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Old 02-22-2017, 09:21 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MISSOURI
20,712 posts, read 9,306,205 times
Reputation: 15453

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In 2015 I moved from Seattle to Kansas City. Yes you heard that correctly. I had lived in Washington state since 1988 (mostly around Seattle, but also 3 years in Spokane). I grew up in NJ and went to college in Charlotte, so I've lived in a variety of places.

I got to the point where I just could not stand the weather there anymore. And I don't mean the rain. I need snow, and anything exciting. The weather in Seattle, after a while, I found to be BORING. Twenty days in a row of rain or drizzle in the winter, and twenty days in a row of sun in the summer, are just BORING to me. Here in the Midwest we get thunderstorms in the spring and summer and snow in the winter. There's nothing more exciting to me than watching a massive thunderstorm develop and let loose on some unsuspecting neighborhood. Or watching a blizzard pour 8 inches of snow on you (though I've had the misfortune of arriving here for 2 very disappointing winters so far). Zero degrees in January is fun and exciting, and 95 degrees and humid in July has its own ambiance. The gentleness of Seattle's climate has its virtues, but when push came to shove I just decided I'm a weather junkie who needs excitement.

But that aside, Seattle is also getting very expensive, and I was in a position where I could sell my house that I had bought 5 years earlier and make a $40k+ profit, and cash in my 401K at work after I quit my job, and that would enable me to pay off all my debts, including my still-sizable student loans. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Now I've recently bought a 3-BR 70's house for just $160K in an OK area -- and there is NO WAY I'd ever have been able to buy a house like this around Seattle.

Lastly, while I like all the shiny new towers downtown and all the new development, it's basically becoming Silicon Valley North - very nice and very high tech but also very expensive. Not worth it anymore.
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Old 02-22-2017, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MISSOURI
20,712 posts, read 9,306,205 times
Reputation: 15453
And BTW, no I don't have any regrets. I actually have more nostalgia for the 3 years I spent in Spokane than I did the other 20-something years I spent around Seattle. There's no comparison, really.
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Old 02-22-2017, 09:53 PM
 
Location: West Coast
1,889 posts, read 2,182,497 times
Reputation: 4345
Quote:
Originally Posted by AADAD View Post
We are going the opposite direction. like rain. COL is less than San Diego, Sports teams win, ART!! and we can actually keep state fax in our OWN pocket. One flight not two to Anchorage (have a home there) and the pub like creative neighborhoods won over our hearts. If we leave it be for Paris (after the lottery winnings come in) lol.
Unfortunately rent, housing, and consumer prices are definitely not cheaper in Seattle than LA or SD (see location, don't spend as much time in SEA aa I used to), income tax doesn't exist there yet, but I certainly won't be surprised when it shows up with all the leftie wingbats up there.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MISSOURI
20,712 posts, read 9,306,205 times
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There have been many discussions and attempts to get an income tax in Washington state over the years, it never goes anywhere. Not gonna happen, even with all the "lefties."
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:14 PM
 
Location: West Coast
1,889 posts, read 2,182,497 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James Bond 007 View Post
There have been many discussions and attempts to get an income tax in Washington state over the years, it never goes anywhere. Not gonna happen, even with all the "lefties."
That's what they said about a socialist city council member in Seattle and toll roads. Western WA dictates what happens in the state these days.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:46 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MISSOURI
20,712 posts, read 9,306,205 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy950 View Post
That's what they said about a socialist city council member in Seattle and toll roads.
No, I'm afraid that is not what they said about those two things. Nobody in Seattle 20 or 30 years ago would have been the least bit surprised at the prospect of a socialist city council member. And since both the 520 bridge and the I-90 bridge were originally toll bridges when they first opened in 1961 and 1940 respectively, there was nothing new about tolls in Washington state, either.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:52 PM
 
Location: West Coast
1,889 posts, read 2,182,497 times
Reputation: 4345
Quote:
Originally Posted by James Bond 007 View Post
No, I'm afraid that is not what they said about those two things. Nobody in Seattle 20 or 30 years ago would have been the least bit surprised at the prospect of a socialist city council member. And since both the 520 bridge and the I-90 bridge were originally toll bridges when they first opened in 1961 and 1940 respectively, there was nothing new about tolls in Washington state, either.
Location: Kansas City
Jimmies: in orbit
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Old 02-22-2017, 11:14 PM
 
412 posts, read 382,169 times
Reputation: 228
KC has ONE wonderful thing. Ribs in all descriptions. No clue about affordability. Also has some exceedingly noisy football fans like Seattle. Really all comes down to how much you want to PAY for what Seattle offers. I'm going to guess a lot of people want it really bad or the cost of living wouldn't be inflating like it is. I might make a brief visit, but there are so many places cheaper with some of the same amenities. In a semi-free market society this is what happens. People do things in herds. Wherever the stampede is headed, the original niceness gets degraded. The mass media help push the process. U.S. News is always publishing "best" reports so there are fewer "hidden gems". But maybe city-data can operate as an antidote. Whatever "they" tell you, it aint that sweet!
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Old 02-23-2017, 02:32 PM
 
1,054 posts, read 1,034,748 times
Reputation: 566
KS is super cold on the Winter. So that'd not work for me. Seattle's generally above freezing in the winter. Much easier to drive and walk in, though soggy.
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Old 02-23-2017, 02:37 PM
 
1,054 posts, read 1,034,748 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom331 View Post
The property tax at Seattle area is LOW. I received my tax bill from Snohomish County Assessor for my property at Mukilteo. With the similar valuation comparing to my house in Austin, I pay more that double the property Tax in Austin than in Mukilteo even with my homestead exemption. Both states do not have personal income tax. For this reason, we will move to Seattle area when we retire.
Many areas do have a much higher property tax than Seattle. As I once mentioned- I'm from upstate NY. For fun, I checked out home values of gorgeous homes in one of my fave areas in my old town. 280k. Awesome. But the property taxes came out to about 8500.00 -9k or so a year.

So the house costs less but you get taxed as if you had that same house in Seattle.

I checked some other states' property taxes, too. Pretty high.
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