Retiring to Washington State (Seattle, Spokane: real estate, 2009, insurance)

[vmann7]

Hi. My wife and I are planning to retire at the end of 2009 and move from New Jersey to Washington state. Right now we are looking at north of Vancouver in a somewhat rural area but not too far (an hours drive) from the civilization of Vancouver/Portland We plan on several vacations starting this summer to make sure of an area. We both are in love with the climate and terrain. One thing I always considered was staying to the west of any of the state's volcanoes, for obvious reasons. So after a little searching on this forum imagine my surprise that the earthquake risk seems higher than the one from the volcanoes. Not to be deterred I was wondering if Washington State has instituted any building requirements like Californias, regarding earthquakes and if so in what year? This will help with the real estate search. Thanks.

[scirocco22]

Hi vmann.

Many jursidictions in Washington have instituted within their building codes, various requirements pertaining to earthquake protection. I believe that just about all building codes now require that the house be bolted to its foundation. I believe that requirement started coming into being in the 1960s. Other requirements might include the location and bracing of interior walls, strapping guards to secure fixtures such as water heaters, and various requirement as to how shelves are mounted on walls.

Commercial building codes have extremely extensive codes pertaining to earthquakes now.

And yes, the threat of an earthquake is much greater than any of the volcanoes becoming active and damaging property. Also, there is usually a good lead time of advanced warning with a volcano as you might have noted in the last Mt. St. Helens eruption.

Neither an earthquake nor a volcano should prevent you from moving to Washington, IMO, unless you're extremely paranoid.

[Moon Waffle]

You could consider the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington for several obvious reasons for retirement:

1) 3 hours from Seattle, 3 from Portland, 2 from Spokane, 4.5 from Boise.
2) 90 minutes from thick green forests.
3) No rain - four seasons with little or no snow in the winter.
4) 250,000 people in the region - enough for "civilization" but not enough to cause crime, traffic or smog problems.
5) DIRT CHEAP cost of living - around $100/square foot.
6) Columbia River flowing straight through the cities - great for boating, fishing, whatever.
7) Tons of parks, golf courses, you name it.
8) Earthquake free - to calm your fears.

And as far as the volcanoes go...I was here when St. Helens erupted in 1980. These things don't blow up unannounced. People know for YEARS before when they are starting to act up. Lots of time to move or whatever you want to do. That major eruption resulted in a few days of ash to clean off the roads and grass, and life is back to normal.

Anyway, check out the Tri-Cities - people from Seattle are retiring here by the droves...just thought you might want in on Washington's best kept secret...

[StealthRabbit]

Might draw your 1hr circle from civilization and consider going towards the east, if you think 285 days of overcast to be too much...

Bingen, Underwood, White Salmon, Troutlake, Goldendale are potential options.

and you will be 'between vocanos!" I'd be more concerned about dropping off into the Pacific, if I was too far west. Of course we end up paying 'Flood Insurance', even tho we are 1000' above the river, because our county got agressive in labeling 'critical' zones. (must have been done by the tax assessor when he was finished raping us.)

Do concentrate on property tax Mill Levy, and beware of the changes coming over loss of Timber $$$. Some rural counties probably will change significantly (more...). Also certain counties have a big population of 'meth heads'. You run to town for groceries, and come home to an empty house / garage. Then go to the pawn shop and buy back some of your stuff... (what didn't get traded). Some rural SW areas also have pretty big 'grow' operations, and booby trapped public lands. If you stay in the more populated areas, and closer to civilization you should be ok. Also run the roads to your chosen site during busy weekday hrs, and realize you have to go that route everytime you want something. (or forgot something (senioritis)). We are very fortunate to have a 3 mile direct route to major highway. Many of my friends drive 1/2 hr to town on curvy, hilly and way too busy roads, then poke through town (25 mph) before making it to a highway, then wait for a stoplight. While the drive might not be too bad, the danger is statistically significant. Roads are narrow and wet and dark. Odds are not good for retirees getting into their golden years w/o accident (or being hit). Just be careful, and weigh all the options. There are lots of nice places, some are just clearly better AFTER you charactorize total livability.

