Considering move: Help me "tour" the Tri-Cities area? (Seattle: house, to live)

[pnwguy2]

There are still good deals on real estate in the Tri-Cities as of late October 2016. You could find homes in your price range pretty easily and you could find condos at even lesser prices but be aware that prices continue to grow. I think this market is ripe for investment so I would not let too much time pass.

I was driving around today and noticed that some areas that have been "waiting" are now developing. Whether this springs on too much inventory remains to be seen but To me it's signals that all indicators are that the boom will continue for now.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

One business I wish I could have taken with me to Aloverton is Art Carpenter's hardware. OP, it's an enormous collection of secondhand hardware. If you wanted to outfit a garage as a shop, or refit a room, you could probably find much of what you might need at that place. I'm sure Mitch is familiar with it.

Yeah, I don't get to that part of town very often, but Art Carpenter's is a serious resource. I have little idea where he gets all that stuff, probably some comes from Hanford. Down the road a bit are several excellent pawn shops, particularly Ace Pawn, where you can find all sorts of good stuff, tools, chainsaws, guns, whatever you need.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

Yeah, I don't get to that part of town very often, but Art Carpenter's is a serious resource. I have little idea where he gets all that stuff, probably some comes from Hanford. Down the road a bit are several excellent pawn shops, particularly Ace Pawn, where you can find all sorts of good stuff, tools, chainsaws, guns, whatever you need.

They should call it Post-Apocalyptimart.

[snafu59]

my wife and I are also considering the Tri-Cities area for retirement. We currently live in TX.

The weather data on the various climate websites seemed good for the area. Low snow, not much rain.

But all the heavy snow in the news now is turning turning us off.

[pnwguy2]

The heavy snow this season is not normal in The Tri-Cities. I equate it to about once in 20 years, if history is an indicator. Problem is, the cold air was met by Pacific moisture this season, and that is somewhat rare. Usually it is either too warm, or too dry for this to happen. We should be back to somewhat normal conditions this week with temps well into the 40's.

[Zombo]

Originally Posted by snafu59

my wife and I are also considering the Tri-Cities area for retirement. We currently live in TX.

The weather data on the various climate websites seemed good for the area. Low snow, not much rain.

But all the heavy snow in the news now is turning turning us off.

The heavy snow is unusual for this area, but not unheard of. Unfortunately the Arctic is far warmer than it should be, and that warmth pushed the cold air south, so much of the U.S. had a polar vortex that resulted in some very harsh weather. I would say not to worry about it, but unfortunately the Arctic is maintaining the warm seas, and not really adding new ice, so this could become more regular then in previous years.

[snafu59]

since I plan to be retired if and when we move out of TX, and I plan to sell my car and have my two motorcycles only... I am concerned about the amount of rainfall for where we decide to relocate to. In my reading of various climate websites, the Tri-Cities area is listed as having very little rain. Here in San Antonio TX, it rains quite a bit. 30-40 inches a year I bet. Seems like more the last few years.

We would like to live somewhere where it doesn't rain more than 15" or so a year, and preferably less.

as for snow, maybe 10" a year, or hopefully a little less.

a few states we looked at (online) seem like it rains constantly (50+ inches a year everywhere in the state).

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by snafu59

since I plan to be retired if and when we move out of TX, and I plan to sell my car and have my two motorcycles only... I am concerned about the amount of rainfall for where we decide to relocate to. In my reading of various climate websites, the Tri-Cities area is listed as having very little rain.

I don't know what the measurement is for the Tri, but in the sixteen years I lived there, it got very little rain or snow. Most years we'd get a little snow at least once, and every few years we'd get 6" to 1'. Once we got 2 1/2". We got most of our rain in spring and fall, which wasn't saying much. Got marble hail one time, didn't last too long but produced an astonishing amount of water in a short time.

Your greater concern in the TC would be the difficulty of cycling on icy roads. The problem would not be the main roads, which tend to be cleared quickly, but getting out of your development. Side streets don't get the same treatment, and during freezing rain, nowhere is really safe. However, if you played smart, you would pick a place where there was no topography between you and shopping options. A lot of the TC are on the old Columbia floodplain, which is pretty flat. If you lived within walking distance (push come to shove) of shopping, and along a major arterial, you'd be able to ride as often as it was safe for anyone to ride, and walk when you could not ride.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

Once we got 2 1/2".

I'm past the edit time window, but that obviously should be 2 1/2'.

[snafu59]

Great info thanks. I forgot to mention that my wife and I would still have her new SUV. She wants to keep working part time.
So for really cold and or icy road days, we would have four wheels.