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Old 03-29-2011, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Lacey, WA
291 posts, read 1,058,129 times
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My husband(25) and I(29) are thinking of moving to Washington after he is out of the Army in the summer of 2012. My husband was born in Spokane and grew up in north-eastern Montana. We both would be going to college (myself after a year since I have to wait for my state residence status, my husband gets his right away) and working. We have pets, love the outdoors, I'm a health nut and he's the type that wants to hike and fish on the weekends.

We're looking for a place that has a great college, affordable living and is fun.

Thanks
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Old 03-29-2011, 12:54 PM
 
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Spokane, Olympia and Bellingham are great options to start from.
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Old 03-29-2011, 01:16 PM
 
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I'd pick the right college(s) first over the town for this phase of life, then future town choices could be broader.

Greater Spokane has a lot of higher education options and could make a good choice for after college too.

WSU in Pullman is challenging to get into but would be a good opportunity.

You might also want to look at University of Washington at Bothell. Or Everett or Edmunds Community College.

Or Western Washington University in Bellingham or Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Or Clark College and Washington State University at Vancouver. And maybe options in Olympia or another community college in smaller city.

(If you are willing to consider Idaho, there is also University of Idaho in Moscow Idaho and Lewis & Clark College in Lewiston Idaho.)

There are lots of choices that could work depending on what you want to study.

If you want advice on towns, it would help to give a population size range and / or read past threads on them.
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Old 03-29-2011, 02:56 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,565 posts, read 57,481,475 times
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For your age and interests and previous locales.

Walla Walla (Nice town, college, and a Jr College, decent weather, fewer 'children' in classes (as will be the case at WSU Pullman & UW Seattle))

Cheney EWU would be worth a look, as well as Spokane.

Bellingham if you can deal with rain and a bit of granola. It is really nice to be so close to CDN there is lots to do and enjoy there (Olympia is OK to check out on your way south)

Portland / Vancouver if you can deal with rain and want LOTS of variety of options (schools, jobs, entertainment, climate / recreation access). From Oregon Beaches, Columbia Gorge, Mt Hood, and Mt St Helens (all less than one hr away)

Seattle = Coffee
Portland = micro brews
Walla Walla = Wines

Pick your pleasure (The locals all are quite similar to their drink of choice)
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Old 03-29-2011, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Lacey, WA
291 posts, read 1,058,129 times
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Thank you for the suggestions. I'm from the big(500,000 to 1 million) metropolitan type cities (hate Savannah) and really need something that is nothing like this place. We're only are here because of the Army. I come from Ontario, Canada and really don't want to deal with big snow storms. Spokane sounds really great, I was doing some quick reading about it on Wikipedia today but apparently it lacks a university main campus.
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Old 03-29-2011, 08:24 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,565 posts, read 57,481,475 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melissa82 View Post
.... Spokane sounds really great, I was doing some quick reading about it on Wikipedia today but apparently it lacks a university main campus.
Really? Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington

How about telling us your academic majors, as that CAN make a big difference in selecting a school / destination. Will you be restricted on private vs public schools (funding) can you benefit from a Jr college (do either of you need some basic entry level stuff MUCH cheaper. Remember, you can usually take summer term W/O paying out of state tuition.

No worries on SNOW, cities in PNW don't get Ontario style snows

Mt Baker gets a load, but on the we_t side of WA, elevation is where you get snow. On the east side they get moderate snows, but seldom does it hang around in cities. Some shaded rural and higher elevation communities in WA have snow all winter.
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Old 03-29-2011, 08:33 PM
 
Location: Lacey, WA
291 posts, read 1,058,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StealthRabbit View Post
Really? Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington

How about telling us your academic majors, as that CAN make a big difference in selecting a school / destination. Will you be restricted on private vs public schools (funding) can you benefit from a Jr college (do either of you need some basic entry level stuff MUCH cheaper. Remember, you can usually take summer term W/O paying out of state tuition.

No worries on SNOW, cities in PNW don't get Ontario style snows

Mt Baker gets a load, but on the we_t side of WA, elevation is where you get snow. On the east side they get moderate snows, but seldom does it hang around in cities. Some shaded rural and higher elevation communities in WA have snow all winter.
I don't want to go to a Catholic School, lol. I also have to stay in the public range since I'll be getting student loans and don't want to be paying them off for the rest of my life.

My husband wants to go into comp-sci. Me, I'm not sure. So far, I've been thinking comp-sci, physical therapy, accounting or computer engineering.

I have been to a technical school and received a 2 year diploma in business management. As far as I've been told, it's going to be pretty much useless for university in the US. My husband just has his high school diploma.

I also forgot the most important part. We will need jobs while going to school! So, we need to live somewhere that has jobs for students available.

Last edited by Melissa82; 03-29-2011 at 08:45 PM..
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Old 03-29-2011, 09:21 PM
 
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Based on what you said, in Washington, I'd recommend looking into at least EWU, WWU and CWU. I think you could get what you want for those majors at these places. Accounting is supposed to be good at several or all of them. I'd assume all have pretty big computer science departments.

CWU might be more challenging to get side work or side work that pays more than lower-end. At CWU, big-time urban entertainment (if you want it) would involve going to Seattle.

Between EWU and WWU you've got climate differences and some cultural differences. One is a moderate sized metro, the other is a small city near a metro twice the size (you could live either place). WWU would be the toughest to get into. If you want to be west or east of the cascades in the future there could be some advantages of making that pick now, but of course you can always change.

All have good access to outdoor activity.


University of Idaho and Moscow Idaho might be good too- if you want a main campus and a nice modest sized town, quite different from a big metro.

Last edited by NW Crow; 03-29-2011 at 09:47 PM..
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Old 03-30-2011, 01:25 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,565 posts, read 57,481,475 times
Reputation: 45927
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melissa82 View Post
...I also have to stay in the public range since I'll be getting student loans and don't want to be paying them off for the rest of my life. Private schools can offer you FAR more grants / perks, cost is about equal - you need to do some Homework on that point as I messed up for one of my kids that SHOULD have gone private. I just finished my 4th degree in a Private U, far less expensive than public, low student / teacher ratio, great staff and dedicated students. Many students got huge breaks on tuition (something state schools can't offer)

My husband wants to go into comp-sci. Me, I'm not sure. So far, I've been thinking comp-sci, physical therapy, accounting or computer engineering.

I have been to a technical school and received a 2 year diploma in business management. Check into adult degree completion programs (private schools) you can likely get many credits accepted towards degree, and go on to get a masters in the same time it would take you to meet the requirements for an undergrad at a state U (which will probably be taught in classes of 300 by a teacher's aid)... My husband just has his high school diploma.
Quote:
I don't want to go to a Catholic School, lol.
Too bad, here is a great PNW Catholic U that supports your choice of majors (and offers both great EDU and tuition breaks)http://www.up.edu/

I also second this http://www.uidaho.edu/ If you want a nice state school & community.
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Old 03-30-2011, 07:21 AM
 
Location: Lacey, WA
291 posts, read 1,058,129 times
Reputation: 112
The toughest thing right now is researching all of this. I have no idea where to start, especially since I'm in a different state, far away, and adult student and I'm not even American (I have my permanent residence). I don't understand any of this, lol. We also need to do an SAT/ACT prep course. I can't even do simple math...

It seems like the appropriate thing to do though, is find some schools, apply, wait to get accepted, then pick the living spot.
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