Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I will add that I much prefer Seattle to Boston. But honestly at that difference, I’d pick Bahstahn in a second if the pay was reversed.
There aren't a lot of major cities I wouldn't live in for that big of a change, not because I love money, but because it buys you freedom. Just about anywhere in the Us I think.
After living in the Boston area for a year and a half (July 2017-January 2019) and having visited Seattle many times, the most recent being January 2019), I'd say stay in Boston; hands down. Watch this video made by a Seattle TV station (KOMO-TV) entitled, "Seattle is Dying". It might aide in your decision. https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw
After living in the Boston area for a year and a half (July 2017-January 2019) and having visited Seattle many times, the most recent being January 2019), I'd say stay in Boston; hands down. Watch this video made by a Seattle TV station (KOMO-TV) entitled, "Seattle is Dying". It might aide in your decision. https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw
I saw this documentary and it was part of the reason I started this thread. Although to be honest, when I visited Seattle the number of homeless people and drug addicts I saw did not strike me as significantly greater than Boston. So I am not entirely sure how much of this is sensationalized. I wasn't around I-5 much though. What's more concerning is the feeling that the Seattle Police Dept has given up.
Boston and New England in general have a big heroin problem too, I think way worse than the PNW, and it's very visible in certain parts of the city and Cambridge along the red line. Go further out of Boston into the South Shore, South Coast and North Shore, and it's basically epidemic. Transit stations in Quincy, Weymouth, Revere, Lynn, Peabody, Taunton, Brockton etc etc are full of junkies nodding off in broad daylight.
I think it was Downtown Crossing where I felt the drug problem most acutely in Boston, though I didn’t venture too far astray from major thoroughfares.
I think it was Downtown Crossing where I felt the drug problem most acutely in Boston.
Basically like 3rd and Pike, although they are trying to turn it around, but still pretty sketch after dark. If you really want an experience of the Undead, you need to go to Mass Ave and Albany, around the Methadone Mile.
Methadone Mile is pretty messy, though it wont be dissimilar to what you'll see in Seattle.
I'd take the $800k in Seattle. That's a massive financial swing. For that dough, I'd buy a nice place in Kirkland, and eat the commute. But Kirkland is far from urban... In fact, there are no Seattle burbs that will give you that Brookline/Cambridge/Somerville experience. For that, you'll have to live in the city itself.
Having spent two years in Seattle, and if you're like me, you'll miss the heck out of Boston. Though I'm stating the obvious, there is no South End, no Back Bay, no Beacon Hill, no Boston Common or Public Garden. The Charles is more usable and subsequently feel so much more vibrant than Seattle's waterfront, and that's without even mentioning Boston Harbor. And to that point, Boston just feels so much more vibrant in general.. Idk what data would say, but pedestrian foot traffic and the buzz in Boston is something you just won't see or feel in Seattle. Seattle does have the shiny, new allure in certain areas, but again and for sake of comparison, I'm not sure there is a single new commercial area downtown that can really stack up to what Seaport has become. Certainly no commercial district that would match Newbury/Boylston, either.
Bellevue is the Cambridge equivalent. So, I'm not sure where you're moving from, but that could be an option. This is an apt comparison, but only further reinforces the difference between Boston and Seattle. Bellevue won't have a Harvard or Central Square. To me, it feels more like a very large Kendall Square. You'd have to take the commercial areas in Ballard and Capitol Hill, and move it east of Lake Washington into Bellevue to start realllyyyyy talking the same language.
I could go on and on about the differences, but there is a lot to love about Seattle too. Fantastic skyline. Uniquely beautiful surroundings. And there are neighborhoods in Seattle, that you can't find in Boston, so it's not a one way street. More importantly, cost isn't significantly different psqft, until you realize your money buys you something new/far newer than the Boston equivalent. I'd assume Boston remains ~20% more expensive for the same place, when including property age/updates/finishes/. No income tax in WA either, yet property taxes in MA remain higher (?).
Ultimately, I'd expect you'll be happy with the move if for no reason other than the money. And, no doubt you'll like Seattle.. I just wouldn't expect the city to check every box Boston does. Not yet, anyways.
Yes, frankly the thread title should've said "800k or 400k Which One is Better?"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
