What made you choose Seattle over Portland? (Vancouver: sales, for rent)

[Sequoiababy7]

My husband and I are planning on moving to the outskirts of either Seattle or Portland within the next two years. We would both make about $5 more an hour working in Seattle but my husband's family is in Portland and I have family in Bend. So we have to ask ourselves if making more money -and whatever other benefits Seattle has- is worth living farther away from family. There's a lot of other variables that we will take into consideration before making our final decision. I would just like to know your reasoning behind moving to Seattle instead of Portland (taxes, education, location, ect). It'd also be helpful if you have the opposite opinion and could tell me why you think that Portland is the better option. Any other advice would be appreciated as well

[Seacove]

I think it's a matter of taste. Some people just prefer one over the other, but Portland has a lower cost of living, less traffic and your family is there so why wouldn't you move to Portland or even across the bridge in Vancouver?

[Blindtom]

No state income tax vs. 9%.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by Blindtom

No state income tax vs. 9%.

But Oregon has no sales tax and sales tax in the Seattle metro is around 9%

[Thom52]

Portland to Bend.... 3 hours.

Seattle to Bend.... 6hr20minutes, only if you start from Seattle before 5:30am(good weather of course), add a few hours with a later start.

Might be something to ponder as you weigh the plus and minus lists.

[USDefault]

Truthfully, either one will be good. No income tax in Washington. No sales tax in Oregon. Seattle metro area is busier because it has around a million more people, but both cities are very busy and more people moving in every day at a fast clip. Bad rush-hour traffic for both. If you do a lot of flying, PDX is superior to Sea-Tac.

Seattle has excellent restaurants and seafood, but Portland has arguably one of the best dining scenes in the United States -- cheaper and better than Seattle. You are going to pay more for housing in Seattle. Many Portland areas are damn expensive too; there are still some pockets of affordability, but they are quickly disappearing. Lots of building going on in both cities and their surrounding metro areas.

You can get good views in either city. Seattle Puget Sound view homes are fantastic (but damn expensive) and arguably have better long-distance scenic views than Portland. But Portland has really nice neighborhoods too, with both old and new riverfront homes and good views (also pricey, but less than Seattle).

If it were me, I'd go for the city that has better employment prospects and future opportunities. Unless your family is going to be paying for your healthcare, retirement, and if you have kids, their eduction, it's all on you. So go for career satisfaction and material well-being. You can always fly to visit family.

[American Expat]

When we moved from Portland to Seattle, I got a 40% raise, wife, got a 30% raise, and then we had no state income tax...we thought we had gone to Nirvana (we kind of did We would never go back to Oregon unless we were retired.

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by Seacove

But Oregon has no sales tax and sales tax in the Seattle metro is around 9%

I might spend a few hundred a year annually with the WA sales tax and I have control on that through what I consume. Income tax can be many, many thousands annually and have no control over that. I'll take no state income tax vs. no sales tax any day of the week.

Additionally, most of what you spend in your monthly budget is not subject to a state sales tax in WA (rent, utilities, auto insurance, groceries, health insurance, etc...).

Portland has pretty bad traffic & congestion too and rents & house price have moved up significantly in recent years, Portland is no longer an inexpensive place to live.

[Sequoiababy7]

How are both states' property taxes? I know that in Washington it mainly depends on the county you live in. Is that the same for Oregon too? Overall, is one state's property taxes better than the other?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Sequoiababy7

How are both states' property taxes? I know that in Washington it mainly depends on the county you live in. Is that the same for Oregon too? Overall, is one state's property taxes better than the other?

Taxes are very dependent on area and specific assessor, Both states can be bad, or can be good (reasonable)

In WA I have 2 rural homes less than a minute apart; same cost basis, different counties.

one property taxes are $14, 400 / yr, the other $1200 / yr.

Get to know your assessor, never let them in the house!
Be careful if you fight them in court, cuz they get very angry and will get you real bad in the end.

Many good reasons to choose Beer (Portland) over Coffee (Seattle) (or visa versa), but personal preferences and job / house tastes will vary with each situation.

There are great places in between the two metros.

Portland Traffic will never be as bad as Seattle. work off shift and you can get anywhere in Portland metro in 30 min. Seattle is MUCH too big to claim that. Similar in LA.... it can be HOURS north to south or east to west. It is just very BIG.

Washington is a good choice if you can put "Running Start" to use (free FT college instead of wasting away in HS.) Working and living in WA, but a few minutes to Portland is a pretty good trade-off. I prefer east / in the CGNSA, as;
no neighbors, no traffic, no noise, no growth allowed; yet <20 min to PDX / Ikea / HD / Costco / and 30 min to 20+ colleges. Pretty decent wages for me in during last 34 yrs in WA, but near Portland. Seattle is OK to visit, and if you want maximum bucks... you gotta pay the price of admission. There are many other ways to make up for the $5/hr. Quality of life / not sitting in traffic, and not paying 20 - 30 % extra for rent / housing is a pretty good start.

I vote for a cheap house, lower wages, and more free time to travel! Build a new house every 24 months and pocket $500k tax free gains. (just one of many ways to 'cope')