University of Washington

[Logorrhea224]

Hello, everyone! I checked, but didn't see a page for people headed to University of Washington in the fall. I'll be attending at the Seattle campus for a master's in library and information science. I'm already stressing out about how to find housing and make the move, as I live all the way out in Upstate New York. I'd love to connect with some other people attending there next year as well. What will you be studying there, and where will you be moving from?

[soaps]

I won't be there in the fall but I went there as an undergrad. UW is an amazing school with a beautiful campus, and the University District is full of great restaurants, bars, and culture. It's starting to gentrify but still has a gritty heart, which I love. For what you're studying you'll love the reading room in Suzzallo Library. 

Happy to answer any Seattle related questions if no one else pops up. 

[VBD]

I'm headed to UW as well, and similarly am trying to figure out how to get housing situation worked out while I'm in PA. I'll be getting a PhD in Environmental Health at UW's School of Public Health. Hello fellow future UW students!

While I was there for an interview, I did get a chance to walk around U District (I'd consider living in the upperbounds of U District_, but after hearing about other neighborhoods like Ravenna, and Wallingford, I think I'd like the feel of those instead. Soapy, in general, are those locations are ok for groceries, going to school, socializing (perhaps a bus out to that scene?) and the like? 

 

In general, how are people making the cross country move? Are you renting a place sight unseen? o.o

[Wicked_Problem]

I'm a UW rejectee, but a wide-ranging GradCafe user. There is a really great thread on Seattle in the City Guide area. I would start about here:

but the discussion goes back years.

[soaps]

I'm headed to UW as well, and similarly am trying to figure out how to get housing situation worked out while I'm in PA. I'll be getting a PhD in Environmental Health at UW's School of Public Health. Hello fellow future UW students!

While I was there for an interview, I did get a chance to walk around U District (I'd consider living in the upperbounds of U District_, but after hearing about other neighborhoods like Ravenna, and Wallingford, I think I'd like the feel of those instead. Soapy, in general, are those locations are ok for groceries, going to school, socializing (perhaps a bus out to that scene?) and the like? 

 

In general, how are people making the cross country move? Are you renting a place sight unseen? o.o

 

Those areas are definitely ok for groceries, school proximity, and socializing. Wallingford has some great bars/restaurants, and Ravenna is cheaper with quick access to the main U thoroughfares while also being closer to Greenlake. I think most UW students tend to migrate to those areas and you'll find more grad. students there as well. Long-term you may want to consider areas like Ballard, Fremont, and Capitol Hill once you get your bearings in Seattle. The UW community is gigantic and well-integrated with the rest of the city, so you're always likely to encounter students. That said, if you come from a big city with a good subway system, prepare to be disappointed by Seattle's transportation system and traffic.   

Edited March 21, 2013 by soapwater

[Shostakovich]

Accepted an offer from them for PhD in Biostatistics. Driving up from LA, and same problem with everyone on finding housing!

[Logorrhea224]

Those areas are definitely ok for groceries, school proximity, and socializing. Wallingford has some great bars/restaurants, and Ravenna is cheaper with quick access to the main U thoroughfares while also being closer to Greenlake. I think most UW students tend to migrate to those areas and you'll find more grad. students there as well. Long-term you may want to consider areas like Ballard, Fremont, and Capitol Hill once you get your bearings in Seattle. The UW community is gigantic and well-integrated with the rest of the city, so you're always likely to encounter students. That said, if you come from a big city with a good subway system, prepare to be disappointed by Seattle's transportation system and traffic.   

 

 

Thanks for the info, Soaps. I'm definitely looking at Wallingford, so it's good to know it's an area with groceries, bars, and restaurants and such. Luckily I've only ever lived in places with very little public transportation, so hopefully Seattle will be a step up.

