Hubby got a job offer in Seattle. Is it enough to survive? (Tacoma: rent, day care)

[RotseCherut]

Florida should not be overlooked, my last 2 cents.. Pool guys will be in high demand and cost of living in Tampa or Orlando is even less than Georgia and the worst months of summers are no worse than those in Georgia, if not a bit cooler being near the equator.

[HawaiitoKennesaw]

Originally Posted by noah

I know its a hard decision for you and you've been thinking about it and put a lot of thought into it. I lived in Atlanta and just moved back to Seattle. On paper Atlanta looks cheap and it is for such a large city but its not as cheap as it first looks, especially for good schools etc. Its also a place where you will need two cars and long commutes if you live in Kennesaw and both work (taking the bus or train to work isn't really an option there). And if your an outdoor family you'll find eventually you'll curtail your outdoor summer activities because of humidity and bugs. Finally, while much is cheaper, especially good groceries, wages are much lower, especially for the non professional set. Do your research, if your husband's $25 job would pay $13 in Ga you may be worse off.

A few things strike me about many of the posts here: Your husband already got an offer so how many pools are in the area would only matter if your thinking about long term job prospects. FYI-pool season in Atlanta tends to be seasonal, usually memorial day through labor day most places. But they are right there are many more pools there. Perhaps his skills also translate to other similar things in Seattle...landscaping etc.

The cost of housing - yes it is very high in Seattle and its true for many a $3k rental would be required for their standard of living. But coming from Hawaii you may very well be used to smaller, nothing fancy housing anyways. Even in Ga I've known large families getting by with 2 or 3 bedrooms, it really depends on your attitudes and expectations.

Finally, seems most posts are over looking the fact that you plan on working also. the picture changes a little bit if you can also pull in 50-60k and your HH income is 100-120k total. One other thing if your kids will need daycare it is definitely more in Seattle but of course that varies and is not forever.

After reading your posts over the past few months I am really on the fence on your best move, I've seen many in Atlanta metro who aren't the professional office skill set really struggle to survive and get ahead and even find jobs at times. If say you pulled $50-60k both working there and needed two cars and some daycare it would be just as much a struggle IMO. What has been your household income in HI (perhaps not fair since you owned your own business).

Don't kid yourself about needing $100k and no kids to live in Seattle, its a nice luxury but the area medium income is still in the 50ks, not 100k. We live in Seattle proper well under $100k with 2 kids and save for retirement etc. You know how to handle money, it can be done. I do think if making life easy is more important than other quality of life factors like weather etc you would pick Ga if you knew you could make the same money, but that is the big question.

Hey Noah
You've been a wealth of info this whole time and I truly appreciate it. I get what you're saying. As far as my husband's skill set, it could also be translated to hot tubs in Seattle or actually he started off tiling swimming pools and doing deck work, stone and such. (Still does it on the side) He only started cleaning and repairing the pools because it was easier. He's been in the business for over 20 years. He's pretty handy and a hustler, I have no worries that he'll find something to do anywhere. My worry is that in Seattle I would get paid a ton more than in Georgia which worries me a bit. The jobs in Georgia although plentiful pay crap. I might as well be working at McDonalds.

Our household income in HI is $75-80k/yr and I know we will not be making that kind of money in GA. We did look into the pool business in GA also. They actually get paid double there, which would make sense because it is seasonal.

Friends in Seattle say the COL there is not that bad which boggles me since everyone on this forum says it is outrageous. We definitely know our way around a budget with as many kiddos as we have and we are absolutely used to living in a tiny home so we have no expectations of grandeur. Seriously, we only have 3 bedrooms and one bathroom and we make it work.

Did you previously say you had a friend in Atlanta from Hawaii? How does he/she like it?

We will be flying to Atlanta in 2 weeks and really doing a gut check. At this point, I think we will fit in Seattle no problem culturally. If we get to Atlanta and our gut says "NO" regardless of all other factors we'll be moving to Seattle. After discussing it with hubby, this is actually where we are in our decision....we have to feel it. We won't be doing any tourist stuff, just looking at homes/neighborhoods/schools.

Thanks again Noah!

