Tako

I am kinda leaning towards Chicago too. It's a great school, and I wish spending one year there might open up some new research opportunities and pave my path to good Ph.D. programs! I wish we could study together at UCSD in their Ph.D. program  Best of luck to you!

I only got funding from UW (that email from UCSD hit me in the gut too... plus requiring Econ summer class despite being an Econ minor haha). 
I am visiting next week UCSD so I might bring it up but I already contrived to UW (better area studies, my interests align better with the faculty, and so forth). 
I know it's disappointing but Chicago is great too! Maybe we can try again as PhD candidates for UCSD? 

I only got funding from UW (that email from UCSD hit me in the gut too... plus requiring Econ summer class despite being an Econ minor haha). 
I am visiting next week UCSD so I might bring it up but I already contrived to UW (better area studies, my interests align better with the faculty, and so forth). 
I know it's disappointing but Chicago is great too! Maybe we can try again as PhD candidates for UCSD? 

Find out if your university currently offers any campus wide fellowships, scholarships, etc. Once you establish your dissertation's general themes and develop a central thesis, I would start marketing it to various fellowships, grants, and other organizations that might share a mutual interest. For example, if you are looking at Islam in Japan and tourism, I would approach or examine JETRO, MOFA, and other organizations such as travel agencies or the like that have a vested interest in your research if you can spin it to helping them better understand how/why foreigners from SE Asia and other Muslim communities come/don't come to Japan and how they can better improve their experiences. Market your materials to those with money.
Take any opportunity to find conferences with student paper competitions and the like that you can attend or at least submit to. Winning prizes gives you exposure and recognition, which can contribute to lines on your CV. Demonstrate you 1.) produce relevant research and 2.) get money for it. A $500 student paper competition win can help you get that $1000 campus grant, which leads to a regional $5000 expense stipend from an agency to tens of thousands of dollars in other grants, etc.
If all else fails, seek out teaching opportunities that offer tuition remission in addition to pay. I know you already have an out-of-state waiver, but teaching at your local junior college or community college on the side helps you network and gives you more income. Use the opportunity to develop your own lessons and research, bring in your own research and teach it in segment of the curriculum, etc.

Not going to UW for grad school, but I've been living in Seattle for 6 years now and have had great luck using Craigslist (most people do).
 
If any of you guys have specific questions on living in different Seattle neighborhoods, prices, public transit, etc., feel free to DM me.

Oh that's reassuring to hear. I wish to see you all in San Diego

Thank you so much! I like your focus so hopefully we can share a coffee (or tea) in San Diego over Mandarin conversation (trying to learn Mandarin, Korean, Tagalog at a conversational level in addition to Japanese). :) 

International Environmental Policy and Chinese here. Good luck with UofWash!