 

In general, how are people making the cross country move? Are you renting a place sight unseen? o.o

 

I'll probably have to. Luckily my parents have offered to drive me out so that I don't have to worry about shipping my stuff/plane fare, but that means that I can't go out until at least August. I'm wondering if it would be possible to sublet something just for August, and apartment hunt for something for the year during that month or so, or if it would be better to try and find something earlier when I'm still back here. So, in short, I still have no idea how to go about it. I'm coming straight from undergrad, so I'm not exactly the most experienced at cross-country moves or apartment hunting.

[aman_kalia]

I am an international applicant from India for Master's programme in Mechanical Engineering at UW. Got an acceptance this month. Likely to join this university in autumn. Those who live in seattle or have lived there previously, what is the probable rent for a 2BHK apartment. (Not necessarily in university district area).

[earthbound]

I'm currently in the Seattle area for my undergrad, and planning on attending the UW for a PhD in Physical Oceanography. But I'll be looking to move a little closer to the U District for the Fall, and I'll be looking for a few people to split rent with.

 

Depending on where you look, rent for a two bedroom apartment can run from $1200/mo to $2000/mo, though you probably won't end up in a place that expensive unless you were really hunting for expensive housing. I'm currently splitting a 2Bd/2Ba on Capital hill with my sister and my boyfriend, and the whole thing is $1350/mo. Craigslist of course can give you a good idea of prices, and I'm personally pretty fond of Padmapper.com, since it gives you a good idea of where places are as well as letting you know whether the place you're looking at has above average or below average rent for the size.

 

The problem I'm running into right now is that I want to be sure I'll have a place by September but I'm not totally sure how to find pre-leases, and I'm a little nervous about hunting for roommates. I know how important it is to find roommates you can get along with, and I'm pretty reclusive as it is. But I've heard a lot of sob stories of graduate students who spent all day working alone on their projects and went home to empty apartments, leading to lots of loneliness and depression. Hell, that was me my first two years of undergrad! I don't want to do that again.

[amoryb]

I was accepted to UW's MSW program and am probably going there this fall. I'm trying to decide whether to commute from Olympia (about 2 hours one way when there's traffic) for the days we have school, since I have well-paying job and longterm partner going to school here. I'm looking into rooms for rent in case I end up needing to spend more of my time up there. If anyone's interested, maybe we can Skype to get to know each other? I can help with house-hunting if need be!

[Shostakovich]

I'm currently in the Seattle area for my undergrad, and planning on attending the UW for a PhD in Physical Oceanography. But I'll be looking to move a little closer to the U District for the Fall, and I'll be looking for a few people to split rent with.

 

Depending on where you look, rent for a two bedroom apartment can run from $1200/mo to $2000/mo, though you probably won't end up in a place that expensive unless you were really hunting for expensive housing. I'm currently splitting a 2Bd/2Ba on Capital hill with my sister and my boyfriend, and the whole thing is $1350/mo. Craigslist of course can give you a good idea of prices, and I'm personally pretty fond of Padmapper.com, since it gives you a good idea of where places are as well as letting you know whether the place you're looking at has above average or below average rent for the size.

 

The problem I'm running into right now is that I want to be sure I'll have a place by September but I'm not totally sure how to find pre-leases, and I'm a little nervous about hunting for roommates. I know how important it is to find roommates you can get along with, and I'm pretty reclusive as it is. But I've heard a lot of sob stories of graduate students who spent all day working alone on their projects and went home to empty apartments, leading to lots of loneliness and depression. Hell, that was me my first two years of undergrad! I don't want to do that again.

 

Think I'm in the same boat in terms of housing situation. I'm 50/50 between getting my own place and splitting something with a roommate or two, but really have no idea From the financial standpoint I think a small studio is slightly more expensive than splitting a decent two-bedroom with someone (provided we're talking the same neighborhood).

 

The problem is that most of the places available in September probably won't be advertising for rent until August ish, and there could be a lot of competition and hassle to find a place then.

