Why do people keep sayinng Seattle is as expensive as SoCal? (Spokane: homes, to buy)

[westcoastcountryboy]

A few years back Forbes magazine ranked Seattle as the #1 overpriced city in the U.S.

The way it was explained was not that it was the most expensive but as the place where the fewest number of paid jobs that kept up with the COL was.

Portland, OR was ranked #7 and a few cities in Cal ranked in between.

That was a few years back though, I'm not sure what the rankings are now.

[415_s2k]

I found it to be a wash overall.

My friend from Los Angeles and I split a $1200/mo 2 bedroom in the Maple Leaf area that would have set us back probably $2k in Los Angeles. That said, our wages were about half what they were for comparable jobs in the LA area, and even after CA income tax, it hardly would have compensated for the discrepancy.

Auto insurance was, to my shock, much cheaper in LA (to the tune of $40/mo). I didn't understand why, until maybe three weeks after I moved, my car was broken into and partially stripped. I didn't realize Seattle has such horribly high auto theft rates!

In terms of groceries, produce was cheaper in Socal, but frozen/canned goods were cheaper in Seattle, so it balanced out there, but to my shock, dining out costs 50-100% more in Seattle than in LA!!! An Indian dish that set me back six bucks at my favorite Indian place in Marina Del Rey set me back $12.99 at the closest Indian restaurant to me on Northgate. Chinese dishes that were $6-8 were $10-14 in Seattle. It blew my mind! It must be supply and demand combined with the cost of produce.

All things considered, after I looked at my finances for the year, I discovered that proportionately, I was coming out a little bit behind living in WA than I was in CA, but not necessarily so far behind that it was a palpable dip.

[la_fuerza]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

WA is so much better than CA in so many ways, and we're really going through some turmoil about whether moving back to CA was the right move (my whole family is here and we have two small children that we wanted them to be close to, and my husband had an opportunity to transfer with his company here, so it seemed like a good idea).

So, anyway, I take it back. WA is definitely cheaper than CA, and it's less crowded, and prettier, and has better healthcare and services, cheaper real estate, etc.

Wow what were you thinking moving back to CA, Veronika? Weren't you going to buy a home for your family in Maple Valley? What happened?

California is a pipe dream. Everybody who is middle class and has lived there for any length of time knows that. I know what you mean about the crowds too. CA has gone downhill in so many ways and the people have gotten so much nastier to one another. It will never go back to the way it used to be.

I know the cost of housing is insane in CA. I regret wasting all those years living with roommates and sharing a bathroom in rented homes in CA. I love my condo outside Seattle. I love my well-paying job with no state income tax. I love the clean air and good healthcare of Washington State. People who complain about Seattle have no idea how good we have it here.

I hope you move back to the Northwest someday Veronika. You have a nice personality. You will be missed.

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by la_fuerza

Wow what were you thinking moving back to CA, Veronika? Weren't you going to buy a home for your family in Maple Valley? What happened?

California is a pipe dream. Everybody who is middle class and has lived there for any length of time knows that. I know what you mean about the crowds too. CA has gone downhill in so many ways and the people have gotten so much nastier to one another. It will never go back to the way it used to be.

I know the cost of housing is insane in CA. I regret wasting all those years living with roommates and sharing a bathroom in rented homes in CA. I love my condo outside Seattle. I love my well-paying job with no state income tax. I love the clean air and good healthcare of Washington State. People who complain about Seattle have no idea how good we have it here.

I hope you move back to the Northwest someday Veronika. You have a nice personality. You will be missed.

Awwww, thanks.

Basically, the only real con we felt in WA was that we felt very isolated. In 3 years I had only made one good friend (my neighbor 2 doors down). My husband had friends from work, but they were all single guys in their early 20s. My mom visited once a month, but due to some recent financial difficulty that was about to stop. It was really hard to be in the PNW without close friends and family, especially with a 1 1/2 and a 2 1/2 year old. Any time someone got sick or something major happened, my husband would have to miss work, because we just didn't have a support system. So, when he found out about a job opportunity within Amazon that was in the next city over from where all my family lives, it seemed too good to be true. We don't know if we made the right decision, but my kids are sooooooo happy to see their omi and papa and their aunt, uncle and cousin pretty much every day.

I wouldn't mind getting back up to the PNW one day!

V. =)

[415_s2k]

You made the right decision. Don't worry.

If you decide you want to move back eventually, Seattle will always be there.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

Im thinking just a "little" less then Sacramento.

From my browsing of apartments, it's actually a little higher, depending of course on where you want to live in both cities.

A really nice studio (what I have) in midtown Sacramento is around $1,000. The same relative local in Seattle appears to be around $1,200-2,000 from my research. I don't know of any studio in Sac that jumps anywhere near that high.

The older apartments, of which there are many here, will net you around $750 for a 2 BR, $650 for a 1 BR. Same sort of apartments in Seattle appear to be a $950+ for 2 BR, and $800+ for 1 BR. Of course, this is all from research via rent.com for Seattle and the limited apartments I checked on while up there, but SAC is dirt cheap. I don't think Seattle is quite that cheap.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

I have to quote myself, because I am an idiot. We just moved back to CA and so much of what I quoted is just wrong.

