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Old 07-03-2021, 11:31 PM
 
11 posts, read 10,997 times
Reputation: 15

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Hi everyone,
It's that time in our lives when we must start planning for retirement. We have come down to 2 states, WA being one of them.
I am 51 and my husband is 56, we plan to retire in about 5 years and would like to buy one story house within 6 months or so.
Our perfect match would be a one story house, 3+, not much improvement needed (it would be hard for us to make improvement from afar), not in downtown preferibly in the suburbs, a good school district (to be a good investment as well). Our budget is around $500K. I hope we are not asking too much.
We really need your help, we are traveling the end of August to tour the area and hopefully make an offer, no rush though.
Thank you in advance!!!!!
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Old 07-04-2021, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Nine Mile Falls/Spokane, WA
1,009 posts, read 4,894,639 times
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This is a big state - have you figured out what parts you want to visit to explore? Do you have any family or friends here that can offer advice? Eastern WA is very different from Western WA and then there's a whole section of the state in the middle. And even within those sections, there are lots of options and variety. If you can give us a little more info about what you think you like about living in WA, we can give some recommendations of where to look.
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Old 07-04-2021, 09:58 AM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
14,314 posts, read 11,802,983 times
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Good morning! I do think there are plenty of places in Western Washington where you can find a nice suburban place for $500K.

You may not easily find it in the suburbs around Seattle or King County. You will find it in the suburbs surrounding some of our smaller towns.. Perhaps Southwest Washington or out on the peninsula.

Talk to us a little more about what city/town amenities you might be drawn to and what kind of standards and community you are looking for. We might be able to fine-tune some more suggestions. :-)
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Old 07-04-2021, 03:43 PM
 
11 posts, read 10,997 times
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I should add that we are familiar with PDX because our daughter attends the university for 4 years so we've the opportunity to visit several times and gone to WA as well. I liked Tacoma a lot, I do see that the prices are higher than my budget there. I would venture to say that it would be the south-west part of the state or an area where there are more sunny days. We would like to have the conforts of being in a city not in the downtown though, we love nature so preferible would have to have access to nature but not so rural. Also, would you tell me what are the most desirable counties in southern WA for schools and just popularity in regards to real estate?
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Old 07-05-2021, 12:06 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,576 posts, read 57,515,730 times
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What do you like about being in a city. (Arts, music, food, medical services, parks, public transit, colleges? How close do you want to be to airport or medical or Libraries, or other things important to you? .. Anything you mention will provide us with a clue on best cities, and regions within those cities)

What activities do you do for recreation? Hiking and photography you might like Columbia River gorge. Birding, living on the water, you might prefer being near a nature reserve,. Fishing as a hobby may be better near your preferred fishery.. lakes vs streams, if you like snow sports, the we will have different recommendations.

For what it's worth... What I thought I would desire 5 yrs before my early retirement, is far different than what I desire 15 yrs into retirement. (Hint... Plan for this and be very flexible, and implement a plan that is flexible.

As a lifelong real estate investor.....at today's prices and tight inventory I would not be setting a 6 month constraint on acquiring a home you will not need for 5+ yrs.
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Old 07-05-2021, 10:57 AM
 
Location: West Coast U.S.A.
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You have to consider how high your tolerance for one or two months of smoky skies every year is. The world is warming and we have lots of tinder here.
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Old 07-05-2021, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
14,314 posts, read 11,802,983 times
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I have the same questions as Stealth.... really need to know if you need a big city nearby or would be happy in a small town with one grocery store. We have both, and I prefer the latter, but some people want more.
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Old 07-05-2021, 05:17 PM
 
11 posts, read 15,113 times
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Default Retirement in Washington State?

We are also considering retirement in Washington State. Considering the areas just east of the Cascades.

Some of our considerations:
Do not like gloomy, constant rainy days.
More sun but still have water security, so just east of Cascades (e.g. no severe droughts like in AZ, western CO).
Not super hot during the summers (mid-90s okay), not bitter, damp, long winters (frost & snow okay).

Within about 2 hours of greater Seattle area to be able to access: Great healthcare (though small town hospital ok for routine things in hometown), theatre, music, symphony, concerts and Sea-Tac airport.
Clean air (seems the area east of Cascades gets good scores), low crime.


So far we've come up with: Ellensburg (college town!), Cle Elum, Wenatchee, Cashmere, Leavenworth (the last 3 appealing as on a rail link to Seattle).


Feedback on these towns or other possible areas would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 07-05-2021, 06:11 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,576 posts, read 57,515,730 times
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Of your choices, I prefer Cashmere / valley, but yeah I might add Chelan, (both have fire smoke probability, but very handy transit / biking options). I would also consider Spokane greater area. Perimeter towns are quite nice, and Spokane has a lot of medical, but limited airport. White Salmon / Bingen WA / Hood River, Oregon is another possible area. ~1 hr to PDX.

To get winter sun and lots of it, you need to be east or south of Boise. (Colorado, NM, UT, AZ, SD, WY, NV have options for you to consider, nice towns that are 2:hrs from cities with medical and culture)
CA has lots of possible towns!!!!
WA will be gray in winter. Bend, Oregon is a popular spot in a high tax state.

I'm <30 minutes to most of Portland, yet no stoplights to airport and LOTs of windy days to remove clouds (but 2x the precip of PDX) is quite convenient, but comes at a price (property taxes for me), equity costs and very restricted available properties for new arrivals.
Variety and access to classic culture and 20+ colleges is superb. (libraries, music, drama, speakers, events, classes...

Budget? (Very important)
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Old 07-05-2021, 07:52 PM
 
11 posts, read 15,113 times
Reputation: 29
Thank you for the quick reply. Yes we've lived (CO, NM, AZ, NV, NJ, NY, CA, TX, IL, MT, FL, GA) many of the states you mentioned & visited all 50 states except ND. I know it's rather like threading a needle: sunny most of the time but with plenty of water: access to lots of culture (within 2 hours drive), but not urban; Snow ok but not damp/bitterly cold winter; warm summers but not 100 degree + for more than a few days. College town is a plus. We've lived in Montana, so Spokane was okay, the biggest/closest town, but not overly enthused about Spokane. Lived in the East & South, not my cup of tea - just too humid. Love the mountains/hills. We've explored some beautiful & very rural areas, realized we'd get bored in a tiny town, thus the need to be relatively close to an urban area. Budget - in today's dollars, $600-700K, if it had 1+ acre. Thanks for your help!
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