Is the Cost of Living really so bad? (Seattle, Tacoma: home, neighborhood)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Never Shuts Up

Having access to decent public transit is a big reason, since I don't drive. As far as entertainment . . . eh. I'm pretty flexible on that. Give me a couple of good pool halls and I'm solid.

Sounds good, OP. So it sounds like you can be more flexible. Olympia has public transit, I don't know much about it, though. You can bike, as weather allows. You could try Bellingham, though it's a smaller town, but in a beautiful setting.

I lived in Seattle for 20 years, and never owned a car, so it can be done, though on weekends it's not terribly convenient. For commuting to work, it's fine.

[Never Shuts Up]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Sounds good, OP. So it sounds like you can be more flexible. Olympia has public transit, I don't know much about it, though. You can bike, as weather allows. You could try Bellingham, though it's a smaller town, but in a beautiful setting.

I lived in Seattle for 20 years, and never owned a car, so it can be done, though on weekends it's not terribly convenient. For commuting to work, it's fine.

I'm keeping my options open. Part of it depends on the work I can find when I get there, but I've been eyeing Tacoma and other spots along the Sounder line. Frankly after two years of living in New York nearly everything seems affordable in comparison.

[homesinseattle]

Everett is on the Sounder line, has a very charming historic downtown, a nice waterfront and marina, and is considerably more affordable than Seattle.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Never Shuts Up

I'm keeping my options open. Part of it depends on the work I can find when I get there, but I've been eyeing Tacoma and other spots along the Sounder line. Frankly after two years of living in New York nearly everything seems affordable in comparison.

A friend of mine in Seattle who's single and owns a 3-br. house with a big basement applied for jobs in NYC, hoping to boost her income. But when she was offered a job at Columbia and went for an interview and to check out potential living situations, she was pretty freaked out to discover she'd only be able to afford a 1-br. apt., if that, on the higher salary. Such a huge cut to the standard of living. Needless to say, she turned down the job.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by Never Shuts Up

I don't have any plans on having kids, I'm not married and home ownership isn't a real concern for me. So basically all of those are non-factors.

This is the absolute worst logic you can possibly have, and I'll tell you why.

Unless your statement is you are NEVER going to have children and are not planning on ever getting married or ever owning a home, you are failing to look forward in your plans - which is something I see a lot of millenial types doing with impunity these days. You might not have any of those considerations NOW, but if you know that you need at least 125K in this area to be viable with all those things, you need to evaluate this city as to whether you're going to be able to get over that benchmark when these life events eventually do happen.

Because if you don't plan for that, and you don't evaluate whether you'll be able to clear that bar, you're going to blink and it's going to be a few years from now...and you're going to be having to move because you'll never be able to make it here with a family - and that's not a good situation. Plan more than 1 month into your future.

Life lessons, biotch.

[RustinginSeattle]

If I were you, I'd look into what transportation in Tacoma is like. I've never taken the bus in Tacoma, and you may be able to get to work just fine, but what about going to the grocery store? Can you get around Tacoma on a bus? Can you get from your rental to the Sounder? When I lived in Burien, I had to drive a ways to a park and ride to take a bus to the UW. If I had to take a bus to the park and ride, I would have added another hour per day to my commute.

Even Seattle transportation can be pretty spotty. This is not NYC by any means. Frankly, after traveling to Europe, NYC, San Fran, etc, I find our transportation system pretty pathetic. If you're coming from Boise ID, you will be impressed. The neighborhood you're in matters a lot for getting around without a car. What is your limit on commuting? When I took the ferry and bus daily, I found 3-4 hours per day oppressive. I would get home in time to go to bed and start over. Forget running any errands.

Maybe start a thread on Tacoma busing.

[Never Shuts Up]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

This is the absolute worst logic you can possibly have, and I'll tell you why.

Plan more than 1 month into your future.

Life lessons, biotch.

This is about short term plans, not long term ones. But frankly you sound like a pedantic idiot, so feel free to quit posting in my thread.

[thedonwind]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

This is the absolute worst logic you can possibly have, and I'll tell you why.

Unless your statement is you are NEVER going to have children and are not planning on ever getting married or ever owning a home, you are failing to look forward in your plans - which is something I see a lot of millenial types doing with impunity these days. You might not have any of those considerations NOW, but if you know that you need at least 125K in this area to be viable with all those things, you need to evaluate this city as to whether you're going to be able to get over that benchmark when these life events eventually do happen.

Because if you don't plan for that, and you don't evaluate whether you'll be able to clear that bar, you're going to blink and it's going to be a few years from now...and you're going to be having to move because you'll never be able to make it here with a family - and that's not a good situation. Plan more than 1 month into your future.

Life lessons, biotch.

Why in the hell should the OP worry about his potential situation 5 or 10 or maybe even 15 years from now? My guess is that he is still very young so he shouldn't even have to think about making enough money to support 3 imaginary kids and an imaginary spouse in the future... That's just idiotic.

[Never Shuts Up]

It's less that I'm young and more a combination of other things that's frankly nobody's damn business.

[thedonwind]

Originally Posted by strad

I don't think seattle is the 3rd most expensive area of the U.S. Nyc, San Francisco, DC, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Boston, San Jose, probably San Diego, most of Orange County--compared to some of these places seattle is still considerably cheaper. And we have no state income tax, and cheaper utilities, and a strong economy.

They are highly exagerrating how expensive Seattle is, and my strong guess is that the same people never lived anywhere else, so they think Seattle is at the top of expensive, which makes me laugh.

There is still NYC, SF, DC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Honolulu, Chicago, that are still far ahead...... like you said.