Opinions Wanted on Retiring to Puget Sound

[McRide]

Empty Nesters here considering a retirement move out of San Diego. With family now in Hawaii, Montana and BC, and the availability of non-stop flights to each from SeaTac, the PNW is looking good. We are originally from the Pacific North Wet except we don't have any history in the greater Puget Sound/Seattle area. We are up to Anacortes next week for a look all around but thought I might get some opinions from our forum members in the area....the Menu is simple: Ideally, no more than a 2-hr drive to SeaTac and be a smaller walkable community eg., Anacortes, Mt. Vernon, Sedro-Wooley, Arlington, Snohomish, Whidbey Isl., Poulsbo, etc... All Pro-Con Opinions about communities and quality of life are appreciated.... Ride on!

 

[Ignacio]

I think you hit a great mish-mash of possible places in and around the Seattle metro area.  Those on the peninsula and island are obviously a ferry ride to get to SeaTac and bigger stuff, but you get used to it and motorcycles have FIFO priveleges and reduced rate.  Family had a cabin for years on Whidbey and loved spending time there.

If you look at other stuff on the other cardinal sides of SeaTac than you mentioned--consider Enumclaw, Yelm, and Lacey areas.  Or there's North Bend to the east of Seattle that is also a good launch point to head to Eastern Washington...some fun stuff to ride in the rain shadow of the Cascades.  Even a few people commute from Cle Elum area.

 

[Auburn]

Property prices are going through the roof right now.  No inventory and huge demand.  You might look around the Spokane/Idaho area.  You'll get more for the money, better riding opportunities and the flight is just 30 minutes to Seattle to connect.  And a friendlier property tax climate.  Still have major hospital(s) and trauma centers nearby.

Cle Elum has gone through the roof pricing wise over the last years as more people realize they can work remotely.  Pierce County will get you hit with the Sound Transit licensing premium which can add about $700 minimum to your tabs (even to the FJR).  King & Snohomish Counties outside the RTA (Regional Transit Authority or Sound Transit) area is normal tab fees ($65 for the FJR each year).  There are maps for the areas covered by the RTA.  But you will want to verify the address is outside the area to save a bunch of money in taxes. 

There are flights out of Bellingham and Everett now served by major airlines.  

We live just outside the RTA area about halfway between Auburn and Black Diamond.  

 

[McRide]

I think you hit a great mish-mash of possible places in and around the Seattle metro area.  Those on the peninsula and island are obviously a ferry ride to get to SeaTac and bigger stuff, but you get used to it and motorcycles have FIFO priveleges and reduced rate.  Family had a cabin for years on Whidbey and loved spending time there.

If you look at other stuff on the other cardinal sides of SeaTac than you mentioned--consider Enumclaw, Yelm, and Lacey areas.  Or there's North Bend to the east of Seattle that is also a good launch point to head to Eastern Washington...some fun stuff to ride in the rain shadow of the Cascades.  Even a few people commute from Cle Elum area.

Sheesh... thanks for the nudge to consider the SE corner. Taking it even further to a 2.5 hr commute to SeaTac... say hello to Ellensburg and Yakima. Places to evaluate. Thanks Matt.

 

[McRide]

Property prices are going through the roof right now.  No inventory and huge demand.  You might look around the Spokane/Idaho area.  You'll get more for the money, better riding opportunities and the flight is just 30 minutes to Seattle to connect.  And a friendlier property tax climate.  Still have major hospital(s) and trauma centers nearby.

Cle Elum has gone through the roof pricing wise over the last years as more people realize they can work remotely.  Pierce County will get you hit with the Sound Transit licensing premium which can add about $700 minimum to your tabs (even to the FJR).  King & Snohomish Counties outside the RTA (Regional Transit Authority or Sound Transit) area is normal tab fees ($65 for the FJR each year).  There are maps for the areas covered by the RTA.  But you will want to verify the address is outside the area to save a bunch of money in taxes. 

There are flights out of Bellingham and Everett now served by major airlines.  

We live just outside the RTA area about halfway between Auburn and Black Diamond.  

Your Auburn area looks great and at $250 per foot... those are 2008 prices in San Diego. I'm all-in with that! Spokane is also great value, and central to Kelowna and Helena, gets me thinking about the real or imagined inconvenience of twice a year travel or... it's a fair trade-off in order to save big money on a property..Property Taxes in Washington start at 1% of the purchase cost? The RTA pays for mass transit projects? Add $700 to tags??? What do tags outside the RTA cost? Looking at Cle-Elum.. Thanks for that suggestion. We'll get down there as well next week.

 

[escapefjrtist]

With the area(s) growing, IMHO another big item to consider is traffic. Retired? Traffic is (a little) better outside commute times, but still can be bad at times. No lane sharing either! We're about 20 minutes east of Everett in rural Snohomish County. Shopping and medical care is 10 minutes away, all on back roads and no traffic. Major medical care is Everett. Outside of the RTA tax zone.

~G

 

[Auburn]

Your Auburn area looks great and at $250 per foot... those are 2008 prices in San Diego. I'm all-in with that! Spokane is also great value, and central to Kelowna and Helena, gets me thinking about the real or imagined inconvenience of twice a year travel or... it's a fair trade-off in order to save big money on a property..Property Taxes in Washington start at 1% of the purchase cost? The RTA pays for mass transit projects? Add $700 to tags??? What do tags outside the RTA cost? Looking at Cle-Elum.. Thanks for that suggestion. We'll get down there as well next week.

