Best/Worst places in Washington (Seattle, Spokane: job market, schools, property taxes)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What are the property taxes like in Washington? Do they vary by county? My husband was under the impression that there were no property tax in Washington, and no sales tax in Oregon, which is another state we were looking into as well.
WA has no income tax, but plenty of property tax (in most urban areas) Rural is generally better. Check with the county assessor where you are looking, they can give you a sheet that lists rates in each taxing district (fire, library, school, water service, EMS...) usually it ranges from $8 per Thousand of Fair Market Value, to $14. Be advised that is you buy a property under what the assessor considers FMV, you will pay taxes on what the assessor FEELS is FMV. (supported by their data)
OR has no sales tax, thus it is most beneficial to live and work in Southern WA and shop in OR, tho that is tough on WA businesses. OR would not be a state I would consider if I was a teacher (very poor funding for schools + 9% income tax)
Check school districts in Southern WA. (all decent towns + others I missed) Hockinson, Camas, Evergreen, Ridgefield, Vancouver, LaCenter, Woodland, Skamania, Stevenson, Underwood, White Salmon, Kennewick, Richland, Walla Walla, Dayton, Clarkston ... (best districts in Bold, JMHO, but I'm only one person and limited knowledge)
Being close to Portland can be a bonus if you want to fly to CA for cheap. (I did SMF for $39 last week)
That's another worry I have. I have read so many posts saying that it is sometimes hard to be accepted into a community in Washington. Now I know that is not always the case, but I also know that it CAN be an issue.
Kettle Falls sounds great, but I have a feeling it would be more difficult to establish relationships with people. The small town tends to be the hardest to infiltrate. I'm quite sure that they are used to people coming and going because they can't handle the small town atmosphere.
We just want to find a nice community where our daughter can run and play in a real yard without having the neighbors a few feet away.
Does anyone know what the teaching situation is like in these areas? I am a Special Education teacher and amazingly enough I cannot find a job here in So Cal because of all the budget cuts. Are teachers needed in Washington?
StealthRabbit, thank you for all the information! It is greatly appreciated. I will definitely look into the areas you suggested. Unfortunately with my husbands line of work we will be limited to where we can move to.
I am diligently doing my homework on all areas because I want to make 1 move and not move again until we are retired! I am a creature of habit and don't care to change my routines, much to my husbands chagrin.
My family and the weather are the only things I'm going to miss about California. I know that it rains quite a bit in Washington, but realistically what is the weather like? does it rain year round, or is mostly during winter and spring? I'm sure that it will be worse along the coast, but what about central and southern Washington?
Thank you all for all your answers, suggestions and opinions. It is so nice to get someones personal opinion. Like I said before... everywhere looks great online, even L.A.! I want to know the truth behind the pretty pictures.
There are Property Taxes in Washington. They vary by County as a rule. You can call the Dept. of Revenue to get the actual rates in each area. Roughly 1% to 2% per year on assesed value.
Maybe your husband was thinking about State Income taxes of which there are non in Washington, but Washington does have a Sales Tax which also varies by area. Seattle approx 9% or so but excluded from many grocery/food products.
Oregon has a State Income tax at 9% on the top end and no sales tax.
Idaho has both a State Income tax and a sales tax but they do have several exemptions and reductions/rebates depending on your situation.
Elma is a very small quaint town and not to far from Olympia if you need to do major shopping etc. Not much there and fairly old buildings prevail. It does rain a lot in this area but the summers are nice from May to October. Not California but very easy to live with. July thru End of September are the best. 70 to 80 degrees most of that time.
We looked at Clarkston/Lewiston a couple years ago and got blown away by the Pulp/paper mill and other rotten smells/pollution that chased us out of town while we were visiting. We ended up cancelling our appt. with a Real estate agent and fleeing west to Walla Walla for the night.
That was probalby just a Bad Day but I would not be able to live their with that going on.
Also what we saw of Lewiston just across the river was rather depressing. The older part of the town is dumpy/terrible. You have to climb up to the top of a very long hill to the south to get to a better part of town. That should be be fun when it snows.
Last edited by silverfox; 06-14-2010 at 11:53 AM..
...
