better state to live?...Idaho or Washington (Spokane, Colton: violent crime, homes)

[Upthewazzu]

Originally Posted by devosays

Why would I choose ID? The housing costs when we looked at Spokane County vs. Kootenai County were a horse a piece... Actually Spokane city was cheaper than CDA....

Good analysis. The same effect tends to hold true on other border towns like Pullman/Moscow and Clarkston/Lewiston. Live in WA and shop in ID when you need booze, gas, etc.

[elousv]

At $100K income level you are not missing anything. You have to decide where to live based on a bunch of things, tax burden being one of them. I see WA people all the time shopping at State Line for liquor because it is cheaper in ID. I shop for groceries a lot in WA because there is no tax on food items. I shop at Costco in Bend, OR when going through there since there is no sales tax. I stock up on liquor in CA when traveling since it is half the price. Don't forget those ratings you see are based on the whole state. If you live smack on a border, you have more options on what you can do.

[WendyK]

The other thing to remember is that Washington does collect an excise tax on real estate when you sell it. The rate varies by county - Spokane county is 1.78% (Stevens is 1.53%). So if you're planning on buying and not staying put for several years, you can get hit with that tax at closing.

[devosays]

Thanks elousv, Upthe and Wendy, all great points. I would argue though that living anywhere outside of Seattle in WA would be the same math for a WA vs ID resident. The other point on the excise tax is great too, but do the math and subtract that from the $90k difference in COL between the states on avg equals and still a no brainer, I might be missing something else here though, happiness, weather or what?

Here is my stupid math on 1 year to show the difference including selling your home with the excise tax. Not taking into account getting raped by the Realtor fees... Which would hurt anyone and I would not wish on anyone...

Living in WA vs ID for 1 year:


WA - 0% State Income tax (say on an income of $100k for a family) $0.00
WA - 8.9% Sales tax avg $20k = Negligible
WA - 1.0% Property tax (Say on a house value of $300k) $3k
------------
WA Total state level tax burden and you sell your home after 1 year - 1 year x $3k + $300k x 1.78% excise tax = $8.3k


ID - 7.4% State Income tax (say on an income of $100k for a family) $7.4k
ID - 6.0% Sales tax avg = Negligible
ID- 0.69% Property tax (Say on a house value of $300k) $2k
-------------
ID Total state level tax burdon and you sell your home after 1 year - 1 year x $2k + $7.4k = $9.4k

Still better to live in WA, but now take into account location and where you buy your luxury items even more I guess....? And might be a tie? Am I wrong? Just trying out the math here and your points are great additions to the equation!

[LePetomane]

I wonder if Idaho is a tough on businesses as Washington, and Washington really keeps it's finger on service business, with the LNI mafia breathing down your neck.

[AK76]

Originally Posted by LePetomane

with the LNI mafia breathing down your neck.

Explain please, for those of us who do not know what you speak of.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by AK76

Explain please, for those of us who do not know what you speak of.

Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State

[wiser-woman]

I think the best answer to your question will come when you tell us more about what it is that appeals to you in Idaho.

I moved from the Los Angeles area when I was 18 to college at Gonzaga in Spokane. Since then, I moved south to the then 20K small town of Pullman, Wash., and now I live in a town of 400 that is farther south! However, if things were a wee bit different, I would sell my home and move to Idaho in a lightening flash. Why? Because I'm a female huntress and angler and hiker and I ski, too. I love picking huckleberries and hunting mushrooms. I like riding horses. While that's do-able here, it's far better to do across the border, because there I can get into the mountains and river areas.

If I lived in Idaho, the permits for my outdoor rec would be far, far, far less expensive than coming in as a Washington state resident.

On the other hand, Idaho has an income tax and Washington does not but it does have a Business and Occupation tax on gross revenue, with few deductions. Having a business in Washington state and teaching in Idaho was simply great for my taxes. <sarcasm, of course>

If you choose Idaho, you'll have income taxes to pay, inexpensive outdoor rec, and less big city feel than you'll find now in Spokane. I won't move back to Spokane because I now live in a zero-crime area and I don't want to even hear about the crime in Spokane. We had problems with that aspect when we were in college in Spokane way back when and do not want to live like that. Here, I know all my neighbors and I can walk outside at night.

