Cost of Living Difference: Personal Story (From Midwest) (Seattle, Spokane: coupon, for rent)

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by brittney2323

This was exactly going to be my question. We are contemplating a big move for our family from MPLS. It's tough because we would be taking a big paycut, approximately $30K. My husband has been looking for a job for 5 mths, he's currently employed with a very unstable company right now, and we are so nervous about the future. However this is the first *nibble* and it is for Microsoft, a company my husband has been wanting to work at. And much more stable than where we are. We have been looking at jobs in MN, but nothing has turned up. I think we would look near Microsoft for housing, Lake Washington, Bothell?

It's hard to make the jump to move out of state, although they would pay all moving costs. (a plus) And there would be a nice signing bonus that first year.

But why is the cost of living so much higher in Seattle than MN. We pay astronomical in daycare costs, housing is not cheap, grocerys are not cheap here? Our gas and electric and water seem high? Really confused on where they caculate this.

And also confused about the sales tax. MN does have sales tax at 7.5% I think and we do pay state taxes. (is there where we could save some $$)

Daycare here is about 1200-1500 per child per month, just fyi

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by brittney2323

This was exactly going to be my question. We are contemplating a big move for our family from MPLS. It's tough because we would be taking a big paycut, approximately $30K. My husband has been looking for a job for 5 mths, he's currently employed with a very unstable company right now, and we are so nervous about the future. However this is the first *nibble* and it is for Microsoft, a company my husband has been wanting to work at. And much more stable than where we are. We have been looking at jobs in MN, but nothing has turned up. I think we would look near Microsoft for housing, Lake Washington, Bothell?

It's hard to make the jump to move out of state, although they would pay all moving costs. (a plus) And there would be a nice signing bonus that first year.

But why is the cost of living so much higher in Seattle than MN. We pay astronomical in daycare costs, housing is not cheap, grocerys are not cheap here? Our gas and electric and water seem high? Really confused on where they caculate this.

And also confused about the sales tax. MN does have sales tax at 7.5% I think and we do pay state taxes. (is there where we could save some $$)

Sales tax in Washington varies from place to place, but in the King County metro it is generally around 9% for most thing but groceries, at least where I live, is 6%. Groceries are generally the same as most places, but gas is a little higher. Keep in mind though there is no state income tax, so that should help out a little, and Microsoft is known for great benefits and perks, and is very stable.

I would say anything in Snohomish county would be cheaper than King, be it renting or buying, so I would say Lynnwood or Mount Lake Terrace over Bothel. Child care, from what I hear, is expensive...but I hear it's pricy everywhere.

But if you think about it, it could be an investment. Microsoft would have more security and once your kids are down with daycare and go to school, you would be saving that and your husband could well have gotten a promotion and/or raise too. It may be rough at first, but a few years down the road it may well pay off.

Good luck no matter what you do but one thing I say is this: if I did have kids, I would rather raise them in the area North of Seattle than anywhere in America I've seen so far.

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

Sales tax in Washington varies from place to place, but in the King County metro it is generally around 9% for most thing but groceries, at least where I live, is 6%. Groceries are generally the same as most places, but gas is a little higher. Keep in mind though there is no state income tax, so that should help out a little, and Microsoft is known for great benefits and perks, and is very stable.

I would say anything in Snohomish county would be cheaper than King, be it renting or buying, so I would say Lynnwood or Mount Lake Terrace over Bothel. Child care, from what I hear, is expensive...but I hear it's pricy everywhere.

But if you think about it, it could be an investment. Microsoft would have more security and once your kids are down with daycare and go to school, you would be saving that and your husband could well have gotten a promotion and/or raise too. It may be rough at first, but a few years down the road it may well pay off.

Good luck no matter what you do but one thing I say is this: if I did have kids, I would rather raise them in the area North of Seattle than anywhere in America I've seen so far.

Great comment regarding Snohomish County. This is very true- people throw the figures of $400K around for minimum house costs, but that is only if you are going to be in the city itself or in most of the east side suburbs. My wife and I moved here from Nebraska 3 years ago and were very concerned about housing costs. So what we did was focus on the Lynnwood/Mountlake Terrace area, and found a great new construction home in Lynnwood for around $235K. Similar homes now are around $250K, so still far cheaper than most down in King county.
We have found that our everyday/monthly expenses are very similar to what they were back home in Nebraska, the only things that are noticeably higher here are gas at about 20 cents per gallon more on a regular basis, and of course housing being higher.

