A little depressed about situation (Seattle, Bellevue: car insurance, daycare, loans)

[made in china]

70K a year will be fine if you live in places like: Marysville, Monroe, Snohomish, Everett, etc. I make about that much, live in Lake Stevens as the sole money earner raising one kid and supporting my wife and we do fine. We bought our house in 2004, so we paid too much. Look for home prices to slip quite a bit around here.

Eastside is WAYYY to expensive. You'd be scraping pennies to live there, and there is no chance that you'd ever be able to buy there.

And like someone else said, the taxes are too much here. My property tax jumped up almost $200 a month this last adjustment they did.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by made in china

Look for home prices to slip quite a bit around here.

You know I hear people say that every year up here but it never seems to happen. This area is constantly rated at the top of not only the most expensive places in the country, but also the most consistent real estate markets as well.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by made in china

And like someone else said, the taxes are too much here. My property tax jumped up almost $200 a month this last adjustment they did.

Make no mistake... Increasing Property Taxes are a real concern, especially when you've scraped together all of your financial resources just to buy your home and then you learn your property tax is going up $200 or more each month.

[manbehindthecurtain]

Originally Posted by Nea1

We live in Denver colorado, I LOVE it completely. A little background, Iwas born and raised in Portland oregon. Situation here now is, my husband cannot find a job that pays enough to live. He is in construction. I have been a stay at home mom for 10 years so the biggest job I will get is retail. Well an old buddy just offered him a great job in Washington, around Seattle paying 70000 a year. Which is more than he is getting offered here. We dont want to lose our rears here in the winter and we are tempted to take the job, although our kids will be upset. I am at a loss, I havent been to the PNW in 6 years and never lived in Washington. can we make it on that and where would we live that has good schools and family feel? thanks so much for any advice.

I feel for you guys. I also think you should move. I've been in your situation before. I think the fact that you have family in Portland is reason enough. Good luck to you!

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

You know I hear people say that every year up here but it never seems to happen. This area is constantly rated at the top of not only the most expensive places in the country, but also the most consistent real estate markets as well.

Well, the high real estate prices mean there's a high demand for real estate, the very thing a construction guy needs for employment, so long as there is land to build on.

Construction, like real estate, is usually a cyclical job, the markets go up and down. People save like heck when they are working because they know it will probably not last and they have to have enough chucked away to get through those rough times.

I don't know how hard it is to get a job, but I think something like a speech therapist does not take 4 years of training, but pays well. Such ancillary medical jobs should be in greater demand as the population ages, I would think.

[Monumental1]

Originally Posted by Nea1

Thanks. But the weather will not be an issue since I grew up in oregon, used to it. There is no money here in Denver. My husband has 22 years expereince and a management degree, they still will not pay a livable wage. Construction is in the toilet. We love the weather here, but that is no reason to financially kill one selves. Winter here is rough especially in construction. I have no problem going to school but it takes money and child care. Atleast there we wouldnt have to worry about the next job all the time. Denver is very liberal so I am used to that as well. We are looking in Snonomish area county and town, so far the rent is cheaper there than here. I think we will be Ok, plus family is in Portland, here we have no one.

LOL........That Seattle freeze thing is rediculous. You'd have to be an antisocial hermit to not be able to make friends in a area with 4 million people, and as lively as Seattle.

another thing........yes the eastside has good schools, but it's not the only area in Seattle,...... that's another rediculous statement. Queen Anne in Seattle, has fine schools, Ballard in Seattle has fine schools, etc.

70 K will do you just fine in Seattle trust me. You can search and find homes for 300 to 400 K easily, or rent in the 1200 to 1500 dollar range.

Trust me, I moved from Los Angeles........I live on Mercer Island, one of the most coveted places in the whole entire region, ............and I first rented a two bedroom two bath apartment, with a view of Lake washington for 1200 a month. (That was four months ago)

If I were you, I'd jump on that job, and the next thing smoking to get into Seattle.

[BarbFromMonroe]

Depending on where your husband's new job would be, there's a lot of areas in the PNW that are much more affordable than the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland).

To the north of Seattle/East Side are communities such as Monroe, Snohomish, Lake Stevens & Everett. There's affordable areas to the south, but they are not known for good schools.

Good luck. Let me know if I can help.

Barbara

[crackerman]

I moved here from the Midwest 6 years and I live in North Seattle with my wife. I would check out cities like Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Mount Lake Terrace or Lynnwood just North of Seattle a little more affordable and the schools are pretty good as well. You will be able to make it here, you may just need to get used to living in a little smaller of a place. Don't let the taxes scare you off either. I moved from Cleveland where I paid a higher tax rate on my house, state and local income tax and sales tax was 1% lower than here. Seattle ain't paradise but it's better than any other place I've spent time.
Welcome, but don't tell your friends, it rains all the time.....you wouldn't like it here we never see the sun....

[disaffected pee n.w.]

as much as i'm inclined to disagree with monumental 1's comment about the seattle freeze, i reluctantly agree with his analysis of the seattle schools: my son goes to school atop queen anne hill, and it seems to be working out. additionally, i'm begrudgingly inclined to agree with his observations re ballard: all the grade-school magnets reside there; sign your kid up for ballard high early.

otherwise $70k? cry me a river. i'd kill to be able to support the two of us in this area on the < $25k i earn, sans child support.

stop worrying and lower your standards.....

[WaterFrontStories]

70K per year is okay to live in seattle,,,I don't live there yet but i do own a rental property in the west sound and stayed there for a few months last year while figuring out what I would do...construction is booimg in the PNW and will continue,,I am a Tower Crane operator when construction is busy and an Emission Technician at other times and right now,some of the biggest construction companies are scrambling to set up a base in the PNW to start bidding on jobs.Taking the Job seems like a no brainer especially since you siad he is not doing well right now,and with his degree he might be able to walk into a project management job that is well over 100k in a year or two after he gets a good feel for the area...Good luck