From Crosscut: “When RJ and Ann Casey moved to Seattle from Chicago four and a half years ago, they landed a studio apartment for $1,800 a month. With RJ working as an editor at Fantagraphics, a comic book publisher, and Ann running a physical therapy clinic, the rent was manageable for a time. But after a few years, the couple wanted to start a family; the studio apartment would no longer do. Looking to truly set down roots, they decided to buy a house. Still, even with dual incomes, a home in the Seattle market was out of reach.
“We didn’t even look for houses in Seattle,” says RJ. “The lowest priced houses near us were $500,000 and most were between that and $1 million.”
RJ and Ann looked around the Seattle suburbs for a while, but weren’t satisfied with the properties within their price range. Then they found it, a place where they “felt the most at home and where we could afford a house at the time.” Tacoma. They bought their house in Central Tacoma, a big neighborhood west of downtown and about thirty-some miles from their workplaces. The terrible commute aside, RJ’s happy with the couple’s decision. Two-and a half years in, they’re feeling settled and finding it “easy to get to know people here and find restaurants and bars to become regulars at.” Just recently they had their first kid.
RJ and Ann’s story is becoming commonplace. With median home prices in Seattle well above $800,000 and above $640,000 in King County, homeownership is now well out of reach for many middle-income people in the area. No such problem in Tacoma, where the median home price is around $288,000. It’s hard to put an exact number on how many Seattle-area residents are migrating to Tacoma, but real estate agent Marguerite Martin says, “There’s no question” the phenomenon is real.”