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I've recently been thrown back onto the job market after losing the business I help build and run for the last 15 years. I am a software developer with over 16+ years of experience in the industry, but my weakness is lack of web and algorithm knowledge. I'm spending the next year studying very hard to prepare myself for the rigorous software interviews. I moved back to Seattle with the hope I could quickly land an IT job but after flunking my Microsoft and a few other interviews I see I have a lot of preparation before I can land one of these desirable senior software jobs. Non-senior jobs in Seattle seem almost non-existent and most don't even consider me as they feel I am overqualified or my lack of open source web technologies do not seem appealing.
Basically, I am struggling. The cost of living in Seattle is astronomical and my savings are being depleted fast. I am thinking while I still have some savings and tax forms (from last year showing income) that I would like to find a place to live where I can study and prepare for job interviews and even find some part-time work. In Seattle, it seems you either get top paying triple digit software jobs or you are offered minimum wage jobs like Uber or Meat packing plants. There is no in between. In a city where studio apartments average $1,400 a month, minimum wage jobs , even at $15/hr just a complete waste of time and do not help supplement your income at all. I'm eventually planning on starting my own business, but until I am more stable and have improved my web development skills I am going to need to study and find some non-software work (as software jobs are extremely rigorous in hiring process) to supplement my income.
I am hearing Raleigh/Durham (RTP specifically) has one of the largest software markets and very affordable living. I'm actually more interested to live in Durham than Raleigh as I hear Durham has more culture, events, coffeeshops and more single-oriented compared to Raleigh, which I hear is more suburban tract-home family-oriented. After living in Boise, I know I don't want to live in any more areas where everyone is married out of high school and does not cater to professionals, but more to a good ol boy network. Maybe this still exists in Raleigh/Durham , as well, but hopefully not to the degree. Boise also is becoming expensive and jobs are pathetically low paying.
I'm finding that many of the software jobs in Seattle, despite all its glamour and reputation, pay considerably low, especially in respect to the insane and ever-increasing costs of living. It seems many of the startups in Seattle pay very low and many corporations are paying under $100,000/yr. Considering decent one bedroom apartments are now going over $2000/mo in areas you actually want to live, the salaries are becoming less and less desirable. The lack of state income tax is very nice, but the housing costs alone are making
I am a native to the Pacific Northwest and sad to have to say goodbye, but I also need to think about my future and may have to accept I will spend the rest of my days in a meat packing plant or if I do get that nice software job I will be working 60+ hours a week just to enjoy a 600 sq ft apartment and have no means to have a savings. I am not a young guy anymore, almost 39 and seriously thinking I need a change.
Anyway , I seriously like to know what the minimum I could spend to have a decent 1 bedroom (preferably 700 sq ft) place in Durham. I'm also open to living in Cary and Raleigh but woudl think they are more expensive and Durham seems more desirable from a livability perspective to me anyway. I'm not interested in living in boring, sprawled tract-home soccer mom suburbia. I see some apartments on craigslist going for around $650-$750 /mo. Would these be decent places or would I be renting in gang and crime-ridden slums?
Also, can anyone tell me their opinion about Raleigh/Durham's job market? I also like that Raleigh/Durham is near other big tech cities that are within a day's drive. In Seattle, you only have Seattle to chose from and Portland to chose from, which also has overpriced , overtaxed and lower salaries.
One thing I cannot seem to find in SEattle is technical work that is not software related. If I wanted to find a part-time job, for example, something tech related that can pay decent enough wages, would that be possible?
If I stay in Seattle I will have probably about 6 months were I will be flat broke and I am paying $1460/mo for my rent. Outside of Uber, fast food/restaurants, slave labor jobs and other minimum wage jobs there doesn't seem to be much in the way of part-time work or supplemental income jobs; especially a guy from an extensive software background.
Even in Durham, I'd think you probably want to spend at least $1,000 for a decent place. You could probably find something for less, but would probably need to see in person to see if you are comfortable.
I'm in the tech field and I moved here almost a year ago. The cost of housing and rent is increasing. Although, coming from Seattle, New York, or San Francisco it is considered pretty low. I came from southern Virginia, so it was actually an increase cost of living for me.
The good news is that I found a job in less than a month, and my job pays well over 100k, which was about 130% increase from my previous job. I have over 10 years experience in software engineering.
Durham is more affordable than Cary and most of Raleigh (South/East side of Raleigh isn't bad.) Durham is more convenient to RTP, although there are a good number of new tech companies in downtown Durham too.
I think you'd find a decent job here, but I find that it is still hard to really call this area home. It sometimes feels like I'm just here for my job.
I live in Durham's "walkable" area and I agree with above poster. $650-$750 budget sounds a bit low. It's not impossible though. Do you currently own a car or will you be able to own one if you were to move here? There are some walkable areas in the Triangle (but do not expect Seattle/Portland level of no-car living) but rent in those areas tends to be higher. Further out, you could find lower rent apartments in safe area but you'd definitely need a car to get around. Also, Durham is home to Duke University so affordable housing in downtown proper could be full of (glad) students which is not a terrible thing. I don't know anything about your job prospective, hope someone can chime in. Good luck!
I live in the Seattle area but bounce back to the Triangle on the regular due to family stuff.
