Basic questions about moving to greater Seattle (Apartments, bottom-tier job market, you know, those kind of questions) (Tacoma: affordable apartment)

[CottageCheese]

My wife and I were planning to move back to the desert southwest (from Burlington, VT) however we went on a short trip to Seattle recently and greatly enjoyed it. We'd really like to move there but I have some questions. How difficult would it be to get a restaurant/retail job in the Seattle area? My wife has several years of experience in both industries but most of her recent experience is in the retail area.

I would be moving there with a job making between 24-27K, working in either Bellvue, Renton or the far southern sprawl area, it's not necessary for us to live in the city of Seattle though eventually we would like to live there, I know the Tacoma area has the cheapest rents but we would like to avoid the area since it seems to be a bit of a dead zone for jobs compared to the Seattle area. We don't have credit history though we do have several years of rental history, I'd prefer to keep it in the sub-800 range, when we move we'd be able to put in about 4 months rent + security deposit, what areas would be good to look into all things considered? I would like to be able to sell my car and take public transit though it's not a requirement, traffic is not much of a consideration since I would be leaving for work at around 9PM. Would the large down payment help overcome the lack of credit? We don't have a set rent range for when we're both employed but we're living comfortably here with a rent of $1,100 plus the horrors of winter heating bills.

How good is the public transit in Seattle, from playing around on google maps it seems like I would be able to make my commute to Bellvue or Renton from most places but from people I've talked to (none of whom currently live there) I've gotten mixed reviews ranging from "cars are unnecessary" to "only urine soaked homeless people ride the bus" (I'm guessing the latter is an exaggeration), given that we would most likely be living outside of the city of Seattle how badly would we need the car? Would selling a car from out of state be different from the regular private party sale?

[JBVirtuoso]

Alright, here goes:

Getting a retail or restaurant job in the area should be pretty easy. There are a lot of those jobs available, and turnover is high. My biggest concern here is that pay and job security are low, but I'm guessing you're already aware of that.

The closer to Seattle you are, the better your access to jobs. For cheaper rents, you're correct to look in the areas south of Seattle.

I'm not sure what your credit situation looks like, but it might not be something to be concerned about. Do you not have any credit cards or loans or anything? I've had credit cards in my name for a few years now, but even as a 22-year-old, I can easily pass a credit check. It's unlikely that you'll need to put in 4 months' rent anywhere - I've never heard of something like that, anyway. The most you'd probably have to cough up is an application fee, two months' rent, and a security deposit. Even that would be considered high.

You also shouldn't be too concerned about "the horrors of winter heating bills." Utilities here tend to be pretty reasonable, and many apartments will include some or all of them in the rent. Heating in Seattle is definitely nowhere near as expensive as the oil heating bills in New England.

Now for the public transit issue - this is a tough one to answer. Living without a car in Seattle is only convenient in a few expensive inner city neighborhoods (basically within a 2-3 mile radius of downtown). You could probably also make it work in downtown Bellevue. To live without a car, you'd probably want to be within a 10-minute walk of a full grocery store, a few restaurants, a bar or two, and a well-connected bus line. However, not having a car SEVERELY limits the locations where you can take jobs. You can't just take the bus from anywhere to anywhere. The entire bus system is set up to get workers to employment centers in downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue. If you're working anywhere else, chances are that it will be a loooooong bus ride with a transfer or three.

Cars are unnecessary - for some people. The buses are definitely safe and plenty of non-urine soaked people ride them, so that shouldn't be a concern. But whether it will work for you is another issue. I wouldn't recommend getting rid of your car unless you've lived car-free before in another city. It might look easy enough on Google Maps, but actually living car-free is another issue entirely. Groceries are heavy, buying large items is difficult, you can't really go shopping in suburbia, and trips will often take you 3-4x as much time as driving would.

[CottageCheese]

Neither me nor my wife have ever had a credit car or taken out a loan of any kind. I brought up the multiple months rent thing because we got that from most landlords here, ranging from 2 months + security to "You will need to pay the lease outright".

Thank you for taking the time to answer

[Hemlock140]

Your transit problem is working evenings. Most routes between Seattle and the eastside (Bellevue) are limited to peak periods, that means morning and afternoon. Those cross lake buses don't have any sketchy people on them, they are pretty much limited to the late night buses within Seattle. Most of it went away when the county eliminated the free downtown bus service. For work and living close to each other I think Renton is your best option, or live in Renton and work in Bellevue. You might find an affordable apartment in the crossroads area of Bellevue.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Your transit problem is working evenings. Most routes between Seattle and the eastside (Bellevue) are limited to peak periods, that means morning and afternoon. Those cross lake buses don't have any sketchy people on them, they are pretty much limited to the late night buses within Seattle. Most of it went away when the county eliminated the free downtown bus service. For work and living close to each other I think Renton is your best option, or live in Renton and work in Bellevue. You might find an affordable apartment in the crossroads area of Bellevue.

Yep, the rolling insane asylum busses are limited to a few routes (like 358) and some mid day pickups on 3rd downtown. Renton has the most affordable options that aren't too remote or sketchy.

[Salmonista]

Kent has some decent transit options, if you can afford to live near Kent Station.