[aman_kalia]

On 3/24/2013 at 2:38 PM, earthbound said:

I'm currently in the Seattle area for my undergrad, and planning on attending the UW for a PhD in Physical Oceanography. But I'll be looking to move a little closer to the U District for the Fall, and I'll be looking for a few people to split rent with.   Depending on where you look, rent for a two bedroom apartment can run from $1200/mo to $2000/mo, though you probably won't end up in a place that expensive unless you were really hunting for expensive housing. I'm currently splitting a 2Bd/2Ba on Capital hill with my sister and my boyfriend, and the whole thing is $1350/mo. Craigslist of course can give you a good idea of prices, and I'm personally pretty fond of Padmapper.com, since it gives you a good idea of where places are as well as letting you know whether the place you're looking at has above average or below average rent for the size.   The problem I'm running into right now is that I want to be sure I'll have a place by September but I'm not totally sure how to find pre-leases, and I'm a little nervous about hunting for roommates. I know how important it is to find roommates you can get along with, and I'm pretty reclusive as it is. But I've heard a lot of sob stories of graduate students who spent all day working alone on their projects and went home to empty apartments, leading to lots of loneliness and depression. Hell, that was me my first two years of undergrad! I don't want to do that again.

Hey! As you mentionedthat you are an undergrad student at UW could you tell me about a few things. 1. What is the average living cost in seattle if living in a rented apartment on a sharing basis? 2. Which area should i look for an apartment which costs around 1100$ pm and university is approachable.

[earthbound]

From what I've seen, most rooms/shares in the area range from $450-$750, with most being around $550 or $600, including utilities and without pets. The area directly around the UW is called the UDistrict, and it's going to be a little expensive because of the tens of thousands of undergraduates vying for housing (not an exaggeration, the UW is huge). If you do find something at a low price in the UDistrict, it's going to be a terrible rat-infested cellblock in the basement, pretty much guaranteed.

The nearest residential neighborhood is called Wallingford, which is going to be cheaper and much nicer, and it's the neighborhood most grad students try to live in. It'd be possible to find a 1Bd apartment there for $1100, but I wouldn't bank on it... You're best bet is to look for a 2+ bedroom apartment - most 2 bedrooms end up going for about 600 or more a room, and most 3 bedroom apartments go for 400 or 500 a room, and those are pretty typical prices for all over Seattle.

Right near Wallingford is Fremont, which is a little more upscale with a bunch of quirky shops and restarants, plus a chocolate factory (!). The rent is a little higher there, you're probably better off living NEAR Fremont than in Fremont.

The further north you go on the West side of Greenlake (Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Aurora), the cheaper it gets, but you have to make sure you either have a car or are near a bus stop because it quickly becomes a pretty long walk to campus. However there's a lot going on in those neighborhoods and they all seem pretty cool to live in.

On the east side of Greenlake there's Ravenna, which can be cheap but I don't know anything about it, and typically I think the neighborhoods get "nicer" the further north you go, and it gets pricier. Northgate I mostly know because of the big mall up there, but it seems kind of... way far North. But compared to amoryb's commute from Olympia, it's probably not TOO bad. Either way I have no idea about the quality of living or prices up there.

 

Also to the South there's Capitol Hill, where I live now. The prices are about the same as Wallingford but it's a little further from campus. There's a lot of unique neighborhoods in Seattle, and capitol hill is definitely the most, uh, loud and proud, if you know what I mean? Capitol Hill dwellers are definitely a unique brand of freaks and geeks. 

You can find cheaper and cheaper housing the further south you go, but I wouldn't recommend it. Particularly, if you're looking up housing on craiglist and the neighborhood is Yesler Terrace or the International District, you probably wanna look elsewhere. They tend to be poorer neighborhoods with higher crime rates, and all the other unfortunate realities of inner city life. But the ID has killer pho, if you're into that.

 

Central Seattle, Queen Anne, and Downtown are all really expensive and way out of your way, don't bother looking there.

