Spokane vs Tri Cities vs Clarkston-Lewiston metro areas for retirement (Seattle: low income, sales)

[Sue628]

Hello All - My husband and I will be retiring in about 8-9 years. We currently live in (and have lived for a good 25+ years) in the the Portland OR metro area. I would like to know opinions on these 3 areas, or any other potential areas to check out. I think I want a metro area of around at least 40-50K around us for access to services. We plan to start looking at some different places in WA. We are looking at these metro areas because they seem big enough. We like a 'county" feel, but not too remote (I want internet and cell service). Willing to live within about a half hour of a town (will be retired so commute not an issue)
Want to be close enough to grocery stores (reasonably priced, like a Winco, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Costco. I dont want a Safeway/Alberstons/IGA to be my only choice- they are way more expensive) and restaurants and medical care since we will be getting older. We do not want to live "downtown" anywhere. (I prefer an older home I have to update than new in a subdivision with neighbors 10 feet away)
We definitely want to move to WA to retire due to no state income tax. We are not big spenders and there is no way we will purchase enough to cost us in sales tax in a year what we would pay in OR state income tax so we are looking to relocate. I would like some comparisons and honest opinions about these areas or other possibilities.
It has gotten gross here. Tons of homeless camped all over. And housing prices are ridiculous, as well as property taxes. We don't mind the weather here (the rain or gray skies here in Portland metro) but dont like the really hot- like around 100 or lots of snow. If it is hot once in awhile we can hide inside in AC, but dont want it constantly hot. I dont mind a little snow as long as it melts and goes away in a few days. I don't want feet of it or it to stick around for weeks or months. I hate the Ice and freezing rain we sometimes get - we are on the eastside of the metro area so closer to the Columbia Gorge and we get the 'east winds' as they are called and ice in winter.
We went to Tri Cities this past summer in Aug and camped in our travel trailer for a week and loved the area there. Very different. Nice & clean (we didn't see one homeless camp). Roads were nice (not filled with potholes) and traffic was easy to get around. Clarkston is on the list because it seems big enough metro area- but have not been there yet. (Will not live in Idaho. Want to avoid having our income taxed. We would be paying $4K-$5K per year if stay in OR)

[M3 Mitch]

All three have their own "vibe". I live near but not in the Tri, out past Prosser, and this area too is good for retirement. If you want a true "urban" area, the Tri is not really that, Spokane is, but Spokane has a more severe winter. Lewiston/Clarkston, on the WA side of the border, is a college town, with all the good and bad that brings.

Last summer was a hot one here in the Lower Valley.

There are small towns and rural properties all around each of your three areas.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by Sue628

Want to avoid having our income taxed. We would be paying $4K-$5K per year if stay in OR)

I hate to be the spoiler, but unless you are really raking in a lot of Social Security and Pension $$$, Oregon could end up cheaper for total tax load. Last time I looked Oregon had a retirement income exemption for the first $~$2,800/month? Property taxes are huge here in WA, my grandmother pays ~$6,500/year for property taxes on a house she owns and had built for $180K in 1994. Other taxes and "surface area fees" add up to about $180/month more. She says it's like having a mortgage again. And then, there is the 8-10% sales tax on pretty much everything except groceries/unprepared food. Buy a new $45K car or truck for example, and there is at least $3,960 in sales taxes due right there.
Visit a "total tax load calculator" online, you can enter some basic information and the state you are considering and it will provide some approx. $$$$'s of your total tax load. The results may surprise you.
Another concern is access to medical care. WA has grown 1 million+ population in the last ~decade and healthcare has not kept up. My county only has half the hospital beds per capita that NY does, and right now its full of Covid/Delta patients and is having to transfer additional cases to another county. My Doctors office was losing money having to care for illegals and uninsured and they closed, and it took me 6 months to find another office in another town that was taking patients. Eastern WA has grown a lot and I know they are having similar problems, so please beware.

[pnwguy2]

Tri Cities has been good to me in retirement. Costs are among the lowest in the State, but housing has been increasing, mainly due to many from the Seattle and Portland areas moving here. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the appreciation in my paid for home. But in areas like traffic, crime, weather it offers so much more than the west side.

As for OR vs WA, I think it is a wash. As the above poster mentioned if you have income and don’t intend big purchases, WA makes more sense.

[StealthRabbit]

Walla Walla, and Waitsburg are my favorites in this region. Dayton if you desire quick access to Blue Mtns. But.... As mentioned, it can be quite hot in summer.

