What Will It Cost to Work in Seattle?
September 18, 2013 12:06 PM Subscribe
I'm considering a possible tech job in the Seattle area (actually Kirkland). I live in Montreal. We're not planning to relocate to Seattle as yet -- it's a 9-12 month contract only.
What sort of expenses should I factor in? A two bedroom apartment my family can visit, a car, health insurance (as a dual national, I don't pay for health insurance here in Quebec), trips home... anything else? I'm trying to figure out how much I would net after the temporary relocation expenses. (The company does not pay relocation expenses.)
What sort of non-financial factors should I consider, based on your experience temporarily relocating without your family?
Best answer: Rents in Kirkland for 1 bedrooms are around $1200 per month, 2 bedrooms are $1700+. You would also need to pay for utilities Electric, Gas, Water, Phone, Cable TV. So figure about another $500 for utilities per month. Most rentals now require renters insurance, it's cheap, around $200 per year. Also, deposits. If you don't have a US credit history, you'll be paying deposits to turn the utilities on.
Would it be better for you to rent a small place just for you, and to get a hotel or something for when your family visits? Maybe just rent a room in a house to conserve cash. Also, what will it cost for them to visit? Does it make more sense for you to visit them? (One airfare versus many airfares.)
As for health insurance, is there any way you can get major medical, but travel to Vancouver for regular doctor visits and prescriptons? Will the company you're working for be offering health insurance as part of the compensation package?
I have no idea what your tax situation would be. But you'd need to understand that before deciding.
A car? Would you be buying a beater, or long term renting a car? If you buy a beater, you'd need Liability insurance on it, about $100-$150 per month, depending. It could be more, because you've been living out of the country.
Unless this job is paying a shit-ton of cash, I don't see how this could pay off for you. You'll be away from your family for quite a while, spending about $3,000 per month above and beyond what you'll be sending to your family while you're away.
Also, it's hard on everyone when one family member is in a different country three time zones away.
For me, I'd have to be BANKING $100,000 to even give this a thought. And then, I probably wouldn't do it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:33 PM on September 18, 2013
Would it be better for you to rent a small place just for you, and to get a hotel or something for when your family visits? Maybe just rent a room in a house to conserve cash. Also, what will it cost for them to visit? Does it make more sense for you to visit them? (One airfare versus many airfares.)
As for health insurance, is there any way you can get major medical, but travel to Vancouver for regular doctor visits and prescriptons? Will the company you're working for be offering health insurance as part of the compensation package?
I have no idea what your tax situation would be. But you'd need to understand that before deciding.
A car? Would you be buying a beater, or long term renting a car? If you buy a beater, you'd need Liability insurance on it, about $100-$150 per month, depending. It could be more, because you've been living out of the country.
Unless this job is paying a shit-ton of cash, I don't see how this could pay off for you. You'll be away from your family for quite a while, spending about $3,000 per month above and beyond what you'll be sending to your family while you're away.
Also, it's hard on everyone when one family member is in a different country three time zones away.
For me, I'd have to be BANKING $100,000 to even give this a thought. And then, I probably wouldn't do it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:33 PM on September 18, 2013
I did this exact thing, moved from Texas to Seattle and tried to manage having my family split across two timezones. It has damn near ruined us, and to this day we are still dealing with the aftermath.
There's so many reasons not to do this. Unless this position pays 130-150 dollars an hour to *you* (not the consulting firm) don't even consider it.
posted by Annika Cicada at 12:58 PM on September 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
There's so many reasons not to do this. Unless this position pays 130-150 dollars an hour to *you* (not the consulting firm) don't even consider it.
posted by Annika Cicada at 12:58 PM on September 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
As for health insurance, is there any way you can get major medical, but travel to Vancouver for regular doctor visits and prescriptons?
This won't work, because in order to qualify for BC MSP you will have to establish residency in British Columbia first, and you cannot establish residency if you live in the United States or if you are a resident of another province. It takes six months to qualify for residency and qualify for MSP in BC.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:53 PM on September 18, 2013
This won't work, because in order to qualify for BC MSP you will have to establish residency in British Columbia first, and you cannot establish residency if you live in the United States or if you are a resident of another province. It takes six months to qualify for residency and qualify for MSP in BC.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:53 PM on September 18, 2013
In addition to what people above said, most places don't offer leases shorter than 12 months. If you break a lease early, there's usually a 2 month rents' lease termination fee. If you do find a place to sign a shorter lease (generally a large apartment complex), it will be more expensive to sign a 9 month lease, unless you start now so the end of your lease coincides with summer, when they can ask for higher rent than in winter for renewals and new tenants.
I think if you want to use this as a jumping point to move to Seattle permanently, that might be fine. But unless they're paying you A LOT of money, it's not worth it.
posted by ethidda at 3:52 PM on September 18, 2013
I think if you want to use this as a jumping point to move to Seattle permanently, that might be fine. But unless they're paying you A LOT of money, it's not worth it.
posted by ethidda at 3:52 PM on September 18, 2013
Another factor will be your taxes in Canada. I'm Canadian, and I worked in Seattle for 4 years, about 10 years ago. When I moved there, I filled out a form for Revenue Canada which they used to determine my canadian tax residency.
