Seeking personal Shangri-La (or the next best thing...) (Seattle, Kent: sales, rentals)

[AstralSkier]

Hello – my husband & I are contemplating a move to Seattle. We’re originally from NJ, lived in Eugene, OR for a year, & then headed back East to NC, where we’ve resided for the past 3 years. To be as concise as possible, we left NJ due to the COL as well as just looking for a change. We actually briefly lived in Seattle for one month after leaving NJ. I was enrolled in a UW grad program but unfortunately landed in Seattle a few weeks after a surgery from a pretty debilitating health condition and was dealing with the severe side effects of coming off of antidepressants that I was on for 10+ years. In summary, I was certainly not in my right mind & couldn’t cope with the prospect of living in a large, seemingly expensive city nor starting grad school & taking on more debt. So we headed down to Eugene, OR in hopes of finding two full-time jobs that could support us in a more affordable, smaller city (which we ultimately succeeded at). I should add that my husband absolutely loved Seattle & I dragged him away kicking & screaming. We stayed in OR for a year but became a bit homesick (with all of our family on the east coast) & to be honest, the rain got to us. However, we loved the natural beauty & were able to make friends fairly easily, as opposed to here in NC. Now back on the East coast (specifically the Raleigh/Durham area of NC), we’ve learned that we really shouldn’t have complained so much about the rain as compared to the brutal heat/humidity here, we miss the natural beauty, & we remember only too well why we weren’t so concerned with proximity to family during our first move… In addition, the southern culture is really not in line with our personalities at all. We’re introverted, agnostic, and politically independent-minded – none of which seems to go over well what we’ve found to be a more conformist area. We’re feeling now as if the west coast may have indeed been a better fit for us & are wondering whether we made an error in judgment coming back east. However, now that our house in NC is sold, we’re free to move where we please so we’d like to do things right this time. This is essentially what we’re seeking:

• Decent job opportunities (particularly in creative & research fields)
• Access to nature on weekends (hiking, etc.)
• Access to holistic healthcare and natural/organic food stores
• A place that would respect the fact that we’re both introverted & not interpret it as being unfriendly
• A climate that does not get excessively hot & humid- cold is acceptable but heat is not

The one area that concerns us most is COL. We’d love to be able to pay around the same as we do now- around 1K a month for a small (850 square foot) single family home. We really would prefer to not rent an apt, though a townhome would be acceptable if it had a garage. We’re fine commuting 20 miles or so by car or a bit further if public transit is available. Last but not least – the weather. At the moment, I’m actually craving rain to cool down this near 100-degree humid weather, but I’m not sure if I’ll be feeling down again if I move back. Do you get used to it? How do you cope with the fall/winter? Sorry for the long post but any input would be greatly appreciated.

[seattlenextyear]

Well, if it helps, here's what I don't miss about NC:

Ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers and cockroaches

Sweaty, hot summers

Lack of good nearby hiking (loved Mts, but they all required weekend trips)

Here's what I do miss:

Being able to rent a place for 1k a month. Actually, the townhouse we rented in Durham was $1200 so I'm not sure where you're renting now so cheaply. Rents here are going to be significantly higher, but of course, how much depends a lot on where you end up wanting to live.

Cheap food, gas, groceries, etc.

Sunshine in the winter.

If you don't end up moving out here, you could always try Carrboro...

[Hemlock140]

On the cost of living, the west coast larger cities are always going to be much higher than the southeast. Don't even think about renting a house that you see for $1,000, it will either be falling apart or next door to a crack house. There are not many that small, either, most will be 1,100-1,500 sf at the low rent end, at $1,400-$2,000/month depending on location. while we have no state income tax, all other taxes are high, sales 10%, gas tax in the top 3 in the nation. Except for the farmer's markets in summer, produce is high since it has to come from CA or Mexico. Oddly, even apples are high, as most grown in WA are exported.

