Washington State - best areas near Seattle?

[mtnwkr]

Lived in WA my whole life. Look at Bremerton and /or Port Orchard. Just a quick ferry ride to Seattle. If you make it up this way let me know.

 

[gbflyer]

Stay on the plane for 2 more hours and get off in SE Alaska.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I am indifferent on the relative distance to Seattle for areas that are within 1 hour drive. If its of the view that there are 0 livable areas within a 1-2 hour drive then no need to comment here.

The issue with that question is it depends, as we've been pointing out what is a 30-40min drive at one point in the day is a 2hr drive a different point in the day. Also I forget the specific geographic area but some of the area north of Everett falls into the edge of the Olympic rain shadow, that's something to keep in mind too potentially to knock back how much drizzle you deal with over the year.

 

[TVW]

If traffic is your primary concern then Boise is the only major western city I know of that is actually building for tomorrow instead of yesterday. The transportation department in Oregon has been an abysmal failure. I grew up in Portland and even as a kid I couldn't understand why I-5 had only two lanes through downtown Portland compared to the three or even four lanes leading into the city. Guess what, it is exactly the same now as it was decades ago, no change. They are so ungodly backwards. Washington is almost as abysmal as Oregon, but at least Washington shows minimal effort to play catch-up with yesterday, though they never manage to address the traffic needs of today, much less a planned future. Boise is the exact opposite of Oregon and Washington. Their freeways are constantly expanding with future growth in mind. Like any city Boise gets a rush hour, but short of a major accident I've never had to reduce to crawling speed in Boise.

I don't necessarily agree about Boise, they are notoriously behind on keeping the infrastructure on pace with the growth. I lived in Star for quite a few years and the 2 lane highway from Star to Eagle is evidence of this....or the fact they are just now building a direct path for Hwy 16 to get to the Interstate and many other examples. Yes, the traffic isn't as bad as a major metropolis like Seattle, but it's still pretty horrible.

OP, might want to consider Ellensburg or Cle Elum. I know it's not a suburb but I have buddies who have been doing the commute to the West Side from that area for 20-30 years and they've survived. Then when the weekend comes you are completely out of the rat race that is Seattle and have better access to good recreation.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

More to consider: buying anywhere in King county will significantly increase your property taxes. Property owners will also pass those increases along in rent. So in general, buying/renting in Snohomish or Pierce will be cheaper than in King county. But you then have to deal with I-5, 405, 167 or 169. So you really have to choose between cheaper rent

Agree with TVW. Might be harder to find a rental in Cle Elum, E-burg should be fine but is another 20+ minutes. Unless the pass closes, your travel time to Seattle will be much more consistent.

The ferry system is robust and reliable. So living across the sound is not a bad option if your travel into Seattle is more limited and generally within the hours the ferries run. Lots of construction guys that live across the sound buy those e-bikes, scooters or one wheel things to get cheaper ferry fees but still have a solid mode of transportation once in Seattle.

 

[Fujicon]

I don't necessarily agree about Boise, they are notoriously behind on keeping the infrastructure on pace with the growth. I lived in Star for quite a few years and the 2 lane highway from Star to Eagle is evidence of this....or the fact they are just now building a direct path for Hwy 16 to get to the Interstate and many other examples. Yes, the traffic isn't as bad as a major metropolis like Seattle, but it's still pretty horrible.

OP, might want to consider Ellensburg or Cle Elum. I know it's not a suburb but I have buddies who have been doing the commute to the West Side from that area for 20-30 years and they've survived. Then when the weekend comes you are completely out of the rat race that is Seattle and have better access to good recreation.

You're right about Star. Cops are notorious in that 25 zone, and being their own jurisdiction not much you can do about that. The difference I had in mind was more freeways than connecting highways, but you made a good point for the Star-to-Eagle highway.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I am indifferent on the relative distance to Seattle for areas that are within 1 hour drive. If its of the view that there are 0 livable areas within a 1-2 hour drive then no need to comment here. Never been to Seattle before, not really interested in left/right politics or policies/regulations out of my control, I don't have kids and my focus outside of work is rarely impacted by a far winged state government. Taxes is really the only thing I am worried about that concerns the government. this has been the case thus far. If I hate it ill simply leave.

I just want to hear locations and reasons for commenting that location. I appreciate comments with locations to avoid and why they feel that way. It is preliminary so I just wanted to see what are some good areas to begin a search. If I get to a point where I am closing in on a place to live I'll make sure I ask members for their opinion, and look for any glaring red flags. No where is perfect.

1-2 hours from Seattle, I would say no. 1-2 hours from Tacoma and you have places to work with.

 

[hikenhunt]

If taxes are your main concern, we aren't living free because there isn't income tax. Between our sales taxes, property taxes, and sometimes the highest gas prices in the nation, they get more than their fair share.

 

[TVW]

If taxes are your main concern, we aren't living free because there isn't income tax. Between our sales taxes, property taxes, and sometimes the highest gas prices in the nation, they get more than their fair share.

You ain't wrong. I live close to the border with WA and as soon as you cross that sucker gas is instantly $.80 to $1.00 more.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

You ain't wrong. I live close to the border with WA and as soon as you cross that sucker gas is instantly $.80 to $1.00 more.

Same with Oregon. We were in Walla Walla a few months back and the gas in Oregon was a full $1 cheaper per gallon than a half mile away in WA. It pisses me off too because we make it here.

 

[dog]

If taxes are your main concern, we aren't living free because there isn't income tax. Between our sales taxes, property taxes, and sometimes the highest gas prices in the nation, they get more than their fair share.

Very true. Also don’t forget the user fees on everything and the RTA tax. It cost over $600 for registration for my pickup every year. They definitely make up for no state income tax. Plus, there’s talk they want to add a state income tax on top

 

[slvrslngr]

Kitsap, take the ferry to work and walk to the office (assuming you’re working downtown).

 

[ODB]

If taxes are your main concern, we aren't living free because there isn't income tax. Between our sales taxes, property taxes, and sometimes the highest gas prices in the nation, they get more than their fair share.

I hear you guys are going back to value-based vehicle tabs as well? Where is Tim Eyeman??

 

[Bachto]

If you really want to live in Washington and want to be near the mountains. Just move to Wenatchee. you are a couple hours to Seattle if you want to go visit and you are minutes from the mountains and such. It's not a huge city but big enough to give you all the amenities.

 

[bowhiker88]

Vetoed the opp. Thanks guys. Pay wasn’t worth the move

 

[hikenhunt]

I hear you guys are going back to value-based vehicle tabs as well? Where is Tim Eyeman??

Well its been 4-5 years and I'm still waiting for the voter approved $30 car tabs to kick in...

 

[Fujicon]

Bottom line is that there is no such thing as a perfect state. But clearly, when you look at the three west coast states and the ding dongs driving them into the ground, it doesn't take a genius to realize some states are less perfect than others.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

Vetoed the opp. Thanks guys. Pay wasn’t worth the move

That is the correct decision


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[Spoonman]

Idaho or Montana are good places to look just out slide of Seattle!

 

[bowhiker88]

That is the correct decision


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Maybe it was maybe it wasn’t. I’m likely the only person with enough information to determine that