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Kitty4670
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05 Nov 2024, 3:19 pm

Does anyone live in Seattle or went there before? My sister might move to Seattle, my nephew is moving to Washington 8O :cry: Is it cheaper to live there? I don't want to move there.



Elwyn
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05 Nov 2024, 10:28 pm

Hi there,

I am about 45 mins from Seattle. It is considered to be an expensive city. We do have higher-than-average wages, though. If you hate rain, then you would not like living in western WA. I don't mind it. I find it very cozy, and the rain makes busy cities feel elusive. Summers are perfect here. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Edit to add: I also moved here from California.



Texasmoneyman300
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05 Nov 2024, 11:00 pm

Kitty4670 wrote:
Does anyone live in Seattle or went there before? My sister might move to Seattle, my nephew is moving to Washington 8O :cry: Is it cheaper to live there? I don't want to move there.

Seattle is more expensive to live in than most parts of the country.I dont know how it compares to California but I think both California and Washington State are very expensive to live in.



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06 Nov 2024, 1:29 am

Seattle is a beautiful city. I don't know what's it's like now but when I went there in the summer of 2018 I found it to be not too busy and fairly clean. Although since then I've heard that drugs, crime and homeless has all gone up significantly, so maybe it's not the best place to live.

The pacific northwest on both sides of the border are very similar. The people are mostly liberal leaning. The weather is very mild and it rains a lot. I don't know if it's the same in Seattle but in recent years I've noticed that summers have become hot and dry in Vancouver which wasn't the case until about 10 years ago.



auntblabby
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06 Nov 2024, 7:43 pm

seattle chamber of commerce says you need a minimum salary just north of $100k/year to be able to afford to live there. in fact, all of king county is similarly expensive. a can of tuna there costs $3 last time i checked. meanwhile, in my little corner of mason county, tuna is still .69 cents per can.



ShwaggyD
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07 Nov 2024, 1:14 am

Way too expensive for average person to live in Seattle, top 10-15 in some rankings I think. 2nd most expensive place in Washington, only Mercer Island is more and that is very close. Downtown area has gotten a lot rougher and more dangerous in recent times. I used to love living in Queen Anne area of Seattle, now I can barely afford to visit.

Depending on what resources they have and work needed Tacoma, Everett and Bellingham are nice, reasonable choices. Tacoma is 2nd biggest city and 33 miles south of Seattle. Everett is about 30 miles north and 3rd largest city. Bellingham is around 90 miles north of Seattle, 21 miles south of Canadian Border. All 3 have their charms and problems, depending on what they are looking for. I personally like Bellingham best because of its location, lots of beautiful outdoor activities and scenery. It is isolated and a long drive to anywhere else though.



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07 Nov 2024, 2:22 am

I had considered Seattle, after having been priced out of my first two choices--NYC and San Francisco.

Even if the jobs in my field (GIS and urban planning) paid enough to live in those cities, there are very few opportunities in those cities anyway (and GIS isn't a big field to begin with). For the records, the city with the most opportunities in my field is Miami.


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ArticVixen
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20 Nov 2024, 10:43 am

People aren't wrong about Washington being expensive but so is the whole country right now. Even my friend from the midwest who lives with parents is struggling financially.

I unfortunately live paycheck to paycheck here in Crackima but I am at least doing better than some people around my age who live in other HCOL areas. Groceries aren't taxed though premade foods/drinks are but the latter is luxery. Gas is unsurprisingly expensive on the West Coast but if you go to a gas station located on the Indian Reservation it's significantly cheaper. (because no taxes) I went to Sinclairs last week and it was like $3.06 a pump. Other places were charging gas for nearly $4!

But since you are talking about Seattle. Yeah, the taxes and rent are higher over there. Pretty much the Western side is tech bro land. Eastern side is fruit slave land. XD Man Yakima does feel like a third world country. I sometimes wish we have some techy jobs. At the same time though I don't know if I want to move to a different state. I will miss the mountains if I ever go somewhere else. I thought of moving to Maine but it's apparently more expensive than where I'm living at. Also they have no income tax. I guess you can't win.

Well, I assume your sister has a well-paying remote job so she should be fine. I honestly do get envious of well-paid Californians who are able to afford to live in the Puget Sound. Meanwhile, I live in a depressing dessert but oh well that's just life.



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20 Nov 2024, 11:16 am

I've never been to Seattle but I used to love Frasier and that's kind of a documentary about Seattle isn't it?

When I had a VR headset I went on a bike ride around Seattle. On a static bike I mean, the VR made it feel like I was cycling around the city.

Apart from making me feel physically sick I was very surprised by all the tent villages I saw on the sidewalks. For a rich city it seemed to have a serious poverty problem at the lower end.


