Vancouver or Oly? (Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham: sales, rent, condo)

[mrd7006]

I have adult kids in Seattle and Portland and may in the near future relocate/retire there from upper Midwest to be closer. Like what Olympia has to offer in terms of culture, size, access to both cities. Vancouver seems more affordable, like proximity to Portland, but don't know much about it. I am pretty comfortable with area values--blue stater, live pretty green, love the outdoors. I work in healthcare so can probably pick up work if I am not ready to completely retire. Lived in Alaska for a while so know about the short winter days and the rain. Am a single female, early 60's, still working now. Could not afford to buy in PDX or SEA as Midwest housing is so much cheaper--but could rent or consider condo/small house in a smaller community. Thanks for any input.

[silibran]

In terms of housing, why not get a Redfin or similar account and peruse the listings in your price range to see if Van is in the ball park for you? We retired here last year. We consider the PDX area to be too expensive for us too. We came from the St. Louis area. But the housing in Van might have been a bit more expensive than that in our area.

There is no income tax in Washington, but there is sales tax. Almost 10%. Gas is cheaper here than in OR. I don't know how to compare RE taxes. We think they are comparable to St. Louis rates.

Van is actually conservative, although the rest of the state is progressive. They are pretty anti-tax here.

We have kids in western and eastern OR, so we chose Van for similar reasons as yours. The setting is lovely, but, as I've written before, the town is nothing special. Eastern Vancouver, where we live, seems like suburbia any where, but with nice plantings in the newer business areas. The housing we looked at was good, but in our price range, nothing special. The house we bought is fine for us.

It is pretty easy to drive into Portland. And it is easy to get to the airport too. Portland has a nice airport.

You should visit and see for yourself.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by mrd7006

I am pretty comfortable with area values--blue stater,

Try Oregon, it is the blue state. Washington is trying to break away from the failed blue state model that is bankrupting other states and forcing them to cut services. We just ended the liquor cartel here and smacked down any chance of an income tax. Vancouver is red, Olympia blue in the core, red as you head out into the periphery.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by silibran

Van is actually conservative, although the rest of the state is progressive.

No. Only parts of the Seattle-Tacoma area, parts of Olympia, Bellingham, and a few hippy dippy rural places are progressive. The rest of the state is apolitical, moderate, classic liberal, libertarian, and conservative.

Take away Seattle city proper and we would have had a nice string of GOP governors in this state.

[mrd7006]

Thanks for the input. Redfin is a good idea. I have been out there quite a few times over the past 10 years, but will check it out with a different focus now. Have lived in many places, and have always found friends and good people. Wisconsin has the 5th highest state taxes overall, 4th highest property taxes in the US., so taxes in the NW seem low overall to me. I pay $4000 a year in property tax on a a small 1932 bungalow. But we have good schools, good public health services, etc.
There are always tradeoffs. Will just have to spend some time out there and see what feels right.