Is there an area in Washington that'll work for me? (Seattle: section 8, rental)

[Cuda1337]

I've posted on a few other state forums, trying to get locals opinions on the states/areas we are considering. In addition to looking deeply at Colorado, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and a little at California, we are looking at Washington and possibly Oregon.

The important stuff: We are early 30's, active and the job market in Washington is excellent for us. We love hiking, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking etc. We want to buy a piece of land and build a home on it. I've found a number of pieces of land for sub 300k and that combined with new home prices to build based on a few quotes I've found, would be within our budget.

I know it's gray and wet. We think we will be ok with that. Will plan a visit to ensure.

I'm mildly concerned about the roads. I'd prefer if my day to day driving wasn't super stressful. Especially during the winter with black ice etc.

Traffic is also a concern. I know Seattle is very busy. I'm wondering how bad it is outside of Seattle in some of the smaller cities, or in Portland. I'm hoping I will be able to find a job in one of these smaller suburb type cities rather than in the main city of Seattle, Tacoma etc.

Views are important. We'd love to get a view of Rainer or Hood from our property, if we are able.

A nice little downtown is important too. We'd like to find something walkable or bikeable. Sometimes it's nice to be outdoors around town people watching and hanging out.

It seems like in terms of crime/safety and nice areas, anywhere from Marysville South to Tacoma has some nice areas. That's a LOT of cities to look at. I guess at the front of the list is Issaquah, Puyallup, Auburn areas, for no reason other than they look like they might be kinda what we want.

Access to outdoor nature activities is important. I'd like to have some biking/hiking within 15 ish minutes and access to really good stuff within 45 minutes to an hour on the high end, if possible.



Specifically, I am curious about the differences between Vancouver and Seattle-area in terms of nature and outdoor activities. Pros/Cons of each area? Is the traffic a lot more manageable in Vancouver (seems like it might be)?


Any discussion is much appreciated!

[perigee]

Whatever quote you are getting for building in the Seattle area/western WA is probably a low ball quote, they know that once they get you on the hook for building you will be stuck with all the, oops, this is going to cost more. We're in a boom cycle, which means finding builders and subs are hard because all the good ones are being snatched up by developers which means the ones that are available tend to be the less desirable ones. If you are going to build, no matter where it is, read StealthRabbit's posts on building to avoid construction liens.

Seattle's traffic is beyond horrible and is only get worse, if you can work from home and live in the suburbs like Issaquah then maybe you can have your goal of being close'ish to outdoor opportunities.

Vancouver/PDX area got hit by a lot more snow and ice then Seattle this year (oh, and Issaquah gets a lot more snow/ice then Seattle), but this has been a slightly off year with a mild la nina effect. Generally speaking though, I tend to be surprised by how bad traffic can be and by all reports that traffic has gotten a lot worse recently. Like I said the region is booming and roads can't keep up with the increase demand.

You are vague on what your careers are, but it's usually best to line up a job beforehand, because this is a very competitive job market.

Best of luck with the move, I know it's a hard and complicated decision.

[Diana Holbrook]

Depends a lot on how big a town you need to commute to. I'm South of the Olympia Area, and we have a lot of nice vacant land parcels for prices I'm sure you'll find affordable. Thurston County has far fewer traffic problems than anything north of Tacoma.... more biking and hiking opportunities, and Olympia is quirky enough to be fairly good for people watching, depending on what you're into there.

How big a city do you need to be close to?

[Cuda1337]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Depends a lot on how big a town you need to commute to. I'm South of the Olympia Area, and we have a lot of nice vacant land parcels for prices I'm sure you'll find affordable. Thurston County has far fewer traffic problems than anything north of Tacoma.... more biking and hiking opportunities, and Olympia is quirky enough to be fairly good for people watching, depending on what you're into there.

How big a city do you need to be close to?

My wife is a teacher... so any school system. If I were close to a city of 50k+ I'm sure that'd be more than sufficient.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Cuda1337

I'm mildly concerned about the roads. I'd prefer if my day to day driving wasn't super stressful. Especially during the winter with black ice etc.

Traffic is also a concern. I know Seattle is very busy. I'm wondering how bad it is outside of Seattle in some of the smaller cities, or in Portland. I'm hoping I will be able to find a job in one of these smaller suburb type cities rather than in the main city of Seattle, Tacoma etc.

Traffic congestion is very bad anywhere in the Puget Sound Basin, awful between Everett and Tacoma, and horrendous in the Seattle area. Traveling between suburbs can be as trying as commuting to Seattle. The West Sound (Bremerton-Silverdale) can be just as bad, plus it is an hour ferry trip to Seattle.

I'm not sure what you are referring to by "smaller suburb type cities". Seattle is not Dallas or Vegas. Those that might qualify, especially with affordable spacious lots to build on, tend to be devoid of well-paying jobs.

I'd look further north or south: Ferndale (Bellingham), Lacey (Olympia), Camas (Vancouver).

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by Cuda1337

My wife is a teacher... so any school system. If I were close to a city of 50k+ I'm sure that'd be more than sufficient.

OK - Check out the Tumwater and Olympia school districts and surrounding areas.

Stepping out now, but can answer more area questions later if you have any

[509]

Gray and wet in Washington????

Oh your thinking about that small slice of Washington by the coast.

For outdoor activities you want to be east of the Cascade crest. Here are the best outdoor towns in Washington based on my professional opinion.

