Affordability in Seattle/Bellevue (Sammamish, Mercer Island: apartments, rental, insurance)

[rkrpxz]

I have an offer of approx. $110,000/annum from a large software company in the Seattle area and I'm thinking about taking it up and moving there.

My family consists of my wife and two grown children (one in senior year high school and the other finishing undergrad). Although my wife is also well-qualified to work, she will probably end up staying at home for the first year or so. With that in mind, I am seeking advice from Seattle-area residents to see if the above-mentioned salary will be enough to allow us to live a moderately comfortable life in the Seattle area. I don't expect the salary to finance my children's education because I have a separate plan/fund for that. All I'm wondering about is the day-to-day expenses like rent, utilities, insurance, etc.

1. Will I be able to save any money at the end of the month? From my research on this and some other sites, a 3-bedroom apartment can cost about $2000/month, utilities can total about $200/month, cable+internet+mobile phone can total about $500/month. My employer's insurance premiums will be roughly $600/month. Are there other big ticket items I'm missing?
2. Is the commute between Seattle and Bellevue very bad, if I live in Bellevue and work in Seattle? From what I could gather from the internet, the mass transit (rail/bus) connectivity between Bellevue and Seattle is pretty much non-existent.
3. Are there other residential areas between Seattle and Bellevue that are better from an affordability / safety perspective?

Thank you very much in advance.

[Hemlock140]

You should be able to do OK on $110K, with a modest lifestyle, if you are not planning to buy a home in Bellevue or Seattle. Just to give you an idea, the median household income in Bellevue is $104k.

I don't know where you got that information on the transit, but it's wrong, There is frequent commute bus service between Seattle and Bellevue. I take the bus from Sammamish every day (through Bellevue) and it's very reliable and safe. The 550 bus takes about 15 minutes into the Seattle bus tunnel with stops in the International District, Pioneer Square, University St. and Westlake. The 554 and 212 from Eastgate are about 20 minutes. Many employers subsidize the bus pass, but it's not very expensive and much cheaper than paying to park in Seattle. Only Mercer Island is between Bellevue and Seattle, and it's more expensive than either. I also don't know where you could find a 3 bedroom rental in either place for $2,000, that's about right for 2 bedrooms and going up every day. Ads showing $2,000 for 3 bedrooms might be bait & switch or have some negative reason for being that low. If you come from a warmer climate the winter heating bills will be much more. We pay over $300 in the coldest months, and though our house is bigger, a 3 bedroom is still likely to hit $200.

[mkarch]

Why would you live in Bellevue and work in Seattle? If you're renting and empty nesting in a year, the only thing you should be concerned with is which high-school your kid is in for the last year. "cheap" Bellevue apartments are probably Sammamish High - so little point in giving yourself a nasty commute to get into that middle-ranked high school.

If I were in your position, I'd rent near the highschool you want and re-evaluate after that. Most of North Seattle is just as safe as Bellevue, so I wouldn't put too heavy a weight on being in Bellevue for safety or schools if you have to settle for the cheap part of Bellevue with mediocre schools.

[RVD90277]

The short answer is yes, you will be fine with that salary. Many people live here comfortably for less (and some have more). With no state income tax, a $110k salary will bring in something like $7k/month?

If your kids are grown, there isn't really that much of a reason to live in Bellevue unless you really like to live in upscale suburbs. And if you like upscale suburbs, you would like downtown Bellevue and it's vicinity, not the cheaper areas of Bellevue.

There are nice city areas near work that you might like as well that are also pretty safe, etc. Most of Seattle near downtown is pretty safe except for some parts of Belltown.

As for transportation, most people take the bus to the downtown and SLU area from Bellevue. There are vanpools and well.

[Gardyloo]

We're currently looking at possible downsizing/right-sizing (nice old house in a great Seattle neighborhood, a lot of equity, too big and too much upkeep for us going forward.) Based on what I'm seeing, a big part of your problem is going to be the third bedroom. Apartments with 3 BR are exceedingly scarce, virtually none of them are in downtown locations (either on the east side or in Seattle) and the prices tend to be quite high.

