$200 room rent in apartment/house? (Seattle, Vancouver: renters, how much, mobile home)

[joe_obody999]

I know someone wanting to come to Vancouver, but here in Duluth MN he rents a simple room in a house of similar renters for $200/month includes utilities; in a shabbier part of town. Would he have any chance of getting something like this in Vancouver, if not how much more would he likely pay for a similar type of room rental? Just wondering if he could even afford to move to Vancouver. He works full time but at $9/hr and just can not afford much for housing. Perhaps in a nearby small town?

[StealthRabbit]

Rooming houses are available, but likely $300+ for single. (similar for shared apartment with own room in most of PNW, excluding Seattle)

for the right person ... I always recommend finding a retired couple with a separate apartment / living qtrs. Can get these for $300 too. Can be helpful to each other.

$9.32 minimum wage means he will get an extra $55.82/ month. Add a couple extra jobs (I always worked 3), subtract MN state income tax, and he can get by quite fine.

There is always a Dairy Farm (free housing. plenty of work). Worked for me till I was old enough to get out (age 15). My first day of 'retirement' @ age 15! No more 24x7 4:30AM and 4:30 PM!!! yippee! free at last! I went down the road and rented a mobile home for $200/month (40+ yrs ago).

Gotta do what you gotta do... By age 18 I was a caregiver for a disabled parent for the next 32 yrs of life... so much for 3 yrs of retirement (age 15 to 18). Then I retired again at age 49, yippee, only to be followed by illness of a spouse, so will be caregiving till the day I die. (soon likely). Such is THIS life... over and done with.

Send him out into the world and have him pick up some skills to escape the rooming house blues. You learn a lot on a Dairy Farm. He will have Many more dairy farm options while passing through ID. WA has chased almost all of our dairy farmers to ID. He can pick up the skills in ID and come to Vancouver and get a job at Oregon Steel or Thompson Metal fab (in east section - Port of Vancouver) for 2x $9/hr. Work night shift = 15% extra pay, worked for me for 28 of my 30 yrs employment.

[bler144]

Wenatchee is desperate for apple pickers - they're about 10k short apparently due to a visa snafu. Could be a good way to stop en route and make some slightly better money fast (about $16/hr I think it works out to) before sidling in to Vanc.

On the Pdx side of the river you can find rooms for anywhere from 300 (+utils) to 600 (may/may not include utils). Even in Vancouver I'd be leery of what you could get for $200, but it's certainly feasible (and I agree with SR that 300+ is probably a safer assumption).

I'd surf craigslist posts, as that's where the bulk get advertised.