Questions about Seattle -- young adult son moving there "to find himself" (Sammamish: apartment, for rent)

[Hopes]

My 19 year old son is planning to move to Seattle this summer. He is joining three friends who are already there, one of which is a Seattle native.

All are young adults between the ages of 19 and 22. My son is the youngest but he is very mature for his age.

I have no problem sending him to "find himself" in Seattle. I think it will be good for him.

He is intelligent and has street smarts. I'm not worried about his safety.

My main concerns are simple logistics.

1) Is the public transportation good enough to not own a car?

2) Can four young adults pooling their money together afford to live in Seattle? The apartment doesn't have to be fantastic. His friends have lived in dumps while they have been "slumming" it here.

3) Are there PNC banks in Seattle? If not, what national banks are there so I know where to open an account. I won't be fully supporting him but I will be depositing money on a regular basis to supplement his income.

I hope my thread is well received. These are not leeches of society but they are not pampered children from extremely affluent families. These young adults all come from families that love them very much and support their desire to march to the tune of a different drummer before figuring out what they want to do with their lives. I think being on his own is important for his development. And I can't afford to send him backpacking through Europe before he decides his major. LOL

[PollyGlott]

Interesting, because my daughter and two of her friends did pretty much the same after they graduated from college. They found a nice basement apartment in Queen Anne, got jobs, and two of them have stayed there. So, although I can't answer your questions, I can tell you that it's doable. Good luck to the guys!

[Hopes]

Thanks, Polly! Glad to hear it's doable!

I hear all the time that Seattle is expensive.

I was worried that four people working nonprofessional jobs wouldn't be able to put a roof over their heads, even with having low housing standards.

[driedroses]

Seattle is a great place to find yourself if you like rainy weather 70% of the time . Or have the desire to ski or snowboard. Weve got lovely mtns. Lots of forest land with parks and camping. Very green here and lots of lakes and water everywhere just beautiful here. For me, i hate the wet weather here but its a lot harder to pick up and leave after you own your home. And, the good news is these young people can get a job and pay there own way, as they "find themselves". And 4 or so young people can definately afford to live here. If they find a apt that will rent to 4 or so young people im sure they could hold a parttime job and afford the rent. Just remember when you rent a house you pay all utilities, and apts usually just water, elec, and cable. Im sure they will do fine. Especially street savvy ones. Hope this puts your mind to rest. I wouldnt live in so. Seattle, lots of thugs and drugs. I reside in n. Seattle. It is a little pricier than so. Area. Central area is affordable and you see a little bit of everything there. North and east seattle are most desireable though and pricey. The transit system is excellent, buses run almost non stop. Hope this helps>>>>>

[Ira500]

No PNC Banks in Seattle. But we have Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo. If you had Wachovia Bank where you're from, they're now Wells Fargo.

[Hopes]

Thanks for the responses! I'm so excited for him!

We live in Pittsburgh. It rains here more than Seattle. And we love the rain.

He loves to ski and snowboard. He's an Eagle Scout---loves the outdoors, camping, canoing, etc.

I'm confident they'll live in a safe-ish area since they have a Seattle native in their group to help them pick an apartment.

As for finding a landlord that will rent to four young adults, I'm sure parents of all four are willing to cosign.

Thanks for the list of banks! I don't think we have those banks in my city, but I will do my research to figure out which one would be the easiest for transferring funds when necessary.

I checked out the airfare. I was surprised it's only $230 to fly him there.

[Hemlock140]

My son at that age got an apartment in Sammamish with three other guys, though all had jobs paying about $14/hour. It was a 3 bedroom and each paid $400.

It sounds like he'd like it here, if he can find work and afford to enjoy what the area has to offer. There is decent bus service around town, but getting to the woods or snow is going to be a bit more difficult without a car. With the summer tourist season starting now's a good time to find a
job but some may only last until September.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by bisjoe

My son at that age got an apartment in Sammamish with three other guys, though all had jobs paying about $14/hour. It was a 3 bedroom and each paid $400.

I think they'll probably get a 2 bedroom. $400 is doable, but I was hoping it would be in the $200 range though (for rent, not utilities of course).

Originally Posted by bisjoe

It sounds like he'd like it here, if he can find work and afford to enjoy what the area has to offer.

How expensive can the great outdoors be? If you're referring to skiing, I'd consider giving him a season pass as a Christmas gift.

Originally Posted by bisjoe

There is decent bus service around town, but getting to the woods or snow is going to be a bit more difficult without a car.

There are two cars between the four of them. I was more worried about public transportation for everyday commuting, etc.

Originally Posted by bisjoe

With the summer tourist season starting now's a good time to find a job but some may only last until September.

We don't have a tourist season here, but full service restaurants are always hiring in my area. Is it the same out there?

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I think they'll probably get a 2 bedroom. $400 is doable, but I was hoping it would be in the $200 range though (for rent, not utilities of course).

There are two cars between the four of them. I was more worried about public transportation for everyday commuting, etc.

We don't have a tourist season here, but full service restaurants are always hiring in my area. Is it the same out there?

$800 for a two-bedroom will be hard. $1000-$1200+ is more realistic.

Seattle has Zipcars (a car sharing service), as an option.

Service level jobs seem to be available in Seattle, per my wandering eyes this week.

[SpikeDurden]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I think they'll probably get a 2 bedroom. $400 is doable, but I was hoping it would be in the $200 range though (for rent, not utilities of course).

Pittsburg must be quite a bit cheaper than Seattle. There's no way in hell you're going to find a decent place that's $800 for four bedrooms. Not in the city of Seattle at least unless they want to be living in a poor neighborhood in south Seattle.

They'll wanna be in a young neighborhood like the U district and i'd expect the four guys to pay around $400-$500 each in that area but I've never lived in the u district.