Keep in mind that Spokane is the largest city in Washington state east of the Cascades. It has good areas to live in and not so good.

Coeur d'alene still has a smaller town feel to it, although I've watched it grow from a small border town to the more glisteny town it is now, centered around the lake and tourism. It's a very different culture and feel than what you'll find in Spokane.

It used to be that weather was an issue. I'm no longer sure. We used to have rough winters. They've been tame in recent hears. I bring that up because I'm thinking of your drive between Spokane and Idaho. It's a good highway that now connects the two -- versus the two-laners I long ago travelled upon -- but still, winter is winter and you should know how to drive winter roads.

So really, summing it up, the question is: Are you the outdoorsy sort who loves a forest more than Main Street ? Or do you love pavement and buildings and all the choices that go with that? Choose the environment that makes your soul feel the most peace! I choose the country!

[PS90]

Originally Posted by wiser-woman

I won't move back to Spokane because I now live in a zero-crime area and I don't want to even hear about the crime in Spokane.

I'm not asking you to divulge personal info, but where in Washington state is a zero crime area? I've lived in a lot of small towns in this state, and none of them are zero crime areas.

Maybe "low" crime compared to Spokane, sure, but "zero" crime?

Even the tiny town of Malo had a murder a few years back.

[devosays]

Hi wiser-woman, sounds like you live in a great place, fits your needs and hobbies to a T minus a few fish and game or outdoor rec permits. That is awesome that you love your town and you have zero crime! Some day when we don't have jobs that require a larger city we too will look more rural and hope to find that peace and tranquility you have found.

However your comparisons here are mostly apples to let's say grapes. Your comparisons are rather different than the analytical or financial approach I took. I think that is great. But you went off on subjective opinion more than objective and compared state to city and city to geography at times.

Here is my point, one can get all of the same outdoor activities less than 30 minutes from Spokane I would argue, and where I live in WA I can get them in ID just as quick. Sounds like you can too, being close to the border. So the best of both worlds, less taxes and easy access to both states by living on this side of the WA border is what I think you opined. If you are saying one should choose to live in ID because the outdoor activities cost less, I would guess you would not sway many to that position as most have cost of living and jobs on the forefront of their needs. Now if you say it is much better to live in North Idaho vs north east WA, their is something I would love to hear about. Or south eastern WA vs Central ID.

Your point about the Business taxes on revenue is a good one, what are the differences between states? I didn't pick that up in my analysis because I don't own one, but for people who do what are the factors to consider?

Comparing states by using main street Spokane and the forest, mountains and rivers is not really objective here, we are comparing states, or compare Boise and Spokane and I think you might find that has been discussed in many threads. My opinion is Boise is surrounded by large hills, no trees and is a great place but ugly geography. Spokane has a bit more worn down interior but the views of the mountains and trees all around are excellent. My same financial analysis was used in comparing both CDA/Boise to Spokane as a matter of fact. Boise was also in my final 3 destinations to consider. Their are other ways to compare them like crime and so forth but I think it was state vs state for the OP.

You compare crime by talking specifically about Spokane and your small town. I live less than 30 minutes from downtown Spokane and can walk my streets at night at all hours, know all my neighbors and could probably setup a fish scaling station and have time to tear down before a neighbors noticed. See how subjective it is...?

And you also compared Spokane to ID in general several times, I think you transitioned after stating the size of Spokane and that you meant to state was that CDA is much prettier and more of a small town feel than Spokane, I would agree 100%. We live 20-30 minutes from each Downtown so we will choose which to visit more often and I bet CDA wins 70-80% of the time... Cept for Chiefs games...

Both states have winter, comparing south eastern WA to southern/central ID would be a good comparison no? Winter is winter is winter in my opinion, some years you have more snow than others, taking into account averages Spokane and CDA are exactly equal aren't they? Washington and Idaho have vastly different climates in different parts of the states, so weather is a tough one to use unless someone were asking specifically about two very specific geographical locations.

Perhaps this reply will gather some momentum on opinions, thanks for posting! I love to learn what others think about both states.