The Campus and Seattle Area

Links to the Seattle area, events, places of interest | Cost of living and housing

Take a virtual tour of Seattle

The University of Washington is located in a residential area near the heart of Seattle, one of America's most livable cities. Bordered by Lake Washington on one side and Puget Sound on the other, the city is graced by numerous parks, lakes, and an abundance of lively and diverse neighborhoods. Seattle is home to a vigorous biotechnology industry, and is an important commercial center in aerospace research, computer technology, and international trade.

The University boasts a beautiful campus with not only spectacular views of Mount Rainier, the Ship Canal and Lake Washington, but also easy access to the rest of the city and region. The Waterfront Activities Center and the Intramural Activities Building provide students with boat and canoe rentals, sailing instruction, an Olympic-sized pool, gym and weight room facilities, as well as a full range of ball courts and the opportunity to participate in many team sports. There are several museums on campus, including the Henry Gallery and the Burke Museum (which houses collections including a nationally recognized assemblage of Northwest Indian artifacts, one of the world's largest collections of spiders, and a truly impressive anthropological section). These collections are all available for research, study and enjoyment, as are various other collections maintained elsewhere on campus.

Seattle offers splendid opportunities for recreation. The city has a world-class symphony, ballet company, opera company, and an impressive roster of professional theater groups. However, Seattle is probably best known for its superb natural environment. Bicycling, hiking and boating are favorite year-round activities. Downhill and cross-country ski areas can be reached in an hour in the Cascade Mountains. Spectacular scenery is abundant. In only a few hours one can travel from Pacific Ocean beaches to the Olympic Rain Forest, alpine meadows, evergreen forests or high mountain deserts.

For those interested in epicurean pastimes, Seattle has many excellent restaurants offering authentic cuisine from around the world in every price range. The Pike Place Market has been compared to the best of the European open air markets. Numerous micro-breweries and several outstanding wineries are within a 40-minute drive from campus. Street fairs, music festivals, and cultural and ethnic fairs abound. Discover Seattle and the surrounding area through the links below.

Selected Links to Seattle Area, Events, and Places of Interest

• Seattle Tour and Attractions
  
• City of Seattle Official Web Site
  Seattle government, community, business, and visitor information.
• Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau
  Information for visitors, including hotels, events, and site-seeing.
  
• Internet Seattle
  Facts about Seattle, and its characteristics, agencies, institutions, organizations, and neighborhoods.
• SEA Blue
  Comprehensive, one-page listing of key links, including activities, events, attractions, sports, government, media, schools, commerce, and guides.
• Seattle Community Network
  Links to over 3000 organizations and activities in the Seattle area.
• Seattle Datebook
  An entertainment guide provided by the Seattle Times.
• Regional Trails
  Information about the Burke-Gilman/Lake Sammamish, and other regional trails
  
• The Bloedell Nature Reserve
  A 35 minute ferry ride from downtown to 150 acre nature sanctuary of groomed trails and old-growth forest on Bainbridge Island - Reservations required for visit
• Blake Island State Park and Tillicum Village
  You’ll enjoy a boat ride out to the island where you’ll dine on fresh salmon in an authentic cedar longhouse and see Native American dancers as they perform traditional dances for your entertainment
  

Cost of Living and Housing

The University owns and operates housing units for full-time students. Units are available for married students, students with dependent children, and a limited number of single students. Rents are usually lower than those in the immediate vicinity, and the University attempts thereby to provide housing for a number of low-income students. Students with limited financial resources have priority in assignment to housing vacancies as they occur, but there is usually a long waiting list (up to two years for subsidized family units). Application to the University does not constitute application for housing; you may apply for housing up to nine months before enrollment and need not have been accepted at the time of your application for student housing.

The University's Radford Court Apartments are close to the campus via a direct bus line as well as the Burke-Gilman Trail

Additional information about University housing is available from:

Housing and Food Service
Box 355842
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Tel: 206.543-4059

Privately owned rooms and apartments may be more affordable than University-owned housing and are readily available within walking distance of the University. Many of these are listed with
1. the UW's Off-Campus Rental Listing Service at http://depts.washington.edu/asuwsha/;
2. the UW student newspaper "The Daily" at http//thedaily.washington.edu/classifieds.lasso; and
3. the Seattle Times newspaper at http://classifieds.nwsource.com/rentals/. Some 30% of the student body lives within a mile of campus; rental units beyond that easy walking distance usually cost less. Since the University offers sharply discounted passes on Seattle's excellent transit system , this is a very attractive option.

In addition to the transit system, Seattle has a very extensive system of bicycle trails. There are over 50 miles of trails reserved exclusively for bicycles and pedestrians in the Seattle area, with the major network passing through the campus across the street from the Health Sciences Center. In addition, there are many more miles of designated bicycle lanes on surface streets; many students spend their entire time here without feeling a need to own an automobile.

Overall, the cost of living in Seattle, while higher than in many parts of Central United States, is less than in such places as San Francisco, Los Angeles, or many cities on the East Coast.