None have good access to cheap flights and direct flights (which is important to me through age 80). I also like to have a variety of colleges / libraries available during retirement. Spokane and Walla Walla avail this. Spokane has more 'real winters' and real homeless. (For decades).

[Tall Traveler]

We moved from the Portland metro to the Tri Cities and lived there many years and initially retired there but have moved to Phoenix in the last year. Tri Cities has low crime, is clean, good roads and transportation and moderately sufficient shopping and restaurants. On the con side is cold winters, windy spring, warm and often smoky summers.

Spokane is more of a real city with both the good and bad that implies, is a bit cooler and snowier, and is prettier with pines than the other two areas mentioned.

I would say Clarkston/Lewiston is a smaller and less prosperous version of Tri Cities.

My opinion based on my research is that tax differentials are not sufficient to pick a state but housing price and quality variations may be.

p.s. I am disheartened over what has become of Portland but I realize there are still really nice areas of the metro.

[StealthRabbit]

just thinking...

If you enjoy / don't mind Western Cascade weather... Why not consider some of the conservative (less homeless) towns in Western WA?

Sequim, Friday Harbor, Stanwood, Mt Vernon, Lynden (Being close to BC has great benefits for camping / recreation / international airport, once BC reopens).

If you head to the 'eastside', you will have cold / snow and a gray winter. (and higher risk of heat / fire in summer)

[509]

Your not going to find your weather choices in eastern Washington.

I think you would be happier in western Washington.

Spokane is what your looking for, but it does snow in Spokane. Sometimes a lot. Winters are awful gray for months on end.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

just thinking...

If you enjoy / don't mind Western Cascade weather... Why not consider some of the conservative (less homeless) towns in Western WA?

Sequim, Friday Harbor, Stanwood, Mt Vernon, Lynden (Being close to BC has great benefits for camping / recreation / international airport, once BC reopens).

If you head to the 'eastside', you will have cold / snow and a gray winter. (and higher risk of heat / fire in summer)

I agree with Stealth. You might like Stanwood if you want a clean (no visible homeless) conservative, small town and use Everett for big city amenities, flights out of Paine field. Arlington has all the shopping you need at Smokey Point. Smokey Point is kind of trashy and traffic- ridden, though.

If you choose a bigger city in Western WA you will see homeless people. Lots of them.

Mt. Vernon is another choice (more amenities, restaurants, shopping, medical), but there are lots of homeless downtown along the river and on College Way. Areas of town also have gang issues, but you can avoid those by not living in those areas. You could use Bellingham (even more homeless people) for your city amenities from Mt. Vernon or Burlington. Burlington has all the shopping you could ever imagine.

[Sue628]

Thank you all for the input so far. We will consider some of the other northern towns. (we have not been more north than Ocean Shores) We are also considering Amboy, Yacolt, La Center, Woodland areas. We checked out Ocean Shores and while it was cool for a vacation, felt too far for shopping - having to go into Aberdeen. We also like the Long Beach peninsula but worried about the Astoria bridge in the winter and shopping access.
The "Oregon exemption" for income taxes is for low income ($45K or less for married and half that for singles). Between SS, our IRA's and a small pension we will definitely be over that quite a bit. Our property taxes are over $5K (Multnomah County) which is crazy. We are looking to downsize and hopefully will sell and buy outright in a new location. We bought in 2014 and value has almost doubled. in 7 yrs. We could not afford our house right now if we were in the market to buy, so that's why we are looking to get out of the metro area. I looked up homes on both north of us on the I-5 corridor (Cowlitz co area) and on the eastside and all seem to be around half as much as what we currently pay. We just assumed the whole metro in a big circle around Seattle was horribly expensive and too much traffic, along with homeless even more than PDX area. Both Portland and Seattle used to be beautiful, now are totally gross with all the 'street people'. I think most are 'street people' rather than actual 'homeless' who need a true helping hand up. (there by choice because they dont want to work and want to do drugs, drink, and because of Portland's generosity and leniency have invaded from other states.) Tired of seeing their filth, shootings, starting fires, stealing things. The other thing in my mind is also the Estate tax exemption. In OR it is $1mil - sounds like a lot but not really, if a house is aprox half of that and with funds in an IRA. WA is a little more than double OR's so it makes WA even more favorable. We certainly wouldn't hit the WA cap. I don't want any part of our estate taxed if I can avoid it, it should be for our kids.