Because I had no home in Canada, no bank accounts and even collapsed my (almost empty ) RRSPs, I was declared non-resident in Canada for the purpose of taxes. I only had to pay U.S. taxes as of the date I left Canada.
My friend went to work in California at the same time. He kept his house here, and rented it to his sister ( which is not an 'arms length arrangement' ). He had to pay his U.S. taxes, and then pay Revenue Canada the balance of taxes as they would have been in Canada. As well as pay the accountants for calculating two tax filings.
IANAL, and IANAA. Taxes can bite you, so that's another thing to consider.
posted by toddje at 4:00 PM on September 18, 2013
Because I had no home in Canada, no bank accounts and even collapsed my (almost empty ) RRSPs, I was declared non-resident in Canada for the purpose of taxes. I only had to pay U.S. taxes as of the date I left Canada.
My friend went to work in California at the same time. He kept his house here, and rented it to his sister ( which is not an 'arms length arrangement' ). He had to pay his U.S. taxes, and then pay Revenue Canada the balance of taxes as they would have been in Canada. As well as pay the accountants for calculating two tax filings.
IANAL, and IANAA. Taxes can bite you, so that's another thing to consider.
posted by toddje at 4:00 PM on September 18, 2013
Washington state individual/family health insurance plans will go on sale starting Oct. 1 on the new post-health-reform state health exchange. So if you're looking for information about health insurance costs and can wait a few weeks, I'd start there. Ask if your tech job offers insurance, first, though -- you may not have to buy it yourself if it's available through your employer.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 4:11 PM on September 18, 2013
posted by croutonsupafreak at 4:11 PM on September 18, 2013
I’m doing something like this right now and an additional financial consideration is furniture and household goods. I don’t know about in Seattle, but where I am furnished apartments are insanely expensive, and renting furniture is too. I ended up going to Ikea for furniture and I think I still ended up spending around $1500 (couch, bed including mattress, chairs and some other small stuff and delivery). And after that the other big expense was just general household stuff - pots, pans, dishes, utensils, coffee pot, microwave, vacuum, sheets, towels, iron, etc. – it really starts to add up. So, that ended up being a sizable upfront cost just to be living comfortably.
And a non-financial thing I didn't think about was not being able to do some things I enjoy as hobbies. Flying supplies to where I am just wasn't feasible and neither was buying new stuff. So, I’m missing some of the fun things I like to do in my down time.
And I don’t have family back at home, but it is still hard to miss out on a lot of things that are going on with my friends during the week.
posted by Sabby at 5:50 PM on September 18, 2013
And a non-financial thing I didn't think about was not being able to do some things I enjoy as hobbies. Flying supplies to where I am just wasn't feasible and neither was buying new stuff. So, I’m missing some of the fun things I like to do in my down time.
And I don’t have family back at home, but it is still hard to miss out on a lot of things that are going on with my friends during the week.
posted by Sabby at 5:50 PM on September 18, 2013
No relo, no permanent position, no health insurance, no consideration for your family?
They don't give a fuck about you.
Don't make this mistake.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:37 PM on September 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
They don't give a fuck about you.
Don't make this mistake.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:37 PM on September 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
You also have to consider that have to reside in Quebec at least 6 months out of the year in order to maintain your health care coverage.
posted by bluefrog at 4:13 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by bluefrog at 4:13 PM on September 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could find a 2 bedroom for around $1500 or so if you're willing to have a longer commute (look in Redmond or Renton, for example), but keep in mind that the main highway that goes up to Kirkland (the 405) gets REALLY packed during work hours regardless of whether you go by bus or car. If you want to live in Seattle proper you may spend up to $7 a day on tolls going back and forth on the 520 bridge. Seattle rent is all over the place, with more expensive rent the closer you are to the 520 bridge.
If you do end up with a car (note: I lived my first 5 years in Seattle without a car), gas is around $3.75-$4 a gallon. For me that equals about $40 every two weeks in my okay-gas-mileage Mazda3. Expect your driving life to come to a screeching halt in the winter if there is even a flurry of snow, as the Seattle area does not know how to handle it at all. This is where it can be helpful to live within walking distance of work and a grocery store.
Other expenses:
-If you want high-speed internet at home expect to pay $60-$100 a month.
-since weather here is pretty mild-ish you won't spend tons on heating or air conditioning. In fact, most places here don't even have air conditioning. I think our total utility bill for the month is $200 at the absolute highest, but it's often more around $80.
-Fresh, in-season organic produce is relatively cheap at farmers markets here, so you can eat well without breaking your budget. Similarly, local seafood (think shellfish) is a pretty cheap and sustainable way to get protein.
-if you decide to commute by bus you'll probably want to get an ORCA card, which allows you to ride any of the local bus lines, light rail and street cars. I think that would be around $60 a month depending on how far you are traveling.
-You can get a membership at a nice gym or YMCA for under $100 a month. I pay $80 right now for a super-swanky place, but there are other gyms around me that are as low as $30.
One final thought: the Seattle area geography is heavily defined and influenced by water. Before you sign a lease on any place you need to think long and hard about how much water separates your work and home. Generally the commutes that involve taking bridges take longer, and especially in summer when bridges go up regularly to let boat traffic through. Similarly, having to traverse around an inland lake (see South Lake Union or Green Lake) adds time and will make your route more convoluted than you can ever expect.
posted by joan_holloway at 12:29 PM on September 18, 2013