If you rent a 3-BR house (of which there are many more available, except not close-in) then your utility estimate will need to increase significantly (e.g. Seattle water/sewer/solid waste is almost $150/mo for us, and we don't use all that much, electricity about $120/mo, and natural gas around $75/mo averaged over a year - for a 2200 sf house.)

As for the commute, the devil is really in the details. King County's transit system is good, but it's very much a hub-and-spoke deal, so while mainline travel times (e.g. Bellevue transit center to Westlake) are quick, it's the "last mile" that can be a big problem in terms of overall commitment. So where you live (precisely) and where you work (precisely) can make a giant difference.

Other observations - my platinum plan cable TV/internet package (Comcast) - every premium channel and a VOIP line that I use for my fax machine - runs around $200/mo, so your $500 connectivity estimate would require you to use your cell phone an awful lot.

But initially I'd look at your housing size needs and use Metro's trip planner to zero in on actual commute times from various housing locations to your workplace.

[Garfunkle524]

Affordability in Seattle/Bellevue

Lol

[mike62pp3]

If you're just talking about the day-to-day expenses, then you will be able to afford living here (as other have mentioned, others live on a lot less here). Depending on how you spread out your budget, you can afford to have a decent lifestyle. When my wife was on maternity leave we lived off my income for a couple of months (I'm in a similar range) and will say that we had to make some lifestyle adjustments (even w/ student loans and a mortgage payment), but we were able pay our bills and occasionally go out for dinner. So depending on how you manage your money, your lifestyle can be a little more flexible.

Why did you decide Bellevue was the right neighborhood? The reason I ask is whenever you have to cross a bridge to get to work, it will often be a long and tiring commute. It's best to live close to where you work, unless other things are of higher priority. Sure, Bellevue is safe but it isn't immune to crime. There are other places in Seattle that are just as as safe (if not, safer).

Looking in the Bellevue area for a 3bd place is tough @ $2,000. You will find better results in the $3,000 range, that's just where our housing market is at the moment. You will likely find 2bd apartments at $2,000/mo and anything that is 3bd+ will likely be a house or townhome.

[rkrpxz]

Wow, my deep and sincere gratitude to all those who took the time to post such useful / relevant answers (including the short one with just three letters!). Thank you!

Based on what I've learned from this thread, I will start exploring safe/affordable areas closer to Seattle Downtown to minimize my commute. It also appears that the "last-mile" connectivity of mass transit services could be a deal breaker as far as searching for the right apartment location is concerned, so I will focus on that aspect as well.

The other concern (which I forgot to mention in my original email) was about the downtown area being vulnerable to seismic events. Based on some seismic maps I found by googling, I thought that the Bellevue area was far safer. Any thoughts on that?

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by rkrpxz

The other concern (which I forgot to mention in my original email) was about the downtown area being vulnerable to seismic events. Based on some seismic maps I found by googling, I thought that the Bellevue area was far safer. Any thoughts on that?

Bellevue is only 12 miles away from Seattle. If there is an earthquake here, it will be felt region-wide. I don't believe Bellevue would fair any better, let alone be "far safer" than Seattle. Having gobs of money can only help you so much when it comes to Mother Nature!

I can't really input on your other questions as I am single and cost of living is very relative to your individual needs and expenses. $110k to one person is very different to another. Anyone can afford to live anywhere. It all depends on how you live your life.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by rkrpxz

The other concern (which I forgot to mention in my original email) was about the downtown area being vulnerable to seismic events. Based on some seismic maps I found by googling, I thought that the Bellevue area was far safer. Any thoughts on that?

Safer... from what?

The last major earthquake was the Nisqually and I remember they were saying it was felt as far down in Utah. I was living at my mom's in Bellevue and there were cracks in the walls from the earthquake (minor fix ).

As long you're not around the old brick buildings (most of which are in Seattle DT) or on the viaduct, you're good to go. Just remember to get under the table and face away from the windows when it happens.