Cost of living

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Specializes in NICU.

Hi everyone. I am planning on moving to the Seattle area in a few months. I hear cost of living is higher there than Houston, TX where I currently am. I am paying $1,300 for a 1 bedroom apartment. What is the average 1 bedroom apartment going for in Seattle? Any suggestions on areas to avoid?

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In downtown Seattle, you will be lucky to find a decent apartment in a good area for that. You can find studios for around there, but they go pretty quick. One tip for your search...West Seattle is different than Seattle, and you can find apartments there for pretty cheap, but it is not a great area, so don't get confused by that. White Center, Rainier Beach, and Central District used to be pretty sketchy, but I haven't lived downtown in a very long time and I know there have been a lot new development and revitalization efforts going on, so I don't know how they are today. You might try calling a realtor in the area to help you focus your search a little bit to meet your needs, as Seattle is a pretty diverse city with a lot of very different neighborhoods.

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Specializes in NICU.

I was told to check out Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US for pricing guides. But knowing which areas are shady and which areas are safe is definitely important to me.

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Overall, Seattle is a pretty safe city- I think we are like the 4th or 5th safest large city according to Forbes (I think it was Forbes, anyways). I do still recommend talking to a realtor because, depending on where you are going to work and your budget and what you are into, there are a lot of VERY different neighborhoods to choose from, and commuting through the city is not always easy. I did find this map of crime statistics by neighborhood. It might help you decide where to avoid, but just randomly choosing from one of the safe neighborhoods on Zillow may end up being a major inconvenience for you.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/wa/seattle/crime/

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Hey, funny seeing you here, lol. So what hospital are you thinking of working in and how far of a commute?

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Specializes in NICU.

I haven't thought about which hospital. Still looking into them all, and which ones have NICU's. I hope to have a commute less than an hour if possible. That isn't always the case here in Houston.....

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

There are plenty of NICU's in downtown Seattle, AKA as 'pill hill', but like others have said, the housing market in that area is expensive. If you want to hit the suburbs or even a bit further out, such as Shoreline, in that area, or Renton (at Valley Medical Center, whom is Magnet and prefers BSN's) would put you roughly 45 min from downtown Seattle if only you wanted to be close enough to play in the city. :).

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Specializes in NICU.

I definitely want to be close enough to play in the city! So does anyone know what the average price for an apartment is there?

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Specializes in NICU.

tokmom, I had no clue you were in that area. I plan on moving shortly after I finish the program

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
I definitely want to be close enough to play in the city! So does anyone know what the average price for an apartment is there?

Do you know anyone in the area that can send you some of those apartment books that you see in grocery stores? They list prices in the surrounding area.

I'm roughly an hour-ish from Seattle. :)

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You can actually look at those for rent booklets online too.

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I definitely want to be close enough to play in the city! So does anyone know what the average price for an apartment is there?

It really depends on the area you are looking at and the size of the apartment you want.

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