Possible move from Texas to Washington (Seattle, Sammamish: sales, apartment, for rent)

[TheWilliams]

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Washington as we have heard nothing but great things about the state. We are looking into the Seattle and surrounding area. As I said, we are from Texas and living here is cheap.. i dont expect it to be as cheap, but is it "doable"? We hate the Texas weather... when it gets to 110 for a straight month... We do not have children yet, but will be having kids soon and we do not want them to go to school in Texas. I know public schools are random (some good, some bad) but in general - are the kids smart? Texas focuses way to much on state tests and many kids dont retain anything they learn from these tests. Are there jobs there? It seems on job boards there are, but it is the same here and i know a lot of unemployed people. ... i think thats about it. Sorry for the random questions! I appreciate any help!

thanks!

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by TheWilliams

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Washington as we have heard nothing but great things about the state. We are looking into the Seattle and surrounding area. As I said, we are from Texas and living here is cheap.. i dont expect it to be as cheap, but is it "doable"? We hate the Texas weather... when it gets to 110 for a straight month... We do not have children yet, but will be having kids soon and we do not want them to go to school in Texas. I know public schools are random (some good, some bad) but in general - are the kids smart? Texas focuses way to much on state tests and many kids dont retain anything they learn from these tests. Are there jobs there? It seems on job boards there are, but it is the same here and i know a lot of unemployed people. ... i think thats about it. Sorry for the random questions! I appreciate any help!

thanks!

Are the kids smart? Yes, but I'm not sure about their parents
Do-able? Depends on where you live and what you earn. If you live in the popular areas of Seattle or the eastside, housing will be more expensive, but lots of people live there, and they're not all millionaire software executives.
You bring up a really good point about schools. Schools are often thought of as good because of high test scores. But some schools focus a lot on " teaching to the test" so that the students can whip through the tests but can't think independently.

[texastrigirl]

We moved from Austin TX to Sammamish WA (Issaquah School District) and there is no "teaching to the test" in our grade school. The kids might do 2-3 practice test sections just to understand strategies but beyond that, it's not a big deal here. I think the theory is that if they are practicing the test, then it's not really serving it's purpose to see if the everyday curriculum is successful. We have been overjoyed with the school system we are in so far.

Where in TX are you moving from? I didn't not mind the hot weather but my husband hated it so he is very happy here. It took me a year to adjust to it and now I would have a hard time going back. Property taxes are much less here and there is also no state income tax. Insurance, energy (except gas) and water are quite a bit less in WA. Eating out and homes more expensive in Seattle than most places in TX. Groceries about the same depending on where you shop.

What fields are you looking for work in and do you have a budget for living expenses? That will determine where you would look to live.

Good luck!

[aa85]

Housing is more expensive in the Seattle area than in any part of Texas, with a premium for houses in good school districts. Seattle proper has good schools and bad schools, depending on the neighborhood.

To add to texastrigirl's comments, the sales tax is 9.5% in Seattle and it applies to almost everything except food (9.8% on cars and 10% in restaurants/bars). We also have a car license tax that is partially based on value and one of the higher gasoline taxes in the country. Only 1 toll bridge so far, but that will almost certainly change.

Most people find that comparable jobs generally pay more in Seattle than in places like Texas, but that the higher pay doesn't necessarily offset the higher cost of living. Again, that depends greatly on where you would choose to live in the area.

[TheWilliams]

Thanks to everyone for their advice! I really appreciate it! We live in DFW... in Bedford, TX. We dont really have a living budget. I am looking for administrative/PR type jobs and my husband is able to transfer within his company. We wouldnt buy a house, probably rent. We currently live in a 2/2 apt that is about 900ish square feet and pay $800. I know there will be some sacrifices in possibly either more for rent or smaller place, and that is ok, i do not expect everything to stay the same! We are just looking for a change of live in a place where we think we would enjoy living. We like cloudy, rainy days but also enjoy sun, just not the hot months we have here. (as i said, 110 for 25 or so days straight) Our bills are also insane here... so thank you for the info of the bills being cheaper. I appreciate everyones advice and if you think of anything else, please feel free to let me know! haha!

[CityGirl72]

I'm thinking bills are relative to how you like your house to be. My utility bills in Seattle were insane - as I liked the house around 74 degrees. SO my heat was on all year long. My monthly bills for heat were averaging $350 a month.

Since moving back to Calif - still keeping the house around 74 - it's been about $180 a month.

PS - it also gets over 100 degrees for over 25 days straight too (here in Calif) and my bills still stay about the same.

[HuskyDawg]

I'm always surprised at the how cheap it is to live in Seattle posts on this website. I must be living in a different Seattle the past ten years.

Cost of Living Comparison:
Bedford, Texas - Seattle, Washington

Moderator cut: link removed
Seattle is 63% more expensive than Bedford.
Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference.
Housing is 244% more expensive in Seattle.

A salary of $100,000 in Bedford, Texas should increase to $163,231 in Seattle, Washington
Bedford U.S. Avg. Seattle
Cost of Living Indexes
Bedford
Seattle
Overall
81
132
Food
93
111
Housing
53
183
Utilities
92
73
Transportation
98
108
Health
100
127
Miscellaneous
99
100

[Haikudap]

Hope you like liberals 'cause western Washington is overrun. We pretty much have one party government. In some places Republicans don't even run. So if you want to live your life under the heel of the democrat boot, come on down. I'll be gone before you get here.

[Under The Clouds]

Originally Posted by Haikudap

Hope you like liberals 'cause western Washington is overrun. We pretty much have one party government. In some places Republicans don't even run. So if you want to live your life under the heel of the democrat boot, come on down. I'll be gone before you get here.

So you can move to a place that's under the Republican boot? "The Great Sort" continues. This explains a large part of the intense partisan divide in this country: people move to the living situation that best reinforces their ideological viewpoint and lifestyle. It's an understandable trait--I did the same thing--but it does have the unintended consequence of making this country more partisan.

Best of luck with your move! Btw, it's "Democratic Boot".

[Under The Clouds]

Btw The Williams, forgot to wish you good luck with your move! Cost of living is more expensive in Seattle area, but one area it's offset is the cost of electricity, which is lower here than just about anywhere else. My dad lives in rural Georgia and, as you can imagine, has to run the air conditioning virtually non-stop during the hot months. His power bills are thru the roof compared to mine, for similar sized places.

Another area of relative cost advantage here vs. Texas is property taxes, should you eventually decide to buy.