Seattle can be affordable if you know a few secret
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1/2/2007
I relocated to Seattle from North Carolina in 1994 with no more than a Mazda full of my most treasured possessions. The prices were a bit of a shock at first. Even toilet paper, which is manufactured here in Everett, is more expensive in Seattle than in North Carolina! It took me a couple of years to figure out how people manage.
Even though I'd worked my way up to a mid-level job position, I had to start over at an entry-level job while I proved I wouldn't run back home with my tail between my legs. After about a year of working hard and showing my value, I was promoted within my company and finally made a survivable income. However, it took 3 years to get back up to the equivalent salary of what I was earning in NC.
Discount wholesale grocery stores are a must! Join Costco or Sams. Shop at the grocery outlets. The minimum wage is much higher here which means that what is cheap elsewhere (such as it's cheaper buying groceries than eating out) is not always the same here. My grocery bill was about 1/3 higher for the same food. McDonalds has similar prices nationwide, so it was cheaper for me to buy a ready made salad at McDonalds than buy a bag of greens at the grocery store, plus all the dressings, etc., and make it myself.
There is no tax on groceries, but there is a 9.2% tax on prepared food and "entertainment," and an 8.8% tax on goods.
Rent was also a shock. When I left, I had been renting a two-story townhome in Raleigh for $325 per month. In Seattle, I moved into a one-room "studio" apartment with a slum landlord for $525. However, my utility bill for electricity was dramatically lower. In the end, it all averages out. I later moved to a cheaper part of town.
There are pockets of cheap areas to live hidden away in unlikely areas. Seattle is divided into neighborhoods and real estate agents have learned what people will pay to live in an area called by a certain name. Don't be afraid of stigmas attached to the names of neighborhoods. For instance, until the 1980s, people considered a neighborhood called "Fremont" as a low income area because it had a high crime rate. However, artists moved into the low cost apartments, fixed up their homes and started businesses, and the area is now considered an eclectic and fun place to live. It is now one of the most expensive areas to live within the city.
Living within the City of Seattle gets you lower utility rates. Gas heat is cheaper than electricity here, so try to
Susan | White Center, WA