[earthbound]

Also, House renting is a very common option for grad students, some undergrads, and young professionals outside of school. If any of you are interested in that sort of thing, I have a little bit of experience, having lived in one with a group of undergrads and having some secondhand knowledge of the house hunting experience. It boils down to this: renting a room in a house is a great option, often cheaper than apartments (tend to be 400 or 550 a room instead of 600 or 700) and with more privacy, a yard, typically quieter, generally have more amenities, etc. If you can find three or more people you can stand living with, go for it. Hell, since houses are more spread out than apartments, you often can avoid housemates with ease, if you don't get along with them.

 

HOWEVER, house hunting is a huge hassle. You have to find a place that's available and in your price range (and they go quick), enough people to commit to filling it with you so you don't end up paying for three empty rooms, and I've had friends get turned down for house applications, even with good recommendations and financially endowed co-signers, with no reasoning attached. I've heard a lot of renters take their sweet time with getting back to you on your applications as well, so you end up spending weeks up in the air about whether or not you have a place to live. My friends started months early, with experience hunting for houses to rent, applied to lots of places, and ended up homeless for a few weeks since the only place that accepted them had a lease that started a month later than their move-out deadline.

 

So in terms of houses, my advice is to rent from people who already have a house and are looking to fill that last room rather than trying to set one up yourself. It's common in a lot of places to have houses belonging almost exclusively to grad students, and even grad students in the same program, so they'll be pretty sympathetic to long work days and party-free nights. Unfortunately, I don't know of any in particular at the UW, but that's the sort of thing the current students in your program would know about. 

[Logorrhea224]

On 3/25/2013 at 6:32 PM, earthbound said:

Also, House renting is a very common option for grad students, some undergrads, and young professionals outside of school. If any of you are interested in that sort of thing, I have a little bit of experience, having lived in one with a group of undergrads and having some secondhand knowledge of the house hunting experience. It boils down to this: renting a room in a house is a great option, often cheaper than apartments (tend to be 400 or 550 a room instead of 600 or 700) and with more privacy, a yard, typically quieter, generally have more amenities, etc. If you can find three or more people you can stand living with, go for it. Hell, since houses are more spread out than apartments, you often can avoid housemates with ease, if you don't get along with them.

 

HOWEVER, house hunting is a huge hassle. You have to find a place that's available and in your price range (and they go quick), enough people to commit to filling it with you so you don't end up paying for three empty rooms, and I've had friends get turned down for house applications, even with good recommendations and financially endowed co-signers, with no reasoning attached. I've heard a lot of renters take their sweet time with getting back to you on your applications as well, so you end up spending weeks up in the air about whether or not you have a place to live. My friends started months early, with experience hunting for houses to rent, applied to lots of places, and ended up homeless for a few weeks since the only place that accepted them had a lease that started a month later than their move-out deadline.

 

So in terms of houses, my advice is to rent from people who already have a house and are looking to fill that last room rather than trying to set one up yourself. It's common in a lot of places to have houses belonging almost exclusively to grad students, and even grad students in the same program, so they'll be pretty sympathetic to long work days and party-free nights. Unfortunately, I don't know of any in particular at the UW, but that's the sort of thing the current students in your program would know about. 

 

Thanks for the advice! That sounds like an ideal option for me, so hopefully I can find something.

 

For those who've actually accepted their offer, UW does have an off-campus housing office where openings for students are posted (http://housing.asuw.org/system/). You do need to set up your UW Net ID in order to access the listings, though. There aren't that many listings right now, but this seems like it might be a way to connect with current students. I've also been checking U-Loop as well though I don't know its credibility. What've other people been using? I've heard Padmapper and craigslist are the popular choices.

 

I've also discovered this really neat tool through the city of Seattle's page. It's called "My Neighborhood Map" and you can use it to check specific areas for certain things, such as libraries, landmarks, parks, and so on. You can even check the crime rate concentrations. Hope this helps!

[anastasiamal]

I was accepted to UW's MSW program and am probably going there this fall. I'm trying to decide whether to commute from Olympia (about 2 hours one way when there's traffic) for the days we have school, since I have well-paying job and longterm partner going to school here. I'm looking into rooms for rent in case I end up needing to spend more of my time up there. If anyone's interested, maybe we can Skype to get to know each other? I can help with house-hunting if need be!

