Cheapest/crappiest areas in Seattle? (Everett, Federal Way: cheap apartments, lease, condo)

[lettuces]

Hey guys,

I'm currently living with roommates and my lease will be up by around March-April. I've seen a few affordable studios pop-up once in while (around the $700 price range believe it or not) that ignited my desire to go look for more of these when my time to move comes around, as I much rather live alone if I can. I am planning on going apartment hunting by foot whenever I'm free and close to my move out date because I've heard that you can find deals that are never posted online or on classifieds...
However, I'd like to know which areas I should focus on.
I'm looking for a cheap, no frills small studio (don't care if really small, no need for a fancy new stove, etc). I have no kids, so I really don't care about schools. The area doesn't have to be pretty, but it has to be safe enough. (I don't really go out at night anyway, other than groceries) I don't care if it's an old building, or looks crappy. And I really don't care if I'm living around minorities or whatever. The only major requirement is plenty of access to buses.

Any one know of any areas where I could find a cheap, no frills studio?

[RotseCherut]

North Seattle around Aurora or South Seattle around White Center or Rainier Beach areas are probably the cheapest areas in Seattle proper (White Center is bordering Seattle and is more or less like a neighborhood).

$700 for a studio?? Studios will be more like $900+ or so right on Aurora Ave. Then again, that was about a year ago and now they may be more like $1000 or $1100.

Be aware there are a lot of drug addicts, thieves, break-ins, hookers and mentally ill people in abundance right on these main strips in these shady neighborhoods. My advice is to have some type of safe and a firearm near your bed, as chances or more likely than not, somebody will break into your house sooner or later. Hopefully, not with you in it. Heroine is big here and heroine junkies do whatever they can to get their fix.


I was renting a piece of crap 1 bedroom apartment in Ballard, which many would consider a higher end area. It's not even the most expensive area. I was paying $1600/mo for a run-down 550 sq ft apartment with ancient appliances. I went through 3 refrigerators in 6 months of living there and had a stove that was rusting and rotting from the base.


Seriously, would advise you to look into roommates or renting a micro-apartment. They are more or less motel rooms you rent on a long-term basis. Not even as nice as a motel room in many cases.

Another option is living in the South Sound or moving to cheaper and a bit more gritty suburbs like Kent, Auburn or Federal Way (aka Felony Way). There is also the option of living in the North Sound around Everett, where you can probably rent a decent enough studio for $700 on Casino Road, which is Everett's most crime-ridden area, but gives you easy access to the I-5 for an easy 30 min (plus traffic) commute to Seattle. Marysville is a bit farther out, but even cheaper.

[Ira500]

Within the city of Seattle, probably the South Park area. Just south of the city limits, Skyway has cheap apartments.

[homesinseattle]

Why not rent a room in someone's home or be a roommate in a house share? That can be relatively affordable and allow you to live in a better location. Go to Craigslist, here is the link:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/search/roo

[AleeGee]

Go for a rooming house in the U-district. Your own bedroom in an old rambling house. Shared kitchen and house chores which nobody ever completes. Lots of bitching. You can handle it right? That's lame compared to living in West Seattle, Rainer Beach or Fed Wy.
Don't move to Rainer Valley. I grew up in Rainer Valley and even back in the seventies there was a restaurant called the Happy Valley where there was a shooting every week(it seemed like). We called it Murder Central. I'm sure the Valley has not improved. You will get mugged and robbed, don't go.
Don't go to any of the suggested places. The YWCA offers subsidized apartments for all, men included. They don't just sponsor the women's place downtown. They have properties all over King County, including the Eastside. How would you feel about paying $951 for a 1 bedroom on the Eastside?
Your other(best) option IMHO is the U-district.

[CrazyDonkey]

You can find micro-apartments or apodments (<400sf) for $1,000 or under scattered around, primarily in the more central neighborhoods (Capitol Hill/First Hill, Central District, U District/Roosevelt, Ballard, Greenwood, West Seattle/Junction). For instance:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...?fullpage=true ($650, 170sf, Capitol Hill)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...?fullpage=true (158sf, Central District)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...?fullpage=true (355sf, U District)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...?fullpage=true (201sf, W. Ballard)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...?fullpage=true (156sf, Ballard)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...?fullpage=true (244sf, Greenwood)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...?fullpage=true (200sf, West Seattle/Junction)

Where you won't find them, generally, is in the cheaper/sketchier areas (Lake City, N. Aurora, Rainier Beach/Skyway, S. Delridge/White Center, South Park, Tukwila), which, however, might offer somewhat lower-priced regular apartments (full studios, 1-bedroom apts, 2-bedroom apts), although very few will be less than $1,000:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8...?fullpage=true (South Park)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...?fullpage=true (S. Delridge, close to White Center)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true (Tukwila)

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...?fullpage=true (Tukwila/Interurban Ave S)

Note that a lot of 1-bedroom apartments with higher rents have gone to listing "--sf", probably to conceal that they are what are sometimes called "urban" 1-bedroom apartments.

[Unicorn hunter]

Many years ago, I had a nice studio in the Belltown area through Capitol Hill Housing. If you are lowish/middle income you might give them a call and see if they have any availability. With all the homeless in Seattle now, there might be years-long wait lists, so sorry if this is not helpful! At the time (20 years ago!) my studio rent included heat, water, sewer, garbage for $400 a month...but again those days are probably long gone!

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

Many years ago, I had a nice studio in the Belltown area through Capitol Hill Housing. If you are lowish/middle income you might give them a call and see if they have any availability. With all the homeless in Seattle now, there might be years-long wait lists, so sorry if this is not helpful! At the time (20 years ago!) my studio rent included heat, water, sewer, garbage for $400 a month...but again those days are probably long gone!

20 years ago, I had a 2-bedroom apartment on Queen Anne Hill, with a deck with a water view, for $575/mo.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

20 years ago, I had a 2-bedroom apartment on Queen Anne Hill, with a deck with a water view, for $575/mo.

20 years ago I was renting a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment in the Hawthorne district with a view of downtown Portland from my front yard. This apartment rented for $575. Today it was turned into a condo and probably would be renting for $1500/mo.

This is not the Pacific Northwest of our youth or younger years.

[Bluefox]

I see some apartments for rent right next to the light rail station in Tukwila. Maybe check there.