Seattle Vs Los Angeles Cost of Living (Shoreline: sales, car insurance)

[gchanel5]

Is the overall cost of living higher in Seattle or Los Angeles? Which city has more expense housing?

[LinePlaneVolume]

I've been looking in both and it's much higher in Los Angeles. A so-so townhouse that costs $600,000+ in a decent westside location in LA looks like it would cost in the $300,000+ range in Ballard or Shoreline. The Seattle one would most likely be larger at that.

Here's a 2 bedroom West LA condo for $629,000
1706 Colby Avenue #101, Los Angeles CA - Trulia

Similar Seattle one in Queen Anne, near South Lake Union, for $315,000
3636 14th Ave W #102, Seattle, WA 98119 | MLS# 501386 | Redfin

Originally Posted by gchanel5

Is the overall cost of living higher in Seattle or Los Angeles? Which city has more expense housing?

[USDefault]

As a California resident, let me tell you, Los Angeles is way higher, and any major city in California is going to be higher.

Home prices? Forget about it. California housing market is stupid. Skyhigh prices for stucco boxes without any land. Even crappy areas in LA are sporting $450K starting home prices, and I promise you these kinds of places are absolute dumps, would be teardowns anywhere else in the country, poor schools as well. Anything cheaper, it's going to be an absolute ghetto/garbage property with questionable safety and bad schools, to be avoided. In LA if you want something decent, with some property (not on top of neighbors) and reasonable amenities/schools, you really need to be in the $800k range for a single-family home, and probably $500k+ for condo or small townhome. And $500k will be a small property, probably less than 1600 sq. ft, a small three bedroom two bathroom.

Then there is cost of living and California tax regime. California - highest income tax rates in the nation. Among the highest sales tax in the nation. Fuel? Among the highest gasoline prices in the nation, I think only Hawaii is higher. Gas tax? Highest in the nation due to both federal tax and California "excise" gasoline tax. I also think California imposes a 1% mental health tax on high earners, so if you are a high earner, say $500k+, your income tax rate is a whopping 14.3%, but even at $60k+ the income tax is high. No income tax in Washington, so this difference alone is enormous.

Water? Expensive. Electricity? Expensive. Car insurance? Damn expensive. DMV fees, once again, among the highest in the nation, if you buy a new car, welcome to the California experience of paying hundreds of dollars a year just to register your car with the state each year. In other states, this can be as cheap as $30. Look at this absurd table of fees on top of fees, http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/fees/basic_reg_fees.htm. Every two years, smog tests, more money to the DMV. I hate this place.

Property taxes also are expensive, and California's Proposition 13 works against new homeowners. If you purchase a new home in California you'll be paying current rates based on your purchase price, whereas any longtime neighbor residents will be paying only a fraction of your property tax since they purchased when prices were much lower, and those taxes can increase by only ~1% a year, there is no step-up in basis unless they sell the property to new owners.

If you value keeping what you earn, and if you want to provide for your children or for your retirement, stay in Seattle. Don't come to this broken state.

[skiffrace]

Here's a 2 bedroom West LA condo for $629,000
1706 Colby Avenue #101, Los Angeles CA - Trulia

Similar Seattle one in Queen Anne, near South Lake Union, for $315,000
3636 14th Ave W #102, Seattle, WA 98119 | MLS# 501386 | Redfin

And here is a 3 bedroom condo in the best area (Lake Oswego) of Portland, OR, for $130,000.

4 TOUCHSTONE #155, Lake Oswego, OR 97035 | MLS# 13478519 | Redfin

[Hemlock140]

Seattle is considered a high cost of living, and people continue to be shocked when they move here from places like Texas, Florida and Arizona. Still nothing compared to LA or the other larger CA cities. We cane from the SF Bay Area
and got twice the house for the same $, and our old house there is still worth
more than this one though the gap has narrowed a bit.

[Tall Traveler]

According to the source I used LA house prices are 10% higher than Seattle on average. Other big factor is if you are in a high income bracket, you will pay a lot more taxes in Cali than Washington. Other than that, probably pretty even overall.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

According to the source I used LA house prices are 10% higher than Seattle on average. Other big factor is if you are in a high income bracket, you will pay a lot more taxes in Cali than Washington. Other than that, probably pretty even overall.

I would consider that to be likely, because LA has a lot more inexpensive homes in sketchy/ghetto neighborhoods that bring down their average. If you compare apples to apples, such as a nice older 2,500 sf home in a desirable neighborhood on a 5,000 sf lot, you will see a difference closer to 30% higher in LA ($700k vs 500k).

[Bad Newz]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I would consider that to be likely, because LA has a lot more inexpensive homes in sketchy/ghetto neighborhoods that bring down their average. If you compare apples to apples, such as a nice older 2,500 sf home in a desirable neighborhood on a 5,000 sf lot, you will see a difference closer to 30% higher in LA ($700k vs 500k).

if not more

[Gentoo]

LA is clearly more expensive. So far, the only thing I've found to be significantly more expensive in WA than CA is renewing a Drivers License. But on the flip side of that, you don't have to get your car smogged.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I would consider that to be likely, because LA has a lot more inexpensive homes in sketchy/ghetto neighborhoods that bring down their average. If you compare apples to apples, such as a nice older 2,500 sf home in a desirable neighborhood on a 5,000 sf lot, you will see a difference closer to 30% higher in LA ($700k vs 500k).

Is it just me or does a dollar seem to go further in WA overall? Not only is it cheaper than CA but you also seem to get more bang for your buck.