Sold my house, ready to move.....now I get a job offer with a short commute, what to do now??? (property taxes, homeless)

Originally Posted by Tony1790

Which part of So Cal? I was stationed in San Pedro (south of LA), I lived in Garden Grove for 2 years. I actually enjoyed CA, especially all of the motorcycle related activities, going out to the dry lakes, etc. There were tons of things to do compared to WA, I had much more fun in CA than WA, but thats just me. I wish I had bought a house when I was there, but that ship has sailed.

Anyway good luck with the move to WA.

Tony

I hate the beach, love forest, and I'm not a big fan of the sun, I enjoy rain. So as you can see it is the wrong place for me.

I live in Ventura, which is very close to Santa Barbara. We're an hour or two northwest of L.A.

[Tony1790]

Here's an update for me:

I had my interview for Norfolk Southern in Atlanta today, it went well, I won't know the official results for 2 weeks when I'll get a call with the job offer or bad news.

I should interview for the county job in NC this coming monday, I hope that goes well.

I picked up my new hire packet for the WA govt job on monday, I still don't know if I'll actually start the job, but I want to keep the wheels turning on in just in case I don't get anything else.

Still haven't heard anything on the GA govt job from my phone interview.

Tony

[AZ_singlemother]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

Thanks,

That seems like one of the best choices, I'm also leaning toward staying here for a year while saving up the cash that I'm not spending on a mortgage. I love the idea of moving, but it's scary to actually do it. Not so much the change of location, but the not having steady income part, this is my first time in 20 years having to worry about where I'll be working and it's no fun.

Steady work is great and I miss it, financially I should have stayed in the military, but that was driving me crazy. Now I'm saner, but unemployed and stressed trying to find a job

This nice weather that we've been having with clear skies makes it hard to want to leave WA, but I know those clouds will be back.....

Tony

Funny, I moved out of WA state for the exact same reasons - the commute kills. I reside in AZ and have a 10 commute. Now I use the time to continue my college education.

Now for you, sounds like you are making the right choices by diligently seeking a position before relocating. If it doesn't work out, take your trailer to TN and get a job as a local. Chances are some companies are avoiding you because they do not want to pay to relocate.

[Tony1790]

Wow,

What a difference a year and half makes!

(Disclaimer: I know that no one will care, but it's a free country anyway)

Here's my update:

I took the job with the Railroad, moved to MO, then AL and then TN, 2 weeks after I get permanently assigned to Chattanooga, I wound up quitting the job (dumb move on my part I'm afraid).

I moved to Johnson City, TN bought 26.5 acres of land for what an acre would have cost me in WA ($135,000). Decided not to build, bought a small home with 2 car garage, pool, 2 barns and 3 outbuildings on 8 acres, at the city limits for $89,250, all that with a fantastic view as well (mountains and valley view). Guess how much property taxes....$300 a year with NO income tax.....Awesome!

I'm starting Nursing school on monday, all I had to do was sign up and I start, in WA I looked into school and it was a years wait to start.

Now the bad part, wages are low here, jobs not very plentiful, but if I pay $100,000 less for a place and paying in cash from our home sale in WA, then I can live here just fine.

I miss WA, but it's nice not having to deal with traffic, where the people you meet are very talkative....took me a while to get used to that, I was used to the passive aggressive NW scene.

My Son and my sister in law are still in Port Orchard, I often think that I'd like to move back, but we'll see how things work out here. Maybe home prices will crash in WA and I can work there as a nurse and live a decent life. Who knows.

Well anyway, thanks to listening (reading).....I know it doesn't matter, but for those thinking about leaving the WA area, there's plenty of good things about leaving, but you'll miss the scenery, not the traffic or property taxes

[Ira500]

How well are you handling the summer heat, Tony?
I own some land in Arkansas, and sometimes it seems awful tempting to just go, but when it hits 80 here I start griping about how hot I am.

