Salary Needed in Seattle for College Grad? (low income, apartments)

[michigandude]

Hi, all!

I am a recent college graduate in Detroit, MI. I have been planning on relocating for a few years now and now that I have my degree it seems like the appropriate time to actively begin planning. I visited Seattle last summer and fell in love - it is a different culture than here, natural beauty, milder winters, great job market, etc. I also plan to visit this October/November to experience Seattle with different weather, but Detroit has gloom and bad winters for months on end so I'll take drizzle over snow any day!

What I'm hoping you all can help with is providing me, from a local's perspective, is the true cost of living and thus the minimum hourly pay/yearly salary a young professional would need to live in Seattle. I've joined apartment forums on Facebook and have been doing extensive research and I thought this would be a great resource to ask as well.

-I would expect to get a studio alone or a 2+ bedroom with roommates and work downtown (online it looks like around $1,000 for a downtown studio?)

-I would not bring my car with me so no car/insurance payment

-My bills would be rent, utilities, food, phone bill, student loans, and then whatever miscellaneous things I would do

Currently I do Project Management for around $50,000/$23 an hour. Would making around $20 an hour be sufficient considering my limited professional experience? I would likely apply for entry level HR positions (i.e. Coordinator, Project Manager, HR Generalist).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you everyone!!

[mhays25]

You're starting in the right place...a roommate and no car. I'd guess you'd earn more here for the same job, so let's figure $55,000. Something near $1,000 should get you a decent roommate situation or studio with frequent bus service to Downtown, but not within easy walking distance.

[Ruth4Truth]

For slightly more affordable studios, check Craigslist listings for West Seattle. Compare w/studio listings for Queen Anne Hill and Lower Queen Anne. Also look at Eastlake apartments. From the listings you see, arrive at a ballpark going rate. Anything significantly below the going rate = scam of some sort.

For example, there are buildings in high-demand areas like Capital Hill and the University District, that advertise "studios", but after you sign a contract, you find out they're only bedroom + bath clustered around a shared kitchen and common area, like a higher-end dorm. If you're ok with that, fine, but if you do find a rent that's well below market rate, research the building, to make sure you know what you're dealing with.Some of these buildings list their accommodations as "apodments", which is what they're officially known as. They're not "apartments" or "studios". Another way LL's skirt the laws is by offering a studio as a 1-br., by putting sliding doors across the end of the unit, to create a separate room for the bedroom. But if the so-called bedroom has no windows, it's not a legal 1-br. apt. It's a studio charging you as if it were a 1-br.

You might be better off starting out in a shared place with roommates, so that you can learn the lay of the land, so to speak, study the rental market, make a few friends among your roommates, and go from there.

Parts of West Seattle can be cool, because a) there's a real beach, b) rents are lower, and c) there's a water taxi (people ferry) for commuting to downtown, that's fun, and keeps you out of the traffic on the West Seattle bridge, which gets clogged even for buses.

Good luck! Keep us updated.

[CrazyDonkey]

You should consider this:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...685239250.html

$900 (all utilities included), 1bdrm, 449sf.

Note: The map location is incorrect (is at 212 Alaskan Way S, in the heart of Pioneer Square):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/21...!4d-122.335389

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...685239250.html

Note: WSDOT will be tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR-99) in late-2018/early 2019 (six months).

[Commonproject]

Originally Posted by michigandude

Hi, all!

I am a recent college graduate in Detroit, MI. I have been planning on relocating for a few years now and now that I have my degree it seems like the appropriate time to actively begin planning. I visited Seattle last summer and fell in love - it is a different culture than here, natural beauty, milder winters, great job market, etc. I also plan to visit this October/November to experience Seattle with different weather, but Detroit has gloom and bad winters for months on end so I'll take drizzle over snow any day!

What I'm hoping you all can help with is providing me, from a local's perspective, is the true cost of living and thus the minimum hourly pay/yearly salary a young professional would need to live in Seattle. I've joined apartment forums on Facebook and have been doing extensive research and I thought this would be a great resource to ask as well.

-I would expect to get a studio alone or a 2+ bedroom with roommates and work downtown (online it looks like around $1,000 for a downtown studio?)

-I would not bring my car with me so no car/insurance payment

-My bills would be rent, utilities, food, phone bill, student loans, and then whatever miscellaneous things I would do

Currently I do Project Management for around $50,000/$23 an hour. Would making around $20 an hour be sufficient considering my limited professional experience? I would likely apply for entry level HR positions (i.e. Coordinator, Project Manager, HR Generalist).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you everyone!!

You should definitely experience the city in a different season than summer, but in terms of CoL for a fresh grad, $50K will be tight. Having a roommate or two could definitely help (I don't mean in the same room, just sharing 2br 1ba for example). Studios downtown are definitely more than $1K, more like in the $1.5K range or higher.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by michigandude

Hi, all!

