Looking to move to Washington from Colorado (Bellingham, Olympia: crime rate, house)

[SummerSonata]

My husband and I with our 5-year old son are looking to move to Washington State. We're from Colorado, we like the mountains, but tired of the snow and would love to be closer to the beach.. We are looking for an affordable coastal town to move to, where crime rate is low, has good schools and has job opportunities for a young family like us. We are open to a small coastal town life. I was doing some research and read about Westport and Ocean Shores. I would appreciate to hear valuable input, we are planning to visit WA this year to see our options, I just need good information on where to start. Thank you!

[SummerSonata]

Oh and I forgot to mention that we don't mind the rain, we actually do love it. So weather in WA is not going to be a problem

[hurricane harry]

Job opportunities at Westport and Ocean Shores would be very limited. I don't think schools are going to be top notch. I suggest a road trip first. Do you like rain AND wind?

[CrazyDonkey]

Look at Astoria, Oregon. Westport/Grayland is cool, but jobs are the issue. It is WET.

SW Washington's economy is depressed, with no longer unlimited supplies of trees, fish, clams, etc. If you can find a job in the Aberdeen area, maybe look at Bel Aire, Central Park, and Cosmopolis, stay away from the flood flats. They have a great YM/WCA summer camp: Camp Bishop.

On Puget Sound, maybe look at Anacortes.

[PartIrish]

Think about Bellingham. It has many of the things you mention, and with a larger size (~100K people), there will be more job opportunities, depending on the work you do. Home prices are rising fast, though, as people have caught on to Bellingham's charms.

[StealthRabbit]

Moved from CO to WA 35 yrs ago.

Best advice we got (From many co-workers who had transferred to WA from CO): "Get a house with LOTS of windows and open space around it (not nestled in the trees)"

1) What is your budget?
2) What is your skillset?
Search for the house in the winter to be sure it is not FLOODED / plugged septic / bad Well, during the winter (or buy on a hill)

South facing slopes are nice,
Gardening is ez (tho muddy)
Jobs / coast / good schools. = not great.

Can you do the puget sound (inland waters)? Bellingham area is very nice to be close to Canada and Mtns and Coast.

Olympia area will get you a more urban zone with access to coast and mtns.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Maybe you should DM pikabike. They were long-time CO residents, moved to coastal WA, stayed several years, then went back to CO.

[SummerSonata]

Thank you all for the response. I have been reading about Bellingham, but the housing prices are quite high. We're also considering Oregon, we have a good friend that lives in Astoria. We'll be making a trip to Oregon and Washington this fall, hopefully we can find a place where we can call home. Again, Thank you all!

[hurricane harry]

Astoria is pretty cool, a much better choice if you can swing it.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by hurricane harry

Astoria is pretty cool, a much better choice if you can swing it.

Oregon comes with high Income tax, but may be OK and more suitable to "skills / budget" of OP

Certainly has more accessible Coastline and coastal towns to choose from.