Moving from Kentucky (Seattle, Bellevue, Bellingham: rent, daycare, minimum wage)

[Gheener]

Hello guys and gals, my name is Steven and I will be embarking on a life changing journey to the western part of America as it has been a dream of mine and my brothers for some time now. We will be moving with a budget of only 5.5 grand and are looking to find a good area with housing that is 2+ bedroom for under 750 per month. My main questions are:

which city or area would it be easiest to get a job in the fields of
---mechanic
---MMJ
---Video Game Testing
---forestry entry level
---wildlife preservation

Is Washington State Pit-Bull friendly? I have the perfect spokesmen for the kindness of this breed as we will be bringing along a pit by the name of Rhilea. She is a volunteer support animal at the local vet as well as being raised in a daycare.

How's the weather?

Any information involving housing will be greatly appreciated.

[PS90]

Good luck with your adventure.

To answer your questions - you need to be WAY more specific. In other words, the weather, for example, varies greatly depending on what part of the state that you are moving to. Same goes for job prospects.

As to the pit bull question - I don't know of any towns that have anti-pit bull ordinances in this state (maybe someone can correct me if there are some in Western WA?), and I have a red-nose Pit myself who is now six years old. I get often get the comment such as "Oh, your dog is so nice and friendly! What breed is he?", and then, when I tell them, they immediately become stand-offish toward the dog. But, other than that, I have never had anyone be openly hostile toward any dog for no reason. You will find that this attitude is basically true of most Pacific Northwesterns about most anything - live and let live.

[Gheener]

Sorry about the vague questions.

We're not set on a specific area of Washington and would like to learn as much as we can about each area.
I would personally love to live near the more forest filled areas and have been doing some research on the state. Which areas of Washington has more 420 friendly places. Which area is easiest to find an entry level job. Are there any specific places that have extreme climate changes?

Any help on how to find housing in Washington while still living in Kentucky would be helpful.

[Hemlock140]

I would avoid the greater Seattle metro area, there is nothing in a 2 BR for $750, average in King county is $1,100 for 1 BR, $1,400 for 2. I think you might find Wenatchee to be what you are looking for in all aspects except video game testing, which is mainly in the Bellevue/Seattle area.

[Gheener]

Thank you for that Hemlock, I will start my searching there. All of this information will be used to help our travels.

[Pahn]

All of WA is 420 friendly, as long as you avoid federal police. It's legal here.

$750 a month won't get you far. Nothing bigger than Bellingham will let you rent that cheaply for a 2 BR. There are no forestry jobs in Bellingham, though. Not much of any jobs, actually, unless you have experience waiting tables. You're probably better off looking at Wenatchee and that area for forestry. With the federal shutdown, you can't expect much hiring right now. They're mostly seasonal positions anyway, and you're pretty much past the season. Mechanic jobs don't pay well around here, from what I've heard.

West of the mountains, you get mild, dry summers (for about 2 months). The rest of the year is overcast and rainy, but not especially cold and it rarely snows.

East of the mountains, you get longer, hotter summers, but also much colder, harsher winters. There's a bit of variation here and there, but that's a good general idea.

In general, cost of living is high in WA, especially compared to the south.

What you're doing can be done though. My wife and I did it. She moved before I did and got a job waiting tables (which pays pretty well in WA, given the $9.19 minimum wage + tips). With the right employer and enough hours, you can make more than $40k annually as a server. That's not typical, but possible. I happened to get lucky and score a nice job in Bellingham within a few months of moving here.

The refineries are good employers around here, so you should look into those if you've got skills that would be relevant. They hire a wide variety of positions, though they're highly sought after, so expect stiff competition.