Anyone working remote in Vancouver (mortgage, house, income)

[A hui hou]

Im am in the very early stages of looking at a possible move to Washington.


In June of 2021 my current mortgage will be paid off and Im feeling like given the amount of equity I currently have its time to start thinking about the next move. I like to do things slow so I need a good bit of time to make sure its the right move and financials is the first part.


I Plan to keep my current job.


If one lives in Washington or more specifically Vancouver but works remote in another state as long as you dont set foot outside of Washington to work, you don't pay income tax, is that the way it goes? There are no local hidden penalties or anything like that?

[notnamed]

Yep, that's the way it goes. Worked remotely for companies with headquarters in Ohio and California. No income tax or any surprises. Other than that the water bill here is much higher than expected.

[A hui hou]

Originally Posted by notnamed

Yep, that's the way it goes. Worked remotely for companies with headquarters in Ohio and California. No income tax or any surprises. Other than that the water bill here is much higher than expected.

Oh big water bills, good to know!

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by A hui hou

Oh big water bills, good to know!

but unlimited rainwater recovery allowed!

Put in a 20,000gal underground tank and keep your bill low. (Or live rural on a private well)

Basically, you dig a basement sized hole, put in a pond liner and a submersible pump, stack the hole full of
Aqua Blocks ( Or plastic milk cartons), wrap up blocks like a Xmas package with the pond liner, backfill.

add a prefilter (settling tanks with organic material to treat run-off)

[texasdiver]

They keep track.

My wife works for a health care network that has clinics in both Vancouver and Portland. She is based out of a clinic in Vancouver and does all her actual work there. But she occasionally gets called into Portland for corporate staff meetings and training sessions and what not. This year she wound up with about $6000 of reported income in Oregon with tax withheld. I forgot the exact amount but it was just below the threshold for filing in OR so I didn't bother. We weren't getting any of it back anyway.

[A hui hou]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

but unlimited rainwater recovery allowed!

Put in a 20,000gal underground tank and keep your bill low. (Or live rural on a private well)

Basically, you dig a basement sized hole, put in a pond liner and a submersible pump, stack the hole full of
Aqua Blocks ( Or plastic milk cartons), wrap up blocks like a Xmas package with the pond liner, backfill.

add a prefilter (settling tanks with organic material to treat run-off)

I will definitely be reading up on this. Since this next house will be the forever home I want to save anywhere I can as time rolls on.



As I look at home listings Im not seeing too many homes with solar. Is it just too cloudy not worth the money?

[A hui hou]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

They keep track.

My wife works for a health care network that has clinics in both Vancouver and Portland. She is based out of a clinic in Vancouver and does all her actual work there. But she occasionally gets called into Portland for corporate staff meetings and training sessions and what not. This year she wound up with about $6000 of reported income in Oregon with tax withheld. I forgot the exact amount but it was just below the threshold for filing in OR so I didn't bother. We weren't getting any of it back anyway.

Good to know!

[cyberous]

Water and electricity concerns, you must be coming from California?

I work remote. I don't have any issues with keeping track of where I work. If your company is based in Oregon then you might have similar issues as texasdiver stated. I hear this from a lot of my friends who work for a Portland based company but get to work remote.

With today's technology working remote is petty common and has its pro's and cons. A large number of the people I've met in the downtown area of Vancouver work from home.

[A hui hou]

Originally Posted by cyberous

Water and electricity concerns, you must be coming from California?

I work remote. I don't have any issues with keeping track of where I work. If your company is based in Oregon then you might have similar issues as texasdiver stated. I hear this from a lot of my friends who work for a Portland based company but get to work remote.

With today's technology working remote is petty common and has its pro's and cons. A large number of the people I've met in the downtown area of Vancouver work from home.

Im actually from Vermont we are pretty alternative energy conscious by nature.



My company is rather large and has hubs all over the US but CA would be the closest to Washington.

We have a lot of remote people but I personally dont know any working remote in none income tax states.

[notnamed]

Electricity is pretty cheap here due to so much of it being hydroelectric so return on investment on solar takes even longer to get. Though Clark PUD actually has a sizable solar array.

Regarding this being your forever home. WA is a great place for your earning years. But it’s downright mediocre for retirement.