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20 Nov 2024, 8:08 pm

DuckHairback wrote:
I've never been to Seattle but I used to love Frasier and that's kind of a documentary about Seattle isn't it?

When I had a VR headset I went on a bike ride around Seattle. On a static bike I mean, the VR made it feel like I was cycling around the city.

Apart from making me feel physically sick I was very surprised by all the tent villages I saw on the sidewalks. For a rich city it seemed to have a serious poverty problem at the lower end.


Was the VR bike ride on a Peloton?


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Tim_Tex
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21 Nov 2024, 7:22 pm

ArticVixen wrote:
People aren't wrong about Washington being expensive but so is the whole country right now. Even my friend from the midwest who lives with parents is struggling financially.

I unfortunately live paycheck to paycheck here in Crackima but I am at least doing better than some people around my age who live in other HCOL areas. Groceries aren't taxed though premade foods/drinks are but the latter is luxery. Gas is unsurprisingly expensive on the West Coast but if you go to a gas station located on the Indian Reservation it's significantly cheaper. (because no taxes) I went to Sinclairs last week and it was like $3.06 a pump. Other places were charging gas for nearly $4!

But since you are talking about Seattle. Yeah, the taxes and rent are higher over there. Pretty much the Western side is tech bro land. Eastern side is fruit slave land. XD Man Yakima does feel like a third world country. I sometimes wish we have some techy jobs. At the same time though I don't know if I want to move to a different state. I will miss the mountains if I ever go somewhere else. I thought of moving to Maine but it's apparently more expensive than where I'm living at. Also they have no income tax. I guess you can't win.

Well, I assume your sister has a well-paying remote job so she should be fine. I honestly do get envious of well-paid Californians who are able to afford to live in the Puget Sound. Meanwhile, I live in a depressing dessert but oh well that's just life.


So is Seattle a place that only tech bros can afford?


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Kitty4670
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21 Nov 2024, 8:36 pm

My sister is trying to get me to move to Seattle, she tried to make me move 4 hour away 9 years ago, she living in Cambria, I took my vacation there, I guess I have to visit there to see for myself, when I was there & want to move there, now she wants me to move to Seattle.



Kitty4670
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21 Nov 2024, 8:45 pm

ArticVixen wrote:
People aren't wrong about Washington being expensive but so is the whole country right now. Even my friend from the midwest who lives with parents is struggling financially.

I unfortunately live paycheck to paycheck here in Crackima but I am at least doing better than some people around my age who live in other HCOL areas. Groceries aren't taxed though premade foods/drinks are but the latter is luxery. Gas is unsurprisingly expensive on the West Coast but if you go to a gas station located on the Indian Reservation it's significantly cheaper. (because no taxes) I went to Sinclairs last week and it was like $3.06 a pump. Other places were charging gas for nearly $4!

But since you are talking about Seattle. Yeah, the taxes and rent are higher over there. Pretty much the Western side is tech bro land. Eastern side is fruit slave land. XD Man Yakima does feel like a third world country. I sometimes wish we have some techy jobs. At the same time though I don't know if I want to move to a different state. I will miss the mountains if I ever go somewhere else. I thought of moving to Maine but it's apparently more expensive than where I'm living at. Also they have no income tax. I guess you can't win.

Well, I assume your sister has a well-paying remote job so she should be fine. I honestly do get envious of well-paid Californians who are able to afford to live in the Puget Sound. Meanwhile, I live in a depressing dessert but oh well that's just life.



If Seattle is very expense then why she said it cheap there, she found a couple of aparments under $1300.



Kitty4670
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21 Nov 2024, 8:53 pm

Elwyn wrote:
Hi there,

I am about 45 mins from Seattle. It is considered to be an expensive city. We do have higher-than-average wages, though. If you hate rain, then you would not like living in western WA. I don't mind it. I find it very cozy, and the rain makes busy cities feel elusive. Summers are perfect here. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Edit to add: I also moved here from California.



If Seattle is very expense then why she said it cheap there, she found a couple of aparments under $1300. I love rain, but it can be to much if it raining 4 or 5 days in a row.



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21 Nov 2024, 10:02 pm

Kitty4670 wrote:
Elwyn wrote:
Hi there,

I am about 45 mins from Seattle. It is considered to be an expensive city. We do have higher-than-average wages, though. If you hate rain, then you would not like living in western WA. I don't mind it. I find it very cozy, and the rain makes busy cities feel elusive. Summers are perfect here. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Edit to add: I also moved here from California.



If Seattle is very expense then why she said it cheap there, she found a couple of aparments under $1300. I love rain, but it can be to much if it raining 4 or 5 days in a row.


If you don't like rain for 4-5+ days in a row, the pacific northwest is not for you. It's dark, wet and cold for 4 months out of the year from November to February.