Should I move? (Seattle, Olympia, Lacey: house, job market, buy)

[Expalphalog]

I'm looking to get the heck out of Oklahoma as soon as humanly possible, and I thought that the Pacific Northwest might be a good change of pace.

I am young, but enjoy quiet evenings at the theater or at home over clubs or parties. I am happily married and our dog is the most important member of our family, so any community that we look at has to be pet-friendly.

As a family, we are fiercely liberal, and our political views are one of the main reasons that we are fleeing Oklahoma. Monetarily, I would put us around lower middle class, but I will be finishing my BA soon, so that should help me find better work.

So that's us in a nutshell. Where in the Pacific Northwest do you think we would most enjoy?

[RobE]

Seattle will be out of your price range.

Look at Olympia and Lacey, especially the former. Olympia is very liberal and housing prices there are relatively reasonable (though not nearly as cheap as Oklahoma and the lots will be smaller). Lacey is about 10-15 minutes from Olympia is pretty much just a bedroom community, but you can buy a house there for the low 200k range.

Washington state is very dog friendly. Almost everyone has one (I have two). My dogs have never had fleas in the nine years I have lived in Western Washington, unlike when I was living in California. However as it rains eight months out of the year, your dogs will have to get used to getting wet more often when they go out in the backyard to do their business.

The bad news, though, is that this state is suffering from nearly 10% unemployment and the wages here, unless you work for Microsoft or Boeing, aren't that great compared to CA. There is no income tax, but property taxes are high. So think carefully about the move.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by RobE

The bad news, though, is that this state is suffering from nearly 10% unemployment

Originally Posted by Expalphalog

So that's us in a nutshell. Where in the Pacific Northwest do you think we would most enjoy?

You've narrowed your search down to the Pacific NW. I assume that you've spent a fair amount of time here which is why you've chosen to move to this part of the country?

As such, your NW options would include WA, OR and ID. Given your "fiercely liberal" stance, let's go ahead and scratch ID off of the list (although I wouldn't totally rule out Boise for you). Applying this criteria to WA and OR, you would likely feel most at home in the western parts of these two states, particularly in the larger or metro areas.

If you break out your Rand-McNally and trace the I-5 corridor from Canada to CA, you'll see a target area that by and large would meet your criteria. Lots of territory, lots of choices!

So, what will be the deciding factor? As quoted above, the job market- which is currently fairly flat to bleak here at this time (just like many parts of the country...). Your ability to find employment will of course depend upon your degree and skill set as well as what you're willing to settle for until something better comes along.

Long answer short? Find the best job that you possibly can first and then move to that particular town or area.

Good Luck!