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Comment by larrykubin | Hacker News Reader

If you are in tech, Seattle has high salaries and no state income tax. Housing costs are rising, but I had a nice 1BR in Capitol Hill for ~ 1700 before buying a 3 BR townhouse in West Seattle with the same monthly cost for mortgage and taxes combined. Walk scores > 90 in both neighborhoods I've lived in and have never had a car. The equivalent housing would cost at least double in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, the winter in Seattle is a downer and it's a bit weird socially.

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Unfortunately, the winter in Seattle is a downer

Some people get used to it. I did. But I'm from the Midwest, so my perspective is "hey, at least I don't have to shovel it". Me, since we've spent the summer doing outdoor stuff, it gives me a few months to catch up on more indoorsy stuff. Get caught up on reading, spend more time with my musical instruments, that kind of thing.

But still get outside: wear your headlamp, put your Gortex(tm) on, try to hold on until March.

Seattle pretty much a hard no if you've got any sort of seasonal affective disorder. It's number 1 in the US for number of cloudy days per year.

It is not significantly less sunny than many northern US cities also mentioned in this thread--Cleveland, Pittsburg, Buffalo, etc...

Is 1700 for a 1BR considered "Low COL" ?

Not to me, but perhaps in Capitol Hill it is and that's what the parent meant.

This isn't low compared to much of the country, but is pretty good for the relative quality of life and high salary that we are talking about. This is within walking distance of Pike Place and Melrose Market, music venues (Neumo's, Crocodile, numerous jazz clubs), theaters (Paramount, Moore), light rail to the airport, retail, high paying employment (Amazon, Redfin, Facebook, etc), and some great food/drink options.

Much less expensive than San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Those are in the $3,000-$5,000 range if you don't want to commute.

Capitol Hill is the absolute trendiest part of town. A lot of people live on the north or west sides of town. Some friends of mine split a house for $500 a piece about a single 30-45 minute bus ride from their office downtown.

This, especially if you work at a Bay area company paying bay area compensation in Seattle

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