Yet Another Retiree (Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver: sales, real estate, crime)

[Coniferian]

These forums have a ton of these kind of posts, but I'd appreciate people's input.


Five years ago we moved to Redmond, OR from Colorado. After 40+ years we had enough of the snow (138" average at 8,200' where our house was) and a lower altitude was helpful for my wife with asthma. Now here in the high desert we're tired of hot (high 90s) and smoky summers. Other than lots of outdoor sports and craft beers, there's not much happening here. Small airport and no interstate either.


We love Seattle, but can't afford it and would probably hate the dark, wet season.


We're fit, and jobs and schools are not an issue. A big city like Denver is out of the question for us, but my wife loves the art/culture scene. And of course, there is no sales tax in Oregon. We don't mind some cooler temps, and moderate snow is not a problem. Home prices seem to be quite a bit lower than central Oregon currently, so we can afford the move. California smoke looks like it makes it to Spokane too. Would we be trading frying pan for fire? Neither of us has been to Spokane, but plan to visit sometime.

[pnwguy2]

Spokane has a modified cold climate from late October to as late as early May, and snowfall is common. Modified as it is still close enough to the Pacific to keep extreme cold at bay most of the time.

Stats: Jan. Hi 35, Lo 25, July Hi 85 Lo 57

Snowfall average 45 inches per winter.

Elevation: 1,843 feet, with obvious higher elevation on the South Hill.

As for the dark in winter, Spokane has slightly less daylight than Seattle in the afternoon, but hardly enough to notice. The biggest difference would be less rain and cloudiness. The lack of an Oregon sales tax is helpful but only if you are planning big purchases. For every advantage that Oregon tax break has, Washington has one as well, no income tax, which comes in handy if you have investments or want to continue to work part-time in retirement.

Just a thought: You could explore some other Western Washington areas that are less expensive, Bellingham, Marysville, Olympia, Longview. Also Tri-Cities in Eastern WA has a good low elevation climate, similar to Bend/Redmond, not quite as expensive, (atleast compared to Bend), and is a growing area for both families and retirees.

[Ruth4Truth]

Have you considered Bend, OR?

You're complaining about California smoke in OR? You've somehow avoided the BC smoke, or are you mis-attributing the source of the smoke?

There's no place to run, no place to hide from the effects of global climate warming. There will be smoke almost anywhere in the Western states. The smoke from the BC fires has enveloped cities as far away as Edmonton, Alberta.

Life as we know it is over. With that in mind, choose the place with the amenities that you want, that has an easy, not overcrowded escape route, should that become necessary, at a price you can afford. Do not choose anything near seal-level beachfront, either. (Coastal towns in WA & OR are cheap, but according to estimates from Vancouver, BC, the sea level will rise 3 feet in about 30 years. The advantage to the NW is that it will at least have water, due to fall/winter rains. The big disadvantage is its high potential for fires, and being downwind from the BC fires as well, which are expected to be annual now.

Good luck. Maybe high ground on Vancouver Island would work, which hasn't had smoke from the fires.

[Coniferian]

45" of snow isn't a deal-breaker. In spring of 2003 in Conifer, CO we had 90" - in two days. Anything below 5,000' is fine.


We only live 15 miles from Bend. We bought here because on average the homes are $100K cheaper than Bend. Not much going on there if you're not a mountain biker/skier/beer drinker.


We've watched the weather smoke tracking maps and know that everyone gets it, even to the east coast. Not likely to change in our lifetime. We get smoke from California when the wind is from the south, BC smoke when it's from the north - and of course we're surrounded by wildfires here in the center every summer.



We've been to Vancouver Island many times and like it in the summer. Victoria has really grown a lot in the 30 odd years we've visited. Not sure we want to become expats, and then there's the Cascadia Event which may destroy everything on the coast from Seattle to California within 40 years.


We thought about Bellingham, but the prices of homes are higher than Bend. We have friends in Walla Walla we should visit and see the area.



We're being picky, but moving is a big deal and, at our age, we don't have many more moves to make.


Thanks for the comments so far...

[mistyriver]

We do get smoke here in Spokane but not sure how it compares to where you are. Seems like it’s going to be a regular thing in a lot of the west from now on, or so I’ve heard.
We moved to Spokane three years ago and we love it. It’s not a large city by any means but it has everything we want and if we want to hit a big city, Seattle and Portland are a 40 minute flight away. I love how easy it is to get downtown. We can get dinner and see a concert, play or movie and be home in ten minutes since we live in the South Hill.

I must be weird because I love the weather mostly. It’s a bit hot in August and a bit cold in January but that’s okay with me. Good excuse for vacations.

In the local paper this morning.

Spokane’s increasingly worst-kept secret: It’s a great place to live and work
Spokane

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I'm not in Spokane, so I'm guessing a bit. I think weather is very comparable to Redmond. Coeur d'alene is very comparable to Bend (as are real estate prices), I'm north of Coeur d'alene where the weather is very comparable to La Pine.

Real state in Spokane is less expensive than Redmond.

Smoke in the area is pretty bad. Spokane gets smoke locally and the wind also brings it in from all over Washington and Oregon. And then the wind switches direction and the smoke comes from Canada. However, I don't think the smoke is as bad as it is in Bend. Most of the fires aren't as close.

Days are shorter in the winter.

I never think of Spokane as a center for art and culture, but I don't live there. It would take me 30 minutes to get there, so I'm not paying any attention to Spokane activities. A search online should turn up information

I never think of the Bend area as a place where there is nothing to do.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You didn't ask, but traffic is pretty comparable to the Bend Redmond area. Roads were adequate 50 years ago, not designed for today's traffic level. But nothing like Seattle or Portland congestion. Not yet.

Come north and spend a bit of vacation time.

[Coniferian]

Good information folks. We will definitely visit to get a first hand look. When we first came to Bend we were under a little pressure to find a home within a few weeks, now we can take a more leisurely look. We knew right away that we liked the Bend feel and could make it work once we found something affordable. We rode the rising home prices up, so five years later our place is worth $100K more than we paid. Bend has more things to do than Redmond but we often find ourselves too lazy to make the short trip (after spending 40 years commuting around Denver). An interstate and international airport would be nice too.


I've read about Spokane's homeless and property crime problems, which I take with a gain of salt. Redmond was supposed to be a meth capitol, but we haven't seen it, other than the occasional newspaper story. Living across the street from a cop might have something to do with it.


I spent 4 years on a SAC base in Michigan's UP, so I'm familiar with short winter days (plus lake-effect snow).


Any suggestion on neighborhoods? We should have up to $300K to work with and don't need anything larger than 2,000 sq ft. Might even consider a townhome this time. Again, thanks for all your comments.

[mistyriver]

A lot is made of the property crime issue but in the three years we’ve lived here, we’ve had no problems. We do keep things locked up and cars in the garage. It is a city after all.

The best areain my opinion, in Spokane is upper South Hill. Check put the Manito, cannon park and Comstock neighborhoods.

[robin9]

Coniferian:
"Any suggestion on neighborhoods? We should have up to $300K to work with and don't need anything larger than 2,000 sq ft. Might even consider a townhome this time. Again, thanks for all your comments."

mistyriver:
"The best areain my opinion, in Spokane is upper South Hill. Check put the Manito, cannon park and Comstock neighborhoods."

Were I in Coniferian's circumstances, I'd check this place out:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/1608-s....e-wa-99203_rb/