[HawaiitoKennesaw]

BTW, I'm a bookkeeper. I think I forgot to mention what I do. I've just been doing it for our own company for the past 13 years. So I'm not sure what qualifies as "professional" but I do have a TON of skills.

[seasallyttle]

Originally Posted by HawaiitoKennesaw

BTW, I'm a bookkeeper. I think I forgot to mention what I do. I've just been doing it for our own company for the past 13 years. So I'm not sure what qualifies as "professional" but I do have a TON of skills.

The job market is good here so you can get a job. I would look at the rentals you can find near Edmonds and see if you can get approved for those on your husband's salary. Call and ask the requirements. I would think you will need 3 bedrooms for 8 people and the houses I see listed online are min. $2000/month. Maybe apartments are less. You can definitely make it here if you are both working but with the younger kids you will need to factor in care for them which can be costly and hard to find. Right now rents here jump a lot each year, which is something to factor in. Obviously the further away from Seattle proper you get, the cheaper rent will be so that may help to go out more.

[robrath]

Need some clarification on what you mean $25/hr, does that mean he is ONLY paid that amount while he is physically at a site doing the cleaning? Does transit time count into that hourly wage? If it does not, you are looking at far less than what you are expecting to receive.


Go to bing or google maps and check out the satellite photos of the areas that he will be working in (both WA and GA), see how many swimming pools are in back yards, and you'll see what volume of business you'll expect to have.

[HawaiitoKennesaw]

Originally Posted by robrath

Need some clarification on what you mean $25/hr, does that mean he is ONLY paid that amount while he is physically at a site doing the cleaning? Does transit time count into that hourly wage? If it does not, you are looking at far less than what you are expecting to receive.


Go to bing or google maps and check out the satellite photos of the areas that he will be working in (both WA and GA), see how many swimming pools are in back yards, and you'll see what volume of business you'll expect to have.

$25/hr including transit time. He will be paid 40 hrs/week regardless of how fast (or slow) he goes. I understand that the volume of pools in WA in no way compares to that of GA. But honestly, pool cleaning was just a back-up plan. It just so happened he got a job offer to do just that. We weren't even looking for it.

Running your own business is not as glamorous as it seems. It's hard work! You don't only answer to 1 boss, you have 50 bosses (customers) that you answer to and your livelihood depends on it. We're not looking to get back into that. Showing up and collecting a check is less stressful. Plus you can take a vacation. Even if it's not to go anywhere. Just the fact that you'll get paid to take a break is awesome. We haven't had a vacation in 13 years!

We did think it really bizarre that he got an offer in Seattle. I mean, what are the odds? It is a legit company that also builds and installs pools and water features as well as service. My husband can do all of it which is probably why he got the offer.

[HawaiitoKennesaw]

I forgot to mention that $25/hr is just to start. My husband essentially has to prove that he can do all that he says he can. He is worth way more than $25/hr so it was discussed that if he does what he says he can do, in 3 months he will get $30/hr.

[Oh Me]

I made 52K while I lived in Seattle from 2012-14. I would be very concerned about providing for a family on that salary especially as the COL has risen since I've been there.


I should note that I was single, renting, and did not have a vehicle to pay for. My personal spending was moderate (occasional nights out, extras, etc) but for the most part I was pretty conservative (For example, I considered my dog's annual vet appointment a "big expense."). Two things that increased my budget substantially were choosing to live without roommates and eating organically, but even so, my rent was not 50% of my income (which it is now in SF) and also I write off eating healthy as keeping larger problems at bay.


I believe quality of life is largely what you make of things and you can certainly reduce expenses as you need to in order to live in a wonderful area. However, I think the difficulties (finding adequate housing, affordability, etc) expressed by the majority of the posters are valid and should be taken into account carefully before you invest your lives in Seattle.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Plus, there are a lot more pools in Georgia, not so many here.

But also more competition among swimming pool cleaning services, leading to lower pay? More illegals involved?

[CrazyDonkey]

If he could have a future in the business, such as stepping up to a supervisory or managerial role, then it could definitely be worth it. The number of rich/upper-income folks is increasing significantly here, so the number of pools might also be.

Will he have a specific territory to start? Or will it be the Puget Sound area generally? Affordable housing tends to be well south or well north of Seattle - in either case, living south can make working north very difficult, and vice versa.