Smaller Towns in Western Washington? (Seattle, Tacoma: for sale, real estate, house prices)

[Louisiana Native]

My husband and I are interested in retiring to a small town near Seattle. Our sons (23 and 20) will be coming with us, but will probably not want to live with us (right now, they are living next door, in my late father's home). We have 2 minature donkeys and a horse, so would need some land but not a huge farm: a nice barn would help. I have just joined the forum and have no idea where to look. A friend of my husband's suggested Bellingham, but we've heard their winters are awful. We have so many questions....Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ira500]

Bellingham gets a little colder than Seattle, but I wouldn't call the winters horrible. For me, North Dakota likely has horrible winters...Bellingham and Seattle mostly have cool and wet winters, not exactly rip your shirt off and get a tan weather, but not horrible.
Bellingham is about 85 miles from Seattle. You can get land closer to Seattle that's friendly to donkeys...Skagit County as well as much closer to Seattle like parts of Woodinville, or the area where Renton borders Newcastle and Issaquah, which should be a little less expensive.
You might want to enlighten us as to why you plan on moving out here and what you're hoping to pay.

[Louisiana Native]

Thanks for the quick reply and ideas. We have visited the Seattle area and are attracted to everything we have seen and heard about it, and we actually like the weather forecast. Our south LA weather is beyond description; it's almost impossible to do anything fun or necessary outside from May until November (if we're lucky). Baton Rouge doubled in size after Katrina, and traffic/congestion has followed suit. We live in what used to be a small-townish suburb that has recently incorporated. Every square inch is being developed with no apparent plan to handle the extra traffic or residents. The idea of living near an area that has such a reputation for literacy appeals to us, too.

Would something in the range of $500k be possible? I realize that prices are generally lower the farther from Seattle, proper, we go. We would really like to retire in peace and quiet but still be within a reasonable commute to shopping and medical/vet care. Thanks again.

[Ira500]

sometimes I can't control myself, so I just went and looked at home/ranch/farm listings in Western Washington. There's a lot under 550, not a lot under 500, but prices here are dropping( they may be under 500 someday fairly soon), and there were some really cool properties. A 2600 square foot log cabin in East Renton on five acres. A few places right outside of Port Townsend, which is a really, really nice small town with better weather than Seattle, a town that takes pride in their high number of artists, writers, etc. And a few in Snohomish, a town full of Victorian homes and a long agricultural history.
But....what you wrote resonates. Traffic in the Seattle area can be a nightmare, and there are plenty of places in these parts which are growing quickly with no apparent planning.

[allforcats]

Hi Louisiana!

Animals. I'm about animals, and for a variety of reasons I know that the vast majority of large-animal veterinary care outside of Seattle is excellent. Wherever there is rural countryside in western Washington, there are animals from alpacas to buffalo and swine. I'm sure you will have parameters for such care, but I am certain you will find the doctor(s) you will trust. As for neighbors' sympatico about animals, the more you get out into the countryside, the more most of your neighbors will be living with animals.

To perhaps get an idea of real estate prices, with or without barns, etc.,
the most complete resource online I've found for real estate in a very wide area around Seattle is MLSOnline. No registering required; no emails --
Seattle Real Estate, Top Seattle Real Estate Search, TheMLSonline.com

Less complete, but also useful, are
Realtor.com: REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale
Homes.com: Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale.

You said: "The idea of living near an area that has such a reputation for literacy appeals to us." Well, we've got you fooled, don't we?
Besides all the bookstores around here, there's also Powell's down in Portland, the largest new and used book store in the world.

I agree with Ira500 that winters in North Dakota could be considered "horrible". I lived in Montana for two winters and do know something about that. However, western Washington, whether mainland or islands or peninsulas, has gentle winters in terms of temperatures, wind and snow. Gentle. Drizzly and cloudy a lot of the time, but that makes all the good grass for your animals to eat and play in

The bigger cities or towns in western Washington often tend toward being liberal. This certainly is an area of acceptance of colors, ethnicities, religions, non-religions, politics, piercings, non-piercings. It's a -- gentle place to live

I hope that with Ira500's info this is a helpful start for you. C'mon back with questions!

[marita]

Have you thought about pierce county.Graham and Puyallup are horse friendly and get you near shopping and va and hospitals.Things are cheaper than near seattle.Weather is more gentle than north of seattle.
Summary List (broken link)
Here you can find some info with email addresses so you can get info from the horses mouth,so to speak Chapter Locator
Tacoma, Washington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[allforcats]

It appears that the OP needs veterinary services, not veteran services...but south of Olympia certainly is a lovely possibility.

[marita]

Thanks Allforcats.

[jinj]

I like Enumclaw, still some affordable places in the area.

[acwhite96]

I would suggest Sequim or Port Angeles area. You are bringing in animals that aren't used to the dampness that is here. Rain burn and hoof rot are other factors to consider in areas that get rain. (Experienced rain burn in Elma 3 years ago after moving from Idaho.)

The weather is milder here than any where else in Western WA. House prices here have come down some and you can pick up an acre or two with a decent house. I currently live between Sequim and Port Angeles and I know alot of people here with horses and I never hear them complain about issues with animals. Just my two cents!