Yakima Among Top Washington Cities Sending New Residents to Seattle
A new mid-year report from popular moving company, U-Haul, shows there are a lot of people who have decided to stop living in Yakima. They are fleeing to live in Seattle.
They would rather trade in the small commute times, slower pace of life, access to award-winning vineyards, breweries, and restaurants to live in the big city, where dreams do come true and there's lots of people to meet and fun activities to enjoy every day.
Seattle does have a reputation for being one of the best big cities to live, so I definitely see the draw! I mean, I would kill to be thisclose to the IKEA store in Renton, Trader Joe's, Lumen Field, and the Sea-Tac airport, but whew lordy, it takes a lot of money to survive in that town without a college degree (unless you want to work 2 or 3 jobs--which most people do not)!
Reasons Why So Many Yakima Residents Are Moving to Seattle Right Now
- Young people are moving away to college
- Lucky people are finding new job opportunities paying way better than they do in Yakima
- Somebody won the lottery and can now they can afford to live in Seattle
- Savvy people with expendable income are commuting back and forth from Yakima to Seattle for work
Cost of Living Comparison: Yakima and Seattle
A cost-of-living calculator from NerdWallet.com suggests that these former Yakima residents will need to earn at least 46% more income in order to survive day-to-day life in Seattle neighborhoods. Housing is 136% higher. Transportation is about 12% higher according to a gas per gallon estimate determined from GasBuddy.com.
More to Read: Think Your Podunk WA State Town is Boring? 5 Towns That Could Top It!
What Yakima’s Migration to Seattle Really Says About Opportunity
This huge migration to Seattle is showing that sometimes having a lower cost of living and less traffic doesn't matter if there aren't enough opportunities to have a fulfilling life.
This influx of folks moving away from Yakima could be highlighting trouble on the horizon for sustainable economic growth: Many locals have legit complaints about the lack of opportunities in Yakima County in the areas of housing, career growth, dating options, retail shopping, and entertainment activities.
U-Haul's Mid-Year Migration Report also shows that Seattle is also pulling in most of its new residents from Spokane, Vancouver, Bellingham, and Bremerton. Yakima came in at #4 on the list of Washington cities right after Bellingham.
Read More: Spokane to Seattle: The Most Popular In-State Move Right Now
People outside Washington are moving into Seattle from Portland, the San Francisco Bay/San Jose area, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Denver.
