TX to Seattle (Tacoma, Bellevue: sales, apartments, rentals)

[acar0242]

Ok, so like many of the post I've read on this forum. I am thinking on moving to Seattle from Dallas.

Little background on myself:
- 26
- Live with my girlfriend of 3 years. (We'll be engaged by years end)
- Work for an Insurance Broker as an Analyst for their Employee Benefits department.
- Salary $42,000

Now the main reason for moving is my that my girlfriend does not have any family in TX and they are spread out between Oregon and Michigan. So in order to be closer to her family we decided that Washington might be the best fit for us. (I heard Portland has a terrible job market & Michigan as well)

Now in order to better negotiate a new salary in Seattle, I want to know exactly where the higher cost of living comes into play. I already know housing is terrible and basically 2x what we pay in Dallas. But what else? How about groceries, car insurance, gas..etc? Right now I have a job interview for a company out in Seattle/Tacoma (They have offices in both) and I believe the pay would be around $55,000-$60,000. (would that be enough for the cost of living increase?)

We are not sure if the move would be long-term... We are basically doing this because we feel that we are young and can move around and try new places since we have no kids. We might end up coming back to Texas in 2-3 years unless we fall in love with the place. So with that said, we have no plans to buy a home in the area... Just rent an apartment somewhere nice.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[sean98125]

Have you checked out Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

You can see the results for Dallas and Seattle atModerator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed To have the same standard of living you should be making $66,000 in Seattle - it is much more expensive than Dallas.

Overall 94 149
Food 100 110
Housing 72 243
Utilities 108 89
Transportation 102 114
Health 107 116
Miscellaneous 103 122
100=national average

[mrman78]

I'm moving from Houston to Seattle in April. Job or no job, but I have a few interviews lined up for my visit next month and substantial savings to carry me through if needed. I've been planning this for years, so believe me, I've researched everything you can think of lol!

That cost of living stuff isn't always accurate. I find it more applies to families, so if you are single or a couple without kids, it can be wildly different. The biggest impact on COL in my eyes is how you live in the first place. Many people have lots of luxuries they just aren't willing to budge on. Things being equal, I'm sure there is some truth to those numbers, but really it's an individual thing.

In my research, buying a house is the big difference. Rents seem about the same, it just doesn't go down as much the further you are away from the city as it does in Texas. Also, some rentals are a tad smaller for the price. Groceries, tax, gas, utilities, etc all depend on how much you consume. I mean, gas is higher, but it's not drastically higher a maybe 30c a gallon. Sales tax is 1% higher. Utilities are way cheaper, so that makes up for some of the other costs. The quotes I've gotten on car insurance were basically the same, just slightly less.

In my eyes, as long as you aren't planning on buying a house, most of the costs are a wash. Plus I don't mind paying a little more to live somewhere incredible!

[silverstar23]

I love how you say "job or no job".... that's awesome. The greatest success stories are people with your attitude. Just make it happen. You sound like you would do well in sales. And you have savings ....which is key.... because you would need your savings to live off of during your first year.

[texastrigirl]

I think the COL comparison is for buying not renting so don't let that scare you. When I looked at rents at the Post Heights Apts in Uptown in Dallas (I used to live in Dallas and thought that was a nice area), I found they were very similar in price to an area I consider comparable in Seattle called Queen Anne. Now you don't have to live there, I just wanted to give you a point of reference. If you give me some Dallas neighborhoods you like, I can try to tell you the comparable area here.

Seattle Apartments at Seattle Rentals .com - condos, houses and apartment listings and online rental classifieds

Post Heights Apartments in Dallas, TX | Apartments.com

[just4ivaylo]

I moved back up to the Seattle area from Houston in August. Rent, gas, and most food is more expensive.

While it is more expensive to live here, I think you'll find that it's also a lot more enjoyable.

[acar0242]

Texastrigirl.... Currently I live in Addison so I want to relocate somewhere similar with lots of nightlife close by. My budget would be around $1200 max for a 1br. Now if my interview goes well then my job would be in Tacoma, and I heard that the commute from some parts of seattle to tacoma and back would not be bad since it goes against traffic. So I would have to stay away from the Northern part. With that in mind, I would be open to any suggestions regarding neighborhoods.

[texastrigirl]

Okay, let me think on that. Bellevue would be a consideration to be comparable to Addison BUT you should also consider areas in the city. Seattle is a little more edgy than Bellevue which is not good/bad just different. More Deep Ellum than Addison in many parts. You are aware of Sound Transit offering train service between Seattle and Tacoma right?

SoundTransit - Sound Transit Home

[acar0242]

Hmm I was not aware of that service, but I will do some research on it. Not sure If I could do the train though, because my job would require to do a lot of client meetings.

[SecondCDAccount]

Originally Posted by acar0242

Texastrigirl.... Currently I live in Addison so I want to relocate somewhere similar with lots of nightlife close by. My budget would be around $1200 max for a 1br. Now if my interview goes well then my job would be in Tacoma, and I heard that the commute from some parts of seattle to tacoma and back would not be bad since it goes against traffic. So I would have to stay away from the Northern part. With that in mind, I would be open to any suggestions regarding neighborhoods.

I really miss Addison. Bellevue is close to Addison, but truthfuly there isn't an area here in WA that is going to have the amount of things to do that the Addison area did.