Looking for apartment close to Amazon (Seattle, Renton: middle-class, sublet, 2014)

[bansheekitty]

Hi, I'm a 30 year old single woman, moving from North Carolina to Seattle in December in order to work for Amazon. I need to keep my apartment here in North Carolina for a while ($832/month), so I'm looking for cheap apartments in Seattle, preferably within walking distance of Amazon's SLU campus (1 - 2 miles).

Neighborhoods I am considering include:

Queen Anne
Capital Hill
First Hill
Belltown - LOVED this neighborhood when I visited this past weekend
Fremont (? - liked it but not walkable to Amazon)
International District (? - sounds like rents are cheaper, but maybe not a safe area?)

In Belltown at least, it seems like rents for studios are in the $1300-$1400 range. Not sure about the other neighborhoods- it was mostly Belltown I walked around. All the buildings were really fancy with ridiculously big studios (> 600 sq feet- seriously?!) and lots of amenities. I'm fine with a very small apartment not in an actual complex as long as the area is safe. I know the cost of living in Seattle is very high, so I'm leery about spending too much of my income on rent, at least at the start until I get a feel for how much things cost. Even on Craigslist everything is really expensive unless you go outside city limits. My yearly salary will be $94,000.

I'd like to keep the rent under a thousand, preferable closer to $800. Is there any chance of finding a studio in that range in the areas I want to live in, or should I be looking at microhousing/apodments? I also have two cats. We don't need a lot of space, but on the other hand, 170 square feet sounds pretty small! 250 - 300 square feet or thereabouts would be very comfortable. I'm not bringing any furniture out, and very few possessions. I will not have a car, but I will have an ORCA card provided by Amazon.

I appreciate any advice about neighborhoods/renting options.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by bansheekitty

Hi, I'm a 30 year old single woman, moving from North Carolina to Seattle in December in order to work for Amazon.

Even on Craigslist everything is really expensive unless you go outside city limits. My yearly salary will be $94,000.

I'd like to keep the rent under a thousand, preferable closer to $800. Is there any chance of finding a studio in that range in the areas I want to live in, or should I be looking at microhousing/apodments? I also have two cats. We don't need a lot of space, but on the other hand, 170 square feet sounds pretty small!

I appreciate any advice about neighborhoods/renting options.

Stand in line for "cheap apartments" around SLU, the natural consequence of their hiring boom and paying significant coin to employees. Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) indicates an "average" rent of $1,600 in September, Seattle-proper, though like all "averages" there is much more to the story. Sounds like you've already puzzled most of that out, however?

They say there are cheap-ish rooms in homes, if that's a route you're going. Sounds filthy to me, but a lot of people do so out of necessity.

Guess if I was (really) young, single, and insisted on living in Seattle-proper on that kind of money I'd look into the new micro-apartments and similar...as you mentioned. Was amused to see that IKEA has at least one exhibit (in their Renton store) depicting a fully-furnished microspace. I'd probably show up, buy the whole room, and have it delivered if I rented or bought such a space. Given that small space, probably a good impetus to get out of the house, too.

Yeah, my cats would be a bit stressed in such a small space too, but they're adaptable critters. Bless 'em.

"Seattle and ultimately the rest of King County are pricing out its residents. The area could lose another 500 jobs as the county lays them off and cuts services that they may eventually need.

The upside: Seattle’s looming wealth gap may actually lessen — but only because there will there won’t be any low-income, working- and middle-class people left living in the city.(1)"

The story on rentals, and purchases, changes a bit quarter-over-quarter based on ebb in flow in money availability (macrotrend), new housing construction (over several years), and other variables. The megatrend is quite clear, however, at least over the next few years: high demand, low availability, higher prices.

I wouldn't rule out any area until you've thoroughly sleuthed mass transit options to get to and from SLU or whatever. They just eliminated certain routes, and I have no idea where all of that is going long-term. ORCA cards are manna from heaven, I have one that is used for amusement vs. necessity, though over the years the inverse has been true.

Not having a car sounds cost-effective. For city living, I'd keep clear of that too. They're money pits.

Whether a place is "safe" is a crime-stats question. No city is "safe" if you're a victim (= dinner, to bums). Everyone has a different experience. Walking the streets of a city, any city, at night in the United States suggests a prudent approach, i.e. several layers of protection...to what extent is a personal decision...and training on how to deal with bums and vagrants effectively day-to-day. That's all easily available here, there are quite a few organizations that train in self-awareness and self-defense. From simple stuff, up to law enforcement and military levels.

