Retirement in WA (Seattle, Tacoma, Puyallup: ski resorts, school district, living)

[fengchen777]

Don't know if Puyallup, Buckley or Enumclaw are suburban enough (large lots, low crime) and perhaps a bit sunnier than other metro Seattle areas from Bellingham down to Olympia?

[mayfair]

The areas you listed in Eastern Washington get very hot during the summer. For mild summers (though even those aren't always mild any more), you need the rainy West Side.

[StealthRabbit]

Get out an old fashioned map and compass.

Select preferred cities,
Draw the 2 hr radius.

Hint.... 2 hours is a bit far for my tastes, and I love to drive!

<20- 30 minutes is really sweet in times of necessity. (And for flexibility of optional events / concerts / Food / volunteering). Our fruit farm in Vancouver WA was 10 acres, but adjacent to 40 acre park and 100+ acres of Green space, and 5 minutes to services and college and hiking trail. Quite nice.

My Colorado and Texas homes are about an hour from good international airports large medical center and it is a stretch. Elderly friends we support find 1 hr too far for daily medical procedures. We will probably need to have a place overseas for medical access, care, affordability. (Even Medicare can exceed $1000/ Month for 2).

[509]

Originally Posted by fengchen777

We are also considering retirement in Washington State. Considering the areas just east of the Cascades.

Some of our considerations:
Do not like gloomy, constant rainy days.
More sun but still have water security, so just east of Cascades (e.g. no severe droughts like in AZ, western CO).
Not super hot during the summers (mid-90s okay), not bitter, damp, long winters (frost & snow okay).

Within about 2 hours of greater Seattle area to be able to access: Great healthcare (though small town hospital ok for routine things in hometown), theatre, music, symphony, concerts and Sea-Tac airport.
Clean air (seems the area east of Cascades gets good scores), low crime.


So far we've come up with: Ellensburg (college town!), Cle Elum, Wenatchee, Cashmere, Leavenworth (the last 3 appealing as on a rail link to Seattle).


Feedback on these towns or other possible areas would be greatly appreciated.

Lived in the Wenatchee Valley for 37 years. It was a wonderful place until a decade ago.



Traffic is awful, 24/7 with all the traffic from western Washington every day, all day long.



Just booked a medical appointment...three months from now. Until recently, I could walk in and see my doctor any day of the week.


Lights everywhere. Our home galaxy is gone this year. No streetlights in my neighborhood, but everybody from western Washington is scared of the dark. MEGA lights on all night long.


Homeless people have showed up in Wenatchee. It is a cheap bus ticket from Seattle.


Lots of road rage and shootings. People from western Washington accept it as normal.



And the capper, the weather in Wenatchee is just as bad as Seattle from Thanksgiving to President's Day. Since we became a part of western Washington even the weather has changed!!!


There was OLD WENATCHEE and now there is NEW WENATCHEE, don't bother with NEW WENATCHEE.



After 37 years....the search is on for a town like Wenatchee, 30 years ago.

[JackieLovesSun]

Since we became a part of western Washington even the weather has changed!!!

[Hemlock140]

While there are still some homes available in the $500k range in the "cheaper" outlying areas of WA state, the prices are going up fast every day. In 5 years you may have to pay $800k for a small condo in the boonies. One relative, for example, paid $325k for a small house in Burlington a year ago, it's now worth $425k. We had been looking in Sedro-Wooley a year ago and there were many homes in the $300-400k range, now almost all are over $500k. At the current rate of 10-13% a year, 5 years puts them at $805,000.

[Unicorn hunter]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Get out an old fashioned map and compass.

Select preferred cities,
Draw the 2 hr radius.

Hint.... 2 hours is a bit far for my tastes, and I love to drive!

<20- 30 minutes is really sweet in times of necessity. (And for flexibility of optional events / concerts / Food / volunteering). Our fruit farm in Vancouver WA was 10 acres, but adjacent to 40 acre park and 100+ acres of Green space, and 5 minutes to services and college and hiking trail. Quite nice.

My Colorado and Texas homes are about an hour from good international airports large medical center and it is a stretch. Elderly friends we support find 1 hr too far for daily medical procedures. We will probably need to have a place overseas for medical access, care, affordability. (Even Medicare can exceed $1000/ Month for 2).

