What am i not seeing about Vancouver WA? (Seattle, Republic: for sale, 2014)

[joe_obody999]

I think i could commit to VANCOUVER, at least for a 12 month lease rental on a house, unless i am missing something? what i am not seeing other than a rainy winter and spring? (which can be alleviated by getting away to Hawaii/Florida on a sunny vacation for 1-3 months to shorten the rainy season; a powerful laptop and a direct flight to an airbnb/vrbo vacation rental on a Hawaiian island or a cruise for 1-3 months would easily make a rainy winter tolerable if needed?). If WA turns out nice, I can always explore other cities in WA after first living in Vancouver a year, right? Also I would be coming from Duluth MN which has a large percentage of the year with overcast gray gloomy skies, plus six months of winter (horrid winter and snow and brutal cold)-- not like I would be moving from sunny Arizona.

So what are the NEGATIVES about Vancouver that I am not seeing? i want to know so as to make an informed decision. I need to commit within a matter of a few weeks on where to move and I narrowed it to Vancouver, Portland, Las Vegas, suburbs of Chicago; but I really like the notion of no state income tax, that effectively drops the price of a home or rental greatly for me.

• no snow, no ice to shovel, chop
• lush green rainforest ecosystem/biome
• about twice the size of Duluth (my current city)
• crime rate about the same of Duluth (my current city)
• lush wilderness, river, ocean beaches an hour and a half away, deep sea fishing, salmon, etc
• sailing on the columbia river
• portland culture just across the bridge
• no state income tax
• low property taxes on homes (at least relative to Chicago suburbs which i had considered)
• affordable house rentals and the rented homes are nice
• affordable homes to buy and the homes are really nice
• low population density so homes have character and are spaced out in contrast to densely packed 'monopoly board homes' that I see as I looked at Las Vegas NV
• best buy electronics store
• barnes and noble
• many starbucks
• organic grocery stores
• several small colleges and a small university
• level terrain makes bicycling easy
• shopping mall (larger malls and more shopping across the river in Portland)
• movie theaters for first run movies
• stage theatre and other performing arts just across the river in portland
• city streets and neighborhoods look nice as I cruised them using google maps street view
• mountains just minutes away to the east or also over in oregon, for camping, fishing, skiing, snow
• cheap direct flights to Hawaii, first class, out of PDX
• direct 2 hr flight to Los Angeles or Las Vegas out of PDX
• easy drive to Seattle where cruises depart to Alaska, the orient, world cruises

[silibran]

Negatives?

Really mediocre shopping.

Not a super restaurant scene, although not awful.

You might have trouble making new friends if you are single. My perception is that this is a family oriented town.

Very conservative. (Maybe not a negative for you.)

Job scene not robust.

Not many homes for sale. (But lots of apartments.)

Really stupid town layout and street naming.

High sales tax.

But again, the place is near Portland which gives it potential for a variety of activities. The setting is lovely. The people here are really, really nice. No state income tax. Even though I gripe about the lousy shopping, for most purposes I can find what I want. You can do interesting daytrips in almost any direction. You have access to PDX, which is a good airport. Traffic is rarely awful here. I think Washington does a nice job with its interstates. I love voting by mail! It really is a nice place to live in overall.

[hml1976]

I always laugh when people call Vancouver "very" conservative. Clark county voted twice for Obama, legalized pot and barely rejected gay marriage. I'd use the term moderate unless you're comparing to San Francisco, certainly nothing like the SouthEast US where I lived previously. It's conservative for the west coast maybe but not compared to the rest of the country.

Other negatives for some people, shopping sucks, nightlife is quiet, local politics are yucky. It rains a lot. And there is occasionally ice and or snow depending on where you live. And it's hot this week

[silibran]

Originally Posted by hml1976

I always laugh when people call Vancouver "very" conservative. Clark county voted twice for Obama, legalized pot and barely rejected gay marriage. I'd use the term moderate unless you're comparing to San Francisco, certainly nothing like the SouthEast US where I lived previously. It's conservative for the west coast maybe but not compared to the rest of the country.

Other negatives for some people, shopping sucks, nightlife is quiet, local politics are yucky. It rains a lot. And there is occasionally ice and or snow depending on where you live. And it's hot this week

I find it pretty conservative, church going, family oriented. Our congressperson is pretty conservative, judging by her mail to me. Repubs dominate in the local elections, it seems.

edited to add: Oh, I see I did post that Van is very conservative. Well, pretty conservative fits it better, I guess.

