Move to Seattle, yo!

[thedrunkenmonkey]

Grrrr.

While the total inaccuracies of the "out of city" living folks aren't quite to blame, I'll simply drop a clue-by-four on a few folks.

One: you can obtain a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment or condo in the city with the ability to have a dog or a cat. Or even three, in some places. And SURPRISE! It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to do so.

Two: before you start ragging on Seattle, King County, and how expensive it is to live in the city, check prices in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Renton. Oh, and you might also check on the rental prices in Auburn. You will spend approximately 45 minutes in the car driving from Auburn to Seattle - which is 10 minutes away at highway speed - if you live in Auburn and commute to Seattle for work every day. Translated, that's 90 minutes of freeway time each day. Hope you have books on tape. You'll need them.

Three: I work in the outlying areas because they're industrial and crappy. Right now I live near the statue of Lenin in Fremont, but I've lived in Magnolia, Ballard, Wallingford, the U District, Greenlake, and Northgate. I've checked out places further north.

Sure, move to Tukwila - and find yourself surrounded by the people who go to Wal-Mart as their Saturday afternoon entertainment. Want to shop at Ikea? Go for it, but remember, if you want to get there and back within an hour, you're dreaming. Forget living nearby; simply by living on those routes you've added another twenty minutes to go anywhere.

I would not recommend Belltown, but I would also avoid Thurston (read: Tacoma area) and Snohomish Counties like the plague. Seattle City Light has some of the most reasonable electric rates ever.

Did I mention I've lived here for four years and never needed an air conditioner? I live in the city. If I lived in the suburbs, I'd need one - because the city's on the water, EVERYWHERE. In the suburbs, you are surrounded by concrete and housing.

I can walk out my front door and be at a coffeeshop within a hundred feet. I can have dinner at thirty different restaraunts in my neighborhood by walking there. I can shop at an organic grocery store and a regular old QFC by hoofing it with a few cloth bags.

What, you WANT to spend your entire life driving from point A to point B?

If you like malls, and the mall-culture that swarms over America, go ahead and stay in the suburbs. More crime happens in the suburbs to more people than it does where I live - my insurance dropped, and I live five minutes from the city center.

Besides, can you walk to the opera from Tukwila? Can you go to the EMP by hopping a direct-route bus from Lynwood? Can you breathe the air in Tacoma or Auburn?

Nah, not really.

[Arcanos]

Well thats why I live in Des Moines ^

unfortunatly I have needed an air conditioner... still do. Infact its running not 2 feet from me as I type this post..

[Lizzegirle]

Well we checked out rates for the city and they were too high for us. We are living on one income while I attend school, and we just can't afford the places we saw downtown. I would love to live down there, we just can't afford it.

[Deacon]

thedrunkenmonkey, perhaps you would be willing to share with us how many bedrooms/bathrooms/square-feet your current abode has, whether it's an apartment or condo, and how much you pay for it, so that we can form our own opinions as to whether it would be "too expensive" for us or not.

[thedrunkenmonkey]

True that.

For edification's sake:

Here's the neighborhoods.

http://www.seattlerentals.com/719.html
And a descriptor...
http://www.gonorthwest.com/Washington/s ... rhoods.htm

I live in a two bedroom condo about ten minutes from downtown in a neighborhood that's not a skyscarper area. Belltown - the downtown area most people think of as the "MIGOD THAT'S EXPENSIVE" will run approximately $1,300 for the square footage and size that I live in now. I live in Fremont and pay about $750 for a two-bedroom - with small rooms, admittedly, but the total square footage is about 900 SQ ft, with dishwasher, laundry, offstreet parking, etc.

By comparison:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/51183340.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54014371.html is about right for this neighborhood for a three-bedroom with the amenities that most people are looking for. It's on major buslines and you can get to the Uni by bike or walking.

