Active semi-retirement location within 3 hours of Seattle?

[StealthRabbit]

If proximity to Seattle is necessary, then keep Wenatchee / Cashmere high on your list. It has a Jr College, good transportation, nice area with good water access, and very convenient to outdoor activities. I don't know why you would need to go to Ellensburg, but it is nice too.

You don't mention what 'semi-retired' means. If you want proximity to a decent 'sales tax free' urban area with great culture, 1 hr from scenic coast, and very nice airport, I would consider Portland as a hub, but live in WA for income tax benefit. White Salmon is a preferred area, but most shopping is a toll bridge drive to Hood River. (1 hr to PDX). Goldendale, WA is another 'dry-side' option w/ 2 hrs from PDX. (probably too conservative / country for your tastes, but is changing). There is a Jr College in The Dalles, OR, as well as a branch campus in Hood River. (with boundary benefits for WA residents). The Columbia Gorge is a nice region with lots of activities you might like, and Wineries too. If you can tolerate OR taxes (9%) then Bend is a bargain at the moment. (3 hrs to PDX)

Consider moving earlier, as in WA your HS kid can go to college for FREE as a Jr and Sr in High School. Just pass a college test as a sophomore. That Program (Running Start) saved a bundle for my kids. They each entered University as full Jrs, directly out of HS.

Other spots in WA you should consider are Tri-cities and Walla Walla (not 3 hrs to SEA, but ~4 hrs to PDX)

Why SEA? For your husband's taste of endless blue skies and sun, I would chose Colorado or NM. (Ft Collins to Colo Springs, or Santa Fe to Albuquerque). If you can handle living in a red state I would do WY (NW - Sheridan - Cody) or SD, (NW - Custer to Spearfish) BOTH are income tax free states.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

...
You don't mention what 'semi-retired' means. ...

Whoops I see that now ...
Be Careful on the tourist business thing, as I grew up near Estes Park, CO. If you buy a business do a lot of research (they come and go QUICKLY). AND BE CAREFUL about property purchases in a tourist area. There is a lot of 'impulse' buying in those regions, and enough to drive prices high. (Lots of folks think it would be nice to have a 'retreat' there, BUT... it ends up sitting most of the time, then they turn it over to a prop management company that skims 25% + expenses - net result = poor). Thus a good business can be property management!!. I would have some really nice income property that I could lease out when the crowds come, and I'd be headed to Asia or the South Pacific ENJOYING some peace and quiet. I have thought about owning a 'dude-ranch' and subleasing the operation out, but one must trust the operators to do a superb job.

Let us know your specific interest in tourism and we can better help.
If you want wind surfing, and great hiking then choose Hood River, OR / White Salmon, WA.

For Mtn specific and Mid Columbia River activities, then Wenatchee.
Bend, OR has a lot of outfitters (River / hike / hunt / mtn bike). It is a pretty popular vacation spot with a decent year round economy (tho seriously depressed by housing at the moment). Probably would be good to do an analysis via diligent research on the tourist $$ and visitor numbers in the specific area of interest. B&B's are very difficult to make cash flow, and very burdensome on schedule. (I travel via 'private guesthome directories' $10-$20/night) and have stayed in all these areas recommended in the last yr. + many more... the only way to travel, AFAIK)

[laminmd]

This feedback is all great and really helpful! The reason we are interested in being within 3 hours of the Seattle area is because it's likely that my daughter will be going to graduate school (after finishing college in 2011) there and then settling down as her place to live (she loves everything about Seattle). We are also looking at two places that my husband and I both like: Ashland, OR (downside: high taxes, inflated real estate, no close proximity to any big city) and Santa Fe (downside: a tale of two cities, the rich and the poor; inflated real estate, water shortages, not very close to any water).

I need to learn more about Wenatchee, Cashmere, Ellensberg, Leavenworth, and Chelan. Can anybody enlighten me about what those areas are like in terms of culture, climate, real estate, unemployment, crime, access to Seattle, etc?

[509]

Originally Posted by laminmd

I need to learn more about Wenatchee, Cashmere, Ellensberg, Leavenworth, and Chelan. Can anybody enlighten me about what those areas are like in terms of culture, climate, real estate, unemployment, crime, access to Seattle, etc?

We live in Wenatchee and belong to the Leavenworth Chamber with our "part-time" business. Prior to retirement I had lots of contacts with Chelan. Ellensburg is just over the hill from us.

So here goes....remember the advice is worth what you payed for it!!

