Cost of living in the greater seattle area

[orangeblossom]

I last time I rented a condo,it was in Bellevue: 2 bed,2 bath and $600.00 Ok that was like 11/12 years ago. I pay under 2 grand for my mortgage,but I know several people who are in their 30's and 40's with roommates making 35-40k and doing well. They don't have kids though. One friend lives with 3 roommates (one is his dad) and in his late 30's.

I think its possible to live in the area you described for that price,but in order to live IMO comfortably and socially sometimes in some areas it appears that a couple would have to make 6 figures. Its driving out so many people that it makes me sad for the future of this city.

Good luck

[obsidian97]

Trying to live on $32k in Seattle (or within an adjacent suburb of Seattle) is kind of like eating a dozen twinkies in 5 minutes or less every week.

Can it be done? Yes.
Are there people who do it and live a happy life? Yes.
Are there considerable consequences in doing so? Yes, definitely.
Is it a good idea? Probably not.
Should you do it? Uhhh...

Maybe you really love twinkies and you'd eat a dozen of them once a week anyhow. Who knows.

Maybe you won't mind eating really cheap food, having no disposible income, little to no savings, living with a bunch of people, dealing with a "challenged" neighborhood, etc. Who knows. Just don't expect to be living it up.

[Aleta Kennedy]

I'm not certain if you were indicating a preference for private schools (which would obviously add a great more to your monthly costs) or if you just wanted to be directed towards the public schools with more outstanding test scores.
Here's a link that might be of help: Seattle Public Schools*|*Academics

The best place to see what the going rates are for rentals is www.craigslist.com and check for the Seattle link. I am a real estate agent in Seattle and although there are some rentals listed with agents, I find many many more are to be found on CraigsList, although it may be that your company will help you with that part of your relocation.

I have had the opportunity to live both in this country and abroad and I've been very happy raising my family in the Seattle area -- viel Gluck!

[70Ford]

I've mentioned it in other threads, but we live in Issaquah and my outlay is 2Kish a month for rent and some basics and some extra's.

Pulled from another thread....here's an approximation of what I pay.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...-75k-year.html

$1460 - rent/trash/water 3 bedroom apartment
$100 - internet/cable TV
$60 - cell phone (Up from 40, got my son some service)
$115 -car insurance
$400-ish - Monthly food
$20 - land line local access (kids/we can call 911 if we have to, traceable)
$100 - Rough month's energy bill (we have in wall heaters..wife is stingy with heat...your mileage may vary)
$260 - monthly foreign language tuition for both kids.

That's $2500 a month.

*Note* I said approximation. Many months it's quite a bit more, due to some other, family related issues. Next month, I'm going on vacation. From Iraq to Seattle, to grab the wife and kids and then flying to see my folks and then heading down to Florida for some fun in the sun. That's another 5 grand (maybe, I always go high, that way, I'm not surprised by the bill) right there. I'm sure you'll be going back and forth to Germany, as well. Man, traveling can be pricey.

[chefcook]

great input here. although I don;t know how my post turned into a discussion about 32K ...
That's nothing I would have even considered having kids with. In my opinion that just wouldn't have been fair to my family. But that's a WHOLE other topic.

The move is on freeze for now until I can confirm that the planned budget of 80-85k will work out..need to go over and have a look at some houses 'n stuff.

Thanks for the input everyone. Keep the opinions coming...

[TheRef]

Originally Posted by chefcook

great input here. although I don;t know how my post turned into a discussion about 32K ...
That's nothing I would have even considered having kids with. In my opinion that just wouldn't have been fair to my family. But that's a WHOLE other topic.

The move is on freeze for now until I can confirm that the planned budget of 80-85k will work out..need to go over and have a look at some houses 'n stuff.

Thanks for the input everyone. Keep the opinions coming...

It was a digression comment that apparently stemmed from a misinterpretation of a discussion that happened on another thread.

80-85K/year might be okay in Everett or one of its suburbs (like Lynnwood or Lake Stevens). If you're working in Seattle/Bellevue/Redmond (any of those), however, the commute won't be any fun.