Washington or North Carolina? (Seattle, Spokane: middle-class, transplants, how much)

[mhmd]

My family and I are looking into moving out of our state in the next 2 years to either Seattle/Edmond/Gig Harbor Washington area or Raleigh/Charlotte North Carolina Area. We are in our late 20's and have a toddler. Private schools are a thing we need. We would like to live somewhere near mountains and trees...maybe 20-30 minutes away from a big city so my husband can work.

My husbands family has relatives in NC and are trying to talk us into living there. We would like to visit both states before we make our final decision though, but would like some input from people who actually live in either states and what they say about it.

Oh and I love the weather in Washington...I dont mind the rain, clouds or cold...since Im fairly used to it. (grew up in fortwayne, Indiana). Ive actually been really leaning toward gig harbor because I love the small towns and its just so beautiful...plenty of things to do outdoors in the mountains and water...but I have heard NC is the same way.

[CoastieTX]

Disclaimer: I've never lived in North Carolina, but have visited many times. My parents and sister live in the Fuquay Varina and Raleigh, respectively. I myself am in Bellingham.

If you are a working, middle class family with a desire to be a home owner, run, don't walk, to North Carolina. My parents and sister would have to at least triple what their homes cost in NC to live the same lifestyle in Western Washington. My parents (retired) entertain the idea of moving back to Spokane just because it's home and their two sons are in Washington, but they wouldn't touch Western Washington with a ten foot pole.

I work with a bunch of Southern California transplants and they all tell me the same thing - they underestimated how much the cost of living here is. If you would never move to California because of the cost of living is too high, you would be making a serious mistake moving here.

Here's my personal opinion: Even if the cost of living of Raleigh and Seattle were equal, I'd pick Raleigh every time. The weather's better, the people are friendlier, the politics more mainstream/normal, the traffic isn't constantly gridlocked, and there's a huge selection of nice homes in nice neighborhoods (their houses even have what's called a "yard," and you get some breathing room between you and your neighbors) to choose from.

I personally don't find Raleigh inferior in any way to Seattle. Or to put it another way, I certainly don't think Seattle's much higher cost of living is justified.

I don't mean to rag on Washington - it's my home state afterall. But again, if you're a working middle-class family and you would like to be a homeowner some day, welcome to the rat race. It'll be a much tougher struggle here than it would be in Raleigh. MUCH TOUGHER.

[mthomson]

I can't speak to NC at all. Gig Harbor is a great area for young families (we're late 20's...okay, my wife is, I'm early 30's) and have a toddler. We've got a great network of friends in our same stage of life, and we love it here. Private schools in Gig Harbor are limited to Christian and Catholic schools, but there are some non-religious private schools in Tacoma (15 minutes away). Gig Harbor is 30 min from Bremerton, 60min from Seattle, 15-20 to Tacoma, and 35-40min from Olympia (roughly). We're a little over an hour to Mt Rainier, closer still to the Snoqualmie Pass ski area. Gig Harbor is much cheaper than Seattle, not sure how it compares to NC. Median home price is low $400's, lots of nice homes available in the $300's, you can find homes in the $200's.

[Kent Sonnefeld]

Funny, I have lived in both places. Seattle in 1997 and I am living currently in Charlotte, NC. Both places are beautiful and offer so much. I think the one thing you have to ask yourself is: Can I go weeks without sun shine. Well at least days. Please don't get me wrong, Seattle is beautiful and I enjoyed living there, hiking and checking out different palces but I got to a point where I needed the sun shine. I realy enjoy living in the Charlotte area. It has so much to offer. The city is very clean, classy and safe. If you want more of a small town feel all you have to go is twenty to thirty minutes out of town and you can find it. there is a lot to do from walking trails, boating on the lakes, fishing, parks, restuants & shopping, Carowinds (amusment park), family entertainment and short mountain trips. Also the beach is about three hours away.

