Moving to seattle this summer..cost of living/where to live?

[tekla777]

My daughter lives in Everett and pays 1200.00 per month for a nice townhouse, 3bed, 2.5 bath, walkin closets, fenced yard, dbl car garage and a great shopping mall within walking distance, She has never complained about nothing. Good luck

[meluka03]

Wow what an awesome strand this is... My husband and I are thinking of moving to the same area with our young son. Thank you to everyone for this info its been very helpful to me as well.

[anilmujagic]

I know this post is three years old, but I think it would be great if Kellie could give us some info about how the story ended, are they happy, was the move a good or bad decision...?

I hope you'll find some time to write a few lines Kellie

[Tim_N]

Hi,

I have a urgent question about Seattle. I recently gave an interview with Microsoft for a SDET II position and I am bit confused on how is the cost of living in Bellevue/Seattle area.

I am currently working in Dallas,Texas, and when i search on internet i see that Seattle is some 35% higher in cost of living when compared to Dallas, Can anyone please tell me if that is correct?

Thanks,
Tim

[cevett]

Kellie,

Don't take any of this too seriously.. As someone who has lived in Portland, OR.. Phoenix, AZ, Dallas,TX, CA, NJ and Philadelphia PA.. Seattle is honestly a tough place to find a bad neighborhood. I don't think people that grow up in that area understand the crime and poverty that you see in other parts of the country. I was the same way growing up in Portland, OR. What I considered "bad" was honestly a complete joke once I spent time traveling around the country and seeing all other major metro areas.

What they consider "poor" or "bad" areas are actually very nice neighborhoods. Statistics will show you the difference when compared to the rest of large metro areas in all other parts of the country. Look up Seattle crime rates and compare them to any decent sized city in the United states and you will see what I mean.

I recently went there with my wife who is from the East Coast and she was blown away that we covered almost every area and everything looked the same.. Nice, clean and beautiful. I was trying to show her bad areas and I honestly couldn't find any. I was honestly embarrassed that I was ever worried about living in an particular area of Seattle after the type of neighborhoods we've seen in NJ, Philly and NY.. Anywhere else honestly..

I know the South side and Tacoma isn't nice for the most part, (by Seattle standards) but you won't feel unsafe in any of the areas you are talking about.. There is a very snobby 80% white, middle class up bringing in metro areas of the Pacific NW like Portland and Seattle. I would honestly be a lot more worried about moving to any of the 20,000 - 50,000 people areas of Oregon and Washington where the real red necks are outside of the college towns who don't take too kindly to outsiders lol...

I know this is an old post, but to anyone with similar doubts, just check it out. Chances are these "bad areas" are nicer than what you've seen anywhere else in the country and probably on par if not nicer than where most middle class Americans are used to living in most of the United States.

There is on the other hand truth in the cost of living in Seattle and surrounding areas.. It's one of the more coveted places to live in the United States and it's driven prices way up. But let's not act like it's a scary place people..

NJ has school systems that are consistently rated the highest in the country and they neighbor truly dangerous cities and towns and have ample opportunity to get mixed up in the wrong crowds yet still they strive. You will have no such worries in Seattle, WA. I can promise you that. Not even close.

There are plenty of sites out there that show and rate elementary through high schools. You will be surprised to find after reading these threads that almost every school in the northeast side of Seattle are rated a 10 out of 10.. Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, the list goes on and on. It's hard to find a school that's not a 10 over there. I think a lot of these posters are suburbanites trying to justify why they don't live in the city when there is really no danger or bad school systems. Especially if they can afford a decent place in Bellevue.

[sportygal_22]

I appreciate the info in this thread...kind of funny I find myself very similar to "Kellie". My husband just accepted a job at UW, 4 children 8 and under and trying to look online and figure out where to go that won't have a huge commute (less than 30 min?), but still be quality areas. Thank you for the information.
Taking public schools outside of the equation....(if they are too bad I can always homeschool right???? insert big smiley face grin here) what would you consider great family areas with a decent commute to UW. By family areas I mean places where kids can play outside, ride bikes, decent parks, etc.

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by Tim_N

Hi,

I have a urgent question about Seattle. I recently gave an interview with Microsoft for a SDET II position and I am bit confused on how is the cost of living in Bellevue/Seattle area.

I am currently working in Dallas,Texas, and when i search on internet i see that Seattle is some 35% higher in cost of living when compared to Dallas, Can anyone please tell me if that is correct?

Thanks,
Tim

If you are single, actual cost of living is pretty different from those estimates. Those figures usually assume a family of four buying a house, etc. Obviously a family is not going to have as flexible costs as a single person or a couple. I'm moving from Houston (on savings without a job no less) and while things are definitely more expensive in Seattle, it isn't really make-or-break expensive. The most notable increases from Texas are sales tax (~1% higher), gas (30-40 cents higher per gallon), food (varies, but some things are higher like restaurants) and housing (for renting, it's more you get less space for the same price; Buying is crazy expensive!). However, I feel you are getting a much better location (and scenery!), so I don't mind paying the same rent I am in Houston for a smaller place! Electricity is much cheaper compared to Texas. I think water is more expensive though, but if you are renting, just look for somewhere with W/S/G included. Again, a lot of the added costs are with home ownership though. Property taxes are less than Texas. I guess overall it depends on how you spend your money too. Texas is fairly cheap (but that's changing), so yeah, it will probably seem more expensive overall to you on the same salary.

I'm originally from England, so honestly, anywhere in the US (well other than NY or SF or something) is cheaper overall. If I'm filling my car up with $4 gas, I just remind myself it'd be $8 in England and all is good!