Relocating to WA for biking, skiing, and schools for young kids (Seattle: real estate, how much)

[witty-data]

I'm mulling a move to the Pacific Northwest (coming from crowded northern virginia), and have been eyeing Washington State - probably east of the Cascades since that seems to have the closest to 4-seasons of weather.




Trying to find a town/county that gets me reasonable close access to:

- Mountain or trail biking (doesn't need to be year round)
- Skiing (ditto)
- Good schools for young kids (gotta get those grades to afford a lift pass)


Would need to live in a single family home, and can budget upwards of $650K for that.

[CrazyDonkey]

A growing issue with the east side of the Cascades has been wildfires.

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/paywa...1e4d44d0f.html

https://crosscut.com/opinion/2020/09...e-federal-help

That said, real estate prices are attractive compared to western Washington. Internet in the Wenatchee area is excellent. For instance:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...85971617_zpid/

School test scores can be impacted by larger ESL migrant farmworker families.

[The Modern Philosopher]

Not trying to discourage anyone, but many Seattle Metro area folks are moving or buying up property right over the Cascades, so directly east of the mountains that split the state. Competition might be higher than normal. Just an fyi, you will be competing with people who make over 250k a year who are willing to pay cash and buy quick with little questions asked.


This again is for properties more closer to the mountains vs further east.

[texasdiver]

If you want to go east of the Cascades and schools are a priority, then the top rated schools and school districts are mostly going to be in the more affluent suburbs around Spokane. Like, for example, Mead. Which would meet all your criteria and has the top rated school district east of the Cascades. Spokane has plenty of nearby mountain biking and skiing.

If you go west of the Cascades you are mostly going to be looking at the more affluent towns and suburbs along I-5 from the Portland area suburbs north of the Columbia like Camas, to the many many upscale Puget Sound area towns and suburbs between Olympia and Bellingham which includes all of the greater Seattle area.

People in your shoes with no particular existing ties to the Pacific Northwest would probably also look at the Boise area which is pretty attractive as well. Kind of depends on whether you are more interested in living in a bright red state (ID) or a bright blue state (WA). Only you can decide that. For that matter, also the Salt Lake City area which has a lot of attractive qualities and and probably the best skiing and mountain biking of all.

[witty-data]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

People in your shoes with no particular existing ties to the Pacific Northwest would probably also look at the Boise area which is pretty attractive as well. Kind of depends on whether you are more interested in living in a bright red state (ID) or a bright blue state (WA). Only you can decide that. For that matter, also the Salt Lake City area which has a lot of attractive qualities and and probably the best skiing and mountain biking of all.

Hmm you're the 2nd or 3rd person in unrelated forums/message boards that have brought up Boise without me mentioning it at all.


Definitely gonna take a strong look there - voting maps show that the Boise metro area is certainly bluer than the rest of the state, so there's that.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by witty-data

Definitely gonna take a strong look there - voting maps show that the Boise metro area is certainly bluer than the rest of the state, so there's that.

Are you looking for red or blue? Eastern Washington is very red.

[witty-data]

Originally Posted by mayfair

Are you looking for red or blue? Eastern Washington is very red.

Blue...but not portland blue...and also don't need to be bubbled in by hyper blue, I'm totally okay with moderate perspectives. But it sounds like you mean brighter red than that.

[StealthRabbit]

Blue? + Skiing? +good schools and outdoor recreation ?

Tahoe (NV will do for no income tax)
Jackson, WY (tough to afford) and all the rest of WY is RED
Spearfish, SD
Bellingham or Olympia in WA

Big Sky, MT

Most of CO.

If you stick with WA... college has free tuition during High School... instead of burning daylight stuck in a classroom, (Our kids were ski instructors during HS while getting 2 yr free college). Each entered university as full Jr before age 18, DONE with college before age 20 (and still skiing).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Start

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by witty-data

Blue...but not portland blue...and also don't need to be bubbled in by hyper blue, I'm totally okay with moderate perspectives. But it sounds like you mean brighter red than that.

Spokane is blue-ish but the surrounding hinterlands are all red.

This is a very good map to give you a sense of the political makeup of any community in the US. You can zoom in and out for any part of the US. It's 4 years old but not that much has changed. I expect once all the races are certified they will have something similar for 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...7.678/-117.488

The difference between say Spokane and Boise is not that one is city is more blue or red than the other. They are probably pretty similar. But that the rest of the states are different. Washington is dominated politically and in terms of population by the very blue Puget Sound region. While ID has no large cities so is very red at the state level.

Youi can probably find lots and lots of comparisons of Spokane vs Boise here and elsewhere. They are similar in size. Spokane is older and more industrial feeling and has more of a wooded and mountainous feeling in the surrounding countryside. It is an old railroad city. Boise has a newer more sunbelt feel to it with lots of recent CA migrants and is more sage-brushy and dry feeling. Spokane feels more like a mini Portland. Boise feels more like a mini Denver if that makes sense. Not politically, but in terms of the built environment.

If you have kids and are looking ahead to things like college educations, WA is going to have more to offer. University of Washington is several leagues above Boise State, for example. As is Washington State. But that may be a long ways off. One of the reasons (among many) that my wife and I picked WA over OR was the superior higher ed options in WA. Our HS senior is hopping to get into UW next fall so that may have paid off. We won't know for sure until March.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

People in your shoes with no particular existing ties to the Pacific Northwest would probably also look at the Boise area which is pretty attractive as well. Kind of depends on whether you are more interested in living in a bright red state (ID) or a bright blue state (WA). Only you can decide that. For that matter, also the Salt Lake City area which has a lot of attractive qualities and and probably the best skiing and mountain biking of all.

Depending on the OP's income situation, there are some strong advantages to residing in Washington which is without a state income tax for at least the next 4-5 years. Depending upon how much you make, it can add up to a significant chunk of change. Idaho's income taxes are fairly high.

Boise is still reasonably affordable. $650k will go further there than most of the other locations mentioned. Public education throughout the western states is going to pale in comparison to what you are used to in Northern Virginia. Especially with regard to funding and competitiveness.