Obtain Job and Apartment Cross Country?

Question

A friend of mine and I are dying to move and we've chosen Seattle as our next home while right now we live in North Carolina. My question is: How would I go about securing a job and apartment in Seattle(we really want to live IN the city) while I'm here in North Carolina?

Answer 1

That will be near impossible, if you want the truth. Apartments in particular are very difficult to rent right now - as the vacancy rates are below 1%. You pretty much have to get on waiting lists or be there with your application and money in-hand to get an apartment here.

As for work, depending on your skill set, you may be able to find a job in advance, but no one will hire you until they've met you face-to-face. Also, when I moved here 5 years ago, I'll warn you that most employers don't look favorably on people who've just moved here for the sake of moving here. They don't think you'll stick around after your first rainy winter, so they are much less likely to hire you.

You really need to come here for at least a week to get an apartment and a job. Sorry, that's the truth.

Answer 2

There are many different places within the city of Seattle to consider. If you think moving downtown specifically, then you will probably be surpised at the cost of renting.
Here is an example

Centennial Tower & Court
2 bedrooms, 2 bath (Apartment)
Square Footage: 956 sq. ft.
Deposit $750 / $750 refundable
Parking: Garage Parking $140
Pets Allowed: Cats & Dogs
Pet deposit is $500 / $200 refundable

$1715 per month
2515 4th Ave
Seattle, 98121
[phone]

You will have to remember that if you work somewhere different than you live, say you live in downtown Seattle, but you need to cross the floating bridge to get to your Microsoft job in Redmond, it adds hours of time you spend in traffic.

The most important thing is to find the job you want and then figure out where would be the best place to live.

You should expect to fly to Seattle for interviews and while here you should tour the city and its various neighborhoods.

Answer 3

It is going to be very difficult, I know I have been on both sides of this issue.

When I moved here 9 years ago I could not get a response from employers with a out of state address. I ended up moving into a month by month furnished apartment on first hill (it's near the hospitals) to have a Seattle address and only then did I start to get calls on my resume.

When I worked as a manger in Seattle and had a job opening; with the internet, there are dozens and dozens of people who apply for the position from across the country and the globe. The out of state applications went to the back of the stack and we interviewed the local candidates. Even a mid-size company with 1000 employees cannot afford to fly someone out for an interview.

My suggestion would be to save up enough money to scrape by for a few months; ($5000-6000) come out with a minimum amount of stuff and start looking for a job.

Good luck! it can be done.

Answer 4

I'm looking to do the same thing. I was up in Seattle beginning of october for about 5 days and interviewed for a job I had set up from home in CA and looked at a few apartments and stuff. I got called up for another interview a week later but couldnt afford to fly back up. I'm planning on going up there in a few weeks again to nail something down, sometimes if you put in an application for a job and call them and tell them you're going to be in town and would like to come by and see the operation, that could help. It'll also show them you're interested and give them a chance to meet you face to face. Its a challenging, I've been trying to move up to Seattle for a year but I'm getting closer. just keep trying and eventually it'll happen. Let me know if you guys need a roomie for a few months too, its a bit expensive there haha.

Answer 5

I assume you have done your research and are ready for the prices. The cost of living in Seattle is huge, and I would be surprised if you found an apartment in the city for less then around $1500 a month.

If you just search a typical apartment search online and contact the apartments you find. You should be able to find a few places to look at, and you could probably start renting before you even get here.

Answer 6

Well the job you'd have to fly out and interview for. But the apartment you could find online via the Seattle Times, rent.com, etc. I found my place through rent.com and mailed a deposit for it. If you want to know about a particular area then just post a question on here and people will let you know about it. Good luck - Seattle's awesome! I moved to the area four years ago from South Florida and this year bought my very first house!

Answer 7

Try http://marketplace.nwsource.com/jobs/

http://regionalhelpwanted.com/home/184.htm?SN=184&

for jobs.

Try apartments.com for apartments. Just an FYI, apartments "in" the city are really expensive. Head farther north for better deals.