drivers, where cars with 2 or more people can use them which are never congested.

In terms of cuisines, there's plenty of choices available from Chinese to Japanese to Italian to French etc...

In terms of neighborhood, the suburbs around the Kirkland area is considered good because of it's close proximity to Redmond where Microsoft is headquartered. Many Microsoft employees reside in that area.

In terms of lifestyle, the beach is less than an hours drive away from most suburbs. The Canadian border is less than 2 hours drive away.

 

[bart12]

I have been living in Seattle for the last 9 years and have nicely settled down here. This is one of the best places to stay with the lakes, mountains and sea all within close proximity. Best of all,you can also have a decent career/job over here compare to some cheap places in other parts of the US which are difficult to find any job. As Meltdown has pointed out, there are many major American corporation with HQs based here. In addition, lots of s/w and biotech startups are based here as well because of the many millionaires created by Microsoft who move on to start their own companies.

I stay in Bellevue which is considered an expensive place to stay due to close proximity to Lake Washington and Bill Gates stay around there. However, cost of living is still relatively much cheaper than Spore. In the US, we also have much choices to decide how we want to live without sacrificing the quality of life. For example, I can have a simple life over here by renting a room from a house with MIL unit for about $400pm inclusive of all utilities. The environment around my neighbourhood rival anywhere in district9,10,11 of Spore because of the stunning mountain and lake scenery I can get by just strolling out of my house. Food cost is dirt cheap and fresh here if you are willing to cook , eating out will cost you 10 times more because of the high labor cost. Since the working hour usually stop at 5-6pm, we actually have plenty of time to cook a meal or conduct some DIY stuffs on our house or car after work. In Spore , we will never have such a luxury on going back home on time to relax. Generally, I wil say it is a damn good place to emigrate.

 

[wendypoh]

Anyone emigrated to the US (Seattle specially)...

You're better off in New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami or Dallas

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?t=41679



Study: Megaquake looms over Seattle

Researchers say fault goes deeper than thought and heads toward city

Larry O'Hanlon / NASA World Wind

The white line in the above graphic is a previous estimate for nine-meter slip. The red line shows an area of the nine-meter slip 25 kilometers deep in the crust, as predicted by James Chapman and Timothy Melbourne of Central Washington University. The green line runs down where the slip dissipates to zero as the fault deepens to the east.



By Michael Reilly

The Cascadia thrust fault, one of the most dangerous and powerful faults on Earth, will hit even closer to home than anyone thought possible, according to a new study.

If the new findings are accurate, the fault will rupture within 68 miles of downtown Seattle, pouring seismic energy into a densely populated urban area, threatening to knock down buildings both large and small, and endangering the lives of the city's nearly 10 million residents.

The threat of earthquakes is just a part of life for those living in Seattle, Vancouver and throughout the Puget Sound region. Scientists know it is just a matter of time before Cascadia lets loose a devastating quake on the order of magnitude 9.0.

For decades, scientists, urban planners and emergency responders have taken small comfort in the fact that the tremor would stop near the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, perhaps as far as 118 miles west of Seattle.

If a huge quake hit, shaking in the city would be strong but low-frequency, the thinking went. There's a risk that buildings might collapse under that scenario, but those less than 10 stories would be spared.

However, the fault's behavior tells a different story.

Since 1997, Timothy Melbourne of Central Washington University in Ellensburg has been watching the Olympic Peninsula deform and listening to tiny quakes deep in Cascadia's bowels.

In an article due to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, he and colleague James Chapman show that the fault is locked down to a depth of 15 miles (25 kilometers), 6 miles deeper than previously thought.

"Normally, this is academic, and nobody gives a rip," Melbourne said. "But this is a shallow-dipping fault. As it goes down, it heads east from off the coast towards Seattle and Vancouver. At 25 kilometers' depth, that brings you right to the western edge of the Seattle metropolitan area."

That spells trouble for millions of people who call the area home.

As far as scientists know, large quakes of around magnitude 9.0 occur every 550 years or so on Cascadia. The last temblor was in 1700 so it could be some time before the next big one, but the fault already has enough pent up energy to slip 30 feet in the blink of an eye.

With tectonic plates shattering so close by, the city of Seattle could be be rocked by a shotgun blast of high and low-frequency energy, Melbourne suggested. Ground shaking could be up to five times stronger than anyone has planned for. Everything from small buildings to skyscrapers would be at risk of collapse.

"What this really means is emergency service planners need to take a long, hard look at the policies they have in place for dealing with an earthquake," Melbourne said. "Whenever this happens, it's not going to be good. It's going to get ugly."

No one disagrees with the danger Cascadia poses to the region. But Garry Rogers of the Geological Survey of Canada said that Melbourne and Chapman's findings aren't new.

Previous studies suggested that rupturing could spread deep along the fault. To be safe, those estimates have already been built into hazard maps in both Canada and the United States.

"There might need to be a few tweaks to the maps, but it won't be the dramatic shift that they claim," Rogers said. He added that he also thinks it's unlikely that much high-frequency energy will affect Seattle or Vancouver.

Instead, Rogers applauded the researchers for confirming what scientists had previously only been able to guess at: When (not if) Cascadia ruptures, it's going to break deep into the crust, releasing devastating amounts of energy into a densely populated area.

© 2009 Discovery Channel<!-- / message -->

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[Aussie Prick]

...and can shed some light please? Having our 63rd meet up with some old reservist and Jln Kayu childhood friends and kakis at KM Restaurant (not too sure how the food there is so can't recommend to anyone as yet) and we would like to discuss the pros and cons of settling there.

