Want to Leave Puget Sound area...how did you do it? (Seattle: middle-class, condo)

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by escapetacoma

That's GREAT advice for anyone hoping to make a change. Last year we started checking out beautiful old Victorians for sale in the midwest at about the same time that we were suffering through 25+ straight days of rain. As we narrowed down what we wanted from the climate and town (more sun, smaller, safer feeling) we started to get more and more excited about the possibility of escaping. When we finally found the place everything just felt right.

Where did you find the old Victorians and where did you finally come to rest in your new location search? Are there jobs in the midwest? How did you like the move?

I'm scared of the move into the great unknown, but I can't take this traffic anymore, it's driving me crazy.

Tony

[escapetacoma]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

Where did you find the old Victorians and where did you finally come to rest in your new location search?

Let's see. Lots of beautiful old houses in Missouri for next to nothing (relative to Tacoma, at least!) We first started looking at St. Joseph - just checking out the listings in the back of Old House Journal. Then we saw a place that we almost bought on the other side of the state at Ste. Genevieve - but we were too slow. OTOH, while it was a nice place it wasn't in the same league as the place that we ended up with in Waupun, Wisconsin:




Lots more sun than Tacoma has to offer, snow in the winter, rain in the summer and a crime index something like 1/7th what we have here in Tacoma.

Are there jobs in the midwest?

Good question. I would kind of doubt it given the prices on homes but the unemployment rate is lower than it is around here??? I'm a telecommuter so I'm keeping the same job.

How did you like the move?

We still haven't done it . We've bought the new place but came back to Tacoma to finish fixing this place up to sell. Best estimate is that the move happens mid-May. Until then we have some friends staying in the new place while they work on a place that they just bought about 1/2 mile away. Pesonally I would have sold the Tacoma house, flaws and all, but SWMBO insisted on rennovating it first

[Shiraz]

Originally Posted by escapetacoma

So, are the "Pray for me, I drive Meridian" bumper stickers still popular out your way? I loved the time that I spent at CWU except for the wind - it didn't seem to matter what direction you faced, the wind was always in your face

escapetacoma,
I haven't seen one of those bumper stickers, but I love the quote!

[Aquajox]

I work for Boeing, so I had Boeing job listing's e-mailed to me from all the states that we were considering moving to. At first it was just to see what kind of further education I would need to get there. But then a job came up in San Antonio Texas that I was already qualified for. I had not considered San Antonio before, but after doing some research, it looked like the perfect fit for us. I got the job, we sold our house and paid off all of our debt. Then we bought a great house in a great neighborhood for less than 200K, and we missed out on that horrible winter you had in Washington.

[41Willys]

Kinda weird. People who never been there dying to move there and experience the Seattle life! (Myself included) And the natives are dying to get out. Different place same situation I imagine. Im from L.I. New York and am one of the ones happy to be off the Island. No rain, just very expensive to live (House prices and property taxes are amongst the highest in the nation) I think its more the money situation then the rains that are making natives in Seattle so fed up with the place. Any truth to that?

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

Kinda weird. People who never been there dying to move there and experience the Seattle life! (Myself included) And the natives are dying to get out. Different place same situation I imagine. Im from L.I. New York and am one of the ones happy to be off the Island. No rain, just very expensive to live (House prices and property taxes are amongst the highest in the nation) I think its more the money situation then the rains that are making natives in Seattle so fed up with the place. Any truth to that?

It boils down to one word for me.....TRAFFIC, I mean really I can barely stand to leave the house, it is just so damn hard to get around here. I live in Kitsap county, so I have to either drive to Tacoma in order to drive to Seattle (60 miles) or take a ferry ride over, which sounds quaint.....until you have to do it everyday....PITA.

Costs are likely lower here than Long Island, but they are still high to me and high compared to working man wages here.

But anyway......TRAFFIC....that says it all for me.

Tony

[jwb123]

I dont think it's any ONE thing. It's obviously different from person to person - but, there are probably 4 main factors, generally speaking...

(in no particular order)

1. The rain.
2. Housing costs.
3. Traffic.
4. Job transfer.


... and all of the little details that rise from each of those.

[magrack]

I think its more the money situation then the rains that are making natives in Seattle so fed up with the place. Any truth to that?

For me, it was primarily the weather, expense a secondary factor and the fact that it was getting too crowded for my tastes a distant third.

I was knocking down six figures, house paid for, kids grown, educated, gainfully employed and out of the nest; should have been a great time in my life, and I couldn't stand the place.

[escapetacoma]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

I think its more the money situation then the rains that are making natives in Seattle so fed up with the place. Any truth to that?

Not for us. Our house was paid for, we made good money and we've been saving quite a bit for retirement. The weather was our number one issue (actually just mine - she's fine with it) with traffic a weak number two (since I don't do much driving - it would make me nuts in just a couple of weeks of commuting in it these days.)

[AZ_singlemother]

I'm a Tacoma native who decided to move out after 3 years of commuting to DT Seattle. The traffic and commute was enough to drive me out of the state. Unfortunetly, I moved to a hot market area - Phoenix. The jobs are hot; however, the place was way more affordable when I moved. Stay away from hot markets that can attract speculators, east coast and west coast population. A house used to cost 100k range, now costs 300k range for the same dump.

You'll adapt to the heat in the midwest. The humidity is the same. AZ is drier than bone, much more difficult to adjust coming from rain and humidity.