Moving from Western to Eastern Washington (state, different, gorgeous)

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by kraus020237

I'm following this thread but I don't know what tri-cities is. Would somebaody give me a definitive description, please.

The Tri-Cities are Richland, Kennewick and Pasco plus adjoining towns: Finley, Burbank, West Richland, Benton City. Prosser and Connell are a little farther out, separated by non-urban territory from the TC but might be considered somewhat a part of the greater area. Geologically, the area brackets the places where first the Yakima and then the Snake River dump into the Columbia.

R, K and P are roughly similar sized, averaging about 55K each. West Richland's catching up fast and has seen a lot of growth (funded generously by traffic tickets). Finley, Burbank and Benton City are in the 2Kish range for size, and qualify as rural living. Total population for the region is something like 200K with three hospitals, one mall, one Olive Garden, and about one taco truck or Mexican restaurant for every five residents.

Primary employment is cleaning up nuclear contamination. Secondary employment is education, and third is probably scientific research. The area is a hub for the varied and productive agricultural activity surrounding it on all sides.

[AlexJones]

Don't go to Yakima! Every other house is a dope house and one ghetto after another. And Spanish is a must.

[darcy627]

hi i need help finding a house that is 2000 sqft and has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is lower than 10,000 dollars and is really nice in eastern wa. thanks contact me at [email]darcy627@aol.com[/email] and you can tell me the website, name, address, thanks

[PS90]

Originally Posted by darcy627

hi i need help finding a house that is 2000 sqft and has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is lower than 10,000 dollars and is really nice in eastern wa. thanks contact me at darcy627@aol.com and you can tell me the website, name, address, thanks

Ummm, I'm assuming you meant $100,000, since you will never find a house anywhere in WA state for $10,000. At least one that's not made of cardboard.

Do you have an area in mind? Or just anywhere in Eastern WA? I'm sure there are plenty of areas in the Basin (Othello, Quincy, Ritzville, etc.) in which houses can be had for $100K, but they are probably not the nicest houses.

[EWa22]

Walla Walla. Great nursing school at the community college. Small town and affordable housing.

[PrincessoftheCape]

I'm conservative and you couldn't pay me to make that move. The western half of the state is gorgeous and unique. The eastern half could easily be a part of Oregon, Idaho or even Montana. I don't know if I could ever live away from the sea again.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape

I'm conservative and you couldn't pay me to make that move. The western half of the state is gorgeous and unique. The eastern half could easily be a part of Oregon, Idaho or even Montana. I don't know if I could ever live away from the sea again.

Diff'rent strokes, I guess. I am also very conservative, but that's not why I tried to live in Western WA, but then quickly fled back to Eastern WA. Politics had nothing to do with it, and I'll admit it is beautiful over there, but the crazy amount of population/traffic and the oppressive drizzle drove me away.

[PrincessoftheCape]

Originally Posted by PS90

Diff'rent strokes, I guess. I am also very conservative, but that's not why I tried to live in Western WA, but then quickly fled back to Eastern WA. Politics had nothing to do with it, and I'll admit it is beautiful over there, but the crazy amount of population/traffic and the oppressive drizzle drove me away.

There are places over here that aren't that densely crowded at all. Skagit, Whatcom, Jefferson, Mason, Grays Harbor, Lewis and Cowlitz counties all abut the mountains and/or the Sound/Pacific, yet are basically free of urbanization (or what urbanization they have is very limited). Rampant traffic and overpopulation drove myself and my husband out of the Lynnwood area (we were on the verge of giving up entirely and moving back to the east coast when we started to examine the Skagit Valley more closely), but I don't know if either of us would want to go anymore rural than where we are here. It's all farmland and small towns, though you're never too far from a Walmart or an Autozone if need be.

On the other hand, I can completely understand if you go seeking the sun, although there are portions of Western WA that get pissed on a lot less frequently than Seattle. The Olympic Rain Shadow actually does a pretty bang-up job of boosting sunshine totals for a small wedge in this part of the state (almost every time I drive from Everett to Bellingham, I find myself going from clouds to at least partial sunlight). While it will likely not satisfy someone seeking a Yakima equivalent, our proportion of sunny to dreary days here seems to be pretty livable.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape

There are places over here that aren't that densely crowded at all. Skagit, Whatcom, Jefferson, Mason, Grays Harbor, Lewis and Cowlitz counties all abut the mountains and/or the Sound/Pacific, yet are basically free of urbanization (or what urbanization they have is very limited). Rampant traffic and overpopulation drove myself and my husband out of the Lynnwood area (we were on the verge of giving up entirely and moving back to the east coast when we started to examine the Skagit Valley more closely), but I don't know if either of us would want to go anymore rural than where we are here. It's all farmland and small towns, though you're never too far from a Walmart or an Autozone if need be.

On the other hand, I can completely understand if you go seeking the sun, although there are portions of Western WA that get pissed on a lot less frequently than Seattle. The Olympic Rain Shadow actually does a pretty bang-up job of boosting sunshine totals for a small wedge in this part of the state (almost every time I drive from Everett to Bellingham, I find myself going from clouds to at least partial sunlight). While it will likely not satisfy someone seeking a Yakima equivalent, our proportion of sunny to dreary days here seems to be pretty livable.

Yeah. All your comments are completely accurate and make sense, but it's all relative I guess. I actually lived in Lewis County when I lived in Western WA, but even there you will never see more than a small, 2 or 3 acre field as the largest amount of non-developed land. While in Eastern WA, there are plenty of areas with 1000's of acres with no houses and no sign of people. So to me, that's a high population density even in Lewis County.

That and the ridiculous traffic on I-5. I will never miss the constant line of idiots weaving in and out of traffic on the freeway...

[duckieee]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

If schooling wasn't in your formula, I'd look to Kettle Falls, but for educational opportunities for both you and your kid, and a nice place to reside, do give Walla Walla a look.

Kettle Falls actually has a pretty good school district. Their elementary school is fantastic and they take a more hands on approach to learning that the entire staff has bought into so it is the same throughout the school. The middle school and high school have also been trying to take the same approach. I was blown away when I visited the school. I really wasn't expecting what I saw, and I honestly was so impressed with the school that I even tried to look to Kettle Falls for a job when I graduated with my degree in education.

Also, from what I gathered, online classes at SFCC is a route people go in Kettle Falls.