$5000 in pocket enough to make the move w/no job lined up? (Seattle: apartments, townhome)

[Dport7674]

If you're willing to take any job or two you can find right out of the gate... $5000 would be enough for me.

[VirtualErik]

I'd also be content with renting a room at first, I wouldnt get an apartment until I had secured a job for sure.

[Legacy Bear]

Originally Posted by Dport7674

If you're willing to take any job or two you can find right out of the gate... $5000 would be enough for me.

like what and where?

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by Legacy Bear

like what and where?

Last time I stayed in Seattle I got hired to scrape paint and clean brushes for $18 hr.. First crew I walked up to pointed me in the right direction.

One of the jobs we worked on, the old guy that owned the building gave me $20 an hr to clean out/pain apts for him between tenents. I was allowed to keep anything the tenants left behind. Even the stuff i couldn't sell, someone from craigslist would come and pick it up it I used the word 'free' in the title.

I've walked up to construction/painting/landscaping crews and landed a job in a matter of a few hrs.

If you're willing to shovel sh*t, jobs are easy to find.

[Blondebaerde]

I think noah is correct, in my observation on C-D Seattle. Lot of contention starts when people from Medina and Clyde Hill try and put perspective around those just starting out with shirt on their back and a car load of (stuff), and nothing more.

I was there, in that position, decades ago. Now I'm dug in here as a tech manager with homes, career, etc. Such is life.

Yes, living out of a car at some fleabag has a risk of losing everything in a break-in. Welcome to the big city, or any big city for that matter.

My view: there isn't an answer to this question. I lived on the equivalent of c. $4-5K savings for about three weeks before finding temp work, then a real job right after, waaaaay back when. Being a single guy Bedouin at the time, I was extremely low overhead (in Reno). So "can" it be done: yes. Reno was my Seattle in terms of career opportunities, given my skills at the time. I was somewhat poor but didn't know it, being used to living on the equivalent of $100/week in college, if that, for years prior. Anything more was a step up, quite the revelation when one enters the professional world. Expectations change with income and lifestyle.

But then as now, Reno isn't Seattle in terms of expenses. One isn't too expensive, the other is. I knew what I was getting into in Reno, and had a backup plan (turn around and crash with my parents) if it hadn't worked. I made sure it would, though. Still, different era in terms of getting jobs: I found professional positions fairly quickly back when letters of recommendation and sheepskin from accredited schools in hot fields was plenty.

Not sure why OP just doesn't go for it, if there is a backup of some kind (place to crash) in another city if it doesn't come together in Seattle. Sounds like hand-to-mouth living for a year or three, but there is definitely tech work here if you have the right skills and experience. Good timing, for that, these days.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by noah

CD skews to higher incomes so as you can see most will say no (re: the $5k per month comment). Its hard to say not knowing more about your skills etc, do you get alot of calls when you apply to jobs? Do you get contacted on LinkedIn but whats the worst case, you move back in a few months if it doesn't work out. I'd take my chance in a city of 3% unemployment if it was my dream. Made a similar move to Atlanta right before the great recession and it worked out fine (had a spouse though so we both were looking for jobs and both found jobs within 6 weeks or so).

Seattle isn't exactly a top spot for call center jobs and those type of jobs may be pretty competitive, something to think about.

Also consider your costs til you get a job, will you be staying in a hotel, short term rental, renting a room, living in a car, camping... Find a room to rent maybe in say Tacoma to make your money go further as you job search.

Have you talked to recruiters or researched the market for what you do. What are you willing to do? take temp jobs? Use Linkedin to network ahead of time.

I said to have more because you can encounter a lot of expenses moving to another city. 10,000 is a safety net amount in-case something does happen like get in a car accident, and have to make an emergency expense. Plus if he does find a job soon it will give him a chance to explore and make a comfortable move instead of living paycheck to paycheck for a half a year.

[CrazyDonkey]

The biggest problem is that:

1. Many landlords won't rent to you if you don't have a job.

2. Many employers won't hire you, if you don't have a permanent address.

Competition for "roomshares" can be pretty intense

[hurricane harry]

Living out of your car seems to be the norm around here, so yes 5,000 would go a long way.

[Dr. Lynnwood]

Originally Posted by VirtualErik

So, is $5000 worth of savings enough to last to make my move after years of trying to move up to the Seattle area. Would that amount get me by with enough time to get a job?

I'm a 36 year old male, single, no kids, no pets, everything I own can fit in the back of my Blazer. I have an associates in computer info tech, years of tech support exp in call centers and many years of customer service exp.

Thanks!

Rick

yes, that's enough.

If you have the drive you could make anything possible with $0 in the bank.

[cmswazey]

Mmm, zero's a bit rough. But I agree about the drive. I also like the advice about the temp jobs.