(1) QueenAnne and Magnolia News, 10/14/14

[JBVirtuoso]

For a transit commute to Amazon, options are pretty limited. It's in an area that has traditionally been overlooked by transit, and the local transit agencies have been very slow to respond to the explosion of South Lake Union as an employment center and transit destination.

I'd recommend renting a room in a house in Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, or Capitol Hill. Note that all of these neighborhoods cover a broad area, so you'd need to research the commute from each specific location you're considering. I recommend this over assuming a lease for several reasons - it's easier to negotiate a month-to-month lease, you're less committed should your circumstances change, and you can generally get much more space for your money this way.

There are some older studios in Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, and Wallingford to be found in the neighborhood of $1000/month, but securing these is very difficult. Fremont is mostly single family homes with very limited apartment availability.

Unless you need to keep your NC apartment for a whole year or more, I don't think it makes much sense to assume a 12-month lease at this point. Once you give up your NC apartment, you'll have much more choice and will likely want to upgrade.

[Jalhop]

Are you running out the lease in North Carolina? If so, maybe get someone to take over the lease by offering on craigslist a $100 a month discount through the end of the lease.

I'd do the pricier studio, especially on your salary. $800 a month either doesn't exist or the living conditions wouldn't be good. Crime ticks up at night, including Belltown. If you aren't outside too late (especially when bars close) you'd probably be fine. The top of Queen Anne is relatively safe (but not so walkable to Amazon), less so Capitol Hill. For restaurants I prefer Capitol Hill. I wouldn't do the International District; too sketchy. First Hill doesn't sound walkable. Fremont has no significant advantage over Queen Anne or Capitol Hill. If walkable to work is a high priority, Capitol Hill is the clear choice, but probably not cheap. I would use the Metro Trip Planner to find bus routes for saving on the rent.

[JBVirtuoso]

It's also worth mentioning that for you, the cost of living in Seattle will not really be that high. Sure, rent is far more expensive here than what you're used to, but most other things will cost about the same. It's not like the price of your groceries or shampoo will be significantly higher here - those things are fairly uniform throughout the US. Differences in cost of living within the US generally come down to rent, taxes, and perhaps transportation costs, which are pretty easy to figure out with minimal research.

My point here is that unless you have a lot of debt or another compelling reason to keep your costs low, you probably don't have to worry too much about spending a larger portion of your income on rent. In expensive cities, the general guideline is something like no more than 30% of your income for rent.

[josie13]

"Curbed Seattle" has a feature today titled, "What $1,000/Month Can Rent You in Seattle Right Now." There are some decent options there priced at or slightly below $1k/month.

What $1,000/Month Can Rent You in Seattle Right Now - Curbed Comparisons - Curbed Seattle

[MissAlexRZ]

Why don't you up your budget and find a place in SLU? I think it's a nice area, you can walk to work, etc.

[mike62pp3]

Even going up to $1,000/mo on rent won't get you much. Going up to $1,500/mo will. I think finding a place close to transit stops that is slightly further from SLU (Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, U-District) will help keep your costs low, otherwise it will cost to be close to work.

As other people have mentioned, the Amazon hiring boom has caused the Seattle area to increase their rent in order to compete and are driving current Seattle residents further from the city. You can search the threads for more info on that.

[amaiunmei]

Yeah, the Amazon expansion meant that landlords knew immediately that they could raise the price of rent significantly. There is no rent control in the state of Washington, so rent increases are only limited by the market.

And let's be frank: there are only a limited number of properties in close proximity to Amazon, with geographic limitations (the lake and surrounding water corridors). The landlords are solidly in the drivers' seat, and the rent prices show that. To be frank, I haven't seen a sub-$1000/mo rent price in the area surrounding SLU since approximately early 2012. You're two years too late for those kinds of prices.

One thing people need to understand when they move here: you will pay with money, or you will pay with time (i.e., commuting). The choice is yours, but make no mistake: you will have to choose.

[bansheekitty]

Sorry for dropping out of sight- it's been a busy week.

Thanks for the link on what $1000 per month can get you- I will check it out! I will also have to visit IKEA and view their microspace display.

Thanks for the advice everyone- I may try to find a house to rent a room in. I would just have to be careful about roommates. I know my options would be greatly expanded if I significantly upped my budget, but I'm leery about getting myself locked into a lease where I'm paying combined rent (for both apartments) above $2000.

I have thought about trying to sublet my apartment in North Carolina, but I wouldn't be comfortable doing that from so far away, where I wouldn't be able to oversee it at all.

Regarding costs in Seattle- I've heard food is expensive. Food prices seem to vary drastically depending on what part of the country you are in. North Carolina food prices (for the area I'm in) are WAY higher than they were in PA, and prices in NY are just in the stratosphere. At least I won't have to worry about gas costs!