Remote work Washington vs Miami vs Lake Tahoe vs LA (Seattle: real estate, condo)

[BlackTee]

Hi I am considering where to move for permanent remote work overnight. Washington is in my interest because no income tax and would be going to sleep earlier than 7am on the west coast.. I lived in southwest florida before and liked it and strongly consider miami suburbs because of restaurants and direct flights to europe. I also like to go to the beach and swim. I am 35yo unmarried. Never lived on the west coast.

I dont know what to make of seattle weather. It was nasty past few days in NY and florida is definitely nicer this time of the year. Does everyone wear masks in washington(I dont)? Is there actually a place to meet people or if you're an outsider then hard to meet new people at my age?

What is the swim season and the most appropriate lake for a swim workout in washington if the lowest temp that I can tolerate is 55 degrees(in NY that means late April/early May until early november)?

How difficult is climbing mt Rainier? How much trouble is getting permits? If you live in the area and know how to use crampons , is it common to go up that mountain over 2 days, or requires the right weather and easy to get lost and kill self?
Thanks!

[Ruth4Truth]

This is quite a variety of questions, OP! First off, let me ask you if you can even afford Seattle. Take a look at rents or RE prices, then get back to us. As to your swimming question, Lake Washington in the summers is nice (if you're in the Seattle area), but I'm not sure about the exact temp. But it's significantly warmer than the coastal waters, which leads me to guesstimate that it should meet your 55 degree requirement. Lake Sammamish east of Lake WA might be warmer, IDK.

Tahoe: major snow in wintertime. Not sure if you're up for that, but it's beautiful. But again: check out rents/RE prices first. And Tahoe is cold in the summer, which is refreshing IMO, but may not work for, say, a half-hour swim workout. Depends on your tolerance, obviously.

Yes, people in WA are wearing masks. Same with CA. You can easily look up the Covid status of the areas you're interested in.

It's always a huge debate as to whether it's easy to meet new people in the greater Seattle area, or not. Some people find it easy, others curse the region, lol! It's really a YMMV kind of a thing, depending on your personality. Seattle-ites are known for being reserved. The outlying areas beyond the city limits tend to be friendlier. But the key to meeting new people (you'd think this would be a no-brainer) is to join activity groups, like the Mountaineers (hiking, plus they have social events in winter, including singles events), REI travel/hiking/rock-climbing/boating lecture events, and so on.

[mayfair]

Most lakes in Western WA don't warm up for swimming until later in summer if at all. Your best bet for swimming is a heated pool. There are some outdoor pools that open for the summer.

[MechAndy]

There is really no swimming here in WA unless you wear a wetsuit.
I am actually going to do this after this cold spell subsides a bit.

My wife works from home and I am just about done with work.
Our dish internet supplies more than enough to do that and allow me to stream movies or play on the web.
It is not the best but it allows for her and my daughter to work from our home office while I goof off.

We briefly consider Tahoe but the tourist thing and snow storms were too much for us.

I can’t say much about Seattle but there are some really nice places in WA like Port Townsend that are real gems.

[Diana Holbrook]

I grew up swimming in our lakes in summer. Lots of people swim and water ski on our local lakes. No wetsuit! But maybe kids are tougher than most old folks on city data

There's a lot of hiking here, and if you're interested in a Mt. Rainier climb, I would look into a guided trip the first time.

I think if you are fairly easy going, it's pretty easy to meet people and get along here. We're fairly casual and unpretentious . Moreso the further you get from the city. <<< Also true of hyper-mask vigilance.

[BlackTee]

Thank you for the replies. Yes I am not sure what I want. My salary will be good. But I dont want to overpay for real estate either. I certainly wouldnt move to San Francisco. In miami i would probably consider a condo on the north beach. And in seattle I would think of a house within walking distance of a beach in the suburbs. Steilacoom looks interesting based on Google pics. But it seems difficult to get any city entertainment if I live in such suburb?

[ScottStielow]

I swam in Moses lake in the summertime as a kid at my Grandfathers cabin. It was a good time.

[Hemlock140]

We have been in Washington 27 years and have only been swimming in natural water once, at Lake Chelan, Eastern Washington where the summers are hot. Here the lakes are for other types of recreation, fishing and boating, and there are very few public pools, and even fewer private pools, just because of the short 2-3 months of sun.

Yes, our governor is strictly enforcing masks and other Covid restrictions, and most people comply. The talk of people finding it hard to make friends is mostly limited to the Seattle area, and I'm convinced that it's due to so many people being from other cities/states/countries. Here in Sammamish, for example, it's 33% Asian, mostly people from India working at Amazon and Microsoft, though we have found them to be friendly. In Seattle 70% of residents are from another state/country.

We just had 3 days of snow (10") and below freeing, down to 24F here in the Seattle area, but you might like the drier/warmer tri-cities or Yakima areas, where you can access Mt. Rainier from the back side. I'm not a climber but have gotten permits for collecting trees for bonsai in the mountains here, without too much effort. Here is a link I found on Rainier Climbing:

https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/climbing.htm

[BlackTee]

Thank you. I guess miami is the safer bet for me.

[the_crossen]

Originally Posted by BlackTee

Thank you for the replies. Yes I am not sure what I want. My salary will be good. But I dont want to overpay for real estate either. I certainly wouldnt move to San Francisco. In miami i would probably consider a condo on the north beach. And in seattle I would think of a house within walking distance of a beach in the suburbs. Steilacoom looks interesting based on Google pics. But it seems difficult to get any city entertainment if I live in such suburb?

As a local, Steilacoom is nice but it's not close to anything beside Tacoma. I love Tacoma but the night life is very sub par. You would have to drive to Seattle for some night life and that is about an hour drive. Also, the closer you live to the foothills, the more hiking/ climbing you can do. However, the farther from the water you are. You could look at Des Moines. Small little town that is close to Seattle and on the water (30 min from Seattle). Also, look at West Seattle. You'll like Alki beach. It is the only sandy beach in Seattle.