Thinking about moving to Washington State

[tindo80]

I have practically no experience with CA, but I would say in short, if you want small town, conservative, fairly homogenous atmosphere, move to an eastern WA town (with the exception of Spokane). That also goes if you want fairly reliable seasons (warm summers, cool falls, cold snowy winters, rainy springs).

If you want a fairly stable year round cool tempature, or you want plenty of scenery, mountains, water, more liberal and (no offense to E Wa folks) open minded people from diverse backgrounds in larger cities, move to western washington.

If you want all the things mentioned in the first paragraph, in a slightly more liberal than conservative city with a growing (though still smal) amount of cultural diversity, move to Spokane.

Jobs are hard to come by all over in WA right now from what friends and family tell me. Crime is noticeable in both areas...though IMO people from each side will say the other has worst crime.

[Ultrarunner]

Last I checked... there are lots of rentals available in the Olympia area...

Anywhere near Fort Lewis or other large military installations... I doubt if anyone would even notice a bi-racial couple...

I can't say for the rest of the State...

In the SF Bay Area... bi-racial couples are very common... I've been in several weddings and never have I even heard of any problems here....

[nwcountrygal]

Hello - first come and visit areas to see what you like! WA is like 4 differnt climates at least!

1st comment! good for you and your programs - I believe Meals on Wheels is one outfit I have been in contact with. Anywhere I believe the elderly can use help! In Pierce County the Elderly care programs helped some I worked with.

Really WA is un-church? uhmm didn't know that. I do know that modern way of thinking of spirtualism is mainly accepted. Grew up Luthern - hard core- church is still there. My last job for a decade was on a car lot and the owner full blowm baptist had the pastor come in at lunch time for bible study for car sales people. (Allthough I am sure that is the only lot in the state) I don't go to church so ya maybe so. But I would love to interact with someone helping the elderly!

You need to define what kind of area you would like to live in. I don't see any property in WA cheap tax wise - unless your coming from CA. However I do know if you claim your property as a church you get a major rebate on taxes.

BI-racial - depending on the race - maybe - Eastern WA maybe a little more less than Western WA. In Olympia Tacoma Seattle area Puget Sound I really dont think anyone thinks of it.

For some reason though when I read your post I thought Walla Walla you may like in E WA. The prison is there too if you would like to do that type of work. My grandfather stated the chaplin program in S Dakota with the prisons and found it to be very fullfilling.

Good Luck!

[bunnyfool]

Originally Posted by CAmove

Are rentals difficult to find in WA? Are there any cities you would avoid because of crime?

Thanks for your help

Finding a rental in Tri-cites in our budget was tough ($1000 or less for a 3br) The place we finally got had 3 other applicants before us. I found that most places/and landlords contract out to another agency to do rental screenings. These screenings cost $35 per each adult applying in the household and check your credit/background/rental history etc (pretty standard stuff). Evidently the previous applicants had blemishes on their rental history and did not get the place.

It was tough for me I guess because in all my experiences up till now, I never had an issue renting a home, there was never "competition". Maybe my experience was unusual this time around i dont know. I was told by one person that it could be due the time of year we looked (people like to wait to move until their kids our out of school for the summer) My understanding is that during winter months there is not as many ppl looking for rentals so it may be easier then but on the other hand.. maybe there aren't as many ppl moving out either.. so i dont know. It could also be that there are more ppl looking for homes in the lower price ranges like myself.. thus more competition. I found that while browsing the adds there appeared to be a lot of 3bedroom homes availible for 1000-1600 price range and some extremely nice ones for even more than that.

As for crime.. I think it all really depends. Every single town/city that I have lived-in in both Western WA and Eastern WA. had its good areas and bad.. just need to do a little research once you narrow down exactly what part of the state suites your needs the most.

The thing with western WA is that all the suburban areas seem to blend together, In my opinion, harder to have that sense of Community pride in ones town.If you were to drive from Everett to south of Tacoma you will notice that the boundries of each city back right up to the next one down the line.. THis isnt so in Eastern Wa. For example, driving between Ellensburg to Yakima requires a 30 mile or so drive through sagebrush, Rocks, Canyons and rolling hills, then going further south, there is farmlands, vineyards etc with an occasional small town here or there before hitting tri-cities. I love it! Since moving to Eastern WA. I have definetly felt more community pride in these towns... correlation with lower crime??? hmmmm Im not sure, just my own little thought so take that for what its worth I certainly cant back up that claim.

As for the issues of bi-racial family... It is true, as much as I hate to think that in this day and age there are still ppl out there that harbor hate but unffortunatly it still happens.. but PLEASE.. don't let that detour you from any particuliar place if it meets your needs. I cant say that problems wont arise but what im saying is that if they do, they can happen anywhere in Washington. In Ellensburg, the college has brought a lot more diversity here than i believe would be here if it wasnt for the college so its pretty common to see mixed couples of several ethic / racial backgrounds.. (I can count at leats 2 of the households on my street having bi-racial couples black/white and a few more hispanic/white couples. but thats a pretty small sample of what Ellensburg is like.. and also our street has a lot of college families on it)

take care

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by nwcountrygal

Really WA is un-church? uhmm didn't know that. I do know that modern way of thinking of spirtualism is mainly accepted. Grew up Luthern - hard core- church is still there. My last job for a decade was on a car lot and the owner full blowm baptist had the pastor come in at lunch time for bible study for car sales people. (Allthough I am sure that is the only lot in the state) I don't go to church so ya maybe so. But I would love to interact with someone helping the elderly!