My family and the weather are the only things I'm going to miss about California. I know that it rains quite a bit in Washington, but realistically what is the weather like? does it rain year round, or is mostly during winter and spring? I'm sure that it will be worse along the coast, but what about central and southern Washington? ...
city-data city info sites list weather details and history. Get a narrowed down selection and then dive deeper for info. As previously mentioned rainfall in my just my county ranges from 30" > 120 " / yr and most of it comes as drizzle. Thus 'generally western WA has ~ 250 days of 'some' cloud cover and ~ 200 days of 'some' precip. As mentioned above, we usually get a good string of nice days July 5th to Sept 1st.
Someone here on C-D in the last month did an 'overlay' of this weather map with city's (I forgot the link), but look it over and tell us your limitations on regions (for DH job) and we will get you pointed correctly. (I'm a bit partial to PDX airport if you are gonna be 'lonely' for CA or need a 'sun-fix' occasionally. SEA is fine, just that often you end up fighting traffic to get there, and it is much busier / spread-out. So you best arrive early. I often arrive at PDX less than 1 hr from flight and have plenty of time to check-in, do-security, make flight.
For areas that are more accepting of strangers, it varies, but check the ethnic demographics, and also here. Some areas have strong ethnic ties and can be closed societies. Such is the case with many Dutch and German communities, but often Danish and other Scandinavian communities are more accepting. Just varies a lot with the territory and how influential the leadership is.
Eastern and SE WA get less rain, but often have gray days in winter. Granted they also have much more sunshine than western WA. Whether that is enough ???. If sunshine, moderate weather AND good schools is a desire, I would look at Ft Collins, / Loveland, Colo. Or parts of NM. If you can take it a bit colder, Colo Springs is nice.
Kerrig, since you said "My family and the weather are the only things I'm going to miss about California," I think it's safe to assume you are accustomed to LOTS OF SUNSHINE. It's important for your mental health to understand that the prevalence of S.A.D. and relocation dissatisfaction are tied directly to the weather here, and to assess how adaptable you will be with that in mind.
You're doing the right thing by asking lots of questions and doing the requisite research to make an informed decision. Good luck in whatever choice you make!
For a lighter look at our state, you might enjoy this older site:
A newcomer to the Northwest arrives on a rainy day. She gets up the next day and it's raining. It also rains the day after that, and the day after that.
She goes out to lunch and sees a young kid and, out of despair, asks, "Hey, kid, does it ever stop raining around here?"
The kid says, "How should I know? I'm only 6."
(You know you're from the Pacific Northwest if you Are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain"
and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
[SIZE=5]Every day it rains, 500 Californians pack up and move back home where they belong. :-)[/SIZE]
There are Property Taxes in Washington. They vary by County as a rule. You can call the Dept. of Revenue to get the actual rates in each area. Roughly 1% to 2% per year on assesed value.
Maybe your husband was thinking about State Income taxes of which there are non in Washington, but Washington does have a Sales Tax which also varies by area. Seattle approx 9% or so but excluded from many grocery/food products.
Oregon has a State Income tax at 9% on the top end and no sales tax.
Idaho has both a State Income tax and a sales tax but they do have several exemptions and reductions/rebates depending on your situation.
Elma is a very small quaint town and not to far from Olympia if you need to do major shopping etc. Not much there and fairly old buildings prevail. It does rain a lot in this area but the summers are nice from May to October. Not California but very easy to live with. July thru End of September are the best. 70 to 80 degrees most of that time.
We looked at Clarkston/Lewiston a couple years ago and got blown away by the Pulp/paper mill and other rotten smells/pollution that chased us out of town while we were visiting. We ended up cancelling our appt. with a Real estate agent and fleeing west to Walla Walla for the night.
That was probalby just a Bad Day but I would not be able to live their with that going on.
Also what we saw of Lewiston just across the river was rather depressing. The older part of the town is dumpy/terrible. You have to climb up to the top of a very long hill to the south to get to a better part of town. That should be be fun when it snows.
I have read a lot of complaints about the smells in Clarkston/Lewiston, which really turned me off to the idea of moving to that area. My husband could be transfered to Idaho Falls, but from what I see, that is a pretty large town. I think that will be the next place we visit and check out.