[shaylahc]

Rental prices are insane here. I pay $1000 a month more to live in a "not so special" house. Back in NC I lived in my own home, 4200 sq ft, built from the ground up. Good luck finding that here for rent for less than $4000 a month.

I have been here since 7/2012. I don't think food is that much more expensive (maybe 10% more). Utilities--some are more, and some are less. We pay $120 a month for water, which I think is crazy. Car registration is definitely more, we pay $600 or so to register 2 cars. I guess when you buy a car here it is also insane---the guy next to me at the DMV paid $1300 to register a used car. That's nuts.

Also, most average things like eating out at a restaurant, or shopping at a store will cost more. And you have to pay sales tax at Amazon, which really sucks.

I think the biggest killer is the cost of housing. I don't know that we'll ever be able to buy a home here, unless we go for an old fixer upper. In my area, an average run of the mill house is around 500K. In NC that would buy you a mansion. And let's not forget property taxes! Much higher here for sure.

[metoque]

Please, everyone...let's not forget that you get the wonderful weather here in the Pacific Northwest. 58 days of sunshine per year...what can possibly beat that? THAT is the reason you pay a premium to live here...you get all of those beautiful dark, drizzly, gray, cold days that you just don't get enough of in North Carolina.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by shaylahc

I think the biggest killer is the cost of housing. I don't know that we'll ever be able to buy a home here, unless we go for an old fixer upper. In my area, an average run of the mill house is around 500K. In NC that would buy you a mansion. And let's not forget property taxes! Much higher here for sure.

It's relative. Compared to Ballard, Woodinville looks like a place where you can get a lot of house and land for your money. Those "average" $500K houses n Woodinville tend to be on large lots and the construction is much newer, so total cost of maintenence and repairs is likely to be lower as well.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by mkarch

It's relative. Compared to Ballard, Woodinville looks like a place where you can get a lot of house and land for your money. Those "average" $500K houses n Woodinville tend to be on large lots and the construction is much newer, so total cost of maintenence and repairs is likely to be lower as well.

Not exactly true. Woodinville is mostly older homes and where there's a lot of land, it's often with a septic which some may not like. Sometimes you can get a lot of land for your money but the houses are often fixer uppers. Three years ago there were some houses in small developments with practically no yards (barely enough space for a patio) that were in the $400K range but that was during the worst of it. That's not to say there are no deals but where there are deals, there is likely to be a caveat. I saw one house where they said the house is sold "as is". It looked fairly new so one can only imagine the story there.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Not exactly true. Woodinville is mostly older homes and where there's a lot of land, it's often with a septic which some may not like. Sometimes you can get a lot of land for your money but the houses are often fixer uppers. Three years ago there were some houses in small developments with practically no yards (barely enough space for a patio) that were in the $400K range but that was during the worst of it. That's not to say there are no deals but where there are deals, there is likely to be a caveat. I saw one house where they said the house is sold "as is". It looked fairly new so one can only imagine the story there.

Ehhh... mostly older homes? You'll be hard pressed to find much built before 1970. Looking at the last few months of sales, the houses in Woodinville are on average much newer and have larger lots. Even when you do find one of an age that directly compares to homes around Ballard, they're far less expensive and have more land.

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by mkarch

It's relative. Compared to Ballard, Woodinville looks like a place where you can get a lot of house and land for your money. Those "average" $500K houses n Woodinville tend to be on large lots and the construction is much newer, so total cost of maintenence and repairs is likely to be lower as well.

Ssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhh

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Ehhh... mostly older homes? You'll be hard pressed to find much built before 1970. Looking at the last few months of sales, the houses in Woodinville are on average much newer and have larger lots. Even when you do find one of an age that directly compares to homes around Ballard, they're far less expensive and have more land.

I consider a 40 year old house pretty old. Washington's only been a state for 120 years. And those homes are the ones more commonly with septics. Friends who are natives say Woodinville in the 70s was considered the sticks just like I used to consider Duvall. Totally agree the older ones have more land than Ballard but the newer ones, not commonly. The zero lot line is more common now. It's not that important, just a different view.