The cost of living in Seattle is waaaaaay overstated (Kirkland: apartment complex, renters)

[KonaldDuth]

Yes, if you want to have your own, nice 1-bdrm unit in a trendy area, you'll be forking up at least $1,800/month, and if you want to own and use a car it will be either inconvenient or expensive to do so. But this is extremely cheap compared to major cities that are business/tech hubs. Besides, if you're willing to live in some area that is "un-cool", outside of Seattle proper, such as Kirkland or Bothell, you can get a decent place for $1,100/month and be able to park on the street or pay only $80/month to park at your apartment complex. Assuming you're making the average mid-career tech salary of about $80k-$90k/yr, are maxing out your $401k and taking advantage of other tax advantages, you'll be paying less than 1/4 or 1/3 on rent and parking, and so it is easily possible to build wealth and have fun.

In summary, those that complain about the high cost of living in Seattle are trying to live outside their means. They need to either work on getting a better job or downgrade their lifestyle.

[trysometh]

I dont make anything close to 80k, and Im not the only one...

[kaonevar]

Originally Posted by trysometh

I dont make anything close to 80k, and Im not the only one...

With a user name like that (really? Try some meth?), I'm not surprised.
I'm all for legalizing quite a few drugs (and taxing the heck out of them), but meth isn't one of them. Meth ruins lives.

I think the OP's idea is a smart one (living within your means), but it does assume that everyone's making 80K+. Workers have to make a living wage before they can even consider living within their means.

[flyingsaucermom]

Everything looks great on paper, but the realities of context always make it more complicated.

Let's take a high tech worker that makes $85k who max out a 401k. This person will be taxed for $67k ($85k-$18k). They'll pay approximately $12,500 in taxes leaving $54,400 or so. They pay $14,000 for rent -> balance of $40,400.

That is $3375 a month for:

heath care: insurance, deductibles, co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses.. maybe vision or dental too
transportation: car payment, maintenance, gas, registration, insurance or bike, bike maintenance, on occassion uber...
utilities: electricity, maybe gas, water/sewage, cell phone, internet, cable
food: eating in or eating out... some people do it for under $400, but not many
clothing: can be super cheap, or not...
travel: did this person move from elsewhere to get the job... maybe they want to go home for the holidays?
other: renters insurance, license renewal, student loans, personal loans, emergency fund, gym membership.

It adds up quickly.

[Bolo99]

TS, I agree with your views. In Silicon Valley (where I have been working for the last few years), an average 1 bedroom apartment is now starting at $2,100 and up per month. I'm not even talking about some trendy condo but just a run-of-the-mill 1 bedroom joint. Homes in Santa Clara county is over $900k, and that doesn't get you a brand new house. No, it gets you a 30 year old fixer upper dump. The housing cost in Seattle is much much better in comparison.

[trysometh]

Originally Posted by kaonevar

With a user name like that (really? Try some meth?), I'm not surprised.
I'm all for legalizing quite a few drugs (and taxing the heck out of them), but meth isn't one of them. Meth ruins lives.

I think the OP's idea is a smart one (living within your means), but it does assume that everyone's making 80K+. Workers have to make a living wage before they can even consider living within their means.

lol@try some meth, i wish it said that, i oughtta change it

[KonaldDuth]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

Everything looks great on paper, but the realities of context always make it more complicated.

Let's take a high tech worker that makes $85k who max out a 401k. This person will be taxed for $67k ($85k-$18k). They'll pay approximately $12,500 in taxes leaving $54,400 or so. They pay $14,000 for rent -> balance of $40,400.

That is $3375 a month for:

heath care: insurance, deductibles, co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses.. maybe vision or dental too
transportation: car payment, maintenance, gas, registration, insurance or bike, bike maintenance, on occassion uber...
utilities: electricity, maybe gas, water/sewage, cell phone, internet, cable
food: eating in or eating out... some people do it for under $400, but not many
clothing: can be super cheap, or not...
travel: did this person move from elsewhere to get the job... maybe they want to go home for the holidays?
other: renters insurance, license renewal, student loans, personal loans, emergency fund, gym membership.

It adds up quickly.

I can tell this thread is going to turn into a discussion about personal finance in general rather than Seattle in particular, but ....

• A person who is financially prudent enough to be contributing the max text-deductible amount to retirement is prudent enough to not have a car payment
• Same with student loans
• A car in Seattle is optional. It's nice to have if you can afford, but if you can't, then you can learn to live by bus routes. That'll save you a good $300-$500/month.
• Getting adequate calories, vitamins and minerals is cheap nowadays. If you shop at Whole Foods and eat out frequently, that's an expensive option that you've chosen.
• Gym memberships are only $30-$50/month and if you're using it most days that amounts to only around $2 per use! I have a gym membership and I'm pretty sure the gym loses money on me because I use it all the time.

[KonaldDuth]

Originally Posted by kaonevar

I think the OP's idea is a smart one (living within your means), but it does assume that everyone's making 80K+. Workers have to make a living wage before they can even consider living within their means.

Completely false. Everyone has a choice of whether they want to live within their means. Unless you're homeless, you're choosing to pay to live under a roof.

[RestArea]

$3,375 x 12 = $40,500. Nice! My neighbors would like to know where they can get a job that pays that much in annual salary, let alone after taxes, and after housing expenses, and after maximizing the 401K.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by KonaldDuth

I can tell this thread is going to turn into a discussion about personal finance in general rather than Seattle in particular, but ....
[LIST][*]A person who is financially prudent enough to be contributing the max text-deductible amount to retirement is prudent enough to not have a car payment[*]Same with student loans[*]A car in Seattle is optional. It's nice to have if you can afford, but if you can't, then you can learn to live by bus routes. That'll save you a good $300-$500/month.[*]Getting adequate calories, vitamins and minerals is cheap nowadays. If you shop at Whole Foods and eat out frequently, that's an expensive option that you've chosen.[*]Gym memberships are only $30-$50/month and if you're using it most days that amounts to only around $2 per use! I have a gym membership and I'm pretty sure the gym loses money on me because I use it all the time.[/LIST]

Like I said, it looks great on paper, but reality is rarely this cut and dry. I'm not going to get into this deeper because it's all been dished out before and it's always a time sink for me.

I'm not disagreeing with you really anyway. Frugal-minded people like myself think it's a great salary for a single person.... just that being frugal isn't the norm, nor is it really encouraged.