[MovinOutWest]

I moved last year from NC to Washington State. I might be biased because I had spent all my life up until the move living on the east coast, but I'd pick NC.

There's really nothing wrong with Washington and I like it here, but I loved NC. A few positives for NC, in my opinion:
1. Better weather (if you like it warm)
2. Much cheaper housing costs
3. Better beaches
4. Groceries seemed to be cheaper out there too
5. Living in NC, you are just a few hours by car to major cities along the east coast, like DC, Baltimore and Philly. And a few hours more and you're in NYC.

Positives for Washington:
1. It's more liberal in the Seattle area than anywhere in NC, except for maybe Asheville or Carrboro. Of course, that could be a negative depending on your leanings.
2. There is scenery out here that you can't find anywhere else.
3. Better weather for winter activities like skiing and snowboarding.
4. Sporting events on tv are over way before midnight.

Both places have great outdoor opportunities, it's just a matter of which ones you prefer. If I were you, I'd visit both places if you could and see which one feels more like home.

[Blindtom]

I would vote Washington simply because I like the weather better.

[Tony1790]

NC hands down, assuming no other choices.

Grew up in NC, 13 years in WA.

Tony

[cabocurtis]

I have visited North Carolina and inlaws moved to Gig harbor after living in Charlotte a number of years. I think Charlottes economy is tied to banking which is not good and may not be for years. Private schools in Seattle are excellent. Charlotte not that close to mountains. Look at eastside like issaquah bellevue redmond and your about 40 minutes from mountains. I will give you Charlottes weather is nice from late fall to early spring but Seattles summers are better less humid, no threat of lightning, rain squalls or hurrican storm remnants. When we visited Charlotte it was modern but topography bland and flat. In Seattle you are surrounded by snow capped mountains, puget sound. and Lake Union and Lake Washington. Its a 5 hour flight to Hawaii, 4 hours to Mexico beaches and relatively easy access to natural wonders like yellowstone, columbia gorge, and cosmopolitan Vancouver BC and fun Portland. University is good and economy diverse with high tech, boeing,and biotech. Also we are going to be less worried about temperature, water resources, energy and agriculture if global warming is the real deal.

[ChelleC]

I've lived in NC my entire 37 years so to say I am biased toward NC is an understatement. I love it here and would never consider moving anywhere drastically different. Now for the downside, the unemployment rate in my county is at 11.5% right now. I am located in between the state's two largest cities (Raleigh and Charlotte). The ecomony of Charlotte is largely based around Bank of America, Wachovia, etc. so hundreds of very educated and experienced professionals are currently out of work. I know people with advanced degrees who have gone from making over $150k/year to taking jobs at $40k/year just to make ends meet. Yes, our cost of living is probably less than other parts of the country, but this region has been hit hard by the economy. I've also seen reports that NC is the second largest growing state as far as population, but our economy isn't keeping pace. With hundreds of thousands of people moving here every year, I don't see the chances of people securing employment improving in the near future. If your finances are secure then I can't think of a more beautiful place.

[brightcopperkettles]

I was born in WA State, grew up in the South, moved to WA state 16 years ago, and would move back to South Carolina (or North Carolina) in an instant if my husband would agree (he is from WA).

The reasons are:
1. The weather is better in the South for 10 months out of the year; the only 2 months WA has it beat are August and September.

2. The cost of living is much less expensive in the South, i.e., housing, groceries, clothes, you name it.

3. It is MUCH easier to make friends in the South because Southerners are, well, Southerners. WA people are nice, and they are friendly when you speak to them first, but YOU have to speak to them. In the South, the culture is completely different. Southerners realize that you are the outsider moving to their home state, and they will reach out and help you without you even asking. Washingtonians are helpful, but they are a different breed and respect your privacy; they wait for you to ask them. Lovely people both places; you just have to ask yourself what you are most comfortable with.

4. Where is your extended family located? You never know when your parents or grandparents are going to need you. You may want to consider being close to them for that reason.

Hope this helped. :-)