I know nothing about boating in Seattle.

You can get a decent boat in your price range.

I would suggest posting this on sailnet as well, lots of helpful people over
there.

Its important to be handy if your a sailor. You can learn if your not now,
but expect to learn make it part of your plan. Otherwise you will spend
tons of money paying other people to fix things. On boats things need to
work right, its ok if you have a leak in your house it can be fixed when you
get round to it. The same problem on a boat can be much more serious.

To learn to sail well its best to start on a small boat. Sailing dingys
respond to what you do instantly. This means you can see the cause and
effect of your actions. Bigger boats respond more slowly. You may do
something and it will be 5-10 seconds before the boat starts to react. This
makes it hard for inexperienced people to learn sailing on a big boat, they
can't link their actions to the boats reaction. If you buy a sailboat keep
some of the money aside and buy a small sailing dingy. You will need a
dingy anyway so why not buy one that can help you learn to sail?

For the right sort of person being on the water is very rewarding. Spend
some time to figure out what you want and you may find yourself very happy.
Go for it.

Good luck