I'm sad to say that I think we will probably end up going a little East of California, i.e. Idaho, colorado, Montana area. The more I look into Washington and Oregon, the more I'm hesitant to move there. It's sounding like it's going to become just an addition to California before long. I'm sure that's from all the Californians moving up that way (No wonder we get such a bad rap!) I want to get the heck out of California because of the California mentality! I am far to conservative for this state because I want our borders closed, I want welfare designated for people who truly need it and want to work to support their families, I think that schools should be #1 on our agenda, and I don't think that money equates happiness! At the age of 28, we are certainly not the norm around here.
I don't want my daughter growing up thinking that she has to be a celebrity to get ahead. Hard work and ambition is what's important. I want her to have values and truly value them. It seems like a lot to ask for in this community.
I AM accustomed to lots of sunshine! However, I do wish it was cooler, with sunshine. I don't like the heat of California, but adore the sunshine. I'm willing to compromise some sunshine, but if 85% of the year is completely dreary then I don't think I could handle it and would want to move.
I'm curious.... Does the sun come out later in the day? I know it drizzles a lot, but is that mostly in the morning and then burns off? Or is it drizzly all day? Do you get all 4 seasons?
I'm really looking forward to going out to Washington in August, but I'm sure the weather will be pretty nice at that time and may make me awe struck and want to leave California immediately. Thanks to all of you, I have quite a bit of information and can start really annalyzing everything and try to find the best fit for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stonecypher5413
Kerrig, since you said "My family and the weather are the only things I'm going to miss about California," I think it's safe to assume you are accustomed to LOTS OF SUNSHINE. It's important for your mental health to understand that the prevalence of S.A.D. and relocation dissatisfaction are tied directly to the weather here, and to assess how adaptable you will be with that in mind.
You're doing the right thing by asking lots of questions and doing the requisite research to make an informed decision. Good luck in whatever choice you make!
For a lighter look at our state, you might enjoy this older site:
A newcomer to the Northwest arrives on a rainy day. She gets up the next day and it's raining. It also rains the day after that, and the day after that.
She goes out to lunch and sees a young kid and, out of despair, asks, "Hey, kid, does it ever stop raining around here?"
The kid says, "How should I know? I'm only 6."
(You know you're from the Pacific Northwest if you Are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain"
and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
[SIZE=5]Every day it rains, 500 Californians pack up and move back home where they belong. :-)[/SIZE]
"(I'm a bit partial to PDX airport if you are gonna be 'lonely' for CA or need a 'sun-fix' occasionally. SEA is fine, just that often you end up fighting traffic to get there, and it is much busier / spread-out. So you best arrive early. I often arrive at PDX less than 1 hr from flight and have plenty of time to check-in, do-security, make flight."
We will be flying in to SEA in August. Is it going to be difficult to navigate around there? My husband used to go to Battle Ground Washington every summer as a kid, and that is the extent of our traveling to Washington, so as you can see we will be a little lost. I plan to take our GPS, but was wondering if the highways are pretty easy to navigate. I really hope they are easier than California!
"For areas that are more accepting of strangers, it varies, but check the ethnic demographics, and also here. Some areas have strong ethnic ties and can be closed societies. Such is the case with many Dutch and German communities, but often Danish and other Scandinavian communities are more accepting. Just varies a lot with the territory and how influential the leadership is"
Is the ethnic demographis on the C-D site? Maybe I should find a Dutch community since that is my ethnic background.... HOnestly I want to just be in a community where it's not necessary to know Spanish! In California you NEED to know basic Spanish, or you will not be communicating with very many people.
"Eastern and SE WA get less rain, but often have gray days in winter. Granted they also have much more sunshine than western WA. Whether that is enough ???. If sunshine, moderate weather AND good schools is a desire, I would look at Ft Collins, / Loveland, Colo. Or parts of NM. If you can take it a bit colder, Colo Springs is nice."
Colo Springs is actually another area we were looking at because they have a RR that my husband could go to. I don't mind the cold and even a little bit of snow, so long as it's not several feet all winter long. My sister lives in Anchorage Alaska and has to shovel her way out of her driveway 5-7 months out of the year. That is definitley something I could not handle. I love to live in a place that has weather that varies. rain, snow, sunshine, thunderstorms.... I enjoy the sunshine, but would really like a little rain and would LOVE to live somewhere where people actually know how to drive in the rain!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain" 
