Eastside Housing Prices: Waaaay Up, Little "Affordable" (Seattle: for sale, low crime)

[Rombus]

All housing in our area is richly priced. If I was a young person starting out I would seek out another area to live. There are many fine areas in the USA that have good economies, good life styles and do not have the high housing costs of the Seattle area.

Go East, young person! Check out fly-over country. Heck, I may do that myself when I retire. No point in squandering my IRA money on high housing costs.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Rombus

All housing in our area is richly priced. If I was a young person starting out I would seek out another area to live. There are many fine areas in the USA that have good economies, good life styles and do not have the high housing costs of the Seattle area.

Go East, young person! Check out fly-over country. Heck, I may do that myself when I retire. No point in squandering my IRA money on high housing costs.

Guessing I'm going to do-same, we'll see how sentimental I become about this area. At time of retirement I assume will be 30+ years in town, that will definitely make a man start to think of it as home and not want to pull up stakes so easily.

Look up "America's best small towns" and similar, seems there are nice places in Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and etc.

So, a friend of mine is courting a fine lady from Whidbey Island. He's become a fan of Whidbey, and the couple small towns out that way. I've walked those towns with my best friend and his sweetie, they're nice enough. Point being, they're "more economical" than other places in western WA, and if one doesn't necessarily have to be near Seattle-proper or Eastside on a timetable, thinking there are nice places here still. If not quite "affordable," by Heartland standards, are at least more-affordable than Eastside and Seattle.

[homesinseattle]

Yes, there are some nice values around Freeland, Whidbey Island. I have a few clients who have moved up that way and like it. Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey's southwest side is straight up beautiful.

[Canamlian]

Originally Posted by Rombus

All housing in our area is richly priced. If I was a young person starting out I would seek out another area to live. There are many fine areas in the USA that have good economies, good life styles and do not have the high housing costs of the Seattle area.

Go East, young person! Check out fly-over country. Heck, I may do that myself when I retire. No point in squandering my IRA money on high housing costs.

There just aren't many cities that have vibrant city life and are so connected to the outdoors, and they're all going to be expensive. Sure, I could better afford places in Ohio or Indiana or Texas, but I wouldn't be able to do the kind of things I want to do and be close to the kind I things I want to be close to.

High costs, especially in real estate, is an unfortunate part of living somewhere where people tend to want to live.

[OneTimeSEALover]

Originally Posted by Rombus

All housing in our area is richly priced. If I was a young person starting out I would seek out another area to live. There are many fine areas in the USA that have good economies, good life styles and do not have the high housing costs of the Seattle area.

Go East, young person! Check out fly-over country. Heck, I may do that myself when I retire. No point in squandering my IRA money on high housing costs.

Latter point is excellent. But would that also apply to Pacific coast towns in Washington? I drove the coast a few years ago and wondered what the settlers there like about it. My father lived on the Oregon coast in retirement in a "beach shack" (not ON the beach but you could walk to it)

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by OneTimeSEALover

Latter point is excellent. But would that also apply to Pacific coast towns in Washington? I drove the coast a few years ago and wondered what the settlers there like about it. My father lived on the Oregon coast in retirement in a "beach shack" (not ON the beach but you could walk to it)

The Pacific coast towns in WA are subject to even more rain than Seattle, plus a lot more wind. The home and rental prices are far lower than the Seattle metro, but then there are very few jobs, many of those seasonal. Look at home prices but also incomes and crime rates in cities like Raymond, Moclips, LaPush, Westport, and Ocean Shores.

[hellopity]

Originally Posted by OneTimeSEALover

How much investment money from China is involved in making Seattle less livable? Some enterprising writer should look into that. China has shadow markets. The newly rich are skulking around, trying to prevent the Communist Party from controlling their fortunes. I have no proof, but I do think some places on the planet are being impacted.

Well, at least we aren't HK, Sydney or Vancouver BC! The least affordable places to live in 2017 - CNN.com

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The Pacific coast towns in WA are subject to even more rain than Seattle, plus a lot more wind. The home and rental prices are far lower than the Seattle metro, but then there are very few jobs, many of those seasonal. Look at home prices but also incomes and crime rates in cities like Raymond, Moclips, LaPush, Westport, and Ocean Shores.

All of the places listed are more "towns" than "cities". The crime rates for Westport, Ocean Shores, Cosmopolis, Montesano, and Raymond are "low", according to City-Data. South Bend's (next to Raymond) is "very low". My guess is that Moclips' (not listed by City-Data) is even lower. Aberdeen's crime rate is "high", while Hoquiam's is "average".

//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ashington.html

//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ashington.html

Crime and poverty tend to be correlates. La Push is located on an Indian reservation, so might very well have a higher crime rate.

[analogkid84]

Originally Posted by Canamlian

There just aren't many cities that have vibrant city life and are so connected to the outdoors, and they're all going to be expensive. Sure, I could better afford places in Ohio or Indiana or Texas, but I wouldn't be able to do the kind of things I want to do and be close to the kind I things I want to be close to.

High costs, especially in real estate, is an unfortunate part of living somewhere where people tend to want to live.

Moved from Marysville to NE Houston in 2012 due to a biotech layoff in 2011. Job opps were down at the time, so I looked elsewhere. Hate it here; outdoor experiences do not compare in ANY way. Climate is abysmal if you are a cool weather fan. Quality of life, personally speaking has taken a huge hit. Plus, I mean, I'm living in Texas. Waiting for kids to get out of college here to see if I can move back, but not sure if that will be feasible based on housing alone.

[Jiff]

Originally Posted by Rombus

Go East, young person! Check out fly-over country.

Yes, westward expansion and its pioneering opportunities seems to have ran into an ocean. I'm thankful that China and Japan weren't into trans ocean expansion like Europe was centuries ago, and didn't send any Asian Mayflowers to the Pacific Coast. Seattle might already be the New Shanghai of North America, maybe as big as New York. I guess it'll be a hundred years or so before the metro area approaches New York's current size.