Moving to Vancouver Wa (Seattle, Bremerton: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[Suebee777]

We are putting our Alaska home on the market this week, and hoping to find a nice place in Vancouver or thereabouts. Have certain concerns, like priority of good neighborhood with low crime, asthma that is very sensitive to dust, smoke, and diesel fumes. Any advice would certainly be appreciated. We are retired, age 64 and 71. Looking for single family neighborhood small ranch home, but it seems most of the ones in our price range are pretty shabby looking. Any particular neighborhoods you can recommend? I have looked at all of these Vancouver forums, and have not found all the information I need. Hope I can now!

[StealthRabbit]

I do appreciate the fresh air of the West Columbia River Gorge (upwind from traffic / factories / airport).

The Coal fired E Plant in Boardman, OR gives us a high dose of acid rain, but I don't notice ill effects YET. (except the concrete getting etched). It will go off line, soon.

How close to services do you want to be?, (need medical care?)
Do you want a large or small lot?
Is good soil a requirement? (gardener?)
Do you prefer urban, rural, or suburbia ?
Hobbies that you need close proximity to enjoy? (fishing, gardening, hiking, golf, swimming, bicycling?)
Will you plan to go south for winter? (as the Canadians do?)


I am exploring some options for equity sharing or cooperative ownership of homes for retirees. (Such as me!), I want to run off to work / volunteer internationally for a few years. Have a 'retreat' home with 2 complete living qtrs, which I would rather not lose the pristine view / quietness, and good neighbors... BUT, I prefer to be gone, more than to be home (at the moment... wanderlust / spring fever). My neighbors have similar homes / guest homes and we are all in very early retirement. No sense in leaving nice homes un-occupied while we travel. 3 of 4 neighbors have been gone to Europe, Asia, or Canada, all of April and most of March. (I use the term 'neighbors' loosely... We each have between 10 and 80 acres, not too close in proximity, but we ARE all neighbors)

Do you like to drive a tractor and mow the field a couple times / yr ? (Can pay to have this done)
Use a garden tractor to mow the yard once / week? (This could be spendy to pay for)
Need a workshop?, (Wood, metal, & automotive) Quilting, art, and sewing rooms, Outbuildings, and LOTS of forest to 'escape' to.

There are lots of options and neighborhoods, get us some particulars and we will fix you up. (There are some tough times for asthma, when pollen from fir trees fills the air.) Seems like a good time to go on a trip (CA is only a $39 airfare away from PDX)

[Suebee777]

Wow, $39 to CA? Just...WOW! I doubt that the pollen will bother my asthma, since I don't have the allergic type asthma. We don't want to be too far out. Want restaurants nearby, grocery stores, knitting and sewing stores. I do a lot of spinning, knitting and making quilts. Husband like to target shoot competitively...do you guys have any rifle ranges there? Battle Ground kind of appeals to us, but it might be too far out for what we want, and with the gasoline going up.
We want a lot that's at least 7,000 sq ft, but prefer a bit larger. But no acreage...too dark! Want to be able to walk to parks and other places. Highest priority is good neighborhood. That means to us low crime, pride of ownership, etc. House will be pretty small, hoping for 1500 sq ft, but might go for a bit less, or maybe more. Would love to have good dirt for gardening, but really would love to find a place with the yard already long established and beautiful (I've seen some beauties on the real estate listings).
Since we are from Alaska, going to WA is going South, lol! Hope it doesn't rain too much. Does it rain any more there than in Seattle, Bremerton, etc? Where are any factories located? I want to stay away from industrial areas.

Your idea of coop home sounds interesting. We might have to rent for a month or 3 until we find the right place. Don't know if that's what you mean here.

Basically moving for financial reasons, we're retired and income doesn't go nearly as far as it once did. Scary. Also for my health, as with this constant dust, I'm afraid asthma will develop into COPD. I don't want that! We are really too old for this move at 64 and 71, but I think we can survive it.

[StealthRabbit]

What is your 'comfort' price and vintage range for home, (single story a MUST?) That will help to narrow options.

I have recently checked out a couple nice smaller (but older... 1940's) homes within a walk to Camas or Washougal Safeways. Also some inner Vancouver homes. I am not keen on Battleground, as it is pretty suburban / crowded (Bedroom community with serious case of sprawl). It also is a bit of a pain to commute (traffic lights). Camas or Washougal allows you to get to Vancouver or downtown Portland via freeway. (But those towns are a bit colder than Battleground.

You are not too old for this move, I recently helped a feeble couple in their mid 80's who had moved to a rural parcel @ age 71 and cleared land, built a home, shop, garden, and RUNWAY / Airstrip. (I don't recommend this)

For 'senior' co-op housing there is only one place in the PNW, and it is in an expensive Seattle suburb and has a 17 yr waiting list. I'm hoping to find (or create) a lower cost alternative. A USDA study concluded that seniors live 10 yrs longer independently in a co-op rather than in their homes or an apartment. Fair warning, try to find what really works for you and allows you to 'age-in-place'. It becomes a mental and physical barrier to move too much once you are feeling too old. (seems to be ~age 79+ in the many cases I have helped transition seniors) Varies widely with needs / emotion / medical / finances.

Your knitting / quilting won't be a problem, (I would plug into some local shops and groups).
Does your husband do high power rifle / range, or will skeet / sporting clays suffice? There is currently a nice range in Camas, but will be shut down when more housing sprawl encroaches on it. Skamania County (east of Clark) has many more options for shooting (everyone does it...) it is also a bit of an unknown 'senior haven' (cities of Stevenson and North Bonneville proper). GREAT public transportation for seniors and senior programs (and their property taxes are significantly lower.) It IS a drive to services (hospital / culture)

[Suebee777]

Well, I would like to stay below $165,000, and as cheap as we can get for a home that's tolerable to us. Single story is not a MUST, but we are aging, so it would be preferable. Maybe a tri level, too.

thanks for saying we're not too old for this. The pain is leaving my home since birth, my home for all but 10 years total that I lived in WA state. Leaving all the doctors, hairdressers, every contact, friends, and most especially, our very inattentive children and grandchildren. I just feel forced to move due to financial and health (asthma) issues. Husband Bob is coming down there to check everything out there on May 16-19.

Interesting about the longer life for people living in a senior coop.

I feel like I'm already 79 as to the prospect of organizing the house for sale and moving. But I'm only 64, lots of emotion getting in the way.

Husband shoots clay pigeons, targets, and other cool things with a rifle (a 22) and lots of different handguns. He really enjoys competing and usually scores at the top of maybe just below. No high-powered stuff.

How far is the drive from Skamania county to the hospitals and shopping, etc.? I wonder what the population is there.