How do Seattleites feel about the COL? (Tacoma, Everett: houses, neighborhood)

[homesinseattle]

If you plan well, I don't think you need to spend a fortune on food in Seattle. Yeah, Grocery Outlet has an interesting product mix at sometimes very low prices. You can't always find what you want, but they have a surprising amount of things. Yesterday I was there and found great deals on frozen organic blueberries, Terra chips, box organic salad greens, cheese, stroopwaffles from Holland, organic Humboldt ice cream, beef jerky, organic apples and yams, kitchen trash bags, Essential Bakery organic rosemary bread, Belgian dark chocolate bars, extra virgin olive oil, frozen ahi tuna and my wife's addiction, La Croix sparkling water.

We live in Madison Park, I've taken to going to the Grocery Outlet at MLK and Union first when I'm going shopping, then doubling back to Trader Joe's on Madison near Capitol Hill. I absolutely work Costco into my mix but still buy my organic bulk foods and greens at local coops like PCC or Central Coop. I regularly visit farmers' markets whenever I can too and buy directly from the growers/farmers. I very much agree with the ethos of this food dustribtution system and love that this keeps much more money in the farmers' pockets. You will not find better quality fruits and veggies than the organic, local we have in the PNW.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

That part of the discussion isn't about Asian residents; it's about Asian investors from overseas, investing in US real estate as a safe haven for their money. It's about non-owner-occupied units, whether those are a SFH, a high-end condo, or an entire building. This became a huge problem in Vancouver, BC.

You make a good point, though; if it's purely as an investment, why buy in WA State, where the property taxes are so much higher than in CA? The thing is, the State of CA will come after you, demanding you pay income tax as well, until you prove you're not a resident at all.

True, alot of Chinese buyers invest in US property and never actually live there. But why, then, do Chinese investors actually move to Los Angeles or SF bay area in droves but not to Seattle?

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by MrJester

True, alot of Chinese buyers invest in US property and never actually live there. But why, then, do Chinese investors actually move to Los Angeles or SF bay area in droves but not to Seattle?

Thats big back east as well. Parts of NYC, Brooklyn in particular, have been turning around bad neighborhoods now for the last 10-15 years. Driving out the bad elements and sprucing up the place with restaurants and cafe's to attract the younger buyers/renters who work in Manhattan. A big part of that has been Chinese investors. They buy up all the 2 family houses, rent out the other half to pay for the mortgage. Its worked out quite well.

[leastprime]

My southern residence, I stop at GOutlet 3x/week. Mostly junk foods that are too expensive for 1 person at a bigger grocery store. I'll shop at WINCO but it's 8 miles, one way.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by MrJester

But why, then, do Chinese investors actually move to Los Angeles or SF bay area in droves but not to Seattle?

Because those places are better than Seattle. Look at it this way, who has a dream of moving to America and ending up in Seattle lolol? No one, it’s just an overgrown village with lousy restaurants, people, and worst of all weather. Most homes don’t even have A/C and it’s now 2019, there is too much NIMBYism from the locals

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Because those places are better than Seattle. Look at it this way, who has a dream of moving to America and ending up in Seattle lolol? No one, it’s just an overgrown village with lousy restaurants, people, and worst of all weather. Most homes don’t even have A/C and it’s now 2019, there is too much NIMBYism from the locals

Better than Seattle? You need to explain "better" to me. For many it is a dream come true moving to the Emerald City. And the weather is a bonus for me.

Your wording is all wrong, 950.

A village is a clustered settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods.

The Pacific Northwest (PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and (loosely) by the Cascade Mountain Range on the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Broader conceptions reach north into Southeast Alaska and Yukon, south into northern California, and east of the Continental Divide to include Western Montana and parts of Wyoming. Narrower conceptions may be limited to the northwestern US, or to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region's history, culture, geography, society, and other factors.

A village? Yeah, no!

[thatguy950]

Many people are stuck in Seattle for as long as necessary for career, but in defining better: nicer weather, better scenery, more to do, better restaurants, better entertainment, less ugly people, etc, etc.

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Many people are stuck in Seattle for as long as necessary for career, but in defining better: nicer weather, better scenery, more to do, better restaurants, better entertainment, less ugly people, etc, etc.

Not one of these hold water. Maybe with YOU they do. So maybe that's the problem.....


The cost of living with renters is on par with other expensive states/cities but it hasn't reached epic high's yet like NYC or many parts of Cali.

[Chilkoot]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

"nicer weather, better scenery, more to do, better restaurants, better entertainment...".

Yes! This is why we moved to Seattle last year. Other than housing, the cost of living is less too... And, the fresh fruit and produce, we're in heaven.

[eugene_b]

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

Yes! This is why we moved to Seattle last year. Other than housing, the cost of living is less too... And, the fresh fruit and produce, we're in heaven.

Same here. Moved last year and there is no other place we’d rather be. The almost 4 years we were stuck in NYC for career purposes is easily the darkest time in my life so far. Lived or visited a bunch of other places both in and outside of US but Seattle is the only place where we wanted to stay and settle down. Many other cool cities and all have pros and cons but none come close to Seattle.