Here is what is meant by the 'un-church' thing, as taught to me in college sociology class by a professor of the sociology of religion. When someone takes a survey of Americans to find out about their religious beliefs, they tend to see a certain trend: people in the Northwest (and to a degree California) are just as likely as other Americans to attest a belief in a higher power of some sort, but are markedly less likely to identify themselves with a given religious denomination. This is why it's become a good recruiting ground for off-the-wall, unconventional religious groups; there are as many people here with the willingness to believe in a higher power as anywhere else, but fewer of them are spoken for by an existing church.

[susiequestion]

Originally Posted by yukiko11

I am originally from California and currently live about 30 miles north of Seattle in Snohomish County.
A lot of the people who have lived here are descended from the original pioneers who settled in this area many years ago. Some are descended from the Vikings that came before them. You can still see the old houses and old barns in the area. I have found this area to be filled with church going families. I agree that western Washington is very liberal, however that is mainly because of all of the people who have come from other areas of the country and the world to populate it. The basic population is very similar to the midwest.
You should really plan to have a 2-3 wk vacation here to see if this is the atmosphere that would work for your family.

It is of some comfort that someone from another state will admit that Washington is as it is mainly because of all the people who have come from other areas. I have lived in Washington state 41 years. I am sorry but I am sick of all the people that are coming here. I won't. I must let my opinion be known and I do ask you questions?

Why are you coming come here? Our state has some of the highest taxes in the nation neither is there work. If anything people should exodus out of our state. Major grocery stores are closing. Small businesses are closing.

I have done much research on my own community. Very few of our businesses are locally owned anymore. Most are LLC's or are based on grants provided by Homeland Security. Money that does nothing for our state. Money that only benefits those who take. There are organizations in my community that give persons that need a place to stay after they have been released from jail a motel voucher. Most states give these individuals bus tickets out. I often think they must give them bus tickets straight to Washington.

The year 2003 is the year I began to feel a need to lock my doors. This was not because of our "war on terrorism" this was because of the federal marshalls, the many task forces, homeland security and border patrol that have moved in to put many of us in prison or jail. Pot money is terroist money. Get used to it people in Washington smoke pot. We grow some of the best bud in the world. Canadians will argue with you but that's okay we still like them. Never had I heard of shootings in a pot house until recently. People pretending to be federal agents so they can rip each other off. Along with these individuals come their punk children, their trophy wives and every family problem they have.

As I see it the only terrorist in Washington are Homeland security, border patrol and the many people who have come here and have no respect for my values my thoughts. I can assure you if terroists are going to come out of our state many a private airplane could land in any of our states private airports. Washington only creates serial killers. Talk to people who have lived here over 30 years they see what the people who have come to our state within the last 8 years do not see. I as well as many of these individuals feel like the stranger.

If it is your desire to come to Washington because you will be an asset to our state I could give you many suggestions. If you are coming here as a liability and to give reason to help homeland security, border patrol or any Federal Agency take my personal rights please stay the hell away. If you are coming here to suck off our social programs Please stay where you are. That has already been done. There is no help for our residents much less you.

If you are coming here as an LLC and bringing your companies employees with you please stay where you are. People from Washington have principles as well as integrity. As I see it our governor sold out. Most of the people born and raised in Washington have much higher principles and much greater integrity. We give back to our state what it gives to us. Most are coming here only to take. Our state is becoming what many claim they want to leave.

If your purpose is to become an asset then I welcome you. My first suggestion. Learn to layer your clothing. Learn to carry another set of clothing. Always carry a coat even if you just throw it in the back seat of your vehicle. The weather here is very unpredictable. Get used to many creative people. Get used to Canadians. As I said get used to people who smoke pot. We are not going to stop because federal law is different than our state law. If our governor had any balls she would stand up for her people. If you come to visit please leave our forests as you found them. We did a pretty good job raping them ourselves we don't need any more help.

If you still insist on coming here then I suggest you bring the biggest weapon you can find. I can promise you this it is not your bible. I will also assure you that the grass in Washington is not getting greener our grass is slowly dieing just as the rest of the nations.

[BeautifulSong]

Hi! We're from CA; however, I was born in WA and have many relatives there EA and WE WA. I attended Seattle Pacific U in the early 70's; and, have just returned from a 9 day visit to beautiful WA. We have been looking for several years online and find this forum very helpful; however, nothing beats actually going up there after doing some research online and actually seeing the areas you may be interested in. We are interested in Poulsbo area. Temps. we hear are not so cold as Seattle area and not so wet especially near Sequim. Mount Vernon area is great as is Eastern side small towns like Twisp and Omak as well as Lake Chelan and Wenatchee are great. They do get HOT in the summer and snow in the winter. Again, I don't live there now but do have relatives all over. Just keep doing some research online and write chamber of commerce in some they send wonderful packets of information, and visit visit visit. Have fun and God Bless.