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Homes for Service

Helping members live and serve in Washington State

Begin  Research | Location/Transportation | Budgeting | Temporary Housing | Access Housing Needs | Long Distance Apt Hunting

Congratulations on choosing to do national service in Washington--Your commitment and service are truly appreciated! To help you get started with your relocation and to support you throughout your year of service, the Washington Service Corps has assembled this website to help our members find affordable housing and learn some of the tips that have helped past members succeed in their year of service!

Moving to a new community is always a challenge, and that can be doubly true when you are starting a new position at the same time. Doing some advance work before you arrive can save you a lot of time and stress down the road. Ideally, every member would have the chance to visit their site ahead of time, but realistically, that isn’t often the case. To help you get started ahead of time, we have put together some information and links to resources that you may find useful.

Begin  Research

1. If you already know what your service site will be, get the address and find it on a map using Mapquest or Google Maps (which also has a cool satellite feature that lets you actually see the streets and buildings). With these tools, you can zoom out to see where in your community your site is located and use that information to help you narrow down which areas you would like to live in. Caution!--sometimes objects on these maps are farther than they appear, and other factors, such as traffic and bus transfers, may make the commute much longer than it looks. You can't really get a feel for how long the trip takes until you experience it for yourself!  Read more about Location and Transportation below.

2. Look up the public transportation routes that service your site.  We strongly recommend that members walk, bike, or use public transportation!

3. Focus in on those neighborhoods that are easily accessible and offer good transportation options to your site. 

4. Figure out what you can afford in rent (see Creating a Realistic Budget) 

5. Set up some Temporary Housing to tide you over for a week.  

6. Figure out what you want out of your housing by Assessing Your Housing Needs.

7. Check out the Rental Resources page for links to on-line rental agencies, info about low-income housing, and other housing tips.

8. Look for AmeriCorps roommates, housing offers, furniture hand-me-downs, etc. on the AmeriCorps Bulletin Board.  Click on the "Enter My Forum" button below.

Location/Transportation

Location

When people apply to AmeriCorps programs in Washington State, they are usually a little overwhelmed by all of the options--Washington State is lucky enough to have over 1600 members serving each year, and the programs are located all over the state.  WA Service Corps has around 700 members serving throughout WA, both on teams of 10-60 people and serving individually.  Each of our WSC teams and Individual Placements projects has something different to offer.  We encourage you to take a look at all of our projects to determine which one is best for you.  

One factor that often plays into this decisions is location:  Do you want to live somewhere urban or rural? Sunny or rainy?  Close to the water?  Close to the mountains?  In an area with a lot of ethnic diversity?  Low cost of living? Public transportation?  While many people immediately think of Seattle when they think of Washington, there are other medium to large-size cities such as Spokane and Vancouver as well as plenty of smaller cities like Wenatchee and Yakima and, of course, dozens of small towns like Tonasket and Republic.  In terms of geography, WA has ocean, mountains, and plains, and while it is famous for rain, the eastern side of the state is actually quite sunny.  We encourage you to check out some of the different locations where our AmeriCorps teams are located and make some comparisons.

Transportation

One of the philosophies of the AmeriCorps program, especially the AmeriCorps*VISTA program, is to live in the neighborhood or community where you serve.  However, sometimes for reasons of price or lack of available housing, members are forced to live quite a distance from their sites. While this is sometimes unavoidable, we strongly encourage you to consider proximity to your site (the place where you will be serving most days of the week) as a major factor in your housing selection.

Eliminating the time, expense, and stress of long commutes is one of the best things you can do to make your service year more positive. For that reason, transportation options from your site are one of the primary things to consider when choosing housing. Understanding the layout of your community and the way in which different neighborhoods connect is important to do before making a housing commitment.

For reasons both monetary and environmental, we strongly suggest that members walk, bike, or use public transportation. Click here for a list of all public transportation in Washington.  Additionally, many of our members choose to become bicycle commuters to save money and stay fit.

Budgeting

Relocation Expenses: Estimate the costs of your move to Washington.

