[Seattle, WA]

This info is probably too late for Texcards, but anyone else who's interested in Seattle transit options: check http://transit.metrokc.gov/

Or their trip planner service @ http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/cgi-b ... resptype=U

Service is generally not 24 hours although there are a few buses that I believe run through the night. For my own purposes, a couple times a year I end up missing the last bus home at 1am and I'm always amazed that certain routes don't run longer. I've always found the buses very safe, though often not on schedule and not as frequent as one might hope.

[moving concerns]

Thanks for all the great advice-- good idea to have a list of possible hotels and their rates, since we probably can't determine in advance how far we'll be able to drive on each day. Scary to hear of all the U-Haul nightmare stories that my brief google search turned up...crossing my fingers that nothing goes wrong. Besides double-checking that my online confirmation has been received and giving the truck a very good look over before leaving the rental lot, does anyone have suggestions on what else we can do to make sure nothing goes wrong?

Update: after overthinking my Budget rental and hearing about a ton of U-Haul horror stories (see http://www.city-data.com/forum/general- ... ul-18.html ), we decided to switch to Penske and they matched Budget's price. Although breakdowns are, to some extent, inevitable and occur in rentals from all companies, sounded as though Penske does a great job with customer service/possibly maintenance as well and that many people hold Budget in lower opinion. Crossing my fingers that I get a truck with a CD player (not all their 16 fts have them!)

[UIC]

Thanks so much for the information! Looks as though there is also a gym on west campus: http://imweb.ops.uic.edu/public/rec/facilities_sfc.htm

But, given my poor track record in this area, I have a feeling I may never get around to visiting it!

So the area around both the Pink and Blue line stops in the medical district are okay at night? I'm realistic about city living/crime expectations, just wanted to make sure these particular areas are not known for any specific problems.

[UIC]

I'll be attending the UIC @ the medical district campus. Is this area generally fairly safe? Anyone know if the gym facilities @ this campus are decent? Also, how long does it take on the school shuttle bus to get from east to west campus?

[moving concerns]

Thanks for the advice! Since we've got a cat I think we'll be limited in our sight-seeing but I'm realizing now that there is no possible/safe way for us to do 30 hrs straight. I'm hoping the 16ft moving van is not too scary to drive. Cannot wait until this move is over and done with!

[moving concerns]

I have no idea if this will help anyone, but I'm planning a Seattle to Chicago move for this coming summer and here's what I've found:

Renting a truck (even with high gas prices) was our cheapest option. For a truck that can carry roughly a 1 bdrm apartment worth of stuff prices ranged from $660 (Budget Truck Rental) to $1200 (U Haul). We're going with Budget and hoping gas will be < $500. Professional moving companies would have started at $1400, more likely close to $2000. Pods gave an outrageously high quote (more than 3K!!!) and a Pods competitor was about $2,000.

Anyhow, for anyone planning a similar move, I'd recommend checking all truck rental companies, playing around with the dates (prices varied by +/- $100 depending on what day of the week and what pick up/drop off site you picked. Cheapest to pick one of their main pick up/drop off sites). Although I'm dreading the 30 hours of driving (with a cat), I'm excited that we'll be able to take our time with it (all the truck rental companies force you to rent it for 7-8 days, making for leisurely packing/driving/unpacking). I was amazed at the price variations among truck rental companies. I've never driven for longer than 8 hours- anyone have advice on how best to break up a 30 hour drive? My partner was all for just taking turns and doing it in one fell swoop but I don't know if I'm up for that!

[Seattle, WA]

Not sure what your specific interests are, so I'll give generalized suggestions. One option would be to head down to Pioneer Square, visit Elliott Bay Book Company, then head up through the International District to the 12th and Jackson area to get Vietnamese food. From there, you could take 12th into Capitol Hill and check out Broadway or Volunteer Park up on 15th (Beautiful park, greenhouse and Asian art museum there. Also a water tower, which if you're willing to walk up 8 flights of stairs, gives you a great view of the city). It could also be nice to head west from campus, check out Gasworks Park along Lake Union, then continue on into Fremont (a lot of restaurants, book stores etc there...nice place to walk around). Downtown Ballard is only about 3 blocks long but again, a nice place to walk around. Seattle has great/unique movie theaters so if it's raining and you're tired, I highly recommend the Harvard Exit or Egyptian theaters in Capitol Hill. Really nice coffee shops in Capitol Hill, as you'd expect (recommend: Vivace on north end of Broadway, B&O Espresso, etc).

You're wise to avoid the touristy stuff. Accordingly, I'd recommend avoiding the Space Needle/EMP complex and downtown in general. Pike Place Market is actually pretty fun but I personally would not describe it as "must see".

I'm considering heading to UW. I'm looking into the geography program.

So it's a 9 hour drive in one direction. I have one day to spend in Seattle, the morning of which looks largely dedicated to the campus. If there were some "must-see" aspects to Seattle living (touristy attractions don't count), what would you recommend me checking out?

[Seattle, WA]

It seems as though rents have gone up over the last 1-2 years. Check Craigslist for neighborhood-specific info, but typically in Capitol Hill, Wallingford, U-District, Ravenna (neighborhoods bordering UW), studios are $600-800, 1 bedrooms almost always $750-1100. If you need an especially cheap place, those do pop up, especially in the U-District. And of course house sharing is always cheaper. I've found all my places off of Craigslist and don't know of better ways, other than driving around and looking for signs. If you don't have a car, I'd recommend neighborhoods that border the University District. As for the U-District itself, some people like living there and there are certainly better/worse parts to it. I wouldn't recommend living there if you have a car (break ins). Also, the area just north of campus is Greek Row. Noisy parties, etc. Avoid if this kind of thing bothers you.

Capitol Hill is very conveinent- #43 and 49 buses go from there straight to the school. It's a big neighborhood. Parts closer to Broadway and I-5 are louder/limited parking/more nightlife/pros and cons to this. Further east is (12th-23rd) is generally quieter. Wallingford, to the west of UW, is also quiet and safe (#44 goes from there to UW). Neighborhoods to the North, like Northgate, tend to be cheaper. Further west, but still within 1 bus ride of campus, are Ballard, Fremont, and Greenlake. These are all nice neighborhoods, with plenty of nice restaurants, grocery stores, etc. As with any city, there is crime here so take caution when walking around at night. Certain areas of the Central District (south of Capitol Hill) are dicey and the same goes for other further south neighborhoods (Beacon Hill, etc).

Seattle is great in terms of outdoor activities- there are some beautiful places within a 1-2 hour drive of here (Deception Pass, Olympic Nat'l Forest, North Bend, to name just a few). Great area for kayaking, snowshoeing, hiking, etc. And many gorgeous parks close to UW. Yes, it does rain a lot but I think what gets to people more than the rain is just the general lack of sun. Do buy a good rain coat and keep in mind that a few days out of the year it may snow and be quite cold. And even a couple inches of snow is enough to shut down transit and make commutes horrible!

I'm not a big nightlife person, but there are a ton of clubs and shows in Capitol Hill, Belltown, Pioneer Square (check thestranger.com for listings). There are fantastic restaurants (see http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/1/Seattle-restaurants.html for details) and a surprisingly active literary scene. (Elliott Bay, in Pioneer Square, is a fantastic bookstore with many readings/book groups.) Phenomenal Ethiopean and Vietnamese food.