wanting to relocate to washington state please help (Seattle, Bremerton: rentals, house)

[lookingtomoveneedachange]

my husband and i are looking to relocate to washington and some of the posts are frieghtening. we are doing a dry run next week to try and get sold on moving there. i am a nurse currently in a suburb from niagara falls (about 20 minutes away) i am currently a nurse with four kids ranging from 15 to 5 three boys and one girl. boys like to skate and play hockey she kind of just follows. we currently rent a four bedroom house with a yard for 800. financially we could do around 1000 per month, giving my job. we have been all over on sites trying to figure out where we should look for a place to live when we visit. we have looked at so many online were are seeing stars. any sugguestions would greatly be appreciated. preferably a four bedroom house possibly five kid friendly and not to bad of a commute within an hour please help if more info needed please let me know. it is absolutely gorgeous there and i think my kids would not care if we had to drive to a beach, mountain or ocean. oh yeah and one more thing how do you do the ferries thanks

[Hemlock140]

Renting a four bedroom house around here for $800, or even $1,000 is pretty much impossible. That is, in Seattle and surrounding areas with good schools small studios go for $800. If you do go across to Bremerton/Silverdale you might find a two bedroom for that but it would be hard. The ferries are actually fun, we have employees here on the waterfront in Seattle where I work that take it dail to work. It's 35-45 minutes depending which one and you can either walk or drive onto it.
It does make for an expensive commute, either way, though much more so if you drive.

[Inkpoe]

Agreed with Bisjoe. My friend lives about 25mins away from Seattle and pays $800 rent for a 3 bdrm house with the garage converted into the 4th bdrm. Which is a CRAZY good deal... but she only has that deal because the owner of the house is also her best friend. Her brother on the other hand rents a house but doesn't personally know the owner in Snohomish (about 45 mins drive to Seattle), a big 4 bdrm house for 1500 a month and says that's a good deal. Reality is, your odds are better if you up your budget ($1200+)... because even an hour away from Seattle, it's that high.

[StealthRabbit]

Hockey can be a pretty expensive hobby in Washington State (AFAIK, only private clubs will avail the access your kids are used to (no 'free' frozen ponds on the west side)). There may be something on the east side, in closer proximity to Canada, but from what I've seen it is no where near the emphasis as in NYS. Your Kids could really be bummed, if their life is tied up in that. There were some roller hockey leagues, but it certainly isn't the same. This will not be an easy move for such a wide range of ages. If the 15 yr old is academic, you can look into Running Start program in WA High Schools (college instead of HS) That would be an easier social transition for many HS kids. The others will have an ez'r route to fitting in.

Seattle is a spendy place, I'm sure you can find lesser cost locations in WA that meet your objectives.

[Dendrite]

The OP doesn't specify where in WA they'd like to live, so I think they could find a home to rent for $800-$1000 a month somewhere in the state. It's just not going to be very probable anywhere in western WA. Thus you may want to look at central or southeastern WA instead.

My suggestion would be to find a job first but before you sign on the dotted line for that job, see what the going rental rates are in that particular area and then determine if you can swing it with the income from said job. After all, without employment it won't matter if the rents are $500 or $5,000 a month-

[Skwink]

Hoquiam/Aberdeen Washington Friend or Foe

Aberdeen

Check out those threads. I live here in Grays Habor, and It's really not as bad as they make it out to be. If you and your family are outdoorsy people, you'd love it here. The general area of Grays Harbor is a somewhat redneck area. Also, the town of Aberdeen, and it's neighbor the nice quiet Cosmopolis, are looking up. Cosi's Pulp Mill is opened up again, and in Aberdeen they're starting to build some pontoons for a bridge. If you ever come down here for a visit, avoid 7-11's. This one on southside has had TWO cars crash through the front doors of it. Within the same couple months.

[sean98125]

You should find a place to live near the place where you find a job. you're going at it backwards if you look for a place to live and then look for a place to work.

There are plenty of rentals available in that price range, but they aren't where the jobs are. RNs here make around $25 to start right out of school (not including shift differentials), and after a while can easily be making $35 an hour and up with a few years of experience. (Obviously they make more in the cities around Puget Sound and less in places like Aberdeen or Republic).

Ferries will add about $100 a month to your living expenses, and with current budget problems in the state you can expect that price to keep climbing.