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by Ira500

How well are you handling the summer heat, Tony?
I own some land in Arkansas, and sometimes it seems awful tempting to just go, but when it hits 80 here I start griping about how hot I am.

I was thinking about that the other day, I don't know where the summer has gone, I work nights in a hospital and I sleep in the day with the A/C on. One of the biggest draws for WA for me was the cooler weather. Once I get a normalized life I'll need to get adjusted, but I don't think living without A/C is an option. It's been mainly in the 80's here with some days in the 90's. Fairly pleasant overall.

Tony

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

Wow,

What a difference a year and half makes!

(Disclaimer: I know that no one will care, but it's a free country anyway)


I'm starting Nursing school on monday, all I had to do was sign up and I start, in WA I looked into school and it was a years wait to start.

Congratulations! I just graduated from Nursing school and I am planning on Moving to WA next June. As a nurse, you will always have work!
wc@h

[Tony1790]

Howdy,

Here's an update to this nearly 4 year old post:

I graduated LPN school, work for the Veterans Administration and recently bought a 2900 sqft brick home for $135k that is 4 miles from work here in TN.

No commute, no crazy rain, my property tax is $600 per year, $24 year to register the car, overall not too bad here.

I still miss Port Orchard, and I'm giving it some thought as I joked about on this thread that if the house prices come down I would give some thought about moving back.

The likely jobs for me would be at the VA in Tacoma or Madigan Army Hospital.

The thought of paying $2800 a year in property tax isn't very appealing and I'd hate to deal with the traffic, but there is something nice about WA state that you miss. My eldest son still lives in Kitsap county and my youngest will move back there once he graduates school in the spring.

Oh well, just wanted to say hi and give an update, I think it's worthwhile to see what the outcome for people are that were thinking about moving to/from Seattle area and follow the process and see if anything can be learned from others experiences. This was my contribution to the cause.

Tony in TN

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

Howdy,

Here's an update to this nearly 4 year old post:

I graduated LPN school, work for the Veterans Administration and recently bought a 2900 sqft brick home for $135k that is 4 miles from work here in TN.

No commute, no crazy rain, my property tax is $600 per year, $24 year to register the car, overall not too bad here.

I still miss Port Orchard, ... see if anything can be learned from others experiences. This was my contribution to the cause.

Tony in TN

Congratulations and thx for the update.

Enjoy your time in TN, (wherebouts?).

I am looking at NE TN for investment properties (will probably keep resident status in WA or SD)

Do you owe a few yrs to TN VA? (My sis just graduated her 3rd VA funded nursing program)

Have you seen what they (WA Vets) have done with Retsil ?
Veterans Home
I was just there on Friday afternoon.

I have a long-term relationship with that place, and a friend who is a nurse boss. It is certainly an ideal situation for many vets / employees.

I would hope your yrs of service might be able to transfer between agencies.

If you are headed this way, do check out the VA in Sturgis, SD. (and Sheridan, WY) Both are excellent locations (and each are in tax free states). Also a SD Vets home in Hot Springs, SD

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Congratulations and thx for the update.

Enjoy your time in TN, (wherebouts?).

I am looking at NE TN for investment properties (will probably keep resident status in WA or SD)

[/b]

I'm in NE TN, Johnson City to be exact.....as to investment properties, I'm not sure about here for that purpose. Housing cost to income ratio here is a bit off, it would seem there are better places for investment.....I owned 12 homes in Port Orchard that I sold before the bubble burst and I was able to pay cash for several parcels of land, a home and have a good chunk of change left in the bank, now that I think of it, I'm doing what you are talking about doing

I paid my taxes today (TN Property), here's an example of what I paid in taxes:

26 acres - $129 yr tax
2900 sqft home on 1/2 ac - $600 yr tax
1250 home on 8 acres - $580 yr tax
3 acre view lot - $346 yr tax

Send me an IM if you have specific questions.

Take care, WA state is awesome, still kind of expensive, but ya gotta to pay to play as they say