Best advice we were given; "Don't buy a place hidden in the trees!" Too dark and too much moss / pine needles on the roof and walks. I like our 'ridge' house, as 80 mph winds keep the pine needles off the roof ! (but moss still grows in the shady areas.) We also get ~ 50% solar gain in winter (about 300% in summer...). I drape 'Shade Cloth' over the south side of house to save paint / heat in summer. I will be the first to admit that is is very nice to be within 20 min of the airport, and 30 minutes to Downtown Portland or Vancouver, yet still in the 'protected' countryside. (National Scenic area, no new development allowed). I plan my trips to avoid traffic, but will be leaving soon to a county w/o traffic lights, and lower taxes. My ideal 'retirement' place would be a farm with a 2 or 3 residences where someone would be home to keep the place mowed and protected, while the other family was free to travel. And there would be someone to help with upkeep. It would also be easier to keep animals to help with grazing and food needs + a shared garden (with someone besides the deer). (A mini-commune) I currently have 2 places next to each other that might work that way, tho one could use a new house. (fixer mobile home). One place would be more cost effective (taxes, utilities, wells, ...) Also realize some areas have MAJOR impact fees on new construction ($10,000+) - converting bare land to 'residential' or commercial.

If you are gonna come visit, plan at least one during early January, often our worst weather. Sometimes late Nove is bad, and usually early November has massive rainfall. (like it has been 'holding it' all summer)

[vmann7]

Thanks for the replies. The "earthquake/volcano" danger does not frighten us away at all. I have done a lot of research on both Washington and Oregon and we are pretty sure the north of Vancouver area is right for us. I've made weather and taxes major factors. The rain/overcast won't bother either my wife or me. Washington seems the better bet with no income tax and as far as property tax goes, remember I come from the land of incredibly high taxes. Mine are now about $6,500 for a 60'x100' lot with a house worth about 500K. I consider myself lucky, one town a few miles away just reached the average of 10K per year for their homes. Your beautiful state can beat Jersey hands down any day of the week.

[prax3]

I wouldn't get optimistic about the property taxes. We sold our house in King Co. last year for about 500K, the taxes were approaching 6K.

Also I would second the point from the earlier post about not getting a house that's surrounded by trees. This was our situation for 15 years, and it does get to you, being closed in and blocked off from the infrequent appearance of the sun, especially in winter.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by prax3

I wouldn't get optimistic about the property taxes. We sold our house in King Co. last year for about 500K, the taxes were approaching 6K.
...

The pain of taxes is often relative. I left Texas where property taxes average about 2.4% of appraised value annually (a range from about 2% to 3.4%). So the taxes here in Washington do not look too bad.

The small condo I had in Dallas was appraised at 225K and the annual taxes were about 5K. We were interested in a nice place in the Texas Hill Country and thought we could get it for 400K but the taxes were 13K and insurance quote was 3500 so we passed. Electricity rates in Texas are almost double the rate here in Washington which really hurts as AC hours are dramatically higher.

Everywhere has pros and cons so it takes a good list to make a fair comparison.

[chromy]

Originally Posted by Moon Waffle

You could consider the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington for several obvious reasons for retirement:

1) 3 hours from Seattle, 3 from Portland, 2 from Spokane, 4.5 from Boise.
2) 90 minutes from thick green forests.
3) No rain - four seasons with little or no snow in the winter.
4) 250,000 people in the region - enough for "civilization" but not enough to cause crime, traffic or smog problems.
5) DIRT CHEAP cost of living - around $100/square foot.
6) Columbia River flowing straight through the cities - great for boating, fishing, whatever.
7) Tons of parks, golf courses, you name it.
8) Earthquake free - to calm your fears.

And as far as the volcanoes go...I was here when St. Helens erupted in 1980. These things don't blow up unannounced. People know for YEARS before when they are starting to act up. Lots of time to move or whatever you want to do. That major eruption resulted in a few days of ash to clean off the roads and grass, and life is back to normal.

Anyway, check out the Tri-Cities - people from Seattle are retiring here by the droves...just thought you might want in on Washington's best kept secret...

First I apologize because I don't know how this website works, not really so any help would be welcome, but can you tell me what the names of the Tri cities are?

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by chromy

First I apologize because I don't know how this website works, not really so any help would be welcome, but can you tell me what the names of the Tri cities are?

Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. They are of similar size, between 50k and 60k people each. These days West Richland has grown so fast it can be considered a fourth Tri-City, allowing for the obvious contradiction there. A few other small towns (Burbank, Finley, Benton City) are also generally considered part of the greater Tri-Cities area.

[marita]

Hope this helps.
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