(Untitled)

[kniazhna]

Только я собралась сесть чертить план будущего дома (мы рассматриваем вариант постройки вместо покупки), как предпоследние оставшиеся в Орландо друзья сообщают, что переезжают в Сиэтл - к практически всем переехавшим отсюда туда другим друзьям. Ну и сагитировали нас всякими плюшками. Кажется, после поездки мы будем рассматривать еще один вариант

Comments

[elarbee]

Can you and/or husband get work there? If so, I bet the salary would be higher, too.

[kniazhna]

We would only move if he were offered a job. I will have harder time getting back into the workforce there than I do here. Yeah, we expect the pay would be higher for him. Still, gotta factor in the costs of living and other expenses proportionally.

[elarbee]

To me, it's not just a matter of money. Like other commenters, I've always chosen to live in a more expensive place in a smaller home but closer to the action (within city limits, if possible).

[kniazhna]

Neither is to us. However, if we can't provide for our children and are scraping the bottom, we won't be able to afford the action either. At this point, he wants to maintain and even increase the square footage (while I'm perfectly content in a studio, man loves his space) so we'd have to go deep in the burbs. Perhaps he'll change his mind as we actually start working towards that direction but right now it's at that. It'd still be better than the redneck bfe we're currently in.
And it's not only housing. Travel, taxes, day to day expenses, school, commute even.

[elarbee]

I get that, but I'm still willing to sacrifice potential net worth for intangible things.

[royal_penguin]

Whenever I read your comments on this subject, I always wonder if you'd still feel the same way and choose to live in SF if you really had to sacrifice a lot for it. As in, cough up $4000+/month for a 2-br much smaller and crappier than what you have or raise your family in a 1-br (and still pay $3000 every month). It's easy to speak about sacrifice in theory but the reality of raising a family in *very* expensive 600 square feet changes people's minds very quickly. Living in SF Bay Area (and I hear that Seattle is catching up quickly) is no longer a matter of just sacrificing some square footage - unless you have two very nice 6-digit salaries it's going to be more like struggling to survive.

[elarbee]

That's a very fair assessment, and I acknowledge that we're extremely privileged in our current situation. But I did the exact same thing at market rates in Boston and DC, when I was totally on my own and with a very low income. We're planning on doing this for as long as we can, and if we ever outgrow our place, we'll make the same choice in another city (like Portland).

[royal_penguin]

It's very different when you're childless. I used to live in the tiniest places in SF and not even give it a second thought. It didn't occur to me, ever, that square footage should even be on the list of priorities when choosing where to live. Didn't even consider it a sacrifice, honestly. Mark and I always lived in the most centrally located small apartments. Raising a child in a 1-br, however, turned out to be a VERY different story. My point: it's different when you have kids, especially when they get to kindergarten age. Raising a family in a very expensive tiny home is "making do" rather than "living". I know well that every family has its own struggles and I don't mean to diminish yours, but to me it's often amusing to read your comments about sacrificing house size for the sake of living in SF. ;) I mean, you live in a motherfucking palace, dude! ;)

[elarbee]

I take your point. But again, I will most certainly need to make this choice again in the future, and my priorities are still such.

And the other thing is, we're very economical. What might be making do to others is living to us. I'm not saying it would allow us to afford $4000/month for a tiny apartment, but it would give us other options.

[royal_penguin]

Many people are economical, but housing is a very basic need that's difficult to save on, unless you're willing to pack your family into one room.
Speaking of Portland - I am headed there in June (vacation only for now). Portland Piano Festival was a great way to lure my husband

[elarbee]

I've visited there before, but after Andy went there for a work conference, he was really impressed. We stayed at my cousin's place in Seattle a while ago and both really liked it, but somehow Portland really resonated with him.