How did you choose a place to move? (Seattle, Port Townsend: low crime, safe area)

[ness]

I'm curious what factors weighed heavily into people's choices as far as where they decided to relocate to:

Ex:
1. great schools
2. affordable housing
3. access to water
4. just the "feel" of a place

?????

[mayfair]

We chose simply by where the work was and where we could afford to live (with the lowest crime rate) near jobs.

[LMB]

1. family close by (our #1 criteria)
2. small town, low traffic & crime
3. the "feel" of the town (friendliness, sense of community pride & involvement)
4. medical & veterinary services
5. good school system (we don't have school age children, but this is a good marker for an involved, active community)
6. parks, walking/biking trails, nature preserves

Once we'd identified these major attributes and found our perfect town by visiting often in all seasons, we narrowed our search for house-hunting to the part of town we wanted to live in. For my husband and I, that was a location within walking distance to downtown restaurants, book stores, galleries, shopping, bank, post office, etc. We had never done this much planning for past moves, but we're semi-retired now and work from home, so we could be very choosy. It was all worth it.

Lynn

PS--note that weather was not part of our search criteria; the majority of our family members live in the PNW and since #1 ruled, weather wasn't a consideration. We've lived in far more extreme weather so it really isn't a big deal.

[ness]

that's interesting Lynn that weather wasn't part of your criteria. Weather has been part of my criteria but only to the extent that I don't really want to live somewhere as hot or hotter than where I am now (cause the heat is one thing I hate about where I live now). DH got offered a job in Henderson, Nevada and he said I looked at him like he'd suggested we move to the moon. Needless to say he didn't take that job.

[LMB]

Since our reason for moving was to be closer to family, and nearly everyone in our extended family lives in or around Seattle, the weather was what it is. Now, if they all lived in Phoenix or Fairbanks, we may have had some second thoughts! After living in Illinois and Florida, the PNW's temperate climate was an easy sell for us, which is probably why it was a non-issue.

Best of luck in your search, Ness. A few years ago, we were where you are right now, and it's a restless, unsettling feeling to want to move away, but not be sure where to go. Will it be better or will it be worse? We've dealt with both situations, and believe me, moving (with a family) and getting into a worse scenario is the pits. That's why we put so much effort into our last move, and it paid off. We love it here! You're doing a lot of the right things in your research. I know you like Gig Harbor. We do too--lovely little town and beautiful harbor. We stop there for lunch occasionally when we're doing the drive around rather than the ferry. Mostly that's when we're going to or from the airport.

[ness]

Thanks for input LMB. I'm doing the research now b/c my sense is that things could change quickly and force us to make a decision quick, like DH gets a good job offer in WA or I get pregnant and we're planning for three.

[TecWmn]

For me it was the following:

1. The feeling I got (something to be said for intuition)
2. Cost of living
3. Size (not too small, not too big)
4. Politics of the town
5. Precipitation averages

The winner for me was Port Townsend, WA.

[TribalCat]

I pick locations based on:

1) How the location talks to my soul
2) Natural beauty (lots of wildlife, and more trees than people! lots of things to do outdoors)
3) Moderate climate
4) Small-ish population
5) Low crime
6) Cost of living
7) Availability of medical/veterinary practices
8) Is there a real sense of community, community involvement
9) Politics/Openmindedness
10) Artsy-craftsy

TecWmn - Don't forget to change your profile to reflect your new address! I'm so happy for you, Port Townsend is at the top of my list too

[Mommy05]

For me, it was:

1) Safe area/low-crime area (we have 2 young kids)
2) Great public schools/great private schools nearby
3) Affordable housing
4) Close to DH's job

[cdelena]

Weather, housing, taxes, access to airport and medical, level of congestion, comfort with the comminity.