1) I will agree that your current apartment range is too low, but you don't have to go that much further up to find a nice place to live. I'd say that $800-1000 is probably what to expect of areas in Durham that are nicer. Going lower than that makes you vulnerable to "the gang and crime-ridden slums"; this place ain't Boise so you need to be cognizant of location.
2) The Triangle is VERY car-dependent, so be prepared to drive around. Public transit exists but not to the degree it does in Seattle. Ditto with walkability, which exists on a micro level but not necessarily a macro level.
3) The whole area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) is one large suburb with pockets of urbanity here and there so it helps to shift your focus some as the "village of neighborhoods" thing doesn't really exist in the Triangle area. There ARE some nice areas, though. My recommendations would be to look in the area around 9th St in Durham, the Woodcroft area (the area near NC 54 on the border of Durham and Chapel Hill) and the Southpoint area. Brightleaf and some of the apartments downtown could be nice too, but remember, location is important and I recommend checking out crime stats of any location you look at.
4) Considering that you are sensitive to "crime-ridden slums", might I also suggest that you look at living in Raleigh? To be fair, the big difference between Raleigh and Durham is that the "culture" that gets lauded in so much press in Durham is BLACK CULTURE. Those things are the elements that tend to make Durham "special" and -- if I may suggest -- you may want to consider living near NC State University if you want to live near a university while having the access to younger people that you seek, or consider living near UNC if you want an area that is more reminiscent of Boise/Seattle (read: more white, liberal, etc.).
Hi, I appreciate everyone's responses. I am actually considering a few different metro areas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Charlotte, Austin and Raleigh/Durham (with the well reputed RTP).
I have nothing against living in places a bit rough around the edges and have lived in my share of really crappy areas/bordline slums. However, ideally, I rather live in an area that is safe and quiet, not necessarily wealthy, liberal or even super white. Heck, I lived in several towns in Washington and Oregon that were half Hispanic. In fact, one of the worst neighborhoods I ever lived in was the Felony Flats area of SE Portland in the 90s, which was almost all primarily white, but very poor area and full of drug addicts. I had my car stolen there, heard high speed police chases , gun shots and had helicopters waking me up flying over my house with spotlights every week. Yes, I did live in that type of environment before and the Northwest of the 90s was not as affluent, wealthy or gentrified as what you see today. However, it also doesn't mean I would want to replicate the lifestyle I had back then as I would like an area that is safe, clean and quiet, ideally. Or at least safe, that is don't have to worry about getting a gun put in my face walking into my front door at night.. LOL
Some may not believe it, but I actually do have a car In fact, I hate riding bikes and the only walking I like doing is when I go up in the mountains for a hike. I have a Mazda CX-5 , which I had the luxury of driving all over Boise this winter with over 1.5 feet of snow on the road in some places. My car is very rugged and handles ice, snow, sleet and anything else you can give it.. It also has a very sporty feel and handles curves so smoothly even at high speeds. So, I think I am covered as far as the car is concerned.
As far as Seattle being walkable, I would say it is somewhat a myth. The neighborhoods are spread out and unless you want to be stuck in your neighborhood you will need to drive, as Uber fees are high and buses are sketchy and always a pain to depend on. Yeah, some people are happy with it, but I definitely cannot live without a car.
I guess I can see Durham, NC has a bit of a higher crime rate. I've lived in Portland during the 90s which had lot of crime in Northeast side of town. I know you can avoid these areas. If I have to pay over $1000/mo for 1 bed to avoid living in a high crime area, I would say that is a bit expensive. I was hoping Durham would have been a bit cheaper.
As far as lifestyle. I am single, no kids.. I'd like to be in a place with some nightlife or at least social activities where you can meet other people not hidden away in suburbia and church all the time. It doesn't have to be liberal, progressive or whatever. In fact, I am a pretty right-wing, gun-toting Republican/Libertarian hybrid. Although, I am open-minded, accepting and progressive in some ways, but by Seattle standards I am considered by some to be a fanatical conservative.
I am big about personal freedoms.. I want legal guns, weed, booze and freedom to be religious or not be religious. My only beef with very religious areas is that most people seem to isolate themselves from anyone outside the community. Living in Idaho you would , for example, never meet any Mormons/LDS people. THey marry very young and pretty much exclude themselves from any activities that doesn't revolve around the church. Being in areas with religious people generally can be very lonely for people who are not part of that religion. That is why I like to be in a place that doesn't just cater to married families, especially those part of extremely and exclusive religious communities.
If all you want is 700sf and you don't mind driving, you can keep it under a thousand pretty easily in Durham. Won't be walkable downtown locations for that, but if you get a bit outside (American village, much of s Durham) it should be very easy to find something. Might even be some private landlords in downtown area where you can still get that if you don't need the newest/nicest appliances, etc.
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In fact, I hate riding bikes and the only walking I like doing is when I go up in the mountains for a hike. I have a Mazda CX-5 , which I had the luxury of driving all over Boise this winter with over 1.5 feet of snow on the road in some places. My car is very rugged and handles ice, snow, sleet and anything else you can give it.. It also has a very sporty feel and handles curves so smoothly even at high speeds. So, I think I am covered as far as the car is concerned.
