Camas vs. Lake Oswego/West Linn (sales, home, schools)

[hml1976]

Hi everyone.

My husband has taken a job in Vancouver and is already living there. The kids and I are hoping to follow him in the next few months, we currently live in a suburb of Nashville and are waiting to sell our house.

Anyway, would you definitely live on the Washington side to avoid taxes? My husband is surprised at the number of his coworkers that live on the Oregon side and swear they would never live in Camas or Vancouver. It seems like a lot of money to give up every year in taxes.

We have two small children and schools are really important to us. We're looking at around 400K-450K for a home. We were initially interested in Camas but are having second thoughts...

Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks in advance.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by hml1976

Anyway, would you definitely live on the Washington side to avoid taxes? My husband is surprised at the number of his coworkers that live on the Oregon side and swear they would never live in Camas or Vancouver. It seems like a lot of money to give up every year in taxes.

We have two small children and schools are really important to us. We're looking at around 400K-450K for a home. We were initially interested in Camas but are having second thoughts...

Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks in advance.

Uh, yeah...I'm with you. I think they're awfully silly to NOT live in WA if they work there. Even if you eliminate the Oregon income tax issue, you'd still have one heck of a commute from Lake Oswego/West Linn to Vancouver.

Also, Camas schools are spectacular, some of the best in the state. And it's a pretty cool town, too. There are some very nice people living there and the city has a real honest-to-goodness community feel and identity to it. (It doesn't just feel like the suburb of a larger city.) I'd live in Camas in heartbeat.

[angelbug]

I have relatives who have lived in Camas for about 10 years. They have two kids (one now in college) and they've raved about the schools there. The town has grown considerably since they first moved there. They have a home on a couple acres that used to be surrounded by woods, but is now surrounded by a few McMansions. But they still enjoy living there very much.

[chrissyd]

The comments thus far are very accurate. My husband works in Oregon & we have raised our kid's in Camas Schools. The quality of life is A+. Check out what Money magazine has to say.

[little peg]

Originally Posted by hml1976

Hi everyone.

My husband has taken a job in Vancouver and is already living there. The kids and I are hoping to follow him in the next few months, we currently live in a suburb of Nashville and are waiting to sell our house.

Anyway, would you definitely live on the Washington side to avoid taxes? My husband is surprised at the number of his coworkers that live on the Oregon side and swear they would never live in Camas or Vancouver. It seems like a lot of money to give up every year in taxes.

We have two small children and schools are really important to us. We're looking at around 400K-450K for a home. We were initially interested in Camas but are having second thoughts...

Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks in advance.

Hey has nothing to do with your post but is a trip to Graceland worth it for a lifelong Elvis Fan? Is it really as shoddy as I have heard around that area? Oh by the way, vote here is for WA, Oregon schools are in money woes, had two that did 12 years in the systems. Live in Wa, better home prices. Good Luck! You can still shop in Oregon and pay no sales tax.

[hml1976]

Honestly, I don't know I've never been, Memphis is four hours away from us. If you're an Elvis fan though I would go, you only live once!

[little peg]

Originally Posted by hml1976

Honestly, I don't know I've never been, Memphis is four hours away from us. If you're an Elvis fan though I would go, you only live once!

thank you, thank you very much!