And I thought, where else to fish for useful info like this but in Sammyboy emigration forum? (BTW, great job Sammy and everyone and thanks for this very informative forum)

And since this is my final (real final ) post before going away, thanks in advance and Happy New Year to Dr Paul, Bro Albert and everyone else,

PTADER

PS: My word that all advice and information given is safe...why else would I not have reveal information I know??? Life is too short, my friend. Better to spend time smelling the Rose instead of fighting. We are all getting old. My word. My bond.

PPS: And for Pete's sake, nothing about about fishing in Seattle please. I don't believe in fishing . Thank you once again.

Oh I love Seattle. Migration there is a excellent idea - iunlike Australia where you will suffer and die like the losers on this forum.

I remember seeing some very beautiful houses on Lake Washington, anyone lucky enough to go there can toast to their good fortunes they chose not to go to Australia where the taxes and racism will kill you.

Good luck and we hope you make it. And also congrats on not choosing Australia, the worst country in the world.

 

[IWC2006]

...and can shed some light please? Having our 63rd meet up with some old reservist and Jln Kayu childhood friends and kakis at KM Restaurant (not too sure how the food there is so can't recommend to anyone as yet) and we would like to discuss the pros and cons of settling there.

And I thought, where else to fish for useful info like this but in Sammyboy emigration forum? (BTW, great job Sammy and everyone and thanks for this very informative forum)

And since this is my final (real final ) post before going away, thanks in advance and Happy New Year to Dr Paul, Bro Albert and everyone else,

PTADER

PS: My word that all advice and information given is safe...why else would I not have reveal information I know??? Life is too short, my friend. Better to spend time smelling the Rose instead of fighting. We are all getting old. My word. My bond.

PPS: Anhahd for Pete's sake, nothing about about fishing in Seattle please. I don't believe in fishing . Thank you once again.

It rains 9 months in Seattle! haha was there in late 99' for a few days but it was raining throughout..must say Seattle is pretty boring compare to other cities like San Francisco, LA,NYC etc. My friend is working there now and she says Seattle is like a country town. Good for career advance with the big IT firms there but leisure wise is probably lacking.

 

[chinchai]

It rains 9 months in Seattle! haha was there in late 99' for a few days but it was raining throughout..must say Seattle is pretty boring compare to other cities like San Francisco, LA,NYC etc. My friend is working there now and she says Seattle is like a country town. Good for career advance with the big IT firms there but leisure wise is probably lacking.

San Francisco, LA, NYC, Boston, Philly are definitely better cities

 

[PTADER]

I suppose timing is everything when it comes to property prices which is a huge, huge consideration (for me at least) in deciding where to eventually settle down. I know of one Ali Jafari chap who bought a 2 bed, 2 bathroom townhouse near Lake City Shopping Centre in King County, Seattle for $195K in Aug 2003. The previous owner had bought it for $144K on 30 Oct 1995. That's 8 years after he bought it. So after 8 long years, the first owner made just $55K while this Jafari chap made $102K selling the very same unit for $297K just 3 years later in May 2005. But I suppose the first owner is still a whole lot better off than the third owner who lost $47K when she sold it for $250K in April 2009.

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and information. It's much appreciated. I have to rush off to beg forgiveness from my Aunt Rosalind for not attending her 17th November birthday celebration. She's 63 but still very alert (not too bad for an old lady born in 1946 I must say). I am not too sure whether she will see through my I-have-to-attend-reservist training-and-as-such-couldn't-attend-your-birthday-celebration excuse. I hope she won't be too mad with me. Thanks again to everyone who replied with those very useful tips and information. As always and as promised...My word. My bond.

 

[redbull313]

I suppose timing is everything when it comes to property prices which is a huge, huge consideration (for me at least) in deciding where to eventually settle down. I know of one Ali Jafari chap who bought a 2 bed, 2 bathroom townhouse near Lake City Shopping Centre in King County, Seattle for $195K in Aug 2003. The previous owner had bought it for $144K on 30 Oct 1995. That's 8 years after he bought it. So after 8 long years, the first owner made just $55K while this Jafari chap made $102K selling the very same unit for $297K just 3 years later in May 2005. But I suppose the first owner is still a whole lot better off than the third owner who lost $47K when she sold it for $250K in April 2009.

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and information. It's much appreciated. I have to rush off to beg forgiveness from my Aunt Rosalind for not attending her 17th November birthday celebration. She's 63 but still very alert (not too bad for an old lady born in 1946 I must say). I am not too sure whether she will see through my I-have-to-attend-reservist training-and-as-such-couldn't-attend-your-birthday-celebration excuse. I hope she won't be too mad with me. Thanks again to everyone who replied with those very useful tips and information. As always and as promised...My word. My bond.

Oh yes timing is everything but property still has a very sour taste in many people's lives here. I have one guy in my office who is still holding onto two townhouses for 3 years now hoping to sell when the market goes back up but in his areas its only going up 5% last 2 years. What to do? He has become an accidental landlord.

 

[axe168]

Oh yes timing is everything but property still has a very sour taste in many people's lives here. I have one guy in my office who is still holding onto two townhouses for 3 years now hoping to sell when the market goes back up but in his areas its only going up 5% last 2 years. What to do? He has become an accidental landlord.

Your frz should come down to Australia, in particular Melbourne.. no need to wait for 3 yrs.. In Mel, for the last 6mths it gone up 20% !!!

Guess what ? This is only the start of the boom.. currently at 7pm o'clock boom.