affordable places to live in Seattle

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Isn't Sandpoint extremely expensive?? Citygirl lives in Ravenna, so she could comment further on that....

I am sorry, but $26 an hour with two children? Living IN town??? Not going to happen.... even commuting in town, unless you are in walking distance or ride a bus a stop or so, you are not likely to find a 20 min commute.

Twenty-six dollars an hour comes to about $3500 a month, after taxes. There's no income tax, so I could be overshooting on the Fed Withholding, which could be manipulated such that the OP takes home up to $3700/mo.

Anyhoo ... that means that the OP's budget is about $1600/mo. (assuming no other major debt). That can get a rental house in Wedgwood and Sandpoint; I just did a search on CL and NWapartments and found listings.

Ravenna had even more to choose from.

[jwb123]

You forgot day care for two preschool aged children... and all of the other expense children come with.

[Woof]

You could fairly easily get a two bedroom apartment for under $1200, but it would be a lot easier outside the U-District (not that apartments are very expensive there, but there's quite a high occupancy rate and large deposits).

I don't know what to say about childcare, but I'm guessing that CityGirl and Jenbar are used to premium services. There are lots of starving grad students in the UDistrict with kids, maybe they'd know of some less expensive alternatives.

That area is mostly attractive with decent parks and a long paved walking/biking trail.

[CityGirl72]

I live in Greenlake, which is a hop skip and a jump from Ravenna But my son goes to the Wedgwood school

I like Ravenna, they've also been putting in new condos around. My BIL lives in the Ravenna/Bryant area (off 65th) and the schools there are suppose to be really great - and a bit hard to get into

Sandpoint is quite nice - my husband used to have an apartment over there...

And yes, I do use the expensive daycare, but it's hard to decide where to put your kids. When you see a daycare spot that is so spectacular, anything less won't do. So we sacrifice lattes (which add up!) and going out to dinner, to get the kids a good place to learn and grow.

[angelco]

thank you for all suggestions.
well, at this point I will be having my mom's help while I understand living in Seattle and while I figure out the care for my kids. I hope i can find a good place for them to grow and be happy because I had been always with them and expect this is going to be a big change in their lives (so Diddo Citygirl72). I just hope I find a place they are well cared for and are happy. but for that I will worry later since my mother is willing to help me.
I will check out those places like Ravenna, sounds like it is nice over there. I expected the long commutes, just wanted to check if there was a way around it.

[Prple]

There are lots of nice places in North Seattle, with good schools too. You might want to look at the Radford Court appartments next to Magnusson Park. It is primarily for UW students, but I think it may be open to the public as well? Kinda spendy, but really nice and family friendly. Good luck!