Possibly relocating to Seattle - How do you manage your gear if living downtown

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After "downsizing" at our age, we have space issues.

We've both spent a lot of time on ships and large sailboats, so we adapted those lessons learned to our current residence. We live in what we figure is a 110' sloop rigged 3Br/2.5Ba condominium.

A one bedroom might be more like a 35' Cape Dory.

Look for creative space. In example, we have a platform bed that affords an 18" space underneath. My wife had to overcome her anti-Feng Shui gibberish, but all of a sudden we have an additional 65 cubic feet of space.

The cats were accordingly dismayed in this co-opting of their real estate.

....I am very open minded when it comes to diving, and I would like to hook up with DIR trained divers if possible.


Now, that is a conundrum. :rofl3:
 
Hi,
Living in a 730 sq/ft 1 bedroom now and before in a 400 sq/ft studio here is what I do:
1. My BC and Reg hang in my closet right next to my pants and shirts
2. My wetsuits are either lying flat under the bed or hanging in the closet tied together in a bundle
3. My fins are on the backwall and floor of my closet, so my shoes are in front of them if that makes sense
4. Everything else, booties, gloves, spare parts, hoses, knick knacks, all go into the dive bag which is put away in a special corner I have far from eye site
5. Logbooks, computers, camera's etc... get stored in the book case

When I lived in the studio it was in downtown NYC and I paid an extra $150 month for a few sq/ft of storage space in my building, and things when in there.

Hope this helps....

Gil
 
Some condo and townhomes come with storage space as part of the rental ... often located in the parking garage on the lower levels.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
Not exactly an answer to your question, but I would recommend to seriously consider other areas besides downtown. Unlike in most other large cities, there are many nice neighborhoods in Seattle where you can get a house at a reasonable price, see some green trees, hear the birds, and still have a 10-15 minute commute to work (of course, that depends on where you work). The downtown seems crowded, overpriced, and IMHO, really kind of pointless. AFAIK, a lot of students and other young people who like to go out a lot prefer to live in the Capitol Hill area. ( Disclaimer: I've been living here for less than a year, so take my advice with a grain of salt. )

I've been living here since 1982ish and I've lived in nearly every major neighborhood (now live on beacon Hill and work in SODO). I've lived in the CD, Madison Park, Montlake, Capitol Hill (Volunteer Park), Cap Hill (freeway), Pill Hill, Belltown (downtown), Phinney Ridge, Ballard, Beacon, North Seattle, Wedgwood, Mount Baker

By all means look around but downtown has a hell of a lot going for it. The above caution is, frankly, total baloney.


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As somebody who's lived on Capitol Hill or in the CD for coming up on 10 years now, the key is to find an apartment/condo with some sort of on site storage. This could be a dedicated storage unit or a place with a lot of closet space. In my current place, we don't store scuba stuff in the dedicated storage unit but having a place for Christmas decorations, camping gear, boxes of crap, etc. makes for enough room in our closets for our gear.

I'd discourage you from paying for offsite storage since you're much less likely to dive frequently if you have to schlep gear back and forth especially if you won't have access to running water for rinsing your gear. One of the best things about living in Seattle wrt diving is being able to do a dive or two after work on a weeknight.

Being able to live and work in or near downtown is great. For about 7 of the years I've been here, I commuted to Bellevue or Redmond for work daily, although I'm now back working in Belltown again. The traffic only seems to get worse every year. If you can afford the type of housing you want/need, living walking or cycling distance from work is worth a lot. As for cycling, the number of cyclists has certainly gone up over the years and the hills will keep your legs strong, but I find it hard to get motivated during the rainier, colder and windier times of the year.
 
As somebody who's lived on Capitol Hill or in the CD for coming up on 10 years now, the key is to find an apartment/condo with some sort of on site storage. This could be a dedicated storage unit or a place with a lot of closet space. In my current place, we don't store scuba stuff in the dedicated storage unit but having a place for Christmas decorations, camping gear, boxes of crap, etc. makes for enough room in our closets for our gear.

I'd discourage you from paying for offsite storage since you're much less likely to dive frequently if you have to schlep gear back and forth especially if you won't have access to running water for rinsing your gear. One of the best things about living in Seattle wrt diving is being able to do a dive or two after work on a weeknight.

Being able to live and work in or near downtown is great. For about 7 of the years I've been here, I commuted to Bellevue or Redmond for work daily, although I'm now back working in Belltown again. The traffic only seems to get worse every year. If you can afford the type of housing you want/need, living walking or cycling distance from work is worth a lot. As for cycling, the number of cyclists has certainly gone up over the years and the hills will keep your legs strong, but I find it hard to get motivated during the rainier, colder and windier times of the year.


Great feedback, nothing like a midweek dive to break the workweek.



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Update: I accepted the offer, and will fly out this weekend to find an apartment.


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Update: I accepted the offer ...

I have lived in various places, and made various friends there.

The friends who moved to the PNW never came back.

Having visited, I can't say as I blame them. I hope you love it and have a great time up there.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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