UGH! Finding a place to live in Yakima is HARD.

I am one of the lucky ones who snagged a place to live that hasn't raised the rent to an exorbitant level like the rest of town. My only gripe is that my place is now too small because I am living with a 10-year-old, two guinea pigs, and a cat (that thinks he's the Mayor of Yakima) in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. But I like having extra money left over to spend each month, so I'm not moving anywhere for the time being. Call me stingy and cheap if you wanna! I don't care, idc!

via GIPHY

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I have been looking for YEARS to move out into something bigger, like at least a TWO bedroom apartment or house, but it's damned near impossible to find within the price range that I'm looking for. It's very difficult to afford a two-bedroom place without having at least two jobs or one full-time job that pays more than $24,747 annually, which according to Google is the median income for the city of Yakima.

Yakima Median Income
screenshot via datacommons.org
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Around 20% of the Yakima population lives in poverty according to data from the 2018 Census. The zip code with the greatest amount of poverty is 98901, which covers sections of Southeast Yakima and downtown Yakima. Apartments and homes to rent in these areas may be on the cheap side, but you will still pay a lot if you don't get fat paychecks!

Yakima Poverty Rate
screenshot via datacommons.org
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Apartments.com says the average cost for apartments are:
Studio: $597
1 Bedroom: $777
2 Bedroom: $932
3 Bedroom: $1,112

These kinds of rent costs are why I have stayed put in my humble and crowded meager 1 bedroom. I have given my bedroom to my daughter and I have a makeshift bedroom next to the kitchen. I have no shame about it, I know it's embarrassing but it just means by keeping my rent so low, I have more money to spend on enjoying life! I refuse to spend the time I have left on this earth doling out all of my hard-earned money on sky-high rent and bills! That's at least until I can afford to move into something BIGGER AND BETTER! :)

Reddit user, moridin82, says there's a rental scam happening in the area that we need to be on the watch for. You might get an email from someone trying to rent you a house. The dead giveaway is how the font changes when the person states their name. Another giveaway is that the person says they were initially selling the house to a realtor but decided to sell it on their own instead. It's a copy and pasted message that is being sent to folks trying to rent a home in certain Craigslist spaces, so watch out for this scam. Just be careful no matter who you decide to rent from, especially if it is a privately owned house.

Meanwhile, if you are trying to find an affordable apartment in Yakima, don't give up hope. You just will/might have to wait a while. Goodness knows I surely have!

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