Scared after reading (Seattle: income, rent , jobs)

[seattlerain]

[quote=Jenbar;3758619]Full sun is 6-8 hours, direct sunlight, daily. I can't think of anything that I can't grow here, that I miss from Seattle. Frankly, there is nothing that can't grow here - and plenty of tropicals here, that I could never grow there. I did forgo the rhododrendron bush.... I had had enough.

Western Washington is a great place for gardeners; it is to many a "gardeners paradise". But, I agree all major cities do have such events...

In your link "Climate", there is a paragraph that agrees with my opinion that this is a wonderful area in which to garden. It says, " The relationship between climate and gardening in the Pacific Northwest is undeniable. West of the Cascades is one of the very best places to garden in all of North America - our mild wet winters and warm dry summers allow us to succeed with plants from all over the world."

Obviously we can't grow tropical plants here, (which is fine by me), and other heat loving plants and trees, etc, but the variety of annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs etc, that we can grow here is staggering. Your statement that we can't grow "nothing particularly interesting or unusual" is quite far fetched.

I stand by my statement that there are things that friends in Texas would love to be able to grow there, but can't. You may not find it to be true because of your personal tastes...but others certainly find it to be true. Noting wrong with that, we all have our own ideas.

Of course gardening is as you stated, " a different type of gardening" than say Austin, or Miami, however it is not so different than most of the northern tier states.

I would venture to day that our summer weather here in Seattle is probably much more like what Chenebe is used to in New Zealand than Austin.

At any rate, this is getting way off topic and we will just have to agree to disagree

[seattlenextyear]

I think rhododendrons are interesting.

[Chenebe]

Originally Posted by vnodak

You have me confused---I do not think this follows the original thread. But the answer to your question is no.

It started with someone saying that they were feeling scared of moving to Seattle on less than 120k, and then I stated my own fears, and then wondered if a certain kind of lifestyle could be achieved on the said 120k (which seems to be the average figure everyone is bandying around in quite a few threads). Then because I mentioned gardening as part of that lifestyle, there was a gardening tangent. It is one of the characteristics of forums that threads do fray and then come back on topic again.

Okay, so that's two clear "no"s; a couple of "maybe" or "yes" if renting or cutting back to a more frugal lifestyle; and a few "are you kidding you extravagant fool". I did posit a most expensive hypothetical week. And I do know it is possible to get by with a lot less - I have done the 12k per person per year scenario as well and was perfectly happy as well ... it is funny how the amount of happiness seems to remain constant, no matter what the amount of money it is you are making. But now we are entering the dangerous realms of philosophy ...

ALL of the feedback is useful, thank you.

[c_kid]

Try looking at Craigslist to get a feel for what you would spend on housing.

[gidgetb]

OK I live across the snohomish county line and pay alot less then the peopel in king county.. we live as a family of five on what most would consider poverty level.(around 70 a year) Bastyr is ten minutes from my house back streets no freeways.I would suggest looking above Kenmore in Brier and Lynnwood. Save money and get used to the area.Houses in this area are still buy-able at less than 400. in fact my house is for sale less than that. I would live in Brier forever if I didnt have a sick relative to take care of in the midwest.
We left the eastside and have been happy up here for 13 years.and we do all our shopping in Kenmore and never have the traffic the eastsiders complain about. The people are friendly and the Safeway all knows us by name.. what more can you ask for.There is a Grocery Outlet on Bothell way where you can get deals on food and some really great resteraunts.
Seriously before you scrap the idea cause the eastside is kinda pricy look north.

[jadybug]

You will miss West Virginia!!!

[ktalley]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Seattle is a city and you have every right to be scared. City life sucks and it sucks real bad if you have kids and a limited income.

If you don't want to deal with city life, why do it?

You are so right. Me and my husband made only 60000 last year and we lived in a small hous in tacoma! It really sucks. If you have money Seattle is the place for you.

[texastrigirl]

This is a little personal on the info but will likely be helpful for you. We relocated last year from Austin, TX making about $130K per year. We are in Seattle on about $165K per year. We basically came for a really terrific job opportunity and the goal was not to be set back financially. I will mention the job also has great growth prospects on the stock grant...also another huge reason we took it. If we could stay on parity with where we were in Austin, I would agree to come. We drive respectable cars (2003 Honda Ody, 1998 4Runner). We live in Sammamish (least expensive place I would agree to to get to the quality of schools I left in Austin) and have a mortgage of $500K. I am a SAHM who is self-employed but will be ramping up hours quite a bit next year. We ski extensively, sail and travel modestly a bit too. We are not big spenders otherwise. We choose not to eat out much, my husband takes the bus, we chose a moderately priced preschool, we don't buy expensive clothes, we shop at Trader Joe's, do lots of free stuff outdoors (one reason we moved here anyway). We still save for retirement, college, etc. We aren't stashing away much extra after that but it is doable. The key here is diligence and budgeting and having a good down payment before you get here. And being a CPA I have to say, it's a really good exercise to have to sit down and figure out where all your money goes. Then to figure out if where it goes aligns with your true passions and values. Often two different things. So we work hard and are very blessed but I would be lying to you if I said we didn't feel financial pressure at least 2 times per week. It is expensive here that's for sure, but given my husband's other choice was the Bay Area, I feel lucky to be living in lower priced Seattle. BTW I like Seattle a lot although my preference is still for Austin (I like the sun and cost of living!). I have found the people to be very welcoming (never hit the Freeze so to speak) and we are really enjoying the great outdoors. This is about the prettiest place you could live other than Hawaii I think. And the job market is really solid here as far as diversity of industries and number of large companies located here. All in all, I'd say it's worth a try. And while we are on the gardening topic, I was a big gardener in Austin and had fun doing it but I also think the gardening here is wonderful! It's fun getting to grow lavendar and hydrangeas. And the tulips are magnificent in La Conner.

[Kmag2OOO]

Where in the . . .

I've been thinking boy am I getting better at stretching out my just under 40k.

Where do you find these 100k+ jobs because I really, really could use a bit of that action.

I could pay ALL of my debt off THRICE and have half a years salary left over in the first year at least, and that's after my living expenses. And I don't even have a credit score it's like -150 or something, not easy to even get an apartment, but I have one. What kind of expenses do people have that could possibly take more than that? I have a friend who's a newer single parent who covers everything off of less than I'm making so far. I was trying to give you all the benefit of the doubt but after hearing these kind of numbers thrown around like it would be a hardship, I don't know.

Please, give me something towards that, cause I feel like it's unthankful whining at this point and boy what I would do with that kind of takedown. Really make something of that. I would give almost anything to relax it a bit at 100k a year and work towards something. Now I have to go and re-think everything. Blessing in disguise perhaps.

You figure it out. You ask is it doable. All I can think is give me that kind of take and somehow it would be just ... done.

[jwb123]

You rent right? And don't have kids? Well there goes the majority of what's eating up that $100k....