I just wanted to share my observations.

When we moved to Seattle from San Diego, it was just my husband and I. We moved from a 2 bedroom traditional apartment to a beautiful 3 bedroom town home in a fabulous area (Issaquah Highlands). Our rent did go up by about $400/month. I was pregnant with my son when we moved, and I've since also had a daughter, so now we're a family of 4.

My car insurance did go up when we moved to WA (not significantly, maybe $100/year). It also just went back down when we moved back to CA 2 weeks ago. The reason, though, is because in WA they require an extra coverage that isn't required in CA. So, if I wanted exactly the same car insurance, it would be the same cost in each place.

Gas prices do seem to be the same.

We have yet to get water or electric bills since we just moved back 2 weeks ago, so I can't comment on that.

We had to move back to a traditional style apartment that is not nearly as nice as our beautiful Highlands town home, and while the area we live in is considered very nice, it's not nearly as nice or safe as Issaquah, and to add insult to injury we get to pay $300+/month more for rent (for 300 less square feet and no attached garage).

When we moved to WA my husband and I ate out all the time. After we had kids I started cooking at home all of the time. I also started buying all organic and natural foods, because I don't want my kids eating crap (and because they were so easily and readily available in WA). I felt like grocery shopping in WA was expensive (but I had never shopped for a family of four in CA), but it was definitely worth it. Also, Fred Meyer in Issaquah was awesome. They had such a huge section of organic/natural stuff, and their prices are great.

Back here in CA, I can't even find a grocery store that carries all of the groceries I'm used to buying, and the stuff that I can find, is much more expensive (for example the organic cheese I usually buy was $3.99 at Fred Meyer, and at the only store I can find it here it's $5.99, and that's typical of most of the products I'm used to buying).

Over the weekend (I kid you not) I went to 5 different grocery stores just to try to buy the same groceries for the week that I would get at Fred Meyer, and I still wasn't able to find everything I wanted, and it cost me about $75 more than it would have in WA.

Also, coming back to CA was like taking a pay cut thanks to the state income tax. Sales tax around our new apartment is 8.75%, so not that much different from WA.

Anyway, as someone who is from CA, moved to WA, and is now back in CA, I can say I was a total idiot.

WA is so much better than CA in so many ways, and we're really going through some turmoil about whether moving back to CA was the right move (my whole family is here and we have two small children that we wanted them to be close to, and my husband had an opportunity to transfer with his company here, so it seemed like a good idea).

So, anyway, I take it back. WA is definitely cheaper than CA, and it's less crowded, and prettier, and has better healthcare and services, cheaper real estate, etc.

V. =)

Why are there so many people that hate so hard on California? People complain that it's crowded, overpriced, etc., but just because you move to California does not mean that you are forced to live in the most expensive area of SoCal or the Bay area.

There are plenty of areas in the North bay with jobs and beautiful scenery that are not crowded, where the cost of living is equal to Seattle, and arguabley, the weather is a whole lot better.

There is Sacramento, which is dirt cheap, definitely not crowded, and you can buy an enourmous newly built home for literally about $200,000 less than you'd pay in Seattle.

I don't get it. Of course if you move to a congested area with a high cost of living, things are going to be tough, but that's true of almost any metro area. Enjoy the great things about Cali, or which there are plenty, and try to downplay the negatives.

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by Casportsfan

Why are there so many people that hate so hard on California? People complain that it's crowded, overpriced, etc., but just because you move to California does not mean that you are forced to live in the most expensive area of SoCal or the Bay area.

There are plenty of areas in the North bay with jobs and beautiful scenery that are not crowded, where the cost of living is equal to Seattle, and arguabley, the weather is a whole lot better.

There is Sacramento, which is dirt cheap, definitely not crowded, and you can buy an enourmous newly built home for literally about $200,000 less than you'd pay in Seattle.

I don't get it. Of course if you move to a congested area with a high cost of living, things are going to be tough, but that's true of almost any metro area. Enjoy the great things about Cali, or which there are plenty, and try to downplay the negatives.

My husband's job is in Orange County, so actually, we are sort of forced to live here. I grew up here, it's not like I haven't spent most of my life here, so I'm allowed to complain about it. I'm not some newbie with culture shock.

[VeronikaW]

Also wanted to add, that as a native Californian that has lived up and down the state, I know there are places in CA where you can get a house for $200,000, but I also know those places are (a rundown; (b in the middle of nowhere; (c skanky; OR (d unrealistically far from major job centers.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

Also wanted to add, that as a native Californian that has lived up and down the state, I know there are places in CA where you can get a house for $200,000, but I also know those places are (a rundown; (b in the middle of nowhere; (c skanky; OR (d unrealistically far from major job centers.

But Aliso Viejo is not one of those places, I assume. How bad could it be? Aren't you near Laguna Beach?