Cheap Living in Seattle

Cheap Housing

One unfortunate fact about Seattle is that it’s an expensive city, and it’s only getting more expensive. The city’s population is expected to triple in the next ten years - that means that the cost of living here is only going to get worse. However, the same rules apply to Seattle as other cities; to find cheap housing, the further you are from the center of town, the cheaper it’ll be. That means that you’ll find all sorts of cheap places in West Seattle, Georgetown, Skyway, outer Ballard, Northgate, and Lake City. The most common central-ish place to find cheap housing is the University District, because it’s mostly inhabited by late-teens/early-20 year old students who rarely live in the same building for more than a year. Of course, because of gentrification, areas like the Central District and Capitol Hill often have cheaper houses for short-term leases because they're set to be torn down for condos. The best way to live cheap in Seattle is to find a big house and stuff it full of as many people as you can fit. (See, “Beyond Squat Or Rot” - practicalanarchy.org/rot.html – or just search for information about cooperative living on the internet.)

For those in great need of affordable housing there are programs available. However, these programs are likely to include a long waiting list.

seattlehousing.org – Seattle Housing Authority

ccsww.org/aha/housing.php - Archdiocesan Housing Authority

kcha.org – King County Housing Authority

crisisclinic.org – Crisis Clinic – use to find info about other housing programs.