Amoryb, I am currently in the MSW program and will be starting the Community Oriented Public Health Practice MPH in the fall. If you have any questions about the MSW program, let me know as I am happy to talk! 

[Logorrhea224]

So far, most of the housing posts I've seen have been for either April, May, or summer sublets. I've seen a few promising posts of places pre-leasing for fall, but it looks like for those ones you need to already have your roommates arranged. Has anyone made any headway on housing? And I'm just curious when everyone is planning on moving out to Seattle.

[skybythelight]

Hi everyone! I'll also be attending the UW in the fall in the English MA/PhD program. I'm getting a little bit stressed about housing as well as I'll be coming from Rhode Island. I'm going out to Seattle to visit in a few weeks, but I won't be able to fly out there again to look at apartments before actually moving. I'm hoping we'll be able to find a decent place online that we'll be able to rent from afar, or perhaps have a friend check out in person for us, but I've never had to rent an apartment in another state before, let alone from across the country. Eek.

Right now we're planning on driving out and leaving on September 1st.

[cefran]

I'm attending UW in the fall for my MS in Library and Information Science. I'm in the online program but am planning to move out to Seattle. I'm in the same situation as most of you; I live in Vermont and apartment/house hunting from this far away is quite difficult! I've been looking at pre-leasing apartments on Craigslist, but they're fairly expensive. When is a good time to start looking? Where I am apartment hunting for the fall starts in like January because of so many college students.

[pumpkinspiced latte]

Going to UW in the fall and looking for roommate(s). Thinking of possibly getting a room in a (community) house. PM if interested!

[Pompeii]

I second (or sixth, by the looks of it) the difficulties of house hunting from afar. I'll be moving to Seattle from Chicago to get a Master's in Public Administration at UW. I'm really excited, but I'll feel a lot better about it once I actually know where I'm moving to. I'm mostly looking for studios in the Capitol Hill area on Craigslist and the like. I'm hoping to move out in August so I can get my bearings a bit before classes start. I'd love to connect with anyone who's in the same boat. Glad this thread got started!

[Logorrhea224]

Has anyone submitted their measles requirement form yet? I'm a little puzzled, because as far as I can tell from the form, it only needs the dates of my measles requirement (option A on the instruction page), but not any kind of verification from my physician? Does anyone know if I need to submit a lab report or a physician's signature even if I check choice A?

[lballesteros]

Accepted an offer from them for PhD in Biostatistics. Driving up from LA, and same problem with everyone on finding housing!

 

Shostakovich

 

Also heading up from LA. Any ideas on low cost ways to ship furniture, etc? I saw moving trucks can be $1,000, even for a small truck. Anyone found any other ways? Or planning to just buy everything in Seattle?

[Shostakovich]

Shostakovich

 

Also heading up from LA. Any ideas on low cost ways to ship furniture, etc? I saw moving trucks can be $1,000, even for a small truck. Anyone found any other ways? Or planning to just buy everything in Seattle?

 

Yeah moving trucks can be expensive, I would recommend just buying everything in Seattle unless you have a lot of furniture that you can't really get rid of. My parents have done the move from LA to Seattle (and back to LA) and I'm pretty sure we paid something like $2000-3000+ for each trip. Pretty sure I'm just going to carry stuff like clothes/computer in my car and purchase everything else once I get there.

 

Anyone thinking about a furnished studio? The drawback seems to be that most of them come with shared kitchens and are really small, but could be a clean/economical option to start out in Seattle.

[Pompeii]

Has anyone submitted their measles requirement form yet? I'm a little puzzled, because as far as I can tell from the form, it only needs the dates of my measles requirement (option A on the instruction page), but not any kind of verification from my physician? Does anyone know if I need to submit a lab report or a physician's signature even if I check choice A?

 

I found this puzzling as well. Has anyone found an answer? It seems to me that as long as you have the dates you were immunized, a doctor's signature is unnecessary.