Rent prices in Seattle area (Everett, Edmonds: apartments, rentals, neighborhood)

[Valentorg]

My family(fiance and 5-month old daughter) and I are planning to move to a city sometime in the near future, but aren't entirely sure which city yet. The main three considerations at this point are Seattle, NYC, and Boston. Unfortunately NYC and Boston both seem to be very expensive, while the research I've done on the Seattle area tells me it tends to be cheaper.

So I'm wondering if there are apartments in Seattle that are more within our price range.
We're hoping for something less than $1000 a month, ideally.

[crust-n-patti]

$1000/mo will be tough in Seattle. While Seattle is less than NYC and Boston, it isn't that inexpensive (particularly housing).

[Ruth4Truth]

You'd have to look outside of the Seattle city limits. Look in Everett, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. $1000 would get you a studio or a small 1-bedroom in Seattle, while north of Seattle, it could get you a 2-bedroom.

[mkarch]

$1000/mo apartments certainly exist in the city itself, likely a 1 bedroom or studio. The downside is they'll either be in older buildings that lack modern amenities or be on the outskirts. Still, they'll be a lot nicer than what you'd find in NYC at that price!

[Valentorg]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You'd have to look outside of the Seattle city limits. Look in Everett, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. $1000 would get you a studio or a small 1-bedroom in Seattle, while north of Seattle, it could get you a 2-bedroom.

That's okay. I'm very much a city person but have been living in a small town far from any major city for over a decade now so even being near Seattle is an improvement.

I $1000 could get a 2-bedroom north of Seattle, that would seem to imply that we could get a 1-bedroom north of Seattle for even less? We're really looking for as cheap as realistically possible to start with, until we get on our feet in the area. A 1-bedroom will do for a while, but preferably not a studio.

[gwix98]

Northgate, MountLake Terrace, Upper Edmonds, Lynnwood will all work for you. Everett is OK, but if you are
commuting south any distance, its not ideal, even on the bus.

I am in the very north portion of Edmonds, and 28 years of commuting into the core of Seattle
takes its toll, so MLT and Lynnwood would be my first choices for affordability and convenience for
public transportation which I highly recommend. Take a look "Sound Transit" for the areas they serve.

[Valentorg]

Originally Posted by gwix98

Northgate, MountLake Terrace, Upper Edmonds, Lynnwood will all work for you. Everett is OK, but if you are
commuting south any distance, its not ideal, even on the bus.

I am in the very north portion of Edmonds, and 28 years of commuting into the core of Seattle
takes its toll, so MLT and Lynnwood would be my first choices for affordability and convenience for
public transportation which I highly recommend. Take a look "Sound Transit" for the areas they serve.

Public transportation is definitely good, but if it comes with higher rent we may have to sacrifice that convenience, at least for a little while when we first move.
That said, I do love a good public transportation system. One of the hardest parts for me considering moving anywhere other than NYC (which was my #1 desired moving place) is that these other places don't have NYC's subway system. So the more convenient for public transportation, the better, but lower rent trumps that as of now.

What's the typical price range for the 1-bedroom apartments in those areas, by the way?

[west seattle gal]

You can definitely find a safe, clean one bedroom in your range. I just looked in my neighborhood, and there are several available in the $900-1400/month range. They are in nice locations.

Try Seattle craigslist, zillow (rentals shown on map), and seattlerentals.com. We have had great personal luck with these.

And check out more about WS on westseattleblog.com.