Moving to Vancouver

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by dav51lin

rains a lot and then some

Then some more (usually a LOT more!)
Fortunately we have never had another summer repeat of 1983, when we ran our woodstove much of July (Which was a challenge for this Colorado Prairie kid (350+ days sun). As it still is 35 yrs later.

[Michie1]

We moved here from Napa in the summer of 2008, that first winter and this winter has been the worst. Otherwise the positives outweigh the negatives big time, at least for us anyway. PNW people don't realize what California traffic is like, do we have traffic between here and Portland, yes, but not like CA traffic! And I would much rather dodge raindrops then escape flames in the California summers. And we never tire of the trees and beautiful "green" everywhere. I think the natives here take it for granted sometimes. It was a good move for us and look forward to our retirement here exploring all of Washington

[TedW20217]

Originally Posted by PENRAWEE

Hi there,


My husband and I have been discussing about moving out of California for a while. We want to raise our kids in the place that they can go hiking, camping and spending more time outdoor.


Life in California is very crazy and cost of living here is very expensive. we don't feel the sense of community here since it's too big. We like to visit Portland but we don't want to live in Portland.


We want to live in the small town that we can walk kids to school and no hurry every day. Could everyone tell me about Vancouver? Are there any good schools for kids? We are planning to move when they start middle school. And how much are the houses there?


I would really appreciate any suggestions or inputs so we can plan. My kids are in 3rd and 1st, we give ourselves 2 more years.


Thank you so much.

Depends on how much you owe on your house because there is a shortage of real estate in the area right now. Housing prices are rising for mediocre places costing 285k that are worth only 175k. I was looking at a place that was selling for 250k, it is a 1970's built home with no updating nor remodeling and nothing to make it appreciate other than time and a greedy price hike.

Ice storms and snow causes many problems every two to four years in Vancouver such as automotive wrecks. Rain and clouds are gloomy. I would relocate to a cheaper area of California if I were you.

You like Portland, then live in the surrounding areas and keep out of the city during winter or a riot.

I lived in Northern California, passed Vacaville for many years, and in Vancouver for longer than I wanted. The place is similar to England, enjoy the greenery and the eatery then leave unless you earn a higher income, so you can live in the nicest of places that cost 300k or more in Vancouver, WA. The people can be abrupt like in the U.K. (stiff-upper-lip and British types combined with Oregon and Washington uptight hippies) as well, and I do not recommend them compared to the diplomatic and mellow personalities in CA.

They say "keep Portland weird" but rarely define it with examples. In Portland, you will likely see hippies dressed similar to the 60's but combined dress styles with the 90's grunge movements, the area is as if Humboldt County California grew into a metropolitan; and you will see European-Americans wearing dread locks, smell marijuana in the air as as you walk in the Pearl District, then you might notice people dressed in leathers similar to Mel Gibson's character in Mad Max etc. down near the Courthouse and can sometimes appear similar to The Rogues gang in the movie The Warriors.

The hipster movement is popular in Portland, Oregon; but people who claim the style and beliefs must have a liberal mindset 80% or more of the time, and they exhibit odd mannerisms associated with their dress styles: many have the appearance and mannerisms that can range from the cast of Freaks and Geeks along with That 70's Show, but mixed with the volatile behavior of the Beastie Boys and often combined with the ability to commit the type of violence preferred by rioters. Many of them appear like the gang The Punks in the film The Warriors, minus the overalls but they chose to wear hipster glasses or ride on skateboards.

I used to walk the downtown areas for work over two years and seen more than I deserved. Everything I mentioned occurred from downtown 4th Avenue and west to Market and up passed 15th Avenue and West toward SW Stark in that general region. Silly people. Teenagers laying on the sidewalks in Union Square, hippies having a get together to complain about corporatism using a megaphone sums up the silliness. At present, riots are frequent if they do not like the national politics though the regional voting had no influence over the situation. A growing silly group of organized people in the thousands.

In their 20's, hipsters will talk about how one donuts shop "was popular before everyone started buying there" and the two I witnessed in the conversation were working professionals in an office but have immature personalities and dress like hipsters after their shift is through.

Of course, many who having no exposure to such situations might say "it never happens or never to me" or tell a lie, but my reply is be grateful because what I have seen is bizarre. The sitcom "Portlandia" only shows the comical lifestyles.

[slowlanes]

Originally Posted by TedW20217

Depends on how much you owe on your house because there is a shortage of real estate in the area right now. Housing prices are rising for mediocre places costing 285k that are worth only 175k. I was looking at a place that was selling for 250k, it is a 1970's built home with no updating nor remodeling and nothing to make it appreciate other than time and a greedy price hike.

Ice storms and snow causes many problems every two to four years in Vancouver such as automotive wrecks. Rain and clouds are gloomy. I would relocate to a cheaper area of California if I were you.

You like Portland, then live in the surrounding areas and keep out of the city during winter or a riot.

I lived in Northern California, passed Vacaville for many years, and in Vancouver for longer than I wanted. The place is similar to England, enjoy the greenery and the eatery then leave unless you earn a higher income, so you can live in the nicest of places that cost 300k or more in Vancouver, WA. The people can be abrupt like in the U.K. (stiff-upper-lip and British types combined with Oregon and Washington uptight hippies) as well, and I do not recommend them compared to the diplomatic and mellow personalities in CA.

They say "keep Portland weird" but rarely define it with examples. In Portland, you will likely see hippies dressed similar to the 60's but combined dress styles with the 90's grunge movements, the area is as if Humboldt County California grew into a metropolitan; and you will see European-Americans wearing dread locks, smell marijuana in the air as as you walk in the Pearl District, then you might notice people dressed in leathers similar to Mel Gibson's character in Mad Max etc. down near the Courthouse and can sometimes appear similar to The Rogues gang in the movie The Warriors.

The hipster movement is popular in Portland, Oregon; but people who claim the style and beliefs must have a liberal mindset 80% or more of the time, and they exhibit odd mannerisms associated with their dress styles: many have the appearance and mannerisms that can range from the cast of Freaks and Geeks along with That 70's Show, but mixed with the volatile behavior of the Beastie Boys and often combined with the ability to commit the type of violence preferred by rioters. Many of them appear like the gang The Punks in the film The Warriors, minus the overalls but they chose to wear hipster glasses or ride on skateboards.

I used to walk the downtown areas for work over two years and seen more than I deserved. Everything I mentioned occurred from downtown 4th Avenue and west to Market and up passed 15th Avenue and West toward SW Stark in that general region. Silly people. Teenagers laying on the sidewalks in Union Square, hippies having a get together to complain about corporatism using a megaphone sums up the silliness. At present, riots are frequent if they do not like the national politics though the regional voting had no influence over the situation. A growing silly group of organized people in the thousands.

In their 20's, hipsters will talk about how one donuts shop "was popular before everyone started buying there" and the two I witnessed in the conversation were working professionals in an office but have immature personalities and dress like hipsters after their shift is through.

Of course, many who having no exposure to such situations might say "it never happens or never to me" or tell a lie, but my reply is be grateful because what I have seen is bizarre. The sitcom "Portlandia" only shows the comical lifestyles.

folk who live in glass houses..

[kellykrishcko]

My husband is from WA and I'm from SoCal. We moved to Vancouver 6 months ago. I'm itching to get out of WA lol. People brag about the outdoors out here, but in reality you can't enjoy it most of the year because of the constant rain. The reply about the family moving back to AZ is spot on. If you want community seek a seasonal state or dry state. PNW keeps you from actually being apart of the community. There are great people though, that's one positive. But don't expect to have block parties unless it's summer:/