Anyone move from California to WA, if so what are your thoughts? (Seattle: homes, elementary school)

[Ultrarunner]

Yep… WA has homes across the price point spectrum…

No WA state individual income tax is a savings especially for those with higher incomes.

My experience with WA property tax is a real eye opener and I’m bracing for the coming tax bill…

[PhoenixSomeday]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

... No WA state individual income tax is a savings especially for those with higher incomes.
...

I've read that even when a state doesn't have a particular tax, that it's just made up for elsewhere? I heard that WA has high property taxes. Oregon has no sales tax, so I wonder what tax is higher over there.

[Ultrarunner]

Not sure but California seems to have every known tax…

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by PhoenixSomeday

I've read that even when a state doesn't have a particular tax, that it's just made up for elsewhere? I heard that WA has high property taxes. Oregon has no sales tax, so I wonder what tax is higher over there.

OR has an income tax. WA does have high property taxes and, in some places, very high sales tax.

Yes, the mix of particular taxes and how much each one applies to YOU specifically has to be considered, but things tend to become more equal when all costs are factored.

Where I live in CO, the property tax is, oh, less than 20% of what it would be if we still owned the house in WA. But CO has an income tax, not that it matters much in our case.

Don’t forget all the other variables: electricity, propane or natural gas or oil, gasoline, water and sewer if applicable, health care premiums, food, etc etc.

[rkcarguy]

A gentle reminder that our very own City-Data forum has all the statistics on costs of living by state and city. Washington is actually pretty dismal, as we've got the high costs of living steadily closing up on California, but still have Washington wages.
There are other states that yield much better cost of living/income ratios and more disposable income that have income taxes and lower average incomes, because the average home isn't $690,000.

[trailtramp]

To the OP of this thread, take some advice from a native Californian who has sold multiple properties there and regretted it: Unless you absolutely despise your home, and Santa Cruz, and know that you will never move back...DO NOT SELL YOUR SANTA CRUZ property. If you must move away, rent it out. Your CA property taxes are locked in low, and being on the central coast will always be golden. You will never replace that magnificent weather anywhere in the country you could go. The million or more in equity we would have had now could not be matched anywhere else.

[1animalfan]

I did but it didn't help. Ha ha.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Apparently you weren’t here in 1997 where in NW Washington we received 4’! Or, a few years ago when Seattle stopped cold stranding our daughter at the Greyhound bus station as people were petrified to drive on I5 so abandoned their vehicles thus blocking ramps. No taxis so I had to reach my sister stranded at a downtown office to meet her at night. Most of us natives or Midwest/Back East folks know how to drive in the snow so it must have been the Californian transplants.

No, that was an issue long before there was mass migration from CA to WA/Seattle. People born and raised in Seattle don't know how to drive in snow, because the conditions so rarely arise. And yes, I was there in 1997. I don't recall anything unusual in winter weather. Maybe I was out of town for it? When did that happen?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by trailtramp

To the OP of this thread, take some advice from a native Californian who has sold multiple properties there and regretted it: Unless you absolutely despise your home, and Santa Cruz, and know that you will never move back...DO NOT SELL YOUR SANTA CRUZ property. If you must move away, rent it out. Your CA property taxes are locked in low, and being on the central coast will always be golden. You will never replace that magnificent weather anywhere in the country you could go. The million or more in equity we would have had now could not be matched anywhere else.

This is great advice!

Hmm....reviewing the OP's posts, it sounds like his property is in the Santa Cruz Mountains, not in the city itself. It's at risk of fire up there. He could rent it out for a year, while living in WA to see if he wants to make it a permanent move or not, but IDK. It might be best to offload a fire and drought-prone property while he can. Or at least switch it out for a place in town. There are parts of town that don't have the electricity shut down during fire season. If one decided to stay in town long term, one could set up some solar panels as a back-up.

Tough call. If the property were in Santa Cruz proper, I'd say hold on to it and rent it out until ready to make a permanent decision. But a house in a fire high-risk zone is another kettle of fish.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by PhoenixSomeday

I've read that even when a state doesn't have a particular tax, that it's just made up for elsewhere? I heard that WA has high property taxes. Oregon has no sales tax, so I wonder what tax is higher over there.

WA's property taxes are actually mid-range among the 50 states.