How much $$$ do we really need to live in Renton?

[NCDavid]

Originally Posted by Merlander

Thank you Ira.

From reading the rest of this thread, I have to say it's somewhat disheartening that it would be tough to make it in Renton on a $115K salary! If a job I'm considering comes through, I'd make about $20K less than that. On the other hand, we would have some equity in our current home to apply towards a home in Renton. I've looked online and there seem to be some nice homes in the $300-400K range. Property taxes seem reasonable, there are no state income taxes, and we would prepared to make sacrifices in other areas to make ends meet. What am I missing? Like NCDavid, I don't see how someone making six figures could not "make it." Are our expectations just too high?

Don't let them scare you off. You can do pretty well on six figures. You are correct about nice homes in that range. Home prices do get a little cheaper as you move south from Renton toward Kent and Auburn. As I said in a previous post, for some people, no amount is ever enough. 100K is a decent living in Renton unless you have to have a $700,000 house and a couple of brand new RVs in the garage. Talk to a realtor about the housing market instead of relying on us anonymous gossip-mongers on a forum site. (No, I'm not a realtor.)

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by NCDavid

Don't let them scare you off. You can do pretty well on six figures. You are correct about nice homes in that range. Home prices do get a little cheaper as you move south from Renton toward Kent and Auburn. As I said in a previous post, for some people, no amount is ever enough. 100K is a decent living in Renton unless you have to have a $700,000 house and a couple of brand new RVs in the garage. Talk to a realtor about the housing market instead of relying on us anonymous gossip-mongers on a forum site. (No, I'm not a realtor.)

Completely agree. People who don't know or don't live in Renton can comment all they want about their experience in Bellevue or Kirkland or Greenlake, but they really don't know how much things cost in Renton. If you've got kids in childcare, if you have large car payments, if you have large student loan payments, if you have a two martini a day habit, if you must dine in fancy restaurants frequently, if you must buy new expensive clothes as soon as they get some dirt on them, if all your food shopping must be at Whole Foods, then yeah, 100,000 dollars a year will not go too far supporting a family.
But for most people in Renton, it's fine. Don't let them scare you off.

[joyinthejourney]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

So let's say that the OP can bring home $6,800 a month after taxes.

Finding a 3 bedroom 2-3 bath = $2300-2500/month
Student Loans $400/month
Car Loan $400/month
Utilities $250/month
Gas/Insurance $200/month
============ $3,050 Left

Food: $500/month
Cable/Internet: $100/month
401k (for two people): $1000/month

============$1,450 Left

General savings: $500/month

============$950 Left

So that would be $950 for fun for the kids (or any activities), any general emergency fund and eating out, movies, trips, etc.

So yeah, it is definitely doable. I suppose if you had $1500 left (lower rent, higher taxes) in OK, would you be happier?

This is a very incomplete budget. I'd say our family of 5 is pretty frugal but 100K a year is still very tight. Food for 5 is about $800, even bargain shopping with the cost of food these days. Haircut x5 = $100 every few months. Car registration, oil changes, charity, school supplies, school lunches, medical co-pays and prescriptions, winter coats/shoes, all these things add up. So those of us who say 100K is tough to live on, it's not b/c we're bathing in champagne every night. It's b/c cost of housing, childcare, food, healthcare, goods, services, have all gone up pretty dramatically in the last few years.

[RVD90277]

I think that the sentiment is accurate though. Everyone should work through a budget and see if you think you can be happy with your budget. It's pretty easy to take a random guess and say that $115k should be enough for a family of 5 to make ends meet in Renton. If you really had to, you can probably make ends meet at $80k. At $40k I'd say it's almost impossible and at $200k I'd say that it's definitely possible so at $115k you're in the middle there. You can make it work but you won't have the luxury to spend frivolously but you should be able to afford the important things without too many compromises.

[Teamrj]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

So let's say that the OP can bring home $6,800 a month after taxes.

Finding a 3 bedroom 2-3 bath = $2300-2500/month
Student Loans $400/month
Car Loan $400/month
Utilities $250/month
Gas/Insurance $200/month
============ $3,050 Left

Food: $500/month
Cable/Internet: $100/month
401k (for two people): $1000/month

============$1,450 Left

General savings: $500/month

============$950 Left

So that would be $950 for fun for the kids (or any activities), any general emergency fund and eating out, movies, trips, etc.

So yeah, it is definitely doable. I suppose if you had $1500 left (lower rent, higher taxes) in OK, would you be happier?

Not only is this incomplete, the numbers are on the extremely low end. I live a frugal lifestyle, and currently in a low cost of living area, and almost none of my bills for a family of 5 match these numbers. For example:
You said gas and car insurance =$200/month
Gas for my two cars, filled up weekly $50-60/car= $240/month. Although currently gas has been much cheaper for about a month, but who knows how long that will last. (And no I do not have large SUV's and I am very cognizant of how much driving we do, not only for the gas bill, but for the sake of the environment).
My insurance bill, which includes, both cars, renters insurance, and 2 life insurance = $230/month
You said cable and internet= $100
Internet= $70 (and that is the lowest possible price, without having dial up).
Cable= $150 (this is one bill that could be reduced, or if need be cut out completely).
You said food =$500
Food= $800 (and that is eating 97% organic, fresh and whole foods, and I will not compromise on this.

Anyways, those are just a few of the very large differences, in the bills you listed, as opposed to the reality I personally experience. Not that one is right or wrong, but I'm just not sure where your numbers come from. Do you actually have these bills for a family of 5 or are you just guesstimating?

This also doesn't include our homeschooling materials, activities or the kids sports. Doesn't include oil changes, haircuts, Holistic healthcare etc.
I completely understand where the OP is coming from as we are considering the same move, which is why I'm on this board looking things over.