For me weather is not a problem, as I prefer rain, cold and cloudy to hot, especially since it means green all year. You just have to get used to getting wet when doing outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, kids soccer. Most years July and August, maybe the first week of September are dry and that's about it.

[Ira500]

I'm a native of New Jersey who's been in Seattle for 34 years.
Yes, one does get used to the weather here, but there are some tricks.
Take advantage of the "windows of opportunity", periods where there is no rain and get outside, go for a walk or a run, because as gray as it is outside, it's brighter than it is inside, and it's way too easy to just stay inside. Some people benefit from light boxes for seasonal affective disorder, others take Vitamin D, or do both.
I think the COL is pretty comparable to North Jersey. Housing costs and property taxes and utilities are higher in NJ, but there are better inexpensive restaurants in New Jersey. There are no diners here, even if they call themselves diners. Italian food is good here, but NJ has all these inexpensive family style Italian places that are harder to find here.
It might not be impossible to find a small single family home for a thousand, but it very likely will not be in Seattle's coolest and hippest areas, or all that close to downtown. You'd most likely need to go south of DT Seattle to get rents that cheap, places like Renton or Kent. Within the city itself, the least expensive rents would be in places like Lake City or Rainier Beach. And don't listen to anybody when they tell you those are unsafe areas. The people saying those things have never been to Newark, Camden, or Trenton.

[Vinylly]

Take my word, Seattle is not Shangri-la by any stretch of the imagination. If you don't like NJ, you probably wouldn't like it here ether. We have are own problems, they're just different then NJ problems.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ira500

And don't listen to anybody when they tell you those are unsafe areas. The people saying those things have never been to Newark, Camden, or Trenton.

I have been to Newark, and I agree that no place in the Seattle area or even state of WA compares to it. Maybe even worse than Oakland or LA.

I still would not recommend Lake City or Rainier Beach to a newcomer. If used to worse, and willing to deal with it, and that's all they can afford it's not that bad.

[Ira500]

Certainly, Rainier Beach and Lake City are less desirable areas than most Seattle neighborhoods. But not all of Rainier Beach nor all of Lake City is bad, and both have some safe, pretty parts. The disadvantage is that you'd be within a few blocks of rundown buildings and people of questionable character, but the immediate vicinity would be respectable middle class folks with kept up houses and lawns.
And Lake City clearly has a kind of funky charm.

[AstralSkier]

Thanks to everyone for their responses; they're definitely helpful. Ira500, you're the only one so far who has said it's not impossible to find a house to rent for 1K (which, of course, is what I want to hear). I know that I certainly would have no interest in residing in the "coolest and hippest areas" or even in Seattle itself. I'd actually prefer a more suburban area to living in the city but have read horror stories of trying to commute in the Seattle area. Maybe Kent & Renton are viable options for affordable rentals & an okay commute? Seattlenextyear, our current rental is in Chapel Hill, close to Carrboro. Chapel Hill is where we first rented in NC prior to buying a home in Clayton (which was a mistake) & we do much prefer the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area to Durham & Raleigh. However, the weather is still too much of a detracting element for us to consider staying here.

[Sunday1]

I know what you mean about the weather, AstralSkier. Originally from Seattle, I thought I would melt during the 3 summers we lived in Charlotte. Seattle is great but almost anywhere in Oregon is less expensive and would seem to fit with your desires and lifestyle very well. Why not consider moving back to Eugene?

Shangri-La is over-rated, by the way. <wink>

[AstralSkier]

Better late than never in responding… Sunday1, I certainly understand what you’re saying about the COL in OR being lower. However, one of the reasons we left Eugene was due to the poor job prospects. There were too many college graduates working for minimum wage & though I was able to secure a decent-paying job, it was a miserable atmosphere that no one was able to leave simply because they knew they wouldn’t be able to do any better elsewhere in the area. We are currently considering the Portland area but I wonder if the job prospects are much better than in Eugene. I’d love to hear any feedback on Portland as compared to Eugene or Seattle if anyone is still here! By the way, I am slowly melting as we speak...