IT jobs and cost of living in Seattle (apartments, rentals)

[sturmjude]

I am a male in his late 20s who is currently in Richmond, Virginia. Right now, I work for an international healthcare assistance company arranging medical transports for people overseas. I'm also going to school studying IT for some CompTIA certifications and some other IT fields.

In short, I'm a geek who is studying to break into IT.

I visited Seattle a few months ago for about a week and really enjoyed it. The people were really friendly, the public transportation system was great, and the local music scene was fantastic.

Seattle is definitely a place that I've been thinking about moving to in the next couple of years, but I do have some questions about living in the area.

The first is jobs. The impression that I've been able to get is that jobs are pretty hard to come by in the area, but I'm not sure if that applies to the IT field or not. What is the job market like in Seattle? I know the recession has probably made it tough, but is it expected to improve soon?

The second is the cost of living. Right now I live in a great two bedroom apartment in downtown Richmond for about $975 a month. No utilities are included, so all told, the total is probably close to $1300 a month. I'm a downtown kind of person, and I'd like to have an idea what decent apartments in the downtown Seattle (and areas close to downtown) cost.

My third question is probably the hardest to answer. I'm a gay geek who's into gaming and music. I know Seattle has the music part covered, but if anyone could tell me what Seattle's "non-mainstream" gay life is like, I'd really appreciate it. Richmond's a pretty liberal city, but its gay life is pretty much limited to a few standard gay bars and drag shows, and while I like going out, that's not really my thing. If anyone has any insights into what Seattle is like in that regard, I'd be really interested to know.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Xanathos]

1) I recently relocated to Seattle. I found a job within 3 days. But I'm a senior level administrator/engineer with over a decade's worth of experience and more relevant certifications that make people drool. You're talking about obtaining CompTIA certs, which are entry-level certifications that will qualify you for Help Desk @ 12 dollars an hour. If you think you can live here on that, hey, see what happens. But keep in mind that the bottom of the IT pile (which is what help desk is, if you even consider it IT as opposed to the fringes of IT) has a lot more applicants for jobs than the Network and Systems Admins, so competition is higher.

2) Go to Craigslist and see what flats cost

3) As I said in another thread: This is Seattle. We don't give a rat's ass what your preferences/predispositions are. We judge you on your merits here. Nobody is going to care if you're gay or not. And lots of gamers here.

[Capo]

Can you clarify where in "IT" you want to be? "IT" can mean many, many things depending on your definition.

I think the job market here isn't bad at all for well qualified individuals with great education and work experience, if you're just getting started, you may have to work a bit harder and settle for a lower standard of living until you can get some experience under your belt.

Rent wise, $1300 a month will get you a lot in many areas. Downtown itself may be a different story, but if you're flexible, you can probably get at least close to downtown. Buying a home here still isn't cheap, but rentals have been much more affordable as of late.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by Capo

Can you clarify where in "IT" you want to be? "IT" can mean many, many things depending on your definition.

I think the job market here isn't bad at all for well qualified individuals with great education and work experience, if you're just getting started, you may have to work a bit harder and settle for a lower standard of living until you can get some experience under your belt.

Rent wise, $1300 a month will get you a lot in many areas. Downtown itself may be a different story, but if you're flexible, you can probably get at least close to downtown. Buying a home here still isn't cheap, but rentals have been much more affordable as of late.

He says he's pursuing CompTIA certifications. That means he's going down the systems/network path (Network+, A+, Linux+, Server+).