Moving Your Belongings - Rental Truck, Shipping, Movers, Etc.

Moving Supplies - Boxes,Suitcases, Etc.

Transportation - Plane or train ticket, gas money, airport shuttles, etc.

Initial rent and deposits - Many landlords require payment of first and last month's rent and a security deposit.

Temporary Housing - You may need a few nights at a hostel, dorm, or hotel while you look at housing--see below for suggestions

Driver’s License Registration - See box below for more info.

Cash Reserves - YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR FIRST CHECK FOR 25 DAYS!!  WA Service Corps members (inc. WA Reading Corps), who start on the 1st will receive their first check on the 25th.  Those starting on the 15th will receive theirs on the 10th of the next month.

VISTA Relocation Benefits:

AmeriCorps*VISTA may receive a relocation allowance for a move from your home of record to the project site. In addition, VISTAs may receive some reimbursement for transportation costs.  Contact your supervisor or the WA Service Corps (1-888-713-6080) for more info.

Special Note on Residency

One consideration for members coming from out of state is whether or not to gain WA residency.  Factors to consider include (but are not limited to): taxes (especially if you are listed as a dependent on someone else's return), voting, state university tuition, and vehicle registration.

For those of you who want to become a WA resident or plan to live here for an extended time beyond your year of service, you are required to get a WA state driver’s license, (about $35).  If you are planning to become a WA resident and own your own vehicle, you will also need to register your car in WA, which costs around $37.** Certain urban counties also require emissions testing.  AmeriCorps members who do not wish to become WA residents are not required to do so. AmeriCorps can be considered students for these purposes if they plan to only be in WA for one year.  Please note that to register your car in Seattle, you will pay the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax for up to 1.4% of vehicle value to help pay for the monorail.

Another factor in residency is voter registration.  If you choose to become a WA resident, you should register to vote in WA.  If you choose to retain residency in another state, make sure to register for an absentee ballot so you can vote in your home state.

**If you buy a car in a state within 90 days of moving to WA and did not pay sales tax on it, you can be charged that sales tax when you register your car in WA and get your WA plates. Call your local   Department of Licensing  for more info.

Monthly Budget

The following monthly budgets are low and high end samples for living in WA. These are just general outlines to use as templates to estimate your own costs. As you can see, it is possible to survive on the modest AmeriCorps living allowance (although you may have to make some trade-offs)! Keep in mind that budgets may need to be higher or lower depending on your project and where you live. For example, members in urban areas who will have a car should factor in parking expenses (which can be significant) while those in rural areas may have to drive longer distances to their service site and pay more for gas.

You should try to estimate your monthly expenses to find the range of monthly rent you think you will be able to afford. Monthly rents vary widely in different parts of the state, but in general rents under $300 are very rare, and few members pay over $400. Unless you have some form of outside support, anything over $350 is going to be difficult to manage, although it is doable if your other expenses are minimal. Your supervisor and current members are good sources of information on monthly costs.

• AmeriCorps: there may be limitations on whether or not you can work a part-time job to help supplement your AmeriCorps living allowance. Some projects prefer that you not burden yourself with a second job that might detract from your service. Talk to your supervisor.

• VISTA: Members are prohibited by federal law from holding a second job or receiving any monetary compensation other than the living allowance.

If you will not have housing lined up before moving to your new service community, having a place to stay for a week or two can relieve a lot of stress and give you the time you need to find more permanent housing that really meets your needs. The best temporary housing options are friends, family, and other AmeriCorps members serving in your community. Ask your supervisor about staying with current members and check out the bulletin board for temporary housing offers. Feel free to post your own request if there are no offers out there—many members are more than happy to help if asked!

In addition, there may be a few low-cost short-term housing options such as hostels.  Another good bet is to check with any local colleges in your town--some rent out dorm rooms on a per-night basis for as little as $15!  Some members have also planned to stay in a state park for a week while looking--a very low-cost option!

Questions to Ask Your Temporary Housing Provider