I'll post more later when I have time...I am at work right now and busier than )(*&^%^. Short version...I may be moving your way very shortly, most likely Seattle area. Got lots o' questions graemlins/clonk.gif

Travis - Check out the top 2 threads here... http://www.camaros.net/forum/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=23

and use the directory link (upper right part of page) and search on "Location" to find members in the areas you are looking at. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

What kind of questions do ya have?

I'm yet another Seattle Area member... Looks like there are a bunch of camaro folks around here! smile.gif

Hey matt- I just looked at your website- Beautiful car! Love those seats!!!! :cool:
Hey, what happened to your old Edelbrock finned valve covers? You wouldn't want to sell them would you?(I've been casually looking for a set)
smile.gif

Ok, heres the deal. I have put in for a job transfer/upgrade that will require moving to the Seattle area, or maybe Portland, OR area (they haven't completely decided yet). Because of the current organization I am in, I have a better than average chance of getting the job. Its what I have been wanting for a long, long time...it also comes with a nice pay increase and a whole lot more hands on than what I do now. I need some ideas on where to look on the web for apartments/houses...I did a real estate search and it came back with about 70,000+ websites :eek: , mostly listing very high $$$ stuff. I am also curious about vehicle emmision testing/inspections...they don't do it here, but I don't know if it would be worth while to drag all my beaters up there if they all have to pass emmission testing. How are the winters up there along the coastline? I checked weather.com the other day when it was 103 here and it was like 70 in Seattle...got to love that! Any suggestions on a smaller town outside of Seattle within reasonable driving distance? I have never been to Washington or Oregon, got real close last year on vacation in Idaho (this job would have me covering Idaho as well) and absolutely loved it, once you get out of the desert smile.gif I've got more questions...just short on time right now. Thanks!

The 'seattle' area is pretty big. Where exactly is it that you would be working?

There are suburb city's all around the area- so you just need to know where exactly work will be and you can pick from there. Traffic can be pretty bad depending which areas you are coming from/going to...

Some places around here are very expensive- others are pretty reasonable. For instance I live in kirkland, which is a city on the "east side" (east side of lk washington) and this area is MEGA expensive... But if you go north or south- it gets considerably cheaper.

Weather here is pretty good- Summer is always nice, not too hot- Fall, winter, spring- Expect a lot of rain- You get really nice days mixed in, but a lot of rain. Not much snow- Maybe 1 or 2 days a year here in the city, Of course if you drive for about an hour you can get to the MTS and there is great snow for skiing and snomobiling and stuff.

Emissions, not too bad- Inspections every fifth year for cars less than 5 years old- Then they are every other year for cars 5 years old to 25 years old. Cars 25 years and older are exempt from emissions testing.

smile.gif

Thanks Ben! Weather sounds great up there. Unfortunately I have no idea where I would be stationed out of...like i said it could even be the Portland area, then again it could be out of my house (they do some of these positions that way). I hope to know something in the next few days...the job bid ended yesterday. Being anxious sucks :D

Hows the fishing up there?

Well,
If you plan on staying in the "inner city" from Seattle north to Lynnwood it's $$$, I live about 40 minutes north of Seattle. Not quite the country, but close to it. I bought a 2000sf new construction home on a 1/4 acre for 185k. The same house in Seattle would be ~ 350k (or more)
The taxes and laws are tougher in King than Snohomish county. You probably wouldn't want to live south of Seattle, and east is hi-$$$ as posted above. The commute is crappy no matter where you live around here, Although there are times when you can look at the snow capped mountains or puget sound and it is really beautiful! The weather is mild although we've had several days this summer above 90. Lot's of overcast most of the year! Really good beer! Mariners! hunting,fishing,off-roading etc etc.
Good luck no matter what happens!

Dan B

185K for 2000sf on 1/4 acre???!!! Damn, I have been in OK too long...around here (depending on location of course) that would run you around $100K. I figured the cost of living was higher but never thought it would be that much different. Any ideas on what an approx 2000sf older home with 2 acres would cost? Say up to 20-25 years old? At those prices it's no wonder so many "west coasters" are moving here. Any suggestions for a real estate agent for the outlying areas?

I know I don't have the job yet but really trying to get all my ducks in a row. If it happens it is going to be pretty dramatic...I ain't moving all this stuff clear across the country!

Stay clear of south Seattle, like Tukwilla and anywhere close to Southcenter. The very south end of King county is nice like Kent, Federal Way and Burien (Although close to airport) and much less expensive than the north end of King co.

This is why I like the Seattle area:

Skiing/snowboarding, fishing, hiking, biking, coffee, microbrews, pro sports, drag and vintage road racing, school bus jumping, Puyallup swap meet, the Roadster show, boating, camping, low crime rate, no state income tax, and concerts at the Gorge at George.

I like the people here too, they're genuine. And if you own a Camaro, you'll be in good company. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Originally posted by travis:
185K for 2000sf on 1/4 acre???!!! Damn, I have been in OK too long...around here (depending on location of course) that would run you around $100K. I figured the cost of living was higher but never thought it would be that much different. Any ideas on what an approx 2000sf older home with 2 acres would cost? Say up to 20-25 years old? At those prices it's no wonder so many "west coasters" are moving here. Any suggestions for a real estate agent for the outlying areas?

I know I don't have the job yet but really trying to get all my ducks in a row. If it happens it is going to be pretty dramatic...I ain't moving all this stuff clear across the country! I'm thinking Seattle prices are down right reasonable!! Well at least compared to here where $450K gets you a 1500sq 30yr old home on a 6,000 sq lot. :eek:

Dennis,
I just read a report that claimed 1700 Californians move to Washington every month! And that the 1700 figure is dramatically lower than during the dot com era. I don't care who moves here or what country you're from originally