With Seattle’s gorgeous mountains and lakes, a bustling tech scene, and abundant coffee culture, it’s easy to want to call this the Emerald city home. However, with housing prices around all major US cities rising it can be difficult to live on your own. According to Zillow, Seattle’s average $2,000 rental price for a 1 bedroom home, is above the national average of just $1,200. So it’s no surprise that this competitive market has left Seattleites now spending 35 percent of their annual household income on housing, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How does Seattle compare to other major cities?
London is 4% more expensive
New York is 24% more expensive
Los Angeles is about the same
Toronto is 15% cheaper
Sydney is 11% cheaper
Singapore is 7% cheaper
Paris is 11% cheaper
Source: Expatistan
For many expats, temporary furnished housing is a great option while you wait for your freight furniture and other household goods delivery to arrive. Nestpick is one online platform where you can search Seattle for furnished rentals.
But if paying the $2000 or more is not in your budget, then maybe it’s time to find a roommate. Whether moving to Seattle for work or school, a flatmate could be a great way to meet new people and save some money.
Finding someone that syncs up with your living style can be difficult and frustrating. You have to ask the right questions: when’s the last time you washed a dish that wasn’t yours, how often do you bring partners over, how loud do you listen to your music, have you ever secretly hidden a cat inside your apartment and pretended the noise was coming from YouTube videos? The list goes on and on.
Once you’ve settled on the questions to ask. It’s time to start looking. But where? Where and how can you as an expat, find a flatmate share in a Seattle? Here are some great resources to check out.
Online resources for finding a flatmate:
- Craigslist – Yes, it may seem creepy to some but with Craigslist’s new “Rooms Shared” sub-category it’s easier to focus on those who’ve put the time to post rooms they already have.
- Roommates – Has a Seattle section as well.
- Spareroom -Spareroom lets you search based on what’s important to you, to make sure you find your perfect match.
- Facebook – With over 56K members, join the Seattle Housing Group’s page to search apartments and roommates.
- Internations – A social media site for expats has a Seattle Housing forum. Check here to see if any other expats posted about needing a roommate. Alternatively, you can also post requesting a roommate if you already have a place or apartment.
Apps to help you find a roommate:
- Roomi – Say goodbye to yearlong leases. Roomi helps you find flexible, affordable housing and connect with roommates who make the big city feel like home.
- Roomster – A trusted name for people to post & and search for accommodations around the world with other like-minded individuals. Roomster connects people at all price points, in 192 countries.
Our Seattle City Guide is also a great resource for navigating the city. It’s got information on how to get around Seattle, navigating the education system, and basics like getting a phone or setting up a bank account. Most importantly, you can use the Seattle neighborhood guide to zero in on the neighborhoods that are a match for you. will help summarize information about costs of living, the average annual weather, safety as well as go into detail about each neighborhood.
Before we go, here are some apps to make roommate life waaaaaay easier:
Money/Finances
- Splitwise – Keep track of your shared expenses and balances with housemates, trips, groups, friends, and family.
- IOU – IOU (I owe you) tracks people who owes you money. It’s simple and fast.
- Venmo – Make payments, get payments, transfer money to your bank account and stay connected to friends.
- Cash – Request money and make payments as easy as using cash.
- Roof – Share a home pleasantly with your roommates. Collect rent and chat effortlessly with your tenants.
Shopping and Chores
- Our Groceries – simplest way to keep your grocery lists instantly synchronized on all the smartphones in your household—and it’s free!
- Wunderlist – custom lists and to do’s that can be shared with roommates or part of a group.
- Handy – Instantly book highly rated pros for cleaning and handyman tasks at a fixed price.
- ChoreBuster – The ultimate family chore chart, ChoreBuster lets you manage and assign chores to each roommate member of your family, for free!