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Old 09-17-2010, 11:08 PM
 
4 posts, read 17,543 times
Reputation: 14

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Hi - I have two job offers and I am kind of confused as to which one will help me make larger savings. 98k in seattle or 85k in St. Louis.

I do know that cost of living in St. Louis is pretty low but will it help me make larger savings even in 10K less salary then what I can make in Seattle.

FYI - I will be moving with my wife who is a home maker. We don't have any children yet.


Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Old 09-18-2010, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Cornelius, NC
1,045 posts, read 2,657,572 times
Reputation: 679
I don't know much about Seattle, but I'm willing to bet that you would do really well here. I'm a single male, mid-20's, and making 70K-80K range and I am living pretty well here. Just to give you an idea hopefully.
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Old 09-18-2010, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Saint Louis, MO
1,912 posts, read 4,687,644 times
Reputation: 918
You'll be living well on 85k in St Louis with no kids. I'm not super familiar with Seattle, but cost of living calculators are showing a comparable salary there is quite a bit more than 98k, with housing having the largest impact on cost of living.
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Old 09-18-2010, 10:22 AM
 
102 posts, read 708,193 times
Reputation: 71
I believe that Washington has no state income tax and that would be a $4k cost savings. Seattle housing is very expensive. I would guess that financially you would be a little better in St Louis. Therefore I would concentrate on where you want to live. Seattle is beautiful and has a moderate climate.....but it is chilly, overcast, and drizzle from november thru april. St Louis has 4 distinct seasons.
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Old 09-18-2010, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Ricmond Heights, MO
78 posts, read 241,339 times
Reputation: 30
I've lived in both areas. Where would you be living more urban or suburban areas of each? Would you be renting or buying? I think the cost of living difference can very greatly depending on your lifestyle. It's difficult to just compare one large region to another.
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Old 09-18-2010, 01:22 PM
 
662 posts, read 1,048,775 times
Reputation: 450
I lived there for most of my life. Quite honestly I like the atmosphere there better. Might not be your cup of tea, however. It depends on how you look at it. The actual city of Seattle provides more than St. Louis, but sadly that's at a cost (anywhere in King County, Bill Gates lives there for crying out loud!). I've been searching lofts in Seattle and I've seen 15 million lofts there vs the same you would get with the west end lofts for 1/16th of that in Central West End. It gets really weird inthe Suburban areas of St. Louis vs Seattle. STL County is broken up into 3 major parts and the only worthwile place to live is West County. Its pricier there which would put you in range with an upper class area in SEA. Real estate wise you get more in Washington if you live in the other burbish area of Washington, Tacoma. Its about 30-45min away (longer on commute on I-5). Of course, I'll take I-270 in Stl vs I-5 any day. The cost of living may be "cheaper" in Stl, but they get you in taxes. I miss not having to pay yearly taxes cars EVERY YEAR-DAMN IT!

Like, mklein49 said we'll need more information to compare because I don't want to misinform.
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Old 09-18-2010, 03:28 PM
 
787 posts, read 1,414,497 times
Reputation: 747
Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbyBobble View Post
...the only worthwile place to live is West County...I don't want to misinform.
You just did.
You obviously have no clue regarding University City, Webster Groves, Clayton, Tower Grove South, etc. The architecture and big box/chain restaurant mentality* of Chesterfield pales in comparison to the aforementioned areas. You're back again making your gobsmackingly uninformed statements about the whole of STL. Are you Dinsdale's sister, perchance?

inahandbasket

*PF Changs is "Asian" food for those too scared to drive to South Grand.
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Old 09-18-2010, 09:05 PM
 
Location: Southeast Missouri
5,812 posts, read 18,826,998 times
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Whether or not you live in the city or the county of St. Louis may affect things, too. If you live in the city, you may want to look at private schools. There are some very good ones there. So you need to consider schools. Where will you be working? That may affect your decision.

As far as West County being the only decent place to live, I very much disagree. Schools tend to be better there because incomes are higher. But that's not the only place to consider. Much of West County that I've seen tends to be too "all houses look the same" for me.

Crime is an issue of some areas of the city. Really, it's an issue in some areas of any city. So crime is always possible. Some of the suburbs have crime issues as well. I don't know if it's true of all suburbs, but the stereotype is that city neighbors tend to be more tightknit, while suburban neighbors hardly know each other. That said, I'm sure that's not true in every case.

Looking online, an income of $85 in St. Louis Metro area is about equal to $113k in Seattle. Try this calculator. and $98k in Seattle is comparable to $73k in St. Louis.
Cost of Living comparison calculator

There are many aspects of deciding which metro to live in and then which city/suburb to live in there. Feel free to ask. I don't live in St. Louis, but I'll try to point you in a direction to find out what you need to find out.

From the cost-of-living comparison
Product Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA Metro Div. - Seattle WA St. Louis MO-IL Metro Difference
Home Price $384,145.00 $207,069.00 $177,076.00
Payment + Interest $1,522.07 $846.55 $675.52
Apt. Rent $1,364.00 $734.08 $629.92

Apartments and Homes are almost twice as expensive in Seattle compared to St. Louis. The calculator says that overall it is 33% more expensive to live in Seattle.

Last edited by STLCardsBlues1989; 09-18-2010 at 09:18 PM..
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Old 09-19-2010, 07:17 AM
 
662 posts, read 1,048,775 times
Reputation: 450
Quote:
Originally Posted by inahandbasket View Post
You just did.
You obviously have no clue regarding University City, Webster Groves, Clayton, Tower Grove South, etc. The architecture and big box/chain restaurant mentality* of Chesterfield pales in comparison to the aforementioned areas. You're back again making your gobsmackingly uninformed statements about the whole of STL. Are you Dinsdale's sister, perchance?

inahandbasket

*PF Changs is "Asian" food for those too scared to drive to South Grand.
Well, you can mind your own business is what you can do.

I didn't say there aren't any other places he couldn't live. What I said was that he won't have as many places to choose from as Seattle. And it's people in St. Louis who say West County is the only desireable place, not me.

He could live in Hazelwood or Florrisant, which are decent neighboorhoods (however, are rapidly changing). It depends on if he has/wants to have kids or not. That can make a world of diffenrence. I was talking about County wise (I kind of sorta consider Clayton more urban, which is why I didn't include it).

I'm trying to tell him that it depends. These cost of living calculators really don't matter unless you live in Cali.

Seriously, why do people on this forum get so mad if you're not overly positive about STL?

I think West County is highly overrated and think areas such as Tower Grove Park will give you a much more genuine St. Louis feeling than overpriced, wanna be Orange County Housewives neighboorhoods.
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Old 09-19-2010, 10:34 AM
 
787 posts, read 1,414,497 times
Reputation: 747
BB: you first wrote this:
"STL County is broken up into 3 major parts and the only worthwile place to live is West County. and " I don't want to misinform." in the same post.

Then I replied:
"You just did.

Then you just wrote:
"And it's people in St. Louis who say West County is the only desireable place, not me....I think West County is highly overrated and think areas such as Tower Grove Park will give you a much more genuine St. Louis feeling than overpriced, wanna be Orange County Housewives neighboorhoods."

????


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