Moving to washington, what town to choose? (Seattle, Vancouver: transplants, 2015)

[jg9952]

My husband and I are planning on moving to Washington state next year, but are unsure which town would be the best for us. We definitely don't want to live in a big city and want a more suburban area (we might be ok living in a city, as long as we are in a more suburban neighborhood or part of the city, we just don't want to live in a downtown city area). We also have two children in elementary school so good schools are important. We will both be looking for jobs, so somewhere that is in decent commuting range of a few of the larger towns/cities to give us a good range of areas to look for jobs once we get there. I work in healthcare so I will likely be looking for a job in a hospital. We will be renting at first and then buying a house once we get settled, so somewhere that has housing options for both would be nice so we don't have to switch the kids school again would be nice. Our budget for purchasing a house is around 400-450k, so somewhere we can purchase a decent 3 bedroom house for that price. Looking at a map, it looks like Mill Creek might be a good centrally located town, but I'm not sure what realistic commute times would be given traffic patterns.

[StealthRabbit]

Many many threads discuss this. Even medical career centric as you request.
questions:
Wet or dry climate?
How close to an airport?
Is VA facility important (medical Career / care)

Short answer for your criteria as U stated:

Camas WA. next door to Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA (excellent schools, nice community 5 minutes to recreation, wide range of houses and neighborhood choices, nearly zero crime, many transplants = friendly to new people) Excellent airport and tax free shopping 10 min away. 20+ universities within 30 minutes. one hour to Ski mtn, or 100% public access Oregon coastline. https://www.google.com/search?q=nort...w=1177&bih=815

20 minutes to many excellent medical jobs (From VA (in both Portland and Vancouver (P&V)) to Adventist medical (Portland)+ Kaiser (P&V) / peace health, providence / Legacy / Good Sam.....) Oregon employment will cost you 8% income tax, even if you live in WA. (It is actually much less than 8% after you do the federal math). ONLY your OR based income is taxable in Oregon (hint... work there PT if needed).

Schools...
Camas Schools - Camas Washington School Ratings - Public and Private
Camas School District | A tradition of caring and quality
Clark County Home Educators - News & Events (excellent for resources, even if you don't home school. Many of the Home School leaders are Public edu teachers by day. BTDT)
Running Start

Commute! Ha... Camas affords an excellent commute (not busy). (by public transportation or personal)
No daily Freeway parking lots in SW WA. More time at home or on the trail with your family
I live next door in a county that meets my traffic requirements. (No stoplights in entire county (one flashing red in Carson, WA), but no Red, Yellow Green.!!!!)

[jg9952]

Hi, thanks for your input! For your questions: wet climate, and no preference for VA hospital or being close to an airport. We have been focusing primarily on the suburbs of seattle and haven't really though to look too much into the vancouver area, so I will definitely look into Camas. Thank you

[Endinmind]

Thanks for the info StealthRabbit. Visited family in Camas a few months ago and pretty much decided to move there in July 2015. Seems like a great place to raise a young family. Many positives from what I have seen and read, including your posts. We have the next few months to wrap things up kids school etc but am very anxious to start up new over there. Still in the planning stages but any advice or items to consider as we line things up for moving up there would be great. Thanks in advance.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Endinmind

... We have the next few months to wrap things up kids school etc but am very anxious to start up new over there. Still in the planning stages but any advice or items to consider as we line things up for moving up there would be great. Thanks in advance.

Most of us have BTDT and have the battle scars to show it. we are here to smooth the path of those who follow.

Where are you coming from?
Age of kids?
What do you fear most?
What will you likely miss about 'home'?

From my failures...
1) don't move 8.5 months pregnant (Expensive!!!! paid 2x (twice) for baby (medical / pre-natal care)
2) Find a house 1st! (rental) (4 pages of ads for vacant rental houses does not mean there will be one for you.
3) purposely resolve issues you want to change in your life BEFORE moving. You will be carrying a heavy load if you bring your burdens. Moving has enough stress. get free from yourself FIRST.
4) be flexible, patient and kind (to yourself and others)
5) expect it to be different than imagined, and DEAL with it (don't stress over it. Enjoy the variety that you could not orchestrate on your own.

[CrazyDonkey]

Might be better to get a job offer first and then decide where you want to live (based on schools, etc.). Mill Creek would allow you to commute to Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue, all with several or more hospitals, but the commute to central Seattle from Mill Creek can run 45 minutes (UWMC) to more than an hour (Swedish/Harborview/Group Health) via transit (from Ash Way Park and Ride), more driving.

Areas with decent to good schools with houses roughly in your price range, but closer to Seattle and/or Bellevue (where the bulk of the employment opportunities are), are Kenmore, Bothell, Edmonds, and Shoreline.

[Dimitre]

I Would check out Langley or Oak Harbor Maybe Anacortes