NW WA Meet / BS Thread

They lucked out! Usually it's the other way around.

 

Bingo! Love it here. Drier, warmer, less crowded, cheaper, more space, so all of you stay on the west side.

 

The "East side" is generally still in the greater Seattle region. Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah/Sammamish, Newport, etc. Good schools, low crime, more diversity but very expensive housing. Eastern WA is completely different living Western Washington.

Western WA



Eastern WA

Not everyone has a mcmansion in the East side. Everything is expensive.

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/4027-161st-Ave-SE-98006/home/233922

I'm sure 750k in Ellensburg or Yakima would get you a huge plot of land and a gorgeous house.

 

I'm fortunate enough that I can live wherever I want and fly to/from work. I wound up in Bellingham (about 90 miles north of Seattle). I grew up in a desert and personally prefer the wetter side of the mountains. Bellingham was a good location with lots to offer, but I'm not sure I would have wound up there if I were dependent on the local economy for a job.

I dunno... I like exploring over there, but I don't usually stick around. There's something about coming over the mountains and hitting the marine layer that just feels like home. I can't stand the whole region around Seattle/Tacoma though. When I'm going across the mountains I've found that I prefer the extra driving time of 2 or 20 vs going over 90. If I have to go south on 5 then I'll time it so that I hit Seattle around 10pm and I'll keep pushing south til I'm at least to Chehalis before calling it a night.

 

What do you do if you dont mind me asking?

 

Better check the tax map. I live in uikc between auburn and fed way and like most ui areas am included in the fuck people who drive tax.

 

Hoping he sells adult novelty products? Heard you need an in..

 

Nah baby, im ALL in

 

I'm definitely not included. $81 for a 2016 Tacoma and $83 for a 2013 Highlander. Both just renewed.

 

I'm literally on the borderline where it ends. Was almost a grand for a 2016 Tacoma and a 2014 RDX.

 

Mine went up be $150

 

@bski22

I bought a house in North Bend, 15 min from Issaquah, 20 min from where I work in Bellevue. Maybe 10 min from the closets non-gated trail head. And it is a straight shot down I-90 to Seattle. North Bend is just outside the Metro area so my tabs are still "cheap" $86 this year. All in all enough breathing room to feel like your not in NY anymore, while being close enough for city life.

The only thing you will have to really take into effect is the difference in cost of living and crime rate. For whatever area you look at. No Matter what everyone ends up sitting in traffic for at least 45 minutes two times a day. That won't matter where you live. Unless you get a place across the street from your job.

 

Surprised I haven't seen you around. I'm originally from North bend, work in Snoqualmie and live just down in fall city.

 

Good to know! And thanks for chiming in. I’ve heard through some research that the crime rate can fluctuate pretty dramatically. Just tweakers breaking in for petty theft? And are all areas fairly prone?

 

Some areas more prone than others.

 

Engineering officer on a ship. In a nutshell, I'm able to handle high heat, days of tedium and moments of terror with aplomb and intense sarcasm. It requires me to be a bit of a jack of all trades. I posted up a video in the Whatcom county BS thread, but I've no shame and will repost it here . It was time to replace the piston rings, measure the ring grooves and check the cylinder liner wear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xBV5z_2et0&feature=share

We've done this job in as little as 20 hours straight, which makes for a very long day. This video was shot over two days. We also had two extra people helping, which was awesome (usually we've only got four people for the job, there's only six of us in the engine department, 17 people total on board).

The work is not easy, and being away from family isn't much fun, but I can live anywhere within 200 miles of an international airport and vacation usually averages out to six months a year. We do 12 to 14 hour days at least six days a week. On our day off we only work eight hours. I'm one of the senior officers though, so I'm on call 24/7 for my entire 70 day rotation. Hottest temps I've seen in the engine room are in the 160° neighborhood heading to the sandbox, coldest were below zero busting through ice in Alaska.

For those thinking about getting into the industry, just be aware that the romance of sailing went away with the creation of the container. Now it's all about keeping to the deadline, solving problems and fixing stuff. If you can't do all three then the company will find someone who can. I've been at it for over a decade now, so I reckon I'm doing something right.

 

Did my share of Port State Control doing the CG side of checking your (foreign) counterpart's work.

Yeah, there's no romance, especially on the engineering side.

 

Sounds kinda like what my neighbor does these days. He's an engineer aboard a NOAA ship, Rainier I believe, based out of Newport Oregon. He's on the ocean most of the year and then they're docked for "maintenance". Currently hes getting dry dock pay as his ship is undergoing repairs.

 

You work with the Polar Star don't you? I've got a friend on the Maersk Peary. We're getting underway as I type this (and internet doesn't come with us), but he had some neat pictures of them refueling the Polar Star in the ice during the McMurdo resupply. I want to say that it was around this time last year. I'll have to dig around and see if I've got them on my computer.

NOAA is a pretty small bunch. Heck, this industry as a whole is pretty tiny. There's a good chance that your neighbor and I know the same people. My wife worked research ships for the UW before I got her into the familial way. I've been super lucky there... not only is she an engineer (and can keep the house together while I'm away) but she also knows first hand what life is like out here.

 

Life over INMARSAT...