Starting a family around Seattle (Spokane, Tacoma: 2015, apartment, rentals)

[headingwestish]

I would greatly appreciate any help or advice. I have been looking across the country for a place to live with my pregnant wife. After going back and forth many times, we have settled on Seattle for better or worse.

I'm going to be working from home, and do not have any requirements for a particular location. I will not have a car, outside of renting one as needed. We are looking for safety first and foremost. Secondly, would be reasonably close proximity to a reputable hospital and health services. We are open to really any distance from Seattle metro that would still allow us to make it downtown with some form of public Transit. Our budget for rent is 800-1300. We have a small dog, which we find also complicates matters. We want to try and avoid apartment communities in General as we have heard bad things about them in nearly every city we have searched.

We are very open to any part of the Seattle metro area, and we have budgeted to spend a week in the city very soon looking for a place(simply searching online has proven to be very difficult if not impossible)

I was really hoping for any advice on where to focus my search when I arrive, or any offline resources(print newspapers or local ad papers) I should look into.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

[amaiunmei]

That budget is, frankly, too low to be living in the Seattle area. That's just not realistic for this area at all, particularly for 3 people (I'm assuming you want at least a 2 bedroom). From what I'm seeing, even in less than safe areas, you can expect to pay at least $1200/mo for a 2 bedroom in a not-so-safe area. A safer area with better schools will be north of that number, thus straining your budget to the breaking point.

Another thing to keep in mind: in Washington state, there is no limit on how large your rent increase will be. Unless you get extraordinarily lucky and have a landlord that doesn't increase the rent each year, you can expect a rent increase at the end of your lease period. That rental increase could potentially be hundreds of dollars. (Several of my friends this year had to move because they came @ the wrong end of rental increases of more than $100/mo.) Because this is the reality of living in a very popular area with little in the way of rental protections, it's important that you understand this before moving here. Even if you manage to find a rental place in your budget, there's no telling how long you will be able to afford it at that price range.

[perigee]

Searching online has proven difficult, because the housing market is very tight. Increase your budget or think of a different city.

[CrazyDonkey]

Be aware that childcare is as expensive as rent in Seattle, and rising just as fast.

Living without a car will be difficult outside of the more urban areas of Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, or Everett. For more affordable rents, look at Tacoma and Everett.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

That budget is, frankly, too low to be living in the Seattle area. That's just not realistic for this area at all, particularly for 3 people (I'm assuming you want at least a 2 bedroom). From what I'm seeing, even in less than safe areas, you can expect to pay at least $1200/mo for a 2 bedroom in a not-so-safe area. A safer area with better schools will be north of that number, thus straining your budget to the breaking point.

Another thing to keep in mind: in Washington state, there is no limit on how large your rent increase will be. Unless you get extraordinarily lucky and have a landlord that doesn't increase the rent each year, you can expect a rent increase at the end of your lease period. That rental increase could potentially be hundreds of dollars. (Several of my friends this year had to move because they came @ the wrong end of rental increases of more than $100/mo.) Because this is the reality of living in a very popular area with little in the way of rental protections, it's important that you understand this before moving here. Even if you manage to find a rental place in your budget, there's no telling how long you will be able to afford it at that price range.

Curious. Greater Seattle, $800-1300 means sharing a room in a house, or a 1-bedroom in a part of town (rental unit) that is less-than-desireable. Few, if-any, houses will be available. Competition for low-rent seems to be fiercer than ever. Thought that was a well-understood trend in parts of America enjoying explosive growth, post-Great Recession, from LA to SF to Seattle to...etc. Good point about rent increases: on the other end of the spectrum, buddy of mine just had a rent increase from $2,600/mo to $3,400. Whoa. Downtown Kirkland, 2 bdrm., fantastic location and newer construction.

Would think Spokane, Tacoma, or somewhere maybe greater than roughly 60 miles from Seattle might work better at that price point for OP, and that's merely a guess. Nor does it easily satisfy the "hospital" need. Wasn't aware there were many "newspapers" still in production, outside of Seattle Weekly and/or the Stranger (do they still exist, do they have rentals). Possible, though. Curious why that would be particularly better than online resources, however I've not been in the rental game for awhile.

"According to Zillow.com, as of March 2015, the average apartment rent within 10 miles around Seattle is $1,850." Averages are just that, and not entirely meaningful until one gets into the details. Would think median, instead, for each of Studio, 1, 2, and 2 bedroom condos in individual neighborhoods might be a more meaningful stat. In these days of ever-bigger and more-useful data sets, I'd start with a set of constraints and back it out from there.

Kind of curious the thought process, compounded by living without a car. Living without a car with a pregnant wife must be an interesting concept. Personally, I'd choose a metro area that is not booming, last I checked, like Indianapolis where "affordable housing" has real meaning. Matter of fact, I was in Lincoln Nebraska the other month and found it more than tolerable in a sleepy sort of way, if one is on a budget. Lo and behold, it's on some sites' "10 most affordable" big cities, too. I'd sooner take a guided tour of Hell's First Bolgia (virtuous pagans) with Dante leading the way vs. actually live there, but all depends on where a person is in life.

Food for thought. Hope it works out, actually, but it's unfortunate to see people set up to fail based on questionable assumptions.