America's Finest City: San Diego or Seattle? (Atlanta, living, better)
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We can't build enough to bring prices down (aside from temporary overbuilding), but the City could change legislation to make it happen.
Prices in a growing city generally reflect development cost. Development doesn't happen unless prices are high enough, including a profit attractive enough to draw investors.
But development costs are way higher than they need to be. Seattle's land use codes (height, massing, etc.) limit development capacity, so any capacity (land) is very expensive. On top of that we charge millions in fees per project. Then there's a long entitlement process. We've eased the laws in some areas, but added more fees to offset that. The best thing we do is not requiring parking in many areas, and limiting what's required in many others.
Upzone more land, omit some fees, and streamline the process...it would be easy to knock maybe 10-15% of the cost of new housing (top of my head) and therefore existing housing too.
Can't go wrong with either. I might give San Diego the edge for weather and being slightly more affordable. If you can't afford Seattle at least there are some surrounding cities that are pretty cool with a lower cost of living. (Tacoma, Edmonds, Olympia)
Seattle is still growing quickly, and it's not just people making six figures. It's often younger people with no kids/car/debt. Those people can survive with roommates on $40k, live fine on $60k, and live well for $90k.
That's not impressive by any metric in my opinion. In order to live there comfortably, you basically have to be in a minority group. I don't make $50k. I'm not trying to single out Seattle though, it's an American problem.
When I think of Seattle I think of homeless people, rain and people jumping off bridges due to depression, When I think of San Diego I think of beaches, oceans and golf, so SD it is for me.
That's not impressive by any metric in my opinion. In order to live there comfortably, you basically have to be in a minority group. I don't make $50k. I'm not trying to single out Seattle though, it's an American problem.
As OyCrumbler pointed out, the median household in Seattle made $93k at last count, and without knowing what year it refers to I'll guess it was up by thousands since then. Let's say $95k. $50k is way below median, and even farther below average.
To be fair, my references to $40/60/90k was referring to single people without debt/kids/car. A lot of families are on the edge or worse, including some above the median. But our housing prices are high because there's demand, even beyond our 8,500/year average net additional housing units. Prices go to the "pain point," which is called that for good reason of course.
Some context, not specifically helping anyone's points: Jobs that pay $50k in some cities will pay $60k in Seattle because that's how they can get people. But also, that sort of job will gravitate to other cities, not here. What gravitates to the city of Seattle and the core Eastside (our two main office submarkets) is the $120k+ software job, and even that is generally taken by people without kids due to our housing prices.
Not to sneer, but 40k isn’t a lot of money. In the 90s and early 2000s, you could definitely live comfortably on that but today, you almost certainly need a spouse or roommate to make ends meet in most cities.
No it's not a lot of money, even here in the middle, but people who make 40k in Seattle can probably make 40k just about anywhere doing something similar if not the same. At which point the novelty of living on the coast makes much less sense.
Neither. The question is ridiculous in assuming the two are the best candidates. One of the worst thread questions I have seen on CD.
Agreed.
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