Wenatchee became a metropolitan area officially five or so years ago. It is now a metro area with traffic issues, etc. etc. etc. I don't know if you want to live in a city again after DC. I did do an extensive write-up for friends moving into Wenatchee if you are interested. We live in Wenatchee. It was perfect in the late 1980's and then the flood of Mexicans and urban refugees came. There are issues with illegals, but the immigrants from all over the world have made Wenatchee a more interesting place. Wish I could say the same about the urban refugees.

We will be moving out of Wenatchee soon, but have enjoyed our 25 years here. It was a great town. But all good things end. It will always be home to us.

Leavenworth is full of professional urban refugees in their 50's. They are fun people, but a bit more intense than those of us that have lived in rural areas for 30 plus years. Changeover in the community is dramatic. I did a part-time job this summer contacting business owners in the Leavenworth area. About 80% had been in the community less than 15 years.

Lots of business opportunities in Leavenworth with tourism. It is close to
Seattle so you pick up the day trippers. The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce is top notch. We do belong to the chamber. This is their public contact site: www.leavenworth.org. As you can see from the site the entire town is a business enity. So if you are not part of the business community, life is somewhat different. Friends of ours that live in Leavenworth, but work in Wenatchee....***** and moan about the tourists, the traffic, etc. etc. They have their secret routes to avoid the traffic jams etc.

I fell in love with Chelan when I went to there one winter in the 80's. Then I was there for Memorial Day weekend. It is a party town, toned down in recent years, but a party town. The nice thing is the business year is basically from Memorial Day to Labor Day. So you will know if you are down the toilet fairly quickly. Again, it is the Seattle mid-fifties professional crowd just like Leavenworth. Oh, Chelan is the Lake Tahoe of Washington state. So that gives you a better idea of what to expect.

Leavenworth is within a days drive of Seattle so gas prices have little effect. Chelan is an overnight trip. With gas prices heading to seven dollars in the next couple of years I would make sure that my business would survive that magnitude of an increase.

Ellensburg. Cowboy and college town. I do miss the smell of the packing yard around I-90. Great little town. Everytime we go there we say...."we need to spend more time here. It is only 45 minutes away." Good used bookstores and restaurants.

Real Estate. Wenatchee real estate prices have only dropped 5%. I hear rumours the Leavenworth is dropping more due to the greater number of second homes. Real estate is Chelan appeared to drop when people got their new tax assessments. A friend of mine bought a 1/4 acre lake view lot in a subdivision for 12,000 in 1984. The assessor told him it was worth 380,000 last year. He was ready to put it on the market just to avoid paying for MY library system!!!

Be prepared for sticker shock. Don't know what prices are in DC, but we were looking at condo's in Seattle and they were DIRT cheap compared to here.

I have not paid attention to prices in Ellensburg.

Climate is pretty much the same in all the communities. Wind in the spring, nice hot summers, perfect falls, and those damn cloudy days with high fog during the winter!!!! One time we had 19 straight days without sun in January. Even the newspaper editorials were calling for somebody to do something about the damn clouds.

Crime is higher in areas with greater populations of illegals. Wenatchee and Chelan make the list. Ellensburg and Leavenworth illegal populations are fairly low.

Lots of cultural opportunites in all communities. None of the pop culture stuff, except for the Gorge. But hey, all the good stuff is what does NOT play on MTV.

Access to Seattle is best done by a mapping program. Roads are good. Snow and ice in winter but it is the same for all areas.

[sean98125]

You need to look around Bend, Oregon or thereabouts. You're close enough to take advantage of all the Portland has to offer, there's enough green for you and enough desert for him.

[StealthRabbit]

Bend is decent and has really been hammered with economy and being 'overbuilt'.

It is also a town that has transitioned in the last 10 yrs. Old timer locals are fleeing, or have fled.

Similar in Hood River (1 hr to PDX, so 4 hrs to SEA) EXCEPT housing is a premium as land restrictions are great (National scenic area + national Forest). Climate and culture is pretty good (for Oregon. ). It has a 'different' culture, and you better LIKE IT !

I would chose Trout Lake, WA if I was to be in the Gorge area. White Salmon still has potential too.

[laminmd]

Wow, you guys have been really helpful. A special thanks to StealthRabbit and 509. I hope it's okay if I send you private messages when I need to pick your brains some more. :-)

[skinem]

Great summary, 509. About the only thing I'd add to the "climate portion" of your post is that Ellensburg is generally windier than the other locations--you're right about the wind in the spring, it is worse, but it's just kind of part of the package year-round in Ellensburg.