Wanting to move to Seattle, little cash, working on degrees, and we have a child. (Auburn: apartments, rent)

[Tired of rednecks]

I'm 21 and my husband is 22. We have a two year old daughter whom we desperately want to relocate to a more open-minded, educated city. We currently live in South Mississippi and I'm sure you can understand the hell we live through as young non-conservative, intelligent individuals. We are currently in our last semester at a local community college, and we live with his parents. He is pursuing a bachelor's (then a master's later on) in something having to do with IT. I, however, am a math person and want to become a math teacher at a high school level. I have plenty of experience tutoring many levels of algebra at my current school, and I have confidence that my references will be enough to land me a job as a tutor at a community college there in Seattle. My husband has worked for Starbucks for over a year now, and he knows that he can transfer to a store in Seattle as soon as a position opens. I plan to take a semester off from school and work so that we won't have to worry about daycare immediately. We will have about $5,000 by the end of this semester. Is this enough to make it? My real question is where do we start? I'm very determined to move there as soon as possible, and my husband loves the idea as long as we can make it. We don't mind somewhat of a struggle until we land in our careers, but we obviously don't want to end up homeless.

Additional information would be appreciated:
What is a good location if we intend to rely on public transportation?
What neighborhoods should we steer clear of?
Are there any community colleges/universities in the kind of location we want to live in?
Any extra advice is very welcome!


Thanks so much in advance!

[Hemlock140]

The cost of living here compared to Mississippi is like night and day, the median rent in King County for one bedroom is $1,500, in Seattle $1,678, and it's going up all the time. I generally advise people looking for a job here to come with enough for 3-4 months cash to live on, because despite the economy doing well here, there is a lot of competition for every job. I don't know anyone paying less than $1,200/month for daycare, most closer to $2,000.

Seattle does have 3 good community colleges, and public transportation, but I would not suggest coming out unless one of you is going to find a job really soon.
The $5,000 can go away very quickly.

[Tired of rednecks]

I do understand that I will have to stay home with little bit for an entire semester at least. If I can't finish my degree until my husband is in his career, I'm okay with that. Like I said, he will have a job as a shift supervisor at a Starbucks there no problem. Thanks for your advice! How much do you suggest we have saved before trying to move? Selling our vehicles and nice furniture from our old apartment is an option, but it won't add much to the $5,000.

[Hemlock140]

I don't know what your other expenses are, nor how much his job will pay, but I would figure out your budget based on everything being about 20% higher than you are paying there, rent even more, and determine whether his salary here can cover that. If not, see how much short you will be and plan to have enough to cover that for as long as it takes before you can work. Also, you will need deposits for utility companies, first and last months rent, and many landlords even require a fee just to apply.

[Tired of rednecks]

Thanks again. We definitely have some calculating to do.

[Blondebaerde]

"No" is a big word, as far as "making it," but I'd be hesitant to try given the specifics outlined. The time for easily skipping town came and went prior to getting married and having a baby. You sound like smart people, at-least. Struggle: probably. Possible: of course. Getting harder by the minute: yes, we are in strange times, which they've been saying for six years but doesn't seem to be improving.

The amount of money needed as backup is arbitrary. Some say ten K, others more, still others less. I "think" five grand would be three skinny months of living for a couple with child here in Seattle, including whatever it costs to drive out here. Though from your comments living without a car sounds like a splendid idea.

My view is to line up the position in Seattle first, i.e. husband at Starbucks. At least that way you have a baseline revenue stream and a commitment to make the change in (N) months before the migration.

The remainder of your questions are unanswerable without info about revenue stream. Seattle metro is one of the most-expensive areas in the United States. Vastly different from, say, Gulfport. Cost of living index...and I'd check the data behind any such assumptions...lists Seattle as "much more expensive than average" on every site I've seen. The haves-vs-have-nots gulf is widening here by the month, you can almost literally see it day-to-day.

"Where to live" depends on what you can afford, need for schools, tolerance for commute, and a few other major factors. Rents are on the way up, fast, all over. Volatile market here for that.

I moved cross-country to get away from (what I thought of as) a marginal future, too. January 1990 :-) Traveling light made it fairly easy to succeed, as a young guy. Traveling with spouse, 2-year old, other anchors hugely changes the paradigm given the expense and limits on mobility. Depends how you feel about risk and what your backup plans are.

IT is a fine career choice, though the problem these days is need for experience, deeper the better. That will work against hubby, initially. Being a math student who couldn't get past college-level calculus, I admire anyone with a natural knack for it. Not sure prospects in Seattle w/that background. Who knows, though.

Fleeing town for greener pastures paradigm, as I recall from age 22, as-follows. Given:

* Nothing to lose: desperate plans make perfect sense.
* Few or no encumbrances: ambitious plans can definitely be an adventure. Worst-case, join the Army, see Mysterious South Asia from behind the gunsights of a TOW Missile tube.
* Wives, husbands, babies, disabled parents along for the ride: forewarned is forearmed as much as possible.

[captiv8ed]

Does the $5000 also have to cover your moving expenses?
Have you looked at WSU? You would have two colleges at your disposal and it is cheaper. It is not as liberal as Seattle, but Moscow, ID has a definite liberal vibe.
Good luck!

[Tired of rednecks]

I suppose we could suck it up for another two years so that my husband will have his degree at least. I just feel that the longer we stay here, the harder it will be to get away. Thanks so much for the input. Basically, if we moved there at the end of this semester, we'd be living on about $13 an hour including tips, based on what I've read about the pay in Seattle for my husband's current position. At 40 hours a week, and estimating that a month is about 4.5 weeks long, we would only have about $2,300 monthly income. We wouldn't mind a commute while we are in this stage, but eventually we would like to live within the city. I'm having trouble searching for apartments because I have little knowledge of the area. If my husband plans to attend a university in the area, what do you think would be a good location (remember that commuting isn't an issue.) Our expenses wouldn't be that much. Kids don't require very much more than a normal person. Also, we have large families who would probably send birthday presents, Christmas presents, toys, clothes, etc. We haven't had to buy much of that stuff yet, and I know that it would probably stay that way. Schools won't be an issue until my husband graduates, either. She is only two currently.

[Hemlock140]

I would at least wait until your two your old is well potty-trained, so you can eliminate the expense of diapers! Look at Green River Community College, the Auburn/Covington area is much less expensive than Seattle.

[Tired of rednecks]

Agreed! Diapers aren't as expensive as everyone made them out to be, but it would be desirable to cut out that extra cost.