Need assistance on Seattle job offer... (Everett, Shoreline: sales, apartment, renters)

[ladyjuliek]

Well the surprising thing happened... a call to a family aquaintence went from 'how do you like it there' to 'so what do you do for a living' and then a salary range request, a phone interview - and now an offer! In about 2.5 weeks!

I'm requesting some assistance, because I've been trying to do my homework, set up budgets, do cost of living analysis, so that we would have good information when the offer came. And it came yesterday, it was pretty much exactly as we expected, with some added perks. But since neither him or I have actually visited Seattle, they are offering to fly him out and put him up for a month, and give us a month to decide if we want to stay. (He may lose his present job however, but at least we'd have a month to see if we want to haul our stuff 3,000 miles away...)

So now it's time to break the news to the family, who we live and work with, and they aren't 100% supportive, but they aren't awful about it either. The thing is, they think agreeing to this offer is like going to put us in poverty or something. None of them have ever lived in Seattle, but they know the cost of living is higher than somewhat-rural Alabama. I thought as I said, I had done my homework, found possibly reasonable rooming, and a fairly short commute, etc.

They think we are naive to think that we can get by on a combined income of about $45,000 take home pay per year. (I only hope to work part time so I can volunteer, so my contribution is much smaller.)

Are we being naive?
We have no house to sell, no mortgage.
We have no car payments (our Corolla is paid for.)
We have no student loans.
Pretty much the only required payments we have is the auto insurance,
cell phones (which aren't even on contract),
a couple thousand dollars of a credit card, I think the minimum balance is like $100 or something.
Also, his job would cover nearly 100% of his healthcare, and we'd only be responsible for mine.

Are we crazy? Is $880 for rent, $600 for food, $150 for electricity, $80 in bus passes to go downtown, some extra for auto gas (for about a 20-25 min commute), money for health insurance - plus savings, investing, everything seems to add up to about $3400 per month (because we're trying overestimate, including hundreds of extra dollar for unknown expenses) to total $40,800 per year... am I way off?

Am I underestimating the cost living in Seattle would be for two people, who don't plan to buy a house? Are we dreaming we can get by on this fairly comfortably? (No kids, no house, no car payments, no student loans.....?) It looks like we'd be bringing in $3600 per month. Can 2 people make it on this? And enjoy things like coffees and museums?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Oh as well, as how to break the news the dad/our boss, in the best way possible, and any ideas on how to make the transition better? My mom is already not wanting to do things with me now, like she's pulling away and wants to act like I've already left... when I plan to be here for a few more months, and thought they'd want to use the time we had left together?

[sean98125]

Keep in mind that the cost of living in Seattle is a good 40% higher than Alabama. You'll pay more here for groceries, dining out, movie tickets, clothes, light bulbs, hair cuts, and gas. (Gas is about $3.00 a gallon here right now, give or take a dime.) You can certainly make it on $45,000 a year, and your grocery budget is certainly do-able. Electricity is going to be cheaper than that, particularly if you are in an apartment. Our electric bill is never more than $180 for two months.

[Seattleborn]

I will be brutually honest. 800 a month for rent you will be living in the slums. It is very hard to make here with a family if you make under 80k. Bus passes will be more than 80 bucks a month. Car ins and renters ins will be much more than rural Alabama. I am not trying to discourage you from living here, it just takes a lot of moeny to get by here. You will find every cost of goods is more here, including gas.

Where in Seattle is the job? Where are you thinking of living when you get here?

[ladyjuliek]

Thanks for the responses...

I've already increased the car insurance up 50% from what it is currently. Not sure if this will be enough?

My gas budget is set for $3 per gallon.

Bus rides are what $3 per person, and we'd go maybe 3x a week to downtown? He won't require a commute by bus, so if I get a monthly pass, it'll just be me.

865 was the rent given for a 1 bedroom apt in Executive Estates, which seems to have fairly good ratings, and not much mention of theft and safety issues (safety is my highest priority), 2 bedroom is higher, but we probably won't go for the two bedroom since the 1 is getting brand new carpet and up one floor. It's in the Northgate area. The job is in Everett.

I know it is expensive but it seems surprising that... 2 people + 1 cat costing 80K, that's like $6K a month?

[chris]

ladyjuliek,

You can definitely get by on that kind of income with no kids, but not comfortably. I moved here from Georgia and was very taken aback by the cost of living (things like sales tax @ 9%, cost of meat/fish double, high gas prices, doing anything travelwise = expensive), but like anything you can make adjustments. You'll be able to enjoy museums and coffee here although the thought of museums in seattle is about as inspiring as a going to an antique shop for me. I'll never be able to get past how people can spend $5 for a cup of coffee ($4 + tip)...

