Seattle skyline and Rainier at sunset
Photo by Kevin Lisota/GeekWire

Moving is undoubtedly one of the most stressful things in life. From finding a place to live to figuring out the everyday things like where the kids will go to school, it can easily become a logistical nightmare.

One Seattle startup wants to help ease the pain of relocating to the Emerald City. Elke Robshaw launched Get Seattled last May, tapping into her family’s experience of moving here from Europe so her husband could start a new job.

Through a lot of “trial and error,” Robshaw found her way, which inspired her to start her company to help anyone conquer moving to Seattle — everything from finding a great school district, to getting health insurance, to explaining our tricky traffic patterns.

We talked with Robshaw about her company and what she does to ease the minds of those coming to Seattle.

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Photo via Get Seattled/Founder Elke Robshaw

You moved here in 2012. Tell us more about you got the idea for Get Seattled?

We were exactly my target audience when we moved here. My husband got a job at a tech company. We had two young kids, 2 ½ and 4. They don’t employ lots of people from outside the U.S. I was a little bit lost at the beginning. There was a lot of trial and error, and lots of different things that wasted a lot of time.

I talked to the HR director and said, “There seem to be people like us, and the company doesn’t have the resources or expertise to help them out with stuff like this.” The HR director told me, “Had we known someone who did this, we would have given it to you.” And they thought it was a great idea, so that was how I came to the business.

How do you find your clients – are they mostly individuals who contact you or through companies’ HR departments?

It’s a little bit of both. I do get people who want to move and that are still in their home country that find me through my website. They contact me, and then depending on the size of the company or how confident they are in negotiating with HR, we work out a package.

I personally think that it’s a bit of a company’s responsibility. They pay for the move already and for visas, and I think giving them this additional extra would really help the new hire.

Where do most of your clients come from?

So far my clients have mainly come from Europe, apart from those in U.S. Mainly because of languages I speak, those are the places I have also lived in: France, the U.K., Germany and South America. But many people are moving to Seattle from Asia, China, India and Russia as well.

What are a few of the main things you do for clients in a move?

It takes time to get everything you need. Like a Social Security number, driver’s license and a basic thing (such as a) bank account. It’s a lot of the detail I’ve accumulated. Many small companies don’t have a handbook of guidelines for moves: You need this and this, and this is how you get it.

I always call myself Seattle’s biggest fan. I make sure they have all the information, but the Seattle stuff is also very exciting. It’s amazing to show people who have never been here before, except on business trips, the area. That’s my favorite part, I often just drive them around, and show them the city: “These are the beaches, this is downtown” and show them nice parts…all the fantastic stuff that Seattle has to offer.

What is the typical move process like?

I spend on average six to eight weeks with them. I start before the move. I set up the call two weeks before they actually move just to answer questions and give them information. Then I meet them regularly once they arrive, because very often they have a lot of questions right after they’re here.

Many people also move here before their family moves, and they don’t know anyone here. I’m a point of contact they can call and ask questions, and we can have coffee and talk. I make sure they’re happy.

How do you determine your rates?

I have package prices that basically start from what I call a “mini-package” for $250 that’s just a phone call, or someone who wants basic info and a follow-up email. It depends on the time and intensity of what they need, and it goes up to $2,500.

Are you in talks with small- to mid-sized companies to add this to their benefits?

Yes, my biggest challenge is that people aren’t aware of what goes into a move. They say, “Oh, it ‘s a house, it’s a realtor.” There’s so much more. You can find the nicest house in the world, but if you haven’t done the background work beforehand, you can’t buy it. You need to do the homework.

I’m in the educational mission of telling people what I do, and I’m really surprised to find that no one else does this for smaller companies. Only at big relocation companies do they do this, and they’re actually not interested in low-volume work. They work with Microsoft, Amazon, Google, the ones who bring in hundreds of new employees every year. But for small companies that only bring in one, two or three, they don’t care. There’s no other way to get that service. I hope to reach enough people so smaller companies will have that service.

Have questions about relocating to Seattle? Contact Elke Robshaw at Get Seattled.

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