Moving to Washington from Nebraska (Seattle, Vancouver: homes, employment, neighborhoods)

[monica_journey]

Hello there, my name is Monica and my family and I are moving from good ole' Nebraska to Washington. I briefly visited Vancouver and fell in love with it.

We are planning to move somewhere in Washington in mid June.

Can anyone recommend a good place that we can start again?

We recently gained custody of three of my husbands children from a previous marriage. There was a lot of neglect and emotional abuse they went through and after much thought and consideration we believe that Washington is far enough away to have them detach from those negative issues.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Have a great day!

Monica

[StealthRabbit]

Vancouver may be one of your best choices, as it is fairly low cost of living with decent employment and school options. I know single moms who have survived well in Camas area with good schools and a smaller community. It is 10 minutes to Portland Airport, and within commute of activities and jobs in Vancouver and most of Portland. (it is also pretty handy to be so close to Beach, Mountains, Columbia Gorge). Unfortunately, the 'walkable' areas of Camas and Vancouver are not the nicest neighborhoods. You might be driving a bit. Portland does have nice walkable neighborhoods, but schools and 9% income tax are barriers. Seattle is pretty expensive and fast paced, but also has walkable neighborhoods. The size would be daunting coming from GI, NE.

Maybe give us a clue what you're looking for. (Jobs, climate, culture). Lynden, WA or Wenatchee / Ellensburg / Moses Lake is the most like Grand Island (AG based economy, fairly conservative).

If you have grandparents planning to visit, I would try to stay within 1 hr of and accessible Airport.
It is tough to get a good rate into Lincoln, so I often use Omaha. (Currently under $100 RT on SWA). I prefer the Portland Airport, as it is very ez to get in and out of.

Let us know your priorities (climate, job needs, and living expense), and we will be better informed to suggest a spot.

(from a prairie kid, and NE native)

[j_k_k]

The eastern side of the state is a lot more agricultural, with amber waves of grain and so forth.

[monica_journey]

Thanks! We were looking to go to the Seattle area, we have lived near a big city before so I think we would be okay! LOL!

Does anyone know the Port Orchard area?

[StealthRabbit]

I spent many years staying there a few times / week... (Vet's home / Retsil), and have friends who moved from there after 20 yrs. (they built a few homes there)

It is basically a 'bedroom' community with not a lot of jobs. (Many folks commute to shipyards, TAC, or SEA). Schools are ok but not great, and meth is prevalent (as it is in many 'west-side-towns' with high unemployment / lower wage areas).

Like most places, it has some decent areas, but plenty of less than decent. Generally it is considered worse than Bremerton (Which is not terribly high on most lists). Siverdale, Poulsbo direction has a better reputation.

Look up Brightcopperkettles on CD for some good advice for the Bremerton region