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Old 10-31-2017, 03:14 PM
 
905 posts, read 1,094,284 times
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According to this general COL index, at least. As of checking it moments ago, Seattle was ranked #25 out of 325 major cities in the world.

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

Maybe it's not a perfect source to go off of (I'm wondering why Vancouver is ranked so low?), but very interesting nonetheless. Posting this mainly to show that it's something to consider for those thinking about moving here (since there are fairly frequent requests about "affordable" areas on here.).

Being at #25 puts Seattle among cities such as Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and Tokyo for overall (not just housing) COL...discuss?

Last edited by Flightoficarus87; 10-31-2017 at 03:58 PM..
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Old 10-31-2017, 05:38 PM
 
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Quite different than looking at purely rental rates where Seattle doesn't even make the top 7 US Cities. But other things like groceries are markedly more expensive than just about anywhere in the country outside Alaska or Hawaii as is labor for things like house repairs, yard work etc.
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Old 10-31-2017, 07:26 PM
 
Location: West Coast
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Seattle’s more expensive than LA and San Diego per this list, that’s going to rustle some cheerleader jimmies in here
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Old 10-31-2017, 07:27 PM
 
Location: Seattle,WA
2,148 posts, read 2,904,204 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noah View Post
Quite different than looking at purely rental rates where Seattle doesn't even make the top 7 US Cities. But other things like groceries are markedly more expensive than just about anywhere in the country outside Alaska or Hawaii as is labor for things like house repairs, yard work etc.
Im curious as to how this is measured??
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Old 10-31-2017, 07:50 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
29,787 posts, read 18,645,912 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flightoficarus87 View Post
According to this general COL index, at least. As of checking it moments ago, Seattle was ranked #25 out of 325 major cities in the world.

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

Maybe it's not a perfect source to go off of (I'm wondering why Vancouver is ranked so low?), but very interesting nonetheless. Posting this mainly to show that it's something to consider for those thinking about moving here (since there are fairly frequent requests about "affordable" areas on here.).

Being at #25 puts Seattle among cities such as Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and Tokyo for overall (not just housing) COL...discuss?
Just on the Seattle versus Vancouver comparison, if you go with rent instead of buy (I'm sure renting would be used for expat expense calculation), Vancouver is cheaper. it's also cheaper in other areas like restaurants and groceries.....much of that is due to the change in the USD versus Canada dollar which could change and make Vancouver more expensive if they had a run up.

Yes though, Seattle is pretty darn expensive now and has the 2 richest men on the planet.
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Old 10-31-2017, 08:35 PM
 
905 posts, read 1,094,284 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noah View Post
Quite different than looking at purely rental rates where Seattle doesn't even make the top 7 US Cities. But other things like groceries are markedly more expensive than just about anywhere in the country outside Alaska or Hawaii as is labor for things like house repairs, yard work etc.
Absolutely. Rent/house prices don't tell the whole story!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

Just on the Seattle versus Vancouver comparison, if you go with rent instead of buy (I'm sure renting would be used for expat expense calculation), Vancouver is cheaper. it's also cheaper in other areas like restaurants and groceries.....much of that is due to the change in the USD versus Canada dollar which could change and make Vancouver more expensive if they had a run up.

Yes though, Seattle is pretty darn expensive now and has the 2 richest men on the planet.
That makes sense. As I recall, the Vancouver real estate/buying market makes Seattle's look like a cakewalk. Interesting, because it seems that a similar scenario is playing out here (Where rents are quite high, but the rental market isn't quite as brutal as the real estate/to buy market).
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Old 10-31-2017, 11:36 PM
 
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Vancouver's gazillion condos are often bought by investors then rented. In some cases the owners are fine with losing a lot of money in terms of cash flow, with the idea that home prices will keep growing (or not caring that much if they're just parking money). This is basically subsidizing renters. It doesn't sound very stable for the renters but it probably helps keep rents reasonable.
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Old 10-31-2017, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Kirkland, WA (Metro Seattle)
6,031 posts, read 6,083,551 times
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Lists like that make interesting talking points. I like that the data "seems to be" crowdsourced: given sufficient data points we might derive interesting conclusions.

Cost of labor is far higher than it should be here, even in comparison to other American cities. Pulled through the Taco Hell last night (yeah, bad me) and it was ten bucks for some nachos and quesadilla. I'm pretty sure McDonald's breakfast with McMuffins and coffee is pushing ten bucks here in Kirkland especially. I call it Kirkland tax, it's real though I'd have to dig in to really see it. Call it anecdotal at the moment.

I seldom if-ever get out of one of these diners for less than fifteen bucks for breakfast, which would have made my late DoD roll over in his grave: he of the "buck movie night at the Berkeley theater" (2nd run movies, early 1980s) and "Denny's Grand Slam for Seniors Day" which was maybe $4 plus two more for coffee.

Times change. I don't care, but I'm one the fortunate (not "lucky," I paid my dues and bust my buns daily for the big bucks). Not paying rent, note on one of those desirable homes will be paid off in a bit under ten years.

Dunno what 2018 brings. My realtor, who works for a major these days, put out a newsletter with a compelling case, using analytics, that housing prices will *not* level off soon in desireable areas around town. They only try and predict quarter ahead, which seems prudent:

"With demand far exceeding supply,
price growth in Western Washington
continues to trend well above the longterm
average. As I do not expect to see
the new home market expand at any
significant pace, there will be continued
pressure on the resale market, which will
cause home prices to continue to rise at
above-average rates"
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Old 11-01-2017, 12:08 PM
 
806 posts, read 598,647 times
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I find this hard to believe even though I definitely think it's become more expensive than it was worth living there!
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Old 11-01-2017, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Seattle
8,155 posts, read 8,203,606 times
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All true but take solace in the fact that Seattle is undeniably still the most affordable place in the USA to buy miniature Space Needle collectible replicas.

Last edited by homesinseattle; 11-01-2017 at 02:46 PM..
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