Is Seattle more expensive than Boston? (Mercer Island, Medina: sales, real estate, rent)

[IcomeInPeaceDolphLundgren]

As I am sitting here watching the Mariners vs. Red Sox game, I am curious if Seattle is now a more expensive city to live in than Boston. It seems like the only cities that are more expensive than Seattle are San Francisco and New York City. I'm not sure about Washington, D.C. but Seattle definitely seems more expensive than Chicago.

[Hacker1234]

Cost of living is probably about the same, but they have a state income tax that can hurt.

[homesinseattle]

One of my clients just moved back there and says that downtown Boston (think Back Bay and Beacon Hill) are still more expensive than like kind places in Seattle. I imagine the gap is not very big though.

[RotseCherut]

Seattle's wealth is different than Boston. Boston is a very old money kind of city and Seattle is a very new money kind of city. There will be areas in Boston that probably will always be more expensive than almost anywhere in Seattle because of its heritage and affluence. Think of areas like Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Sausalito (in the Bay Area) or prestigious parts of Manhattan or Long Island. Outside of Medina and Mercer Island, Seattle does not have any of these old-money and well-establish luxurious neighborhoods like an older East Coast city would have. However, sq foot to sq foot, I would bet my money that a new trendy, hip, upscale area of Seattle is more money than a new trendy, hip and upscale area of Boston.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Seattle's wealth is different than Boston. Boston is a very old money kind of city and Seattle is a very new money kind of city. There will be areas in Boston that probably will always be more expensive than almost anywhere in Seattle because of its heritage and affluence. Think of areas like Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Sausalito (in the Bay Area) or prestigious parts of Manhattan or Long Island. Outside of Medina and Mercer Island, Seattle does not have any of these old-money and well-establish luxurious neighborhoods like an older East Coast city would have. However, sq foot to sq foot, I would bet my money that a new trendy, hip, upscale area of Seattle is more money than a new trendy, hip and upscale area of Boston.

Perfectly said

[Gardyloo]

Sales tax: Boston 6.5%, Seattle 10.1%
State income tax: MA 5.3%, WA 0%
1 kW/h electricity: Boston $0.21, Seattle $0.11
1 therm natural gas: Boston $1.16, Seattle $1.15

I included the energy costs because your consumption of electricity and gas are both going to be much higher in Boston than in Seattle, due to colder winters and summers needing air conditioning.

Housing cost is too variable with location to speak knowledgeably, as is transport cost. Boston's public transit system is much more extensive than Seattle's, so issues like car operating costs are also hard to equate.

[Hacker1234]

Yeah you can totally get away with no car in Boston, Seattle would be harder.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Hacker1234

Yeah you can totally get away with no car in Boston, Seattle would be harder.

True about not needing a car in Boston, unless you want to frequently get away from the city. A former coworker in Cambridge did not own a car, lived without one for years. She said that the few times she and a boyfriend wanted to get away to the countryside, they would rent a car. For commuting, public transit did the job. I lived in the 'burbs and only drove on weekends, to go hiking/biking/camping outside of the metro area. Plenty of other coworkers who owned a car only used them once or twice a week.

It helps that towns in New England were developed closer together yet separate. Distances to services are much shorter than in the west or midwest.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Hacker1234

Yeah you can totally get away with no car in Boston, Seattle would be harder.

+1. If live in either city, then car can be limited to weekends traveling outside city.

[hellopity]

There are urban centers in the US that are more expensive than Seattle. Boston is one of them. So is DC. It is hard compare the two cities because the two cities developed very differently - in terms of culture, economy, geography, infrastructure, etc.

Also, I don't consider Medina (or Hunts Point, Clyde Hill, Yarrow Point) part of Seattle. They are cities and towns on the east side of King County, not Seattle.

If you strictly look at the cost of living around downtown, Boston is easily more expensive in terms of real estate. Condos, for example, in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, etc. easily start at $1000/sf. Compared to new (or new-ish..within the last decade) condos in and around downtown Seattle (1521, Four Seasons, Escala, Olive 8, Cosmopolitan, Luma, Insignia, Gallery, Mosler Lofts, 909 5th, Enso, 2200 Westlake, etc.) only the very premium units will break the $1000/sf mark. New condos on the horizon (Gridiron, Nexus) don't even break $1000/sf for most of their units. Seattle is still quite an expensive city to live in to be sure, but certainly not a shock if one has lived in coastal cities along the west coast and major metros in the northeast.