How much I need to live around Redmond with my wife and 3 kids (Seattle: apartment)

[FrenchGuy]

Hello everyone,

I am a French guy who is applying for an engineer position at Redmond and the HR is asking my salary expectation. I have 3 young children (no school yet). As my wife will not be able to work (the French doctor degree is not recognize in the USA) our children will not be in preschool.
I would like to rent a 4 bedrooms house to be able to receive my family when they come to visit us. Buying a house is not in our plans.
My question is: how much do I have to earn to make my family live comfortably around Seattle ?
Thanks for your help.
Wish you a good day.

Bertrand

[SitoUK]

Bonjour Bertrand

Of course this all depends on the standard of living you are used to or that you want to maintain. I live in Seattle, not in Redmond, in an apartment and just my wife, no kids, so I can't really help but I recommend you this website to get an idea of the price levels overe here: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
Sito

[Molly N.]

I live here in Redmond and I saw on the moms group the other day a 2300 sq ft house 3 bedrooms for 2200 a month... that is pretty average around here. I know my neighbor has a 2 bd rm 1200 sq ft for 1800 so if you want to rent a house you might need to take that cost in mind. good luck.

[eskercurve]

I would say it depends on the engineering position you're being offered.

If you are a coder or tester, you're likely only being able to get ~$60,000.

If you are chief of network security and network architecture, you can make at least $250,000.

Check websites like glassdoor or salary.com to compare salaries.

Also, you need to ask your employer (I'm going to step out on a limb here and say Microsoft, they are the big kahuna in Redmond and it's the world HQ) about health and retirement benefits and time off of work. We don't have mandated 35 hour work weeks like you do, we get anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks off of work per year depending on position and experience. We don't have universal health care, we have health insurance. We don't have state pension funds, we have 401(k) retirement accounts and IRA's and whatnot. Education can be free but it may be hit or miss ... private education is costly.

All these things you need to think about and be in for a culture shock regarding work. People here work many many hours a week typically. I saw an article saying that Americans work more hours than even the Japanese do.

Think carefully about what you would like to do. Good luck!

[AddyLaddy]

All very good points by Eskercurve. We moved here from Europe last year and it is also an expensive place to live. We have 4 kids so perhaps similar expenses to you.

Rent $2500 pm ($1 per sq ft)
401K $1000 (tax free)
Groceries $1000
Gas & Elec $130
Garbage $33
Internet + phone $60
Cable TV $90
Water + Sewage $85
Cell phones $80 (no data plan)
Renters insurance $35
Car insurance $90 (1 car)
Gas/Petrol $250 (1 car, no commute use)
Medical/Dentist $100 (co-pay/out-of-pocket)
Dining out/lunch $250 (incl school dinners)
Return flights to France $600
Holiday USA $500
Entertainment $150 (Netflix, Movies, Shows)

I make that almost $7000pm not including savings (College Ed), Child care, Christmas, Gifts, Clothing, Charity ... it all adds up! After tax, you probably take home 75% of your monthly, so I'd say a bare minimum would be $120k per year on a single salary.

And remember you only get 15 days holiday (including Christmas) when you start, plus 8-10 public days.
I reckon each week of holiday is worth about 2% of your salary, so factor that in and perhaps go unpaid for a couple of weeks a year to compensate for lack of vacation and so you can fly home to see family.

Also, be warned you are often on 2 weeks notice, not 3 months as with European companies. Sick pay is also 'earned' on a per hourly basis too.

Hope that helps (and doesn't put you off too much ;-)