I am a recent college graduate in Detroit, MI. I have been planning on relocating for a few years now and now that I have my degree it seems like the appropriate time to actively begin planning. I visited Seattle last summer and fell in love - it is a different culture than here, natural beauty, milder winters, great job market, etc. I also plan to visit this October/November to experience Seattle with different weather, but Detroit has gloom and bad winters for months on end so I'll take drizzle over snow any day!

What I'm hoping you all can help with is providing me, from a local's perspective, is the true cost of living and thus the minimum hourly pay/yearly salary a young professional would need to live in Seattle. I've joined apartment forums on Facebook and have been doing extensive research and I thought this would be a great resource to ask as well.

-I would expect to get a studio alone or a 2+ bedroom with roommates and work downtown (online it looks like around $1,000 for a downtown studio?)

-I would not bring my car with me so no car/insurance payment

-My bills would be rent, utilities, food, phone bill, student loans, and then whatever miscellaneous things I would do

Currently I do Project Management for around $50,000/$23 an hour. Would making around $20 an hour be sufficient considering my limited professional experience? I would likely apply for entry level HR positions (i.e. Coordinator, Project Manager, HR Generalist).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you everyone!!

Welcome.

$20 per hour gross would have you living outside of Seattle, IMO.

Not having a car payment and insurance costs will help.

You may be able to get more than $20 per hour gross.

I assume you have been applying already?

[Flightoficarus87]

Your current salary/a bit higher should be fine based on what you've posted, IMO. If you take a job @ $20/hr or so to get your feet in the door here, it depends on your other expenses (and any benefits the job may provide), but it can be done.

Not having automotive expenses will certainly help, but I do recommend you live within city limits if you're going to stay car-free. I'd plan on spending a bit more than $1K per month on rent too, depending on your standards for an apartment, and what part of town you want to live in. Areas like Greenwood, Northgate, Columbia City, or West Seattle will be a bit cheaper than the most prime 'hoods (Capitol Hill, Belltown, Queen Anne, SLU, Fremont/Ballard).

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

You should consider this:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...685239250.html

$900 (all utilities included), 1bdrm, 449sf.

Note: The map location is incorrect (is at 212 Alaskan Way S, in the heart of Pioneer Square):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/21...!4d-122.335389

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...685239250.html

Note: WSDOT will be tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR-99) in late-2018/early 2019 (six months).

OP, the catch:

1. Pioneer Square is homeless central. Though there are art galleries around, too.

2. Notice they only show you the bedroom, they don't show you the living room. There must be a reason they avoid showing you the living room and kitchen area.

3. Ask about noise in the vicinity, safety, etc., especially at night.

4. Hope there isn't another earthquake in the area. Those brick buildings didn't hold up too well in the last one. The buildings survived, but brick isn't your best bet in an earthquake. Not that they're that common, but ... (see #1). Brick apartment buildings get hot during the heat waves, too.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Commonproject

You should definitely experience the city in a different season than summer, but in terms of CoL for a fresh grad, $50K will be tight. Having a roommate or two could definitely help (I don't mean in the same room, just sharing 2br 1ba for example). Studios downtown are definitely more than $1K, more like in the $1.5K range or higher.

It depends. 1.5k for one with more bells and whistles but you can find basic ones for $1-1.1. No frills, but not micro apartments either.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...684413197.html

This one is advertised as “low income” - OP would have to check to see if his income qualifies.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/a...678928290.html

Updated: looks like he would be right above at 50k. Low income for 1 person looks to be at $45k.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, the catch:

1. Pioneer Square is homeless central. Though there are art galleries around, too.

2. Notice they only show you the bedroom, they don't show you the living room. There must be a reason they avoid showing you the living room and kitchen area.

3. Ask about noise in the vicinity, safety, etc., especially at night.

4. Hope there isn't another earthquake in the area. Those brick buildings didn't hold up too well in the last one. The buildings survived, but brick isn't your best bet in an earthquake. Not that they're that common, but ... (see #1). Brick apartment buildings get hot during the heat waves, too.

1. All of Downtown is homeless central. If there is an epicenter, it is 3rd & Yesler. I was in Pioneer Square last week and think it has improved significantly. Occidental Square has become a very vibrant place - showing that use tends to drive out misuse.

2. I mistakenly put the first link twice. Here's the apt's floor plan, with a pic of the living room/kitchen area: https://www.theokhotel.com/floor-plans/ It's a true one-bedroom - rare in this town, for <$1k, especially w/all utilities included. Whether that will hold after the Viaduct comes down...

3. Living Downtown has its pluses and minuses. You're in the middle of the hustle and bustle, which can be fun, too. You're at a transportation nexus (light rail, streetcar, waterfront shuttle, buses, Sounder, Amtrak). Close to Waterfront, International District, Little Saigon, etc.

4. Although some were damaged, most of the brick buildings did just fine in the last major earhquake - these buildings predate the Viaduct, so have been through several. Many (most?) have been reinforced. Bricks don't create a "hothouse" environment: https://www.randerstegl.com/en/wall-...ages-of-bricks