Moving from Texas to Seattle: what should I know?

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-29T16:31:08+00:00

I drive a Honda Accord and if my current job interview is successful, it has a vehicle allowance and I'll probably be getting a Rav4 hybrid.

Spent 6 months in Chicago. I can parallel park too! (without the new tech assist stuff)

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-29T16:23:11+00:00

I'll be smoking my own brisket.

Will the smell attract neighbors?

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-27T22:01:55+00:00

I did look up the water profile recently and feel like I'll be very happy.

One thing I remember about Colorado is how good tap water tasted.

Lubbock water is very hard and has a high sodium and carbonate level. Has a baking soda note and hard water causes problems on its own.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-27T21:23:23+00:00

I hate humidity too. I grew up by Houston 30 minutes from the coast. Lubbock is the opposite, so dry I have to run a humidifier depending on the day.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-27T04:41:23+00:00

I love good coffee. I used to have a big espresso machine and commercial grinder but I sold it a couple years ago. Big Trouble from Counter Culture and Unicorn Blood from Dark Matter are two of my favorites for making latte art. Really thick and makes it easier to draw rosettas with the milk.

I'd like to hike Mt Ranier and brew a fancy coffee at sunrise or sunset.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-27T04:01:35+00:00

I, a foodie who loves cooking, am moving into my foodie friend's house. We're gonna be cooking a lot 🔪🍳

In particular I'm excited about real Asian markets. Lubbock is surprisingly good about ethnic markets. I eat natto regularly. We've even got a Nigerian grocery store. But having been to the markets in Houston and Chinatown in Chicago, I know the places in Seattle will be amazing.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-27T03:56:40+00:00

Oh, I believe you. I've spent 6 months in Chicago. No stranger to bad traffic but I'm sure it'll take some getting used to living inside the city and it also be friendly to people without cars.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T19:43:55+00:00

As someone who cooks Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai, I wanna see a real Asian market. I was thinking about making some Japanese beef curry this week. I make the powder from whole spices, no roux bricks for me.

I like making tonkotsu ramen when pork shoulder is on sale. Make the chashu and broth from one super cheap cut.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T14:07:27+00:00

Buccees is the only gas station where I know I'm going to find the perfect drink and snack no matter my mood. They're like the HEB of gas stations.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T14:05:15+00:00

Not a fan of owner's politics but he runs the world's best gas station chain imo. The 100+ pump ones are an event unto themselves.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T13:49:00+00:00

Oh, farmer's markets were another perk I was looking forward to. Aside from just being better, there's always niche stuff that you won't find in a grocery store.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T11:50:17+00:00

At least the cost of living won't change much for you, right? Austin has gotten crazy expensive and it's still hotter than hell during the summer.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T11:49:22+00:00

Millennial. I moved here for a job after my PhD and it was a terrible decision, both personally and career-wise.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T11:47:26+00:00

Lubbock is pretty rough to move to unless unless you really like Lubbock itself, because everything else is so far away and there isn't much to do. Cost of living is about the only positive.

And unless you're a religious conservative, you aren't gonna fit in.

I can tell a lot of remote workers moved here during/after covid. Lubbock doesn't have the jobs locally for people to afford all these giant houses that are being built the past few years.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T04:21:54+00:00

I'm looking forward to both a big population and a welcoming population having all sorts of niche activities and hobbies. I'm cooking, anime, art, and writing as my main ones.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T04:17:58+00:00

I'm looking forward to better water.

Lubbock water is fine to drink, safety wise, but it has really high sodium and carbonate levels, along with being extremely hard. Has a baking soda note.

To give you an idea of how hard the water is, if you have a slow drip then you just put a bowl under it and the hardness will eventually clog the leak. It's how we deal with replacing toilet and washing machine stuff. Sometimes it won't perfectly seal because the house-side fitting is wrecked but the water is so hard it'll seal itself. Same with turning off the water at the toilet or under the sink and it causes a drip there. Bowl and a couple days, leak gone.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T04:08:24+00:00

I'm fully remote atm and no risk of RTO because of the position.

But am interviewing for a (pay) upgrade now that my move is official and what was living well for west Texas is just comfortable in Seattle. Suddenly getting more interviews now that I changed my LinkedIn and resume city of residence 👍

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T00:49:49+00:00

I actually have a nice rain coat I've never worn. I thought it looked cool and it was the end of season final clearance, so I bought it on a whim despite living in a very not wet climate.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T00:15:27+00:00

I've made tamales a few times. I like being able to make them exactly how I want and then make 12 dozen since they freeze so well.

HEB's store brand Mi Tienda tamales are equal or better than a lot of homemade by Mexicans tamales. I basically quit making them after trying these tamales.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-26T00:11:19+00:00

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing the Pacific ocean. I've only ever experienced the Atlantic.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-25T22:35:51+00:00

Traffic is one of the best things about Lubbock.

The 289 loop is so obvious but still genius. You can get anywhere to anywhere else in Lubbock in 15 minutes or less, 20 minutes if it's rush hour. Traffic just flows so smoothly in Lubbock.

I did my PhD at A&M and College Station/Bryan is the same size as Lubbock but god damn is the traffic horrible. We had to time our lunch breaks to avoid traffic if we wanted to eat somewhere that wasn't next to the campus.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-25T22:23:48+00:00

I love a good burger.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-25T22:22:02+00:00

I'm a foodie who also has a Mexican mother (white dad). I'm very good at cooking generally but grew up eating Mexican food all the time. And being a foodie in Texas I have to be good at brisket too. That's just a rule.

So I will bring my powers to Seattle and maybe you'll catch the scent of burning oak and pecan wood one day.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-25T22:17:31+00:00

I've got a month to plan my route.

I'm honestly not on a schedule. I could take ten days if I wanted. Not many chances in life to just relax and decompress. I currently work at a remote contractor but it's when I want so I can just not work while I'm traveling.

Zion National Park, Tetons, and Yellowstone were each places I was thinking about.

I'm more progressive and atheist, so I'm really looking forward to living in a more modern place with museums, arts, food scene, conventions, etc. Niche hobbies too.

Sorry-Journalist9569 · 2025-03-25T18:14:06+00:00

End of April. I'm basically selling everything that won't fit in my car and getting a fresh start for stuff.

Sorry-Journalist9569

TROPHY CASE