Seattle is Dying

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2019

My older daughter and her fiance moved to Seattle last summer for a one year post dissertation internship. They moved to a really lovely neighborhood (west side of Lake Washington, just a couple of blocks from the water) that apparently isn't considered the "hip" part of town. They live in a nice little house that while pricier than they were used to, is nevertheless doable. I've never seen any homeless people in that area, but when we stayed in a hotel downtown on our visits, we saw some. One guy was about 100 yards ahead of us as we walked towards the Pike Place Market, and we could smell him as though he was right next to us. It was really unbelievable. I felt for him-he had to be mentally ill or maybe just completely hopeless. It's a tough situation, multifactoral in etiology, therefore there isn't a simple fix.

My D and her new husband say they could never afford to buy the house they are renting, so they are not going to settle there.

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 4, 2019

Home buying is not always the ideal investment it is always pitched as. In many countries, people do not buy homes, they rent their whole lives. There are benefits to renting, especially if you are putting money in an index fund.

In SF and I would assume Seattle, the prices of the homes are too expensive to justify buying most of the time (especially in SF, IMO, with the larger looming threat of earthquake and many areas being uninsurable due to liquifaction zones) I just always have to throw that out there ? I used to be a home buyer, but I am a very happy renter now.

OldDude · Apr 4, 2019

1 hour ago, LilPeanut said:
...I used to be a home buyer, but I am a very happy renter now.

I've bought and sold a few homes along the way. If I had the chance to do it over again I too would be a happy renter.