I would second this. I originally retired to a location about an hour from two major cities, thinking it would be perfect. However, as I got a bit older (and only two years older!) I found an hour drive to be a bit tiring, especially after attending an evening event in the city. Facing an hour drive home in the middle of the night was not something I enjoyed. So ended up moving AGAIN to a location 15-20 minutes from downtown. It's a bit more urban than I might have liked, but the convenience is worth it. I moved AWAY from Washington state in retirement, as it was just too pricey for me, and pretty sure unless I was extremely wealthy, I wouldn't want to retire there. And Eastern and Western parts of the state are like two separate worlds...kind of like urban and rural Ohio. Just something for OP to be aware of if he/she is not already.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

I would second this. I originally retired to a location about an hour from two major cities, thinking it would be perfect. However, as I got a bit older (and only two years older!) I found an hour drive to be a bit tiring, especially after attending an evening event in the city. Facing an hour drive home in the middle of the night was not something I enjoyed. So ended up moving AGAIN to a location 15-20 minutes from downtown. It's a bit more urban than I might have liked, but the convenience is worth it. I moved AWAY from Washington state in retirement, as it was just too pricey for me, and pretty sure unless I was extremely wealthy, I wouldn't want to retire there. And Eastern and Western parts of the state are like two separate worlds...kind of like urban and rural Ohio. Just something for OP to be aware of if he/she is not already.

There is this sense that Washington state is some tax free haven for retirement because there is no income tax, but it is recovered, and then some, by high property taxes, sales taxes, and a myriad of taxes and fee's tacked onto everything from utilities to car tabs and licenses. The biggest drag is the cost of a home here, and as out of state implants pay big money for them, the adjacent homes are "market valued" likewise by the assessor and the property taxes skyrocket. Nothing like paying $1,000/month for property taxes for a home you own. The "total tax load calculator by state" is quite an eye opener if you spend some time on it. Several income tax states actually provide a lower total tax load, and combined with lower housing costs would leave me with much more disposable income, even if I had to take a severe pay cut.
This sentiment is shared by most I work with, who do not want to, or see that they will not be able to afford to retire here.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

There is this sense that Washington state is some tax free haven for retirement because there is no income tax, but it is recovered, and then some, by high property taxes, sales taxes, and a myriad of taxes and fee's tacked onto everything from utilities to car tabs and licenses. The biggest drag is the cost of a home here, and as out of state implants pay big money for them, the adjacent homes are "market valued" likewise by the assessor and the property taxes skyrocket. Nothing like paying $1,000/month for property taxes for a home you own. The "total tax load calculator by state" is quite an eye opener if you spend some time on it. Several income tax states actually provide a lower total tax load, and combined with lower housing costs would leave me with much more disposable income, even if I had to take a severe pay cut.
This sentiment is shared by most I work with, who do not want to, or see that they will not be able to afford to retire here.

My husband and I were born here and have now retired (yeah, we are old). If it wasn’t for a a post-retirement established home business, we would have had sell during the past several years. The main reasons are escalating property taxes and insurance. The biggest, though, has been costs for maintenance. In the past ten years, we have had to update septic system, get roof redone including new sheathing, road regraveled, two storage tanks for water as available water is lessening due to new builds, water filtration, new deck, windows, trim painting, power wash two outbuildings, septic pumping, and yearly required septic systems inspections (trust me, you do not want to cross the county health department). Total for this to date is close to $70,000.

We have always been frugal but even with added home business and being thrifty, we still struggle. Granted, someone buying in town, will not have water/septic expenses but you do pay for sewer + water which seem to escalate also. Plus, buying in the city is more expensive as many people want “walkable” neighborhoods.

You see many homes sell for over asking and paid for with cash. Many listings on realtor websites are pending or sell in a day of two. Your locals who are renting are also being priced out of their rentals as leases are due for renewal, the rents are increasing due to landlords not being able to increase the rent during COVID.

I don't know what the answer is. I can say I got mine but this is our home. We don't know where to move to if costs increase even more.

[fengchen777]

Thank you all for your feedback. Any comments on: Puyallup, Buckley or Enumclaw? We appreciate that real estate is escalating all over the place. Washington state appeals to us as many of the towns we're considering have good air quality, overall, which is a priority for us. So any recommendations for suburbs at the far edges of the Seattle area that might be beyond the normal commuter distance so we're not competing with working folks?