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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6392 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:35 pm
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this question is many years out for me, but still out there nonetheless.
i don't like seattle. it has little to offer me other than a nice job market (generally). now that i'm married and all, and kids are surely around the 5-year-corner, i'm starting to think of places to live that better suite my desires for a family setting. this includes, but is not limited to:
- smaller community (under, oh, 100,000, prefer <20,000)
- decent schools
- decent neighborhoods
- low traffic / noise
- close to outdoor activity (backyard preferred)
- still able to buy more than an acre of land without costing an arm and a leg
i grew up in a small community in wisconsin (unincorporated when i was there, maybe 2000 people). we lived on an acre of land and there was a forest behind the house that we'd run around in all year long. i could ride my bike anywhere within the community (probably 10 mi radius) as an 8 year old and never worry about a thing. maybe i'm romanticizing the past, like people do as they age (31 now...), but being in seattle is a far far cry from that kind of lifestyle.
i'm also not completely naive and realize that i will be working for a long time. i also believe it will become more and more expensive to get to/from work if you're driving (i bike 98% of the time). so, somewhere semi close to a decent job market would be good too. i'm happy to take a pay cut if the cost of living decreases likewise, but quality of life goes up (i.e. living somewhere i like).
part of me appreciates the year long bikeability of the W side of the state. but another part of me really wants some sun every now and again and wouldn't mind putting on the XC skis at the doorstep like one could on the E side of the state. similarly, N seems more appealing because of the cascades.
areas that i think i would like include the following areas:
- snohomish
- mt. vernon/b-ham
- mazama
- NE WA (colville) --- i seem to be quite drawn to the NE corner of the state...
anyway, thoughts are appreciated. personal insight on the schools, quality of life, and all the other little things are going to be most helpful.
ETA: i'm a civil/structural engineer and hotpantz is a physical therapist.
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mike Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 6398 | TRs | Pics Location: SJIsl |
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mike
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:43 pm
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iron wrote: | but another part of me really wants some sun every now and again |
Skagit/Whatcom is on the short list. I suggest somewhere in the rainshadow like Anacortes...
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DIYSteve seeking hygge
Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 12655 | TRs | Pics Location: here now |
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:08 pm
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iron wrote: | areas that i think i would like include the following areas:
- snohomish
- mt. vernon/b-ham
- mazama
- NE WA (colville) --- i seem to be quite drawn to the NE corner of the state... |
Snohomish/Colville ==> no jobs within bicycling distance unless you are very lucky
Mt. Vernon/B-ham/Mazama ==> Great places, but trust fund babies and/or Canadians have pushed up real estate prices to the point that a working family can't afford to live there
There's a saying in the Methow Valley: "Bring your own money because the jobs around here don't pay enough to live here."
My suggestion: Get a big fat trust fund
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6392 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:16 pm
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BigSteve wrote: | My suggestion: Get a big fat trust fund |
so, you're saying you're going to adopt me?
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treeswarper Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 11279 | TRs | Pics Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:20 pm
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I hear California is nice..
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16093 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
North Dakota or Alberta
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Scrooge Famous Grouse
Joined: 16 Dec 2001 Posts: 6966 | TRs | Pics Location: wishful thinking |
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Scrooge
Famous Grouse
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:54 pm
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Wenatchee is great for families. Good schools with active parents. Good for both atheletics (school) and 'culture' (city-wide).
All mainline city stores.
As you've seen in Wenatchee TR's, definitely hiking out the back door, plus it's within an hour of both the Chants and the coulees.
It's not cheap. Housing, in particular, is expensive. Lots of job opportunities for Hotpantz; I'm not so sure about the engineering. It's a growing area, but medicine is still the biggest business.
Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
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Randy Cube Rat
Joined: 18 Dec 2001 Posts: 2910 | TRs | Pics Location: Near the Siamangs |
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Randy
Cube Rat
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:00 pm
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Olympic Hillz or North Bend....?
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Allison Feckless Swooner
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 12287 | TRs | Pics Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes |
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:03 pm
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Bham if you are a Dem and Wenatchee if you are a Repub. Both of those places lean hard in their respective directions.
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
www.allisonoutside.com
follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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DIYSteve seeking hygge
Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 12655 | TRs | Pics Location: here now |
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:06 pm
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Whoa bro, that's Olympik Hillziron wrote: | BigSteve wrote: | My suggestion: Get a big fat trust fund |
so, you're saying you're going to adopt me? |
Adopting you wouldn't get you any closer to a trust fund. I won't inherit a dime and, if my retirement strategy works, I'll spend my last cent the moment before I kick. God bless the child whose got his own.
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33teeth Member
Joined: 25 Aug 2008 Posts: 420 | TRs | Pics
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33teeth
Member
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:24 pm
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Snoqualmie and North Bend aren't perfect, but they offer a lot of what you're describing. I walk to work (Mechanical Engineer) and the area meets the criteria you described. Maybe not on cost, but it's not so bad.
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Riverside Laker Member
Joined: 12 Jan 2004 Posts: 2818 | TRs | Pics
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Are you willing to change professions?
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6392 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
Member
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:45 pm
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i would prefer to, but now's not the greatest time to do so. i picture hanging on to what i have for at least 5 years, and then making the move to a less-populated, more low-key area, making less $ of course.
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onemoremile Member
Joined: 26 Dec 2010 Posts: 1305 | TRs | Pics Location: Sequim |
Have you looked at the Olympic Peninsula? It seems to me that some of the categories you mentioned are attainable.
Price of acreage is still 'reasonable'. They are subdividing lots of the farms near Sequim into 1-5 acre places. Towns have decent community atmosphere. The schools seem fine, plus Peninsula College has the program for the last few years of high school so that the kid get the HS diploma and an Associates at the same time. Not sure about city/county projects for civil/structural engineering, but the indian tribes seem to have lots of projects. Close to many outdoor activities. For physical therapy, there are so many old people and medical centers in the area that it might have plenty of opportunities. The downsides are it might be too quiet/small, lots of old people, lots of Californians (the kind that irritate me), long drive/ferry ride/Hood Canal Bridge mercy from Seattle.
“Arbolist? Look up the word. I don’t know, maybe I made it up. Anyway, it’s an arbo-tree-ist, somebody who knows about trees.” G.W. Bush
“Arbolist? Look up the word. I don’t know, maybe I made it up. Anyway, it’s an arbo-tree-ist, somebody who knows about trees.” G.W. Bush
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Brian Curtis Trail Blazer/HiLaker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001 Posts: 1696 | TRs | Pics Location: Silverdale, WA |
Kitsap County is worth a look. Schools in the Central Kitsap SD are excellent, especially the high school. I'm not sure about housing prices. You want to be in Central Kitsap, not Bremerton. It is close enough to Seattle to make a night out in the big city possible but far enough away to make life less city like.
Outdoor activities abound, but the Cascades are a bit farther away then you are probably used to. We really enjoy it here on the west side of the Sound.
that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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