[Llep]

I moved to Vancouver about 12 years ago due to my work. To me, the weather is the only real negative and not really a big negative. I rarely use the heater or a/c and really hate it when I travel somewhere with a lot of heat and humidity. I have never had to look for a job here but my company is always looking for help, especially software developers but I don't think I would have an easy time replacing my current salary in this area. I live in an apartment in eastern Vancouver and crime is just really not much of a concern. There is nowhere around here I would not walk alone at any time of the day or night. Most people are friendly and helpful. I commute into Portland daily but only to near the airport and my commute is pleasant and the drivers are far more courteous here than in most places I have been, but I am getting older and more mellow so maybe I am becoming more courteous. I don't believe there is any way you can go wrong here especially if your plan is to stay for 12 months to really make sure it is right. Just use care in picking your neighborhood. There are no real negatives that are going to have you smacking yourself in the forehead and saying "Gosh, I wish I had known THAT". Good luck!

[Richard J Long]

Politics:

Vancouver city government is non-partisan, but basically Democratic. Not as liberal as Portland government, I would say.

Clark County Commission is currently controlled by the local Tea Party. Tea Party has taken over the Clark County Republican Party, and the moderate and mainstream conservative Republicans can't seem to flex their muscles enough to regain control of the party.

Clark County voters are currently trending more conservative year by year, and I expect that trend to continue.

Our congresswoman is only somewhat conservative. One indicator of that is that the Tea Party keeps running candidates to try to defeat her.

By the standards of Texas or Oklahoma, Clark County still isn't all THAT conservative, but strict conservatives are far more politically active here than liberals or moderates are.

I would say that the county commission is more conservative than the population as a whole, but most county residents don't vote, and many of the people who DO vote still don't vote in the local-level elections. So a small minority of the people who care are making the decisions for a majority of people who don't.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by joe_obody999

• lush green rainforest ecosystem/biome

Won't matter much to you as a renter (particularly short-term), but the climate is tough on roofing. You don't tend to get ice dam collapses the way you can in the midwest/northeast, but moss growth is a chronic problem.

Originally Posted by joe_obody999

• lush wilderness, river, ocean beaches an hour and a half away, deep sea fishing, salmon, etc
• easy drive to Seattle where cruises depart to Alaska, the orient, world cruises

With I-5 traffic, the drive to Seattle isn't always 'easy' per se. I make the drive a lot less often now than I used to for that reason. Amtrak is convenient, when on time.

Your times are a bit off - if you were really speeding and didn't get caught behind slower cars you could get to Astoria in about 90 minutes (going about 5 over limit it's probably more like 1:45), but to get anywhere on the actual coast you'd want to budget more like 2 hours. River and wilderness though are much, much closer. You can be on the Columbia in a flash, and wilderness like Silver Star or the gorge is under an hour. But yes, 90 minutes gives you access to a lot of turf.

Originally Posted by joe_obody999

• affordable house rentals and the rented homes are nice
• affordable homes to buy and the homes are really nice

Remember affordable is relative. Vancouver isn't exactly 'cheap' but for what it offers, it's a good value - if you can make a commute to employment work. In your case, that's a non-issue but may not be for everyone.

Originally Posted by joe_obody999

• barnes and noble
• level terrain makes bicycling easy

If you like B&N, Powells will probably blow your mind. Give yourself several hours, and bring a backpack to hold all your purchases. Sit and have a coffee and people watch.

As for biking, I was back over by Vancouver lake the other day - had forgotten how nice the biking is out there, at least once you get out past the prime industry area. No photos, but here's a good route: Vancouver Lake Trail - A bike ride in Vancouver, Washington

[joe_obody999]

Originally Posted by bler144

Won't matter much to you as a renter (particularly short-term), but the climate is tough on roofing. You don't tend to get ice dam collapses the way you can in the midwest/northeast, but moss growth is a chronic problem.loyment work. In your case, that's a non-issue but may not be for everyone.

Note to self when I build a house: metal roof!

[Hemlock140]

Just as people flock across the border from Vancouver to buy cartons of cigarettes in Oregon (Excise tax much lower and no sales tax), I'd expect people to flock into Vancouver from Oregon to buy marijuana from the two recently licensed retailers there.



Vancouver issued two marijuana store licenses | The Columbian

[boncar]

Originally Posted by bler144

If you like B&N, Powell's will probably blow your mind. Give yourself several hours, and bring a backpack to hold all your purchases. Sit and have a coffee and people watch.

True, true. And if you appreciate books, Powell's can quickly become an addiction