Do you think I could afford to live in Seattle?

[katykat46]

You'll be fine in Everett alone or anywhere if you had a roommate.

[rbkoreaus]

Originally Posted by MinnesotaJen

I work for the Navy as a civilian employee. Right now I’m in the Deep South and am looking for a change. Seattle is towards the top of my list of places I’d like to relocate to. I did my college internship in San Diego in 2010. They did offer me an entry level job for $10.00 an hour. But since San Diego is crazy expensive I didn’t want to try to make a living on those wages so I took a job elsewhere.

As I mentioned earlier I want to get out of the Deep South but still work for the Navy. Since I’m working as an office manager and building up my resume I figure I’d have a better chance in San Diego a second time around. But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of relocating to the Seattle area instead.

It’s probably been 10 years since I’ve been to Seattle. It’s a gorgeous city. I’m originally from Minnesota and am pretty outdoorsy. So I’m definitely liking that aspect of Seattle. Which personality-wise would fit me better than San Diego. I do have family in Tacoma so it’s nice to know family is close by.

If I did get a job transfer to the Seattle area I’d either be working north of Seattle in either Everett or Whidbey Island. Possibly Bremerton but the other two areas are more likely. The Everett area would be my first choice--fingers crossed!

If I do get a job transfer, I should be making $35,000-$40,000 a year. I’m only two years out of college so my salary isn’t that great. Is this enough money to realistically live in the Seattle area? I’d prefer a two bedroom apartment but would settle for one if that’s all I could afford. And I’d rather live without roommates. Eventually I’d like to get married but definitely not anytime soon! So it would be just me. I know traffic's bad in Seattle so I'd like to live close to my job. I'm not big into the party scene so it wouldn't be a necessity for me to be in close proximity to downtown Seattle's nightlife.

I’m a former college athlete so I had a full scholarship and have no student loans to pay back. I should have my car loan paid off within the next six months. So by the time I relocate to Seattle I’d really just have to worry about everyday expenses: rent and utilities, gas, groceries, insurance, taxes and so on.

Thanks for your advice!

Hi MinnesotaJen, I am also a federal civ, and I am very familiar with what it's like moving to Seattle for a fed job with a similar paygrade. All those working locations you mentioned are hardly situated in the same area, so I'd recommend first knowing where you're working before you start stressing out about where to live, unless you're pretty set on living in Downtown Seattle. You wouldn't be able to afford a 2-bedroom in DT Seattle though, unless you plan on rooming with someone. On the starting salary, I'd budget about $800-$1000 for a livable studio or one-bedroom apartment in downtown if that's where you want to live.

For me personally, I chose to just bus to downtown Seattle on the weekends, and live more closely to work. Will save a lot of time for your daily working commute, and money ofcourse for the transportation and extra apartment cost you would be dishing if you choose to live in Seattle. But I had fellow coworkers who preferred to dish out the extra $ for the sake of the living-in-downtown-Seattle-experience.

[Vinylly]

Originally Posted by MinnesotaJen

I work for the Navy as a civilian employee. Right now I’m in the Deep South and am looking for a change. Seattle is towards the top of my list of places I’d like to relocate to. I did my college internship in San Diego in 2010. They did offer me an entry level job for $10.00 an hour. But since San Diego is crazy expensive I didn’t want to try to make a living on those wages so I took a job elsewhere.

As I mentioned earlier I want to get out of the Deep South but still work for the Navy. Since I’m working as an office manager and building up my resume I figure I’d have a better chance in San Diego a second time around. But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of relocating to the Seattle area instead.

It’s probably been 10 years since I’ve been to Seattle. It’s a gorgeous city. I’m originally from Minnesota and am pretty outdoorsy. So I’m definitely liking that aspect of Seattle. Which personality-wise would fit me better than San Diego. I do have family in Tacoma so it’s nice to know family is close by.

If I did get a job transfer to the Seattle area I’d either be working north of Seattle in either Everett or Whidbey Island. Possibly Bremerton but the other two areas are more likely. The Everett area would be my first choice--fingers crossed!

If I do get a job transfer, I should be making $35,000-$40,000 a year. I’m only two years out of college so my salary isn’t that great. Is this enough money to realistically live in the Seattle area? I’d prefer a two bedroom apartment but would settle for one if that’s all I could afford. And I’d rather live without roommates. Eventually I’d like to get married but definitely not anytime soon! So it would be just me. I know traffic's bad in Seattle so I'd like to live close to my job. I'm not big into the party scene so it wouldn't be a necessity for me to be in close proximity to downtown Seattle's nightlife.

I’m a former college athlete so I had a full scholarship and have no student loans to pay back. I should have my car loan paid off within the next six months. So by the time I relocate to Seattle I’d really just have to worry about everyday expenses: rent and utilities, gas, groceries, insurance, taxes and so on.

Thanks for your advice!

Our monthly average or equal payments for 12 months is $150/month. And, it's a new 'high efficientcy' boiler.