Hey all,

My wife and I want to move out to Washington, her family is from the Pac NW area and she has family between Salem OR and Seatle WA, and actually about an hour ago I got off the plane from spending about 5 days out there. When we were there we took a few days to look for houses around near her brothers place a little north of Seatle, and a few months back we were looking in the Centralia/Chehalis area, and we still don't have any idea where we want to be. We are thinking somewhere not too far from I-5, but also not as expensive as the areas around Seatle...

What are good areas???

Who knows the differences between houses/schools and all the stuff like that say from the Centralia area up to Everett or so??? I grew up in a smaller rural town similar to the Centrailia/Chehalis area and my wife and her family is used to more city type stuff like up in the Edmonds/Everett area, and we live in Philly now so we can adapt to any area. What are the thoughts from those out there?

Thanks for any good info...

 

Well, it's been my experience that you can not live too far away from family when you're married, especially in-laws. So, with that being said, we need more f-body type peeps down south here. I'm gonna vote for Portland/Vancouver area.

Mike

 

+1
I agree with what Mike said in regards to inlaws.
Vote PDX/Vancouver

 

You said you have family in the Salem area? You really need to consider Salem then! I've been living in the Portland/Salem/Corvallis area for over 12 years now. What I like about Salem is that is not busy, crowded, dirty (and isn't full of complete morons) like Portland (not to knock on the p-town folk, but I've lived there ). The Salem community is very relaxed and easy going--if you're into becoming a growing part of the community then this is the perfect town to start in, especially for a newly wed(?).

 

It really comes down to what you're doing to bring home the $$$. Where will you be working and how far are you willing to commute? In general, you will be able to find much more house for the money, and have better neighborhoods and schools, if you stay an hour or more away from the big cities(Seattle/Portland). The trick is getting employment that doesn't require you to commute that hour+ each way every day.

If you end up in WA, you'll find housing is generally more affordable to the South of Seattle than it is up North.

 

I agree. There are a lot of variables involved.

If you are a billionaire then move to Medina or Clide Hill. If you are a software developer move to Redmond. If you are a military man move to Federal Way. If you want to work for Boeing Everett area or Renton area would be good. Seattle itself is not really affordable. Bellevue, Kirkland area have unbelievable housing costs. Issaquah is growing rapidly, Lynnwood is more interested in the business income than having residential growth.

Overall I would say to move close to your work because commute times are a killer. For example, I live in Kirkland and commute every day into Seattle and spend about an hour and a half each way. Normally it's about 20-30 minutes in no traffic.

 

Good suggestions...

OSUBraden - But the most of the family she wants to be the closest to is up north and only her mother lives in Salem, so we were thinking of looking in WA and a little more North then VC, yet I know a few people in Battle Ground and that area is real nice, but a liittle far from family...

Crisisman and howierd42 - We are by no means billionaires. My wife and I are both in Software development/IT stuff. She is in a small company that allows her to work from home and she will have no real commute, I work for a larger IT consulting firm and would need to commute, but my company consults to a lot of different types of companies throughout the whole Seattle area and I would have to drive no matter where I end up because one project might need work in Redmond, the next one might up around Everett, or in the city. So either way I would need to commute unless I want to try and get a job with her company and then we would both be woking remotely...

I guess the biggest shock is this:
We live in a decent area outside of Philly right now, bought our house (sorry, havent updated the site since we bought it) about 2.5 years ago for around $200K, the market went up but then dopped a little and stalled and we can maybe sell it right now for about $250K with the updates and work we did, and not really make a big profit. This past weekend when we were looking around the Edmonds, Lynnwood, Bothel, Everett, Brier, Lake Stevens, and Mill Creek areas there was nothing comprable. We did find a few nice places and houses that would be similar to a lateral move but they were all in the $350K +, and for the things in the price range we are used to, most houses needed work and had either no property or no garage. It was just a huge shock to what we are used to out here...

We were also toying with the idea of moving south to like the Lewis or Thurston County areas off I-5 and buying land and building. We found some decent places in Lewis County near Centralia and Chehalis, but we don't know much about the area other then what the city and county websites show, I was hoping there were guys on here from down there too who could give us info...

See my dilemma,

 

It sounds like your best bet is going to be around the Bothell, Woodinville, Duvall, Mill Creek area from what your territory looks like. Commuting every day from the Centrailia area would be inconceivable. If your territory is going to just be around *where ever* you live then you might seriously consider doing the buy and build thing. However, property prices on the west side of the state are all going to be similar to what you found. Spokane might be a bit more affordable and give you more for your land dollar.

 

South of Olympia and North of Vancouver is a relatively inexpensive area, BUT, be sure you know your geology. Many areas in that stretch are prone for annual flooding. Also, for building, many properties in that area will have serious wetlands restrictions. Finally, as Howard said, the commute from there to anything in the Seattle area would be murder. There are reasons that land is more affordable. You get what you pay for.

 

If you have kids & are looking for a good place to raise them South of Olympia is great.

I live down by Olympia in a Small town Called Yelm. The problem with living here right now is housing prices are going up because of the realinment of the bases (Fort Lewis & McChord). But you can find a good land lot out here & build for a good price.

My brother in law lives in OakVille which is just off of i-5 south of us & south of Olympia. I think he lives in Grays harbor county (there is a point where Lewis, Grays Harbor & thurston all sort of intersect & thats where he lives at) Land prices are cheaper there than in Thurston county but if you want to do anything you have to drive a ways to get to it.

 

I'd say stay as far away from Seattle and Olympia as possible. Traffic is just stupid bad out here and housing prices are insane. People can't freakin drive here, esp when it rains. I live in Puyallup, only because it's not too far from McChord AFB where I fly out of. Personally I'm not a big fan of WA. It's pretty, but the left coast just drives me nuts.

Lance

 

Employment is a huge factor in where you move.

For work I moved over to the western side of Wa a little over a year ago and can't stand it. Everything is expensive, traffic is always horrible, it rains constantly, nobody speaks english, everything is crowded, and when it snows the place shuts down. But there is a lot of money to be made here, it's a trade off...

Consider northern Idaho. It's beautiful there, actually has 4 discernible seasons, housing/property/goods are all affordable, longer distance drives to work are no big deal cause you actually drive instead of commuting through a constant traffic jam (I drove 20 miles to work and it took 20 min. on average), and 99% of the time you can understand what the hell people are saying.

I could just be bitter cause I am a redneck that is WAY out of his comfort zone, but if you are used to a smaller town like Centralia you may feel the same...

 

You totally hit the nail on the head. This state does suck. Oregon would be a better state to move to...

 

I agree completely. It's amazing how two or three counties make me hate this whole state.

 

im moving to the spokane area next june im glad ill be on the none crowded side of the state. i hate florida , im a colorado boy so i should feel at home in eastern washington. anyone from that area??

 

Well if any of you need a realtor, let me know, my wife could always use the business.

 

Jeff,

I might take you up on that offer...

What area's does she cover?

 

She works out of Gig Harbor Realty, but will cover pretty much anywhere there is business. She is working with a client in Seattle and has sold a place as far south as Olympia. If you are looking somewhere else, I am sure she could find you a good agent in that area.

PM me and I can send you her info.