Relocate to WA or OR?? (Portland, Eugene: sales, leases, car registration)

[Not2BinFL]

First, thanks for all the great info ... this board is a wealth of information!

Okay, here's the deal. My husband and I are going to be relocating within the next year. We will have a small business (most likely we will buy an existing business). And we will be buying a home (under $300,000).

Which state is better for small business owners?

I'm thinking about the overall picture: business taxes, insurance, property tax, car registration ...

Does that make sense??

We have no family or ties in the area. We can go anywhere we want. We want to stay to the west side or maybe slightly middle. We want 4 seasons, but NOT HOT summers or many feet of snow in the winter. Rain is not a bad thing!

Help?!?!

[jm21]

The nuclear waste really just seeps into the river and the drinking water...no big deal. Most of it gets filtered out before it gets to the tap. I think they've only had to evacuate one town completely.

No idea about the costs of running a small business, but to get a decent amount of customers, you'd probably have to stick around the I-5 corridor. $300k will buy a modest home in a decent neighborhood in any of the smaller towns.

[Silverfall]

It depends on what type of small business you want. I have my own small business, and I find Oregon very reasonable. I think you will find in Portand and Eugene that you might not be able to afford leases. They can be pretty pricey.

If you are going to purchase and existing business, I guess it depends on what type. Car registration is much more expensive in WA than in Oregon. Our property taxes are more, I think. Business licensing costs, are cheap in Oregon. I take it you are going to do your taxes as an Inc, rather than a sole proprietorship?

There are so many factors, but if you go the the secretary of state website for Oregon, there is some really good business information on it.

[aryding]

Washington was just ranked #4 for best state for small businesses. The source was highly creditable, but I can't remember what it was. I also recommend relocating to Washington, but not too far over the border and near I-5. That way you can do your shopping in Oregon and not pay sales tax.... Something that a lot of Vancouver people do. EDIT: The source was Business Week

[Not2BinFL]

Thanks Neopets, I will avoid Benton County, lol!!

I am thinking mid to smaller sized towns, not the big guys like Portland.

I wondered about boarder towns because we will be in retail. If we are "jumping the line" to spend our money, why would we expect people to shop with us.

We are going to be doing custom picture framing, which I think will do well just about anywhere there are walls!

Thanks for all the info ... keep it coming. I will have to check out the secretary of state website, I didn't think of that!