Thinking of moving to PNW

[Erik]

Yeah North Seattle is nice! I really like living on the East side though. Bellevue is pretty expensive though. Redomnd/Kirkland are really nice.

[Mlarsen]

Bremerton sucks, don't try to church it up. If your looking at Seattle neighborhoods to look at: Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, Greenlake.

[5Toes]

nah Bremerton has alot to offer. I really do like this town.

ferry ride away to Seattle, I can get to downtown Seattle and back for $3.50

[BraveUlysses]

Toes, stop trying to play Bremerton up as a place someone would want to live.

Literally anywhere in the state will be a better option, OP

[george graves]

Yea. You can't go from a 3 bedroom place in Virginia to a 3 bedroom place in a decent part of LA. I see that happen to people all the time. In So Cal - there is a self-storage unit on every block. It's people down sizing and not wanting to get rid of their furniture.

In most places of the country - the rule of thumb is that your rent/mtg should only be 1/4 or 1/5 of your income. In somewhere like Santa Barbara, it's 1/3 or approaching 1/2. Many people in "normal" jobs give up on owning a car - cause it just doesn't fit their budget.

As far as jobs - In my limited experience - the PNW isn't like that. If you have talent - You'll get work. But that's true anywhere - People that suck at what they do get laid off - people with talent - get the work and are ok.

[dvck]

That's what we've consider the tough part of the puzzle. We're looking to settling down somewhere to start a family, but nowadays job stability seems like such a luxury.

I don't know how comfortable I am raising a family in la anymore, it's fine and there's great things here but it takes a lot more to afford things here.

A couple of years a back a buddy moved out here from Virginia bc his wife got a job at USC, he told me they were earning three fold what they did in Virginia but were just as broke -__-

[StereoInstaller1]

Yeah...jobs.

get job if you need one BEFORE you get here

[dvck]

I love California and the memories I've made here, but I've been long thinking about moving my gf and I up to Oregon or washing tone myself too. The employment I need to figure out though. Been looking at houses outside of Portland and west of the sound in Washington and it is by far much more affordable than Los Angeles

[Erik]

Hahaha NO FUCKING WAY!! MxPx is SO old school!! haha Damn!

[5Toes]

Word. The mortgage on my house is *less* then what I was paying in rent in Santa Barbara for a loft near the beach.

Some things I noticed when I first moved up here....

- City/government/DMV are there to help you. They actually say please and thank you. They don't try to get money out of you any chance they get.

- Cops are chill. In CA, when you have a cop behind you, you get worried ... they are looking for any reason to pull you over(or they'll just make one up). Here - I just slow down.

- The people are a weird mix of natives(sometimes not the happiest people), and people that moved here from other places (and usually are well educated/decent people).

- Seattle is a world class city. It really reminds me of SF - but with less homeless/crazy people. Tacoma is Seattle's Oakland. Pikes place is pier 39. It's almost an exact copy.

- Winters are brutal. It's cold and wet - and it's that way for a LONG time. Summer is as good or better weather then Santa Barbara.

- Public transportation is used by "normal folks" and not just the lower class. It can be hard to get around here with all the traffic and water. You'll want to live close to work/school. I work from home, so living in Bremerton is great for me. It's only an hour ride to downtown Seattle - and if they put in the hydrofoil ferry, it may go down to 30 mins. And that's a shorter commute than most people have.

- It's beautiful up here. The green pine trees, the water, the clean air that smells amazing...it's a really special part of the country.

[2mAn]

Im from the Bay Area and George hit the nail on the head. Moved here 7 years ago and havent really wanted to move back. My quality of life improved significantly, Im sure I was in the same boat as you.

[shameson]

Word. The mortgage on my house is *less* then what I was paying in rent in Santa Barbara for a loft near the beach.

Some things I noticed when I first moved up here....

- City/government/DMV are there to help you. They actually say please and thank you. They don't try to get money out of you any chance they get.

- Cops are chill. In CA, when you have a cop behind you, you get worried ... they are looking for any reason to pull you over(or they'll just make one up). Here - I just slow down.

- The people are a weird mix of natives(sometimes not the happiest people), and people that moved here from other places (and usually are well educated/decent people).

- Seattle is a world class city. It really reminds me of SF - but with less homeless/crazy people. Tacoma is Seattle's Oakland. Pikes place is pier 39. It's almost an exact copy.

- Winters are brutal. It's cold and wet - and it's that way for a LONG time. Summer is as good or better weather then Santa Barbara.

- Public transportation is used by "normal folks" and not just the lower class. It can be hard to get around here with all the traffic and water. You'll want to live close to work/school. I work from home, so living in Bremerton is great for me. It's only an hour ride to downtown Seattle - and if they put in the hydrofoil ferry, it may go down to 30 mins. And that's a shorter commute than most people have.

- It's beautiful up here. The green pine trees, the water, the clean air that smells amazing...it's a really special part of the country.

Spent time in the Bay Area, such as SF and Oakland. Have to say I definitely agree with all this. I love being up here

I did really love San Fran though

[thebonuslevel]

DOOOOOOOOO IT. Ill be there in July.

[george graves]

Screw living in Cali, get thineself to the northwest!

Word. The mortgage on my house is *less* then what I was paying in rent in Santa Barbara for a loft near the beach.

Some things I noticed when I first moved up here....

- City/government/DMV are there to help you. They actually say please and thank you. They don't try to get money out of you any chance they get.

- Cops are chill. In CA, when you have a cop behind you, you get worried ... they are looking for any reason to pull you over(or they'll just make one up). Here - I just slow down.

- The people are a weird mix of natives(sometimes not the happiest people), and people that moved here from other places (and usually are well educated/decent people).

- Seattle is a world class city. It really reminds me of SF - but with less homeless/crazy people. Tacoma is Seattle's Oakland. Pikes place is pier 39. It's almost an exact copy.

- Winters are brutal. It's cold and wet - and it's that way for a LONG time. Summer is as good or better weather then Santa Barbara.

- Public transportation is used by "normal folks" and not just the lower class. It can be hard to get around here with all the traffic and water. You'll want to live close to work/school. I work from home, so living in Bremerton is great for me. It's only an hour ride to downtown Seattle - and if they put in the hydrofoil ferry, it may go down to 30 mins. And that's a shorter commute than most people have.

- It's beautiful up here. The green pine trees, the water, the clean air that smells amazing...it's a really special part of the country.

[Martin C.]

Ian: sorry to read you have a troubling life chapter. Glad to read you are ready to move on to greener grass.

IMO You can't go wrong with either State. There is the tax (income/sales) difference if that matters to you, plus weed and gay marriage are now legal in WA (if that matters to you too).

Being closest to Canada and from my personal experience in traveling to many places, I feel like Seattle is more International than say, Portland. The ethnic diversity thrives here, and so does the good food!

Both areas are great for arts, but clearly Seattle is more tech oriented. You should find affordable housing either in City or just in the suburbs...traffic always an issue.

Good Luck!