Seattle is safe, in most areas with the exception of property crime. Most areas that are $800 a month will have significant property crime.

Never hurts to try something new, and you can always go back if it doesn't work out.

[sean98125]

A bus ride to downtown from Executive Estates will be $1.25 during non-commute hours and $1.50 during commuting hours. A one-zone peak bus pass will cost $54 a month. The fare goes up once you cross the city limit at NE 145th, but only by fifty cents.

You won't even need to drive to go to the grocery store - you'll be right across the street from one. If you want to go shopping at Northgate or to the library there, and you don't have a car, there are buses that stop at least every 15 minutes right at your door.

I think you can do it on $45,000.

[sean98125]

You can see lots of data about Seattle crime rates at SeaStat Statistics

Executive Estates is located in the top row of sections on the map, second from the right.

[Seattleborn]

I assumed you had more than 2 people. sorry. My husband's grandparents lived in Executive Estates. It was OK. You can make it on 45k, but it will be hard. Why not live closer to the job in Everett?

[ladyjuliek]

(Keep in mind this $45,000 is my estimated taxes taken out, so it's what I'd consider the take home pay, not the gross pay. Does this make a difference, that it's $45,000 in our pockets? The actual incomes would obviously be higher than 45K.)

I suppose Everett's not off the list completely (although it's likely to be Lynnwood actually). But the whole point of going out there is to be near the city environment, so the further we get from downtown, the more it sort of defeats the whole purpose. We live 45 minutes from Mobile and Pensacola, so in a way, we sort of already have that near-to-a-city-but-not-quite-near-it-enough-to-ever-do-anything. I feel like if we get further from the 20-30 mins from downtown, that we won't be getting as much of the city as we'd like. But like I said, it's not for sure, especially if we get out there and decide Executive Estates is not what we want. (But the location and pricing alone sure makes it seem a good place to start.)

I saw that chart before Sean, and just went back and rechecked. Do those numbers make it seem like it's pretty decent? Usually if an apt in a neighborhood is really unsafe, it's easy to find out, (especially with so many ratings.)

Of course, the alternative is that we get out there and decide I should take on more work, 4 days, or up to full time, in which case obviously, the take home pay would increase. But it'd be nice for me to know that making this move I might be able to work less than I do now?

As far as movies, we have Netflix, so we don't usually go to them... but we would like to manage a dinner out per week (which I set at $60 since I heard eating out was expensive), and to go to some museums, occasional concerts, etc. As far as clothes, I'm not at all ashamed to say I like to buy most of my stuff at Walmart. *lol* We're really not very pretentious people, whether or not that will turn heads over there. Currently the sales tax here is 8%, and where I work it's 11% - tourist town I guess, but I don't think the difference there will shock me. But hearing a dinner out was $60 for "crappy food" was pretty enlightening.

Glad to hear about the electricity bill, although we'll likely be running computers and laptops and TVs all the time. *lol* (And probably my space heater during the evening.)

Also I'm looking for a place with an indoor pool I can use for therapy during the colder months, and it's not something a lot of apts have. :/

Walking to grocery stores! Yay!

I don't know, we talked about living in Lynnwood, and maybe just taking trips down to the city on the weekend, but even that seemed further from the goal, which is to really get to experience living in that environment.

I have another different question... are there any bridges or big buildings that might get damaged during his commute from Northgate if an earthquake struck?

[sean98125]

There aren't many bridges between the Jackson Park area (where Executive Estates is) to Everett. One or two along the interstate, but that's about it. You can't go between this area and downtown Seattle without crossing a bridge, and the youngest of those bridges is almost 50 years old. (They've survived all of the earthquakes so far!)

There are a few public indoor pools that you can use in Seattle. I think the closest around here are Helene Madison near Ingraham High School, Meadowbrook near Nathan Hale High School, and the pool at the community center at Green Lake. You can google Seattle parks community centers and find out more. I think they are pretty cheap to use and you can get passes. There are also pools in Shoreline and Mountlake Terrace to the north, and there is a private swimming pool in Lake City called Aqua Dive.

There are tons of good little restaurants in Seattle along with the chains. $60 seems reasonable for two - my wife and I usually spend about that much when we aren't at the chains.

I live close to 137th & 15th, just down the street, and we don't have much problem with property crimes where I am.