Moving to WA (Seattle, Kennewick, Richland: house, job market, neighborhood)

[bigj628]

So my family and I are really considering moving to WA state, just don't know where exactly. I've been to the Seattle area and love it there! But I don't want to live in a big city just somewhat close. I also would like to buy a home, but at this point probably could only afford $200-250k. I also have a brother that lives near Portland, OR so would like to live somewhat (1-4 hrs. away) close to him. I also want a place with good schools for my girls. Can anyone help with areas that fit my criteria? Does the rain get to anyone?

Thanks!

[heymikey]

Last question first, it's hard to predict how you'll react to the rain. I have many friends and relatives who have moved from one side to the other (both directions) and love where they landed. I grew up in the Tri-Cities and would never be happy on the "Wet Side"—it's a very personal thing. Years ago, I took the family to Seattle while I interviewed for a couple jobs. The whole trip was depressing: the kids fought, the jobs weren't of interest, everybody was just out of sorts. Driving back home, we crested the Cascades and the sun came out and we all simultaneously took a deep breath, smiled, and looked at each other—it was surreal; we hadn't noticed, but we hadn't seen the sun in 5 days and it had affected us more than we knew. I didn't look for any more jobs over there, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't love it. I love the Tri-Cities, but duststorms, sagebrush, and 100°+ summers aren't for everybody.

I don't know the west side well, but many of the little towns in SE Wa have excellent schools, with drop-out rates near zero (true in Richland too). There are so many wonderful small towns all over the state, but employment opportunities tend to be scarce, with very low turnover; luck would play a big part, even if you have an easily transplantable skill.

Small, isolated towns tend to have lower housing prices, the east side even more so. I live in an older, but still nice part of north Richland, and we're still waiting for the first house in the neighborhood to hit $200k.

You said you wanted to be "somewhat close" to "a big city", but both terms can have drastically different meanings to different people. At ~160k pop., the Tri-Cities is "big city" enough for me 98% of the time, and for the remaining 2%, Seattle and Portland are "somewhat close" (~225 mi) enough to drive over and back in a day for shopping, or overnight for concerts, etc. I know both of those would sound daft to some folks on the east coast, but as I said before, it's a very personal thing.

Sorry this is so rambling, but write back if you have some more specific questions. I'm the world's authority on my own opinion.

HeyMikey

[bigj628]

I like the rain, but I don't think I would like it all the time like you said. I don't mind hot summers, as long as humidity isn't involved (I've lived in Memphis the past few years, and hate the humidity here). And I'm used to the duststorms and sagebrush, since I grew up in a small town in ID, but is it still green there?

When you say small town, how small are you talking? What's the population in Richland? Also how far are the tri-cities from Richland? By the way which cities comprise the tri cities?

That's awesome the dropout rate is so low in Richland, and the home prices are very encouraging.

[bigj628]

I have one other question 'heymikey', are employment rates low or is it just low turnover that makes employment opportunities difficult.

[bigj628]

So does the tri cities have a rural or urban feel?

[Inkpoe]

More rural than urban-- it's a growing town.

Tri-Cities = Richland, Kennewick and Pasco

[bigj628]

Thanks Inkpoe

[heymikey]

I was sick for a couple of weeks and got behind…

As to whether jobs are hard to find because of high unemployment or low turnover, I'm afraid I'm a bit out of the loop—I work at Battelle, but not PNNL—so take this with a grain (or a pound) of salt…

From everything I hear, Tri-Cities unemployment rate is as low as you'll find in most parts of the whole country, but the job market seems skewed from my image of most areas this size. Like it or not, Hanford clean-up and support still takes up a sizable chunk of the employment market, but only in specific fields (e.g., construction, engineering). If you don't have those skills, the market is somewhat reduced.

On another thread, I mentioned law enforcement and teaching as examples of relatively low turnover areas that can make it hard for a newcomer to break in. My kids had the same music, art, physics, and chemistry teachers I had in elementary and high school. A contributing factor may be the love-it-or-hate-it attitude the Tri-Cities engenders. If you love it and find your niche, you'll probably stay in your job to retirement; the rest get out in a year or so, but those are relatively few (or maybe it seems so because they're gone so quickly ).

Other areas of the economy can be really hit or miss. My daughter graduated in Management Information Systems 2 years ago and only recently found a full-time job, but only as an administrative assistant at the mall, earning barely enough to move out on her own. OTOH, the Battelle job website always seems to be crying for chemistry, computer science, engineering, etc., but most of those well-paying jobs require 3-10 yr experience in some really esoteric fields. Again, great if you have the background, harder if you don't.

Another impression I have is that for an area with a 160k+ population, there don't seem to be very many "generic" large companies, and the few here are like Battelle (very specific needs) or ag-based and don't pay too well. Before she got into nursing school, my daughter-in-law (BS magna *** laude in neuroscience) was going to take a job $12/hr job in a winery lab. Again, not particularly encouraging…

Sorry to drag you this far for so little substance—as I said, my view on this topic is limited—guess I should just have gone to bed.

Write back if you dare…
HeyMikey