Wenatchee. Downside is you share it with millions of new found friends from Seattle. Upside...all outdoor activities,except those in salt water, within an hour drive of town. Best high tech infrastructure in Washington state. If you need high speed internet....100Mbps standard with 1Gbps available.

Wenatchee Outdoors | Muscle-powered outdoor sports

Oh...gray and wet. How about 8 inches of precip a YEAR. A couple of years ago we had 4.5 inches of precip.

Spokane...Larger city. A couple of hours to British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and that does not even cover eastern Washington.

Outdoors | The Spokesman-Review

Clarkston/Lewiston, Idaho

Smaller town. Great community. Lots of outdoor stuff particularly hook and bullet stuff.

Sleeper community...Tri-Cities....Best educated workforce in Washington state. High tech that goes beyond writing computer games. Great access to outdoors if your willing to drive a bit. Great weather.

That gray and wet stuff....forget about it. It is the worst of Washington state.

[Hemlock140]

509 makes good points, the tri-cities area weather is much drier, costs lower, and you can build a place on a view lot overlooking the Columbia River. You won't have to deal with the rain or traffic that we do in western WA. Traffic in Vancouver is not nearly as bad as Seattle and Issaquah, as long as you don't have to commute across the bridges to Portland. I know from recent experience of others that a $300k lot in Issaquah will probably cost a minimum of $250/sf if you can even find a builder willing to take it on. Most are busy with large developments now. Then the costs for utilities, environmental mitigation, including possible storm water retention ponds and avoiding wetlands can add hundreds of thousands to the cost of building in this area if not real careful in selecting the lot.

[Cuda1337]

Originally Posted by 509

Gray and wet in Washington????

Oh your thinking about that small slice of Washington by the coast.

For outdoor activities you want to be east of the Cascade crest. Here are the best outdoor towns in Washington based on my professional opinion.

Wenatchee. Downside is you share it with millions of new found friends from Seattle. Upside...all outdoor activities,except those in salt water, within an hour drive of town. Best high tech infrastructure in Washington state. If you need high speed internet....100Mbps standard with 1Gbps available.

Wenatchee Outdoors | Muscle-powered outdoor sports

Oh...gray and wet. How about 8 inches of precip a YEAR. A couple of years ago we had 4.5 inches of precip.

Spokane...Larger city. A couple of hours to British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and that does not even cover eastern Washington.

Outdoors | The Spokesman-Review

Clarkston/Lewiston, Idaho

Smaller town. Great community. Lots of outdoor stuff particularly hook and bullet stuff.

Sleeper community...Tri-Cities....Best educated workforce in Washington state. High tech that goes beyond writing computer games. Great access to outdoors if your willing to drive a bit. Great weather.

That gray and wet stuff....forget about it. It is the worst of Washington state.

Those are some interesting suggestions. Wenatchee specifically. I've looked at the city and it looks absolutely beautiful. My biggest concern was the size of the city. I'm not positive I'll be able to find work in that city, although I might be able to. I know in Yakima I can, as well as the Tri-Cities. I'm fairly certain I could in Spokane as well.

The appealing aspect of Wenatchee is that it is within an hours drive to the outdoor activities. The other cities you listed, I don't think I'd want to drive 1.5 or more hours to my common weekend activities.

The point you make about high speed internet access in Wenatchee really hits home for me. That is a big deal to me and I am quite surprised that area, being as small as it is, has such good internet access. I will definitely be doing some more research over there.

I'm under the impression that it snows and gets much colder over there? Also, how are the roads? Crazy steep/windy etc? Is there difficult driving in the winter?

[509]

Eastern Washington is a socialist workers paradise run by Republicans. Western Washington is a corporate fascist state run by Democrats.

That is why you have municipal fiber in eastern Washington. Here is one company with business the various PUD's in eastern Washington.
Ifiber Communications

I believe Benton County and a few others in eastern Washington have municipal fiber that are not served by IFEBER. In the Wenatchee area the largest internet and cable provider is Local Tel. You need to check with the Public Utility District in the county for areas served by fiber. For example, in Chelan County only 80% of the homes have access to fiber. What is the point of living in a county with fiber if your stuck with copper cable from Charter!!

Here is the listing for Chelan County PUD fiber: https://www.chelanpud.org/my-pud-ser...s/fiber-optics

Be aware that the Wenatchee Valley has a rental vacancy rate under one percent and home lots are very small and expensive. We have a Section 8 housing subdivision ,for the poor people moving in from western Washington, going in across the street and lots are priced at $170,000 with homes going for $500,000 plus.

There are more people in Chelan County on weekends than weekdays. The point about millions of new friends from Seattle visiting you every weekend is no joke. It is the worst thing about living this close to Seattle. If we need a big city fix we go to Portland so for us it is the worst of all possible worlds with regard to location.

Winters vary. Every four or five years we get snow. Most winters are fairly mild with rain. It is just as cloudy in eastern Washington as Seattle from Thanksgiving to President's Day. We always took winter vacations at this time of year and now have a RV lot in Arizona.

You want to be on a south facing location for your house. Winter is dark enough that you don't want a north facing slope. Also the winds come out of the west so a east facing backyard works best.

I would look at Spokane or Tri-Cities. We lived in Coeur d'Alene and really liked Spokane. There are a hundred lakes within a hour drive of Spokane. Lots of close in public land. Weather is colder than Tri-Cities or Wenatchee.

What do you do for a living?? Wenatchee is a micro-metro area with a population of 110,000 so there is one of everything and in a few cases TWO!