Emma Cooper Olivia Evans

The Cost of Living—Conclusion

Seattle, Washington

Living on our own and being responsible for all of the finances, housing payments,

living conditions, and food we needed to purchase within one year proved to be much more

challenging than we had expected. It can be so easy relying on our parents to protect and

provide for us that we forget all of the work it actually takes. We were not sure exactly

what to expect, but we knew being independent came with both positives and negatives.

When we were assigned the city of Seattle, we first had to research what living conditions

were like in Washington. Fortunately for us, the city provided free bus service during

certain hours and even had a Kitsap Transit service to transport us around Seattle when we

couldn’t use the bus. The decision not to purchase a car was tough at first—we both were

used to having the funds to buy, maintain, and store a care. However, after realizing that

the price of gas was still increasing and that the insurance, monthly payments and actual

cost of the car would add up to a huge sum, we decided to only use public transportation.

One of the most difficult assignments in the “Cost of Living” project was uncovering the

prices of our electricity, water, and gas bills. Every time we use the television, take a

shower, or turn on the lights, we are paying more and more money each month. Learning

and understanding how valuable simple things can be made us appreciate so much more

the things we used to take for granted. Although we learned how hard living on our can be,

we also realized that it’s possible, and can even be fun, to take care of ourselves. We now

have the tools to find a reasonably priced apartment, know how to take of care of paying

taxes, and are aware of what kinds of insurance claims, policies, and quotas are out there.

Emma Cooper Olivia Evans

Completing this project helped us become more aware of the real world is like and more

prepared for when we are actually out on our own.