Economy in your area?

[Danny SnoqualmieLocalist]

What many people may not know or understand about Seattle is true for many West coast cities (LA, San Francisco, etc.) - most of the population is not in the cities themselves, but in the areas surrounding the city.

As of 2010, the actual city of Seattle had a little more than 600,000 people, whereas the "Eastside" (cities such as Bellevue, Sammamish, Kirkland, Issaquah, etc.) had a combined population of over 450,000 - almost as much as the city itself. The Eastside, by it's very nature of being somewhat newer and having a higher per capita income, has more green space, parks and other amenities Seattle may not. Additionally, many Eastside communities have laws and regulations restricting homeless people from pan-handing and sleeping in parks. This is why the growth rate for the Eastside communities has been much greater than that of Seattle proper.

[Femtex23]

Originally Posted by Twincam666

I live in the Dallas, TX area and quite honestly hate it. My gripes are the heat, the illegals and the huge amount of people on public assistance.

I want a change and want to go somewhere with a decent economy.

Any info would be helpful!

I just moved from there myself...but it is really difficult to deal with all the political insanity in other cities, lol. I'm in Boise right now, but I've been contemplating going back to the Big D to finish school. It's either that or go to Seattle to begin design school there. Finding any type of job here other than a pointless desk job is just about impossible.

Dallas is the green grass as far as the economy is concerned (even though the grass got all burnt up this summer, lol)...all the other liberal leaning states are having severe troubles while Texas, except for Austin, is generally holding steady. It's no wonder Colorado and Texas are being converged upon by Californians...they've made their own state so expensive to live in that they are fleeing in droves looking for more opportunity. They ruined Austin a long time ago which is where I grew up. I tried to stay there after I graduated high school and just couldn't stand it. That whole "Keep Austin Weird" mentality was just too much for me and the traffic was worse than anything I ever experienced in Dallas. It was difficult to watch the so called "poor" and homeless whip out their cell phones while they stand there panhandling.

My ex moved from Dallas to Santa Barbara and loves the area, but has had a heck of a time making ends meet...and he's an attorney.

Maybe we should take a page out of the leftist playbook...all the conservatives should start relocating to the liberal parts of the country to try and rig things during election time. There were mass relocations of libs to conservative areas, especially in places like Idaho and Utah during election time specifically for that reason. Dirty dirty politics. I hope they are happy with the outcome, lol. Seattle here we come! lol j/k.

Living in Texas is relatively simple...no hidden strings or expenses, no state income tax to worry about. My concern about moving to Washington are the initial expenses that nickle and dime you to death, like vehicle registration fees, emissions testing fees, getting a new DL...the further to either coast you go, the more ridiculous all that becomes due to the higher taxes. I had a friend that moved to FL and had to pay something insane like $1500 to register his car there for the first year b/c they went off the weight of the car. Eek!

[Danny SnoqualmieLocalist]

We moved here from Austin many months ago and it was one of the best decisions we have made. Besides the green trees, grass, (yes) rain, and no water restrictions, what we found kind of surprised us.

Though one could say the economy here is not "booming", it is certainly holding steady. There appear to be as many "help wanted" signs here as in Austin, though the traffic is lighter and it seems a bit more "calm" here (maybe its the trees and mountains.)

And believe it or not, housing prices on the Eastern slope cities of Issaquah and Sammamish are less expensive (on a per square foot basis) than they are in Austin (in the comparable Lakeway and Bee Cave areas.) Additionally, it appears the utility costs are lower as one does not need to run the a/c 24/7!

We understand that the Pacific Northwest isn't for everyone, though if you like green, rain, mountains and a lifestyle that is a little less "hectic", I would certainly recommend this area.

[Twincam666]

Originally Posted by Femtex23

I just moved from there myself...but it is really difficult to deal with all the political insanity in other cities, lol. I'm in Boise right now, but I've been contemplating going back to the Big D to finish school. It's either that or go to Seattle to begin design school there. Finding any type of job here other than a pointless desk job is just about impossible.

Dallas is the green grass as far as the economy is concerned (even though the grass got all burnt up this summer, lol)...all the other liberal leaning states are having severe troubles while Texas, except for Austin, is generally holding steady. It's no wonder Colorado and Texas are being converged upon by Californians...they've made their own state so expensive to live in that they are fleeing in droves looking for more opportunity. They ruined Austin a long time ago which is where I grew up. I tried to stay there after I graduated high school and just couldn't stand it. That whole "Keep Austin Weird" mentality was just too much for me and the traffic was worse than anything I ever experienced in Dallas. It was difficult to watch the so called "poor" and homeless whip out their cell phones while they stand there panhandling.

My ex moved from Dallas to Santa Barbara and loves the area, but has had a heck of a time making ends meet...and he's an attorney.

Maybe we should take a page out of the leftist playbook...all the conservatives should start relocating to the liberal parts of the country to try and rig things during election time. There were mass relocations of libs to conservative areas, especially in places like Idaho and Utah during election time specifically for that reason. Dirty dirty politics. I hope they are happy with the outcome, lol. Seattle here we come! lol j/k.

Living in Texas is relatively simple...no hidden strings or expenses, no state income tax to worry about. My concern about moving to Washington are the initial expenses that nickle and dime you to death, like vehicle registration fees, emissions testing fees, getting a new DL...the further to either coast you go, the more ridiculous all that becomes due to the higher taxes. I had a friend that moved to FL and had to pay something insane like $1500 to register his car there for the first year b/c they went off the weight of the car. Eek!

Yea, it is ashamed the way the California people ruined their state and now they are ruining Texas too! They are like Locusts in a way...

[SitoUK]

Suggesting that being homeless is generally a 'lifestyle choice' seems a little too cynical for my taste...