Please stop by if you have time. PM for contact info. 
 

 

[FJRay]

I like the way you think... we are very attracted to Anacortes and will work out from there for days 1-4. We're spending Thursday on San Juan... just want to inhale some Gulf Islands. Mt. Vernon, on the west side of the river, is appealing and outside the dreaded RTA. Thanks Ray

Enjoy the island. I lived there for 30 years. Finally got run off by tourists and the ferry system. Make sure to get your reservation early or you don't go.

 

[McRide]

Enjoy the island. I lived there for 30 years. Finally got run off by tourists and the ferry system. Make sure to get your reservation early or you don't go.

Reservation... check.

 

[Ignacio]

Kindly keep this thread on topic to the poster's intent please.  And take the political crap elsewhere.

Thanks

The Management

 

[saread]

Given all the suggestions for the Puget Sound area, I'm partial to the Anacortes area.  Nice little seaside town with a deceptively sophisticated population.  The west side of town facing the San Juans is nice territory.  The only downside is that SR20 can get busy sometimes and it's a bit of a dreary ride from Mt. Vernon out across the flats.  Still, a good place to live.

 

[McRide]

Given all the suggestions for the Puget Sound area, I'm partial to the Anacortes area.  Nice little seaside town with a deceptively sophisticated population.  The west side of town facing the San Juans is nice territory.  The only downside is that SR20 can get busy sometimes and it's a bit of a dreary ride from Mt. Vernon out across the flats.  Still, a good place to live.

Agreed. We're staying there for a few days... it does really seem to check all the boxes. Thanks.

 

[Mortenk]

I live smack in the middle of Seattle (King County) and my FJR tab is less than $200/year (which includes $106 RTA tax). I ride all over, but prefer the west side of the Cascades (greener, cooler, and prettier). The riding possibilities are endless around here. I am also looking at investment options around here (2nd home), but prices have gone up a lot in the past few years. Port Angeles still seems very affordable, but it's a bit far from everything, and it can be a bit on the cool side...

Best of luck finding your next place to live!  

 

[jammess]

Puget Sound?? I lived near Poulsbo from '70-'78 and I really liked it but that was then.  Today? You can have it in fact you can pretty much have all of Western WA.  Talk about a zoo....whoa!  Seattle was great when I could ride through Seattle on I5 at high noon any day of the week in 30 minutes or less.  Try that today.  In fact you can pretty much have all of the Willamette Valley from Eugene to Portland no thanks to the bazillions of Californians that have just flat inundated the place. Grrrrr....

 

[Bounce]

My brother moved to TX after 20 years in the area. I lived there for a couple of years while going to College in Kirkland. My experience was in the late 70s and even then, CoL was exponentially higher than "normal America" (I think they call it "fly over country").

During his time there (getting back about 5 years ago) and he hated everything about it except when NOT there (hiking and camping). Costs are crazy since the mass migration of Californians to go work for Microsoft (right after I left but it was beginning at the time). CA came up there, prices were lower than cra-cra-LA so they never negotiated and drove prices outside the reach of locals.

And that's not even counting all the insanity and coddling of the rioters at the cost of millions to local taxpayers. Nope. No way.

This isn't political. It's financial.

 

[jammess]

I kind of still do like the areas around Spokane so long as its not Spokane Valley.  Cheney comes to mind as maybe doable.  Now if I could just talk my wife into it.  Palouse wouldn't be too bad either but Western WA?  No way!  Come to think of it I could handle Republic no problemo.  Vermont would be another good place but the taxes would be a b#@*ch.  But maybe that serves to keep 'em out that and the weather so maybe not such a bad thing.  But never Western WA!!!  And I gotta put Western OR right in there with 'em.  If only I could turn back the clock, if only......

I'm done.

 

[Knifemaker]

Have a relative with a cabin on the shore in Olympia. Real nice place to visit, couldn’t say what it’s like to live there however. 

   My daughter lives on the east side of the state In Kennewick. 

So, west very pretty.

East, not as pretty, but nice wineries. 

 

[BobbyBlue]

  Well, first off, you'll be among some really great Forum folks, who i can tell ya from experience will be there for you, but my opinion is a little biased as a (now)24 year old young man from the PNW lives in my chest, courtesy of his loving family and the great people of Washington and the University of Washington, Seattle. 

  Having said that, after 4 years we returned to Texas in '18 because as beautiful as the scenery is, and it Is !, we couldn't eat it and our tent was deemed too loud for the homeless camp we had our eye on at the 5/90 interchange...so we're back to bullets, bibles, bbq and behemoths, but we do have some affordable space to call home. i really admire your "walking community" sensibility though and wish y'all the best finding your new place !

Tickin' and Kickin',

Bobby

 

[wetwolf]

Spokane housing is pretty tight, if it goes on the market, it's generally gone in a week. But, it's a great place to live. Less than an hour to get to Seatac. Worth a look. Been here for 30 years now. There is absolutley NO WAY in hell I would live on the west side. It is going into the shitter.  YMMV