relocation between Seattle and Portland (Vancouver, Olympia: real estate, renting, low crime)

[PencilMeIn]

My husband is being relocated and will have a territory between Seattle and Portland. We are not too familiar with Washington and are looking for suggestions on nice areas...not too rural....probably near Olympia or Vancouver. We are used to living in or near a decent sized city as we do like our conveniences. I know that Seattle is too expensive. We would like to keep the housing cost under 300. My main concern is being in a safe and comfortable area and hopefully meet some friendly people. The kids are grown so I'm not too concerned about the school districts except when it comes to resale value. We can't really consider renting being that we have 3 dogs. Are there county/city limits as to the number of pets you can own?

Any suggestions? I appreciate your help.

[Sandy Nelson]

I would recommend Olympia, or Centralia. They're both on the I-5 corridor and just about equi-distance from Seattle and Portland. Both have community colleges (Olympia also has Evergreen College), good public schools, low crime and high quality of life. Check out the cities' website here:
Centralia
Olympia

Sandy

[Alcon]

Originally Posted by samsmom

My husband is being relocated and will have a territory between Seattle and Portland. We are not too familiar with Washington and are looking for suggestions on nice areas...not too rural....probably near Olympia or Vancouver. We are used to living in or near a decent sized city as we do like our conveniences. I know that Seattle is too expensive. We would like to keep the housing cost under 300. My main concern is being in a safe and comfortable area and hopefully meet some friendly people. The kids are grown so I'm not too concerned about the school districts except when it comes to resale value. We can't really consider renting being that we have 3 dogs. Are there county/city limits as to the number of pets you can own?

Any suggestions? I appreciate your help.

There are pretty much four "metropolitan" areas that fit your geographic range. Here are some pros, cons, and some cultural information.

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
PROS: Best opportunity for a local night on the town, stable employment base, safest of the listed areas
CONS: Expensive housing
CULTURE: Politically progressive. Lots of government employees. Parts are very similar to Seattle in attitude. Suburban areas and outlaying cities still tolerant, but less radical.

Centralia-Chehalis
PROS: Cheapest, most small-town feeling
CONS: Seattle and Portland are both slogs, crime (especially meth-related), not much entertainment
CULTURE: Conservative, religious. Homogeneous and white.

Kelso-Longview
PROS: Cheap housing (I don't mean to sound down on the area, but that's all that comes to mind)
CONS: Drinking and crime somewhat of a problem, Portland pretty far away, unemployment
CULTURE: Working-class, but fairly homogeneous and not particularly progressive.

Vancouver-Clark County
PROS: Close to Portland, housing boom, pretty safe
CONS: Sprawl means potentially bad commutes
CULTURE: Strongly varies. Inner areas tend to be progressive-leaning; outlying areas are much more churched and all-around conservative.

I hope that helps a bit.

[PencilMeIn]

Thanks everyone. I am from the east and not familiar at all with WA....I've got some learning to do. Olympia sounds like the place for us.....we don't lean to the left or right when it comes to politics....extremes on either side make no sense to me. So I sure hope some moderates live out there in WA.
As far as housing, I'm looking at real estate sites and finding some houses in our price range. Good to know about the community colleges since I used to work in one. I hope to find employment after I settle in.

[ds495]

Try Zillow.com for real estate