But no matter where you live in the Puget Sound area - from Monroe to Duvall, even down in Kent or Auburn, you will probably pay around $1200, standard for a three-bedroom apartment of any size, with first and last and deposit included. I got lucky - where I live, most places that are two bedrooms...well, they ain't cheap. But quite literally, there's five apartments for rent up the street from me, 2 bedrooms 1 bath, for about $700 per month. You're lucky if you get lower than that...

I highly, highly recommend using seattle.Craigslist.org for housing choices around here - you're going to find better deals with specific searchable texts. That and most people will give you directions as to where these places are.

I should also note that Crown Hill, Ballard, Northgate, and Lake Forest Park are more northerly than downtown, but they are generally safer, cheaper, and have less through-traffic. And, oddly enough, they are cheaper than most of the industrialized areas.

Quick and dirty three-bedroom searches:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54270963.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54257071.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54114481.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54061911.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/54003492.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/53937917.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/51427465.html

It should also be noted that now is an EXCELLENT time to move, because nothing pisses off a landlord more than an empty apartment.

[Lizzegirle]

Well that certainly is interesting. I think we will probably stay where we are going since we will be neighbors to Batjew and his wife. Also, I don't plan on staying at this plave for forever. Just until we get used to the city and know which areas are good areas and which are not.

I would love to live downtown though. That would be an awesome experience.

[Bradford]

[quote="thedrunkenmonkey";p="440289"]
I would not recommend Belltown, but I would also avoid Thurston (read: Tacoma area) and Snohomish Counties like the plague. Seattle City Light has some of the most reasonable electric rates ever.[/quote]

Now I may be from the Dry Side, but I know that Tacoma is in Pierce County and not Thurston County. Are you saying avoid Tacoma (that seems to be a well known fact) or avoid Thurston County?

[Rageous]

Belltown is nice (I was just down there today), but yah... too expensive for people living on a budget. It's great for computer people who don't need a whole lot of space, but want to be in the trendy part of town (lots of night life out there).

I live in Des Moines in the south end, right on the water and 20 minutes south of downtown. I'm pulling an 850 sq ft 2 bedroom 1 bath washer/dryer + fireplace for 750 a month. A sister apt has 3 bedrooms for around 900, and garages are optional. For the most part it's that same story around the outskirts of the city limits, though some places are nicer than others. Someone brought up Tukwila aka Southcenter -- it's a great place to shop, and a bad place to live. Ditto Kent. Your stuff likes to get up and walk out.

University District (specifically the Ravenna and Sand Point areas) are north of the city, pleasant, and reasonably priced, but still right in the middle of the action. I lived in Ravenna for a while and could walk around (or jog on the trails) at 2 or 3 in the morning and never have to worry about my safety. My dad has lived there for 10 years and never had a problem with theft or crime whatsoever.

There's so many areas Liz, ya might as well drop considered names to us and let us rip 'em apart. There's good and bad sides to everywhere. I can give a hearty thumbs-up to watching CraigsList though -- I just picked up a new TV tonight thanks to it.

Posted Tue Jan 04, 2005 3:26 am:

PS: I highly recommend finding a place close to where work is -- the worst part about getting around is traffic. The less time you spend commuting and wasting money on gas, the easier your budget will be, as I'm sure you know.

[Lizzegirle]

Ok we are looking at Mill Creek. We found a 2 bedroom 3 bath 1200 sq ft townehouse for $950 a month. That includes the garage. There is a fireplace. Washer and Dryer. The neighborhood seems fantastic.

[Deacon]

Sounds nice!

[Lizzegirle]

I think thats one of the first truly nice things that Deacon has ever said on this forum!
*Gasp* What have you done with Deacon and how do we keep him from coming back?

[Dreamer]

We've switched this forums regular Deacon, with Folgers Deacon crystals.
Let's see if they notice.

[Arcanos]

That does sound pretty nice.

[Deacon]

Oh come on, Liz, give me a break. I say nice things all the time

[Dreamer]

Now I'm really getting freaked out.