Are we delusional? (Q's about moving) (Seattle, Federal Way: car rental, apartment, rent)

[Apathizer]

Originally Posted by kimbercutes824

Here in Boise there are a lot of call centers which are pretty good jobs and a lot better than a retail or food service job I think. I just don't know if Seattle is a place that has a lot of call centers.

Hmm... I didn't think there were that many call centers left in the US. I though most of them were moved to other countries with lower labor costs.

I don't there are many cc jobs here. Microsoft probably still has some, and maybe a few local employers (I know King County has a handful of them), but it's probably not a large industry here.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Apathizer

Hmm... I didn't think there were that many call centers left in the US. I though most of them were moved to other countries with lower labor costs.

ACS (now owned by Xerox) is the world's large call center companies. They have centers all over the US, including Seattle and Federal Way, and are always hiring.

[spotlesseden]

there are still many call centers in US. I think most call center jobs are replaced by computers, not just by other countries.

[kimbercutes824]

Originally Posted by Apathizer

Hmm... I didn't think there were that many call centers left in the US. I though most of them were moved to other countries with lower labor costs.

I don't there are many cc jobs here. Microsoft probably still has some, and maybe a few local employers (I know King County has a handful of them), but it's probably not a large industry here.

There are about 35 plus in the Boise area including surrounding towns. This is a big hub for call centers. I know IA has quite a few too because when I called Nationwide and Qwest and one that I worked for had a branch in Des Moines. I know Cableone is in AZ but there is on in Boise too. They are still in the US.

[gwix98]

Originally Posted by Apathizer

I smell a malodorous, nasty troll!

While Seattle has a high property crime rate, we have one of the lowest violent crime rates of any major city.

So if you don't have much stuff (like me), crime isn't something to worry much about.

Overall true, but today's Seattle Times has a very sad article on the front
page (Sat edition, May 26).

[sleepycass]

My husband and I live in Seattle for under $60,000. I would say that it is infinitely better than living in a suburb. Outside of Seattle (and even in North Seattle) there are a lot of "rule followers" that can be pretty annoying to deal with. I am thoroughly anti-suburb; I don't think you can get the feeling of living in Seattle by living in a suburb.

In terms of transit, being without a car can be difficult. However, if you live near the newly built light rail (like we do) somewhere south, for example Beacon Hill (which is affordable) or Columbia City, you can easily commute to downtown. My husband does this everyday.

If you live in north Seattle (like Ballard or Queen Anne), the bus system is painless.

However, I would say that you would want to keep your car to enjoy all the hiking and outdoors that Seattle has in close proximity. After all, that is one of the perks of living in the Northwest.

Queen Anne has affordable apartments and is where we initially lived for $999/month when we first moved to Seattle from NYC.

[Apathizer]

Originally Posted by sleepycass

However, I would say that you would want to keep your car to enjoy all the hiking and outdoors that Seattle has in close proximity. After all, that is one of the perks of living in the Northwest.

Oh, no - not this crap again

Do the math:

Monthly cost of owning a car:

Insurance $100
Maintenance $50
Parking $60
Misc (Reg, etc) $40

Total Monthly Cost= $250 (assuming the car is entirely paid for)

Daily rental costs:

Rental cost $25
Insurance $12

Total daily cost= $37 (give or take - sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less)

I've done the math many times, and unless you leave the city almost every weekend (which most of us don't do) renting a car is much less expensive than owning.

This is especially true when you consider the climate Nov-Apr. Most of us only regularly partake in outdoor activities May-Oct. Nov-Apr there are opportunities for Winter activities, but not every weekend; sometimes the mountain roads are inaccessible during winter.

I bring this up because so often because our society so ardently encourages car ownership. If you don't need to drive regularly (as in almost every day), renting is much more affordable.

[valthenya]

i'd love to know what your renting for 25 bucks a day because we travel alot and can barely find that especially something that will fit a family of four

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by bansley

I want to apologize upfront for yet another thread with questions about moving to Seattle, and I assure you I have spent quite a lot of time reading relevant threads. However, certain things just won't be addressed unless I ask specifically about our situation.

My boyfriend and I plan on moving out to Seattle in about a year to a year and a half's time. We do NOT have degrees. We will be moving with around $10,000.00 saved, hopefully more.

What I've gathered from reading other posts regarding the cost of living in Seattle is essentially that if you make less than $100k/yr, you will die. Immediate, painful, poor people death.

..okay, I'm exaggerating slightly but my point is this: The way I calculate things, even if we are only making minimum wage (full time), and given a budget of $800 for rent and minus all our other bills, we should still be in the green even with inflated prices of, well, everything. We are coming from Oklahoma City, by the way. We make $30,000/yr ea here but, without degrees, its a fluke.

Some things that will help form advice:
-We do not have kids.
-We do not care if we have to live in a studio or rent out a room
-We do not have pets
-We do not mind living on the rougher sides of town
-We will have a car, but would love to use public transportation/walk (I assume public transportation is cheaper than commuting via car?)
-We are not above eating a lot ramen. Mmm. Ramen.
-We DO have a ton of motivation and drive for getting the heck out of Dodge.

So, that said, are we being absolutely delusional in thinking we could live off two minimum wage incomes in Seattle? That is assuming we can't get better paying jobs -which seems unlikely given what I've read about Baristas even having degrees.

Thanks so much in advance!

I lived there on part-time administrative pay, but maybe the cost of living has gone up since I left in 2001, idk. You can get a one-bedroom apt. just N of Seattle for $550-$650. There's light rail connecting that area to Seattle. I didn't have a car the whole time I lived there, and did just fine on public transport. For hiking, you can join a hiking club and carpool. Cars are too costly to insure and maintain, to say nothing of gas. If you MUST have a car (I wouldn't recommend it), you can buy a really reliable old Toyota for $2000 that'll last you many years. Get one with around 150,000 miles, and it'll serve you problem-free for approx. another 100,000 miles. I don't know why someone included a budget item for parking. No one pays for parking except downtown, or in the university shopping area. It's not like NYC where you have to rent a parking space to keep your car. Street parking is free in the neighborhoods. Apt. bldgs have their own parking.

Cashier jobs, I'm told, pay $25/hr. you don't need a degree (that's in unionized stores, not Whole Foods). There's a fair amount of turnover in cashiers, it would be an easy job to pick up, at least to get started. You don't have to live on anything near minimum wage.

I'd go for it, if I were you, if you don't mind a lot of overcast or rainy weather. Mountains and good hiking nearby, kayaking or canoeing even nearer-by. You can also try the University of Washington employment office for jobs. You didn't say what your skills and job experience were, but they have a wide variety of jobs: gardeners, mail carriers (they do their own hiring apart from the USPS), entry-level secretarial, etc. The University is a great place to work. There are other universities in town as well: Seattle University (a private university), for one.

[bansley]

Thanks to everyone for furthered contribution! I welcome any additional input!