Questions about SEATTLE

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 2:52 pm

My husband and I are interested in moving to Seattle. (I put this up here anonymously because there are people in my community who know my identity, and right now we're just looking into it). We love the weather there and the beauty, as well as the proximity to the mountains.

Unfortunately, while we were on the West Coast recently, we didn't get to spend time with the community, as we weren't there over Shabbos. We did visit the restaurants and LOVED them. We are young, modern orthodox centrist. I cover my hair and only wear skirts, and I wear flip-flops and don't wear stockings. My husband wears a knit-kippah. My husband learns Torah a few times a week, as well, and it's important for him to be able to keep doing that with a regular chavruta, right now he learns at a community kollel. We are out of the box type of people, I'm a vegetarian and a ger. I want to be in a community that is inclusive of women in the shul, where women can take on leadership roles. We're socially very liberal and friendly. We love having guests over and getting together with others during Shabbos, Yom Tov, etc, and are looking for a friendly community.

If you have any insights, please post here and I will PM you.

Thanks!

PinkFridge

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 6:23 pm

No insights for you but a question: is schooling a factor for you?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 6:25 pm

Seattle sounds perfect for you.

I've lived here for over 20 years, feel free to PM me.

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 7:23 pm

New amother here, we are similar to OP and also looking in to Seattle. FF can you tell me more about the community? How big, school options, what's the average age of people in the community, housing prices. Another thought we have is Portland. Do you know how Seattle compares to Portland?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 7:54 pm

Wow, tall order!

First of all, unless you are Chabad, Portland is not an option. I think there's probably 10 frum families in the whole state of Oregon.

Seattle has much more options. In Seward Park (south of downtown) we have two Sephardic shuls, one Orthodox shul (mostly MO and Yeshivish), and one Chassidish shteible.

Housing down here is fairly expensive, there are very few apartments available, and the apartments border a very bad stretch of road. Mostly low income Somalian immigrants. The homes are mostly upscale and suburban.

In the north end, near the University District, there is the Chabad shul and the Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder. Housing is even more expensive, and even harder to find. The school is excellent, but there is no bus. I highly recommend this school if your kid is a good learner, as their academic standards are high and they expect the kids to keep up. If your kid falls behind there is no extra help available. Uniforms required.

Seattle Hebrew Academy is MO/Conservadox. The classes are all mixed, and there is a very wide range of kids who go there. They have a Sephardic track that runs parallel to the Askenazic track, and most of Sephardic kids go there. The teachers are very dedicated, the curriculum is not too hard, the middos of the kids is also very mixed. A kid with strong Yiddishkeit will be able to hold his/her own there, but an easily swayed kid could fall in with a rough group. The school has a loose dress code, that the kids push against all the time.

Torah Day School is Yeshivish. Classes are separated at 4th grade, uniforms required. Kids here are expected to be "normal" and "middle of the road". There is no place for "out of the box" kids or kids with special needs. They come from good frum families, but some of the kids can be spoiled brats with a sense of entitlement.

If you have a special needs child, Graham Hill School is walking distance from all of the shuls, and they have busses for special kids. My DD goes there, and I can't say enough good things about them. This school is a GEM!!! The teachers, aids, principals, even the lunch lady, they are all very amazing people. It has an extremely diverse student body, which is great for a frum kid because her derech is treated with a lot of respect. Nobody teases her because she wears skirts and tight, nobody cares that she needs to bring a kosher lunch, nobody fusses when she needs to take holidays off. She is flourishing like I'd never even dreamed possible. With G-d's help, she'll be ready to transition back into the Chabad school after 5th grade (unless we make Aliyah that summer, when we'll send her to a Dati/Torani school).

If you have a good job, you can do very well in Seattle. If you don't, you'll struggle. The cost of living can be high here. The Metro bus is $2.50 each way. Gas is high, rent is higher than average. I'm in a very small 2 bedroom house with a tiny yard, and I'm paying $1350 a month, plus utilities. I consider myself extremely lucky, because to find a house this size again would probably run closer to $1800. A four bedroom house will go for over $2000 a month, possibly $2500 depending on location and view.

One of the greatest things about Seattle is Affordable Kosher. They deliver right to your doorstep, and delivery is free if your order is over $50.00. Lots of cholov isroel products and meats with reliable hecksherim. LOVE them!

The bus and light rail system is reliable, but not cheap, and extremely slow. They've cut back some routes, so to get anywhere you have to make several transfers, which is a pain. You can also run into some very unpleasant characters at the bus stops. If you want to save your sanity, you really need a car.

Feel free to ask me more, and I'll answer as I get the time to do so. Hope this helps!

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 8:01 pm

Since you're vegetarian, I'm going to guess that Bamboo Garden would seal the deal for you. Smile

The quality of life here is amazing if you like the outdoors. Other than that, I can't think of anything to add on to FF's great post, other than to say I love it here. Smile

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 8:04 pm

Thank you FF!!! That is a great start! will look into everything you wrote. greatly appreciate it. (second amother)

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 8:06 pm

Oh, I see you wrote about the weather here. Summer is AMAZING and I guess that's when you visited. Be warned that it's very dreary outside of the summer, and you'll need a good wardrobe for the rainy season (forget about umbrellas, too much hassle). It takes some getting used to. If you can, budget money to take a trip somewhere sunny over the winter even if it's just over the mountains.

But it isn't too hot and isn't too cold, other than the drizzle it's just right!

amother

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 9:18 pm

There is also a new minyan, Minyan Ohr Chadash, which might be your speed. They're trying to be very inclusive of women and encourage their participation/leadership within the parameters of halacha. But they're a breakaway and there's some community divisiveness.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 10:23 pm

Yeah, the weather here isn't to everyone's taste, but I actually like it. Seattle is in a "temperate rain forest zone", meaning we get a lot of drizzle and overcast, for about 9 months out of the year. On the other hand, we only get snow once every couple of years, and it almost never sticks all day.

Personally, I consider it the perfect weather for keeping tznius. A comfy sweater, a knit skirt and a cute pair of boots, top it off with a wool coat, and you're all set! Some summers are so mild that by the time I get my hot weather clothing out of storage, I only need it for a few weeks. If you like the feeling of being in a cozy cabin, with a cup of hot cocoa, this is the place to be. If you'd prefer 80 degrees and the beach, you'll only get that for a couple of months, if that.

BTW, there's mixed public swimming at Lake Washington, with a lifeguard. Early in the summer the water is pretty cold, but later in the summer it's not only crowded, but there's a lot of fish die-off. Puke

It's pretty gross. The Rainier Community Center is going to start a women's only swim on Sunday nights (indoor pool).

Lots of zumba classes and women's only gyms in Seattle, too.

bamamama

Sun, Aug 11 2013, 10:32 pm

I'm not in Seattle but I have to echo that Affordable Kosher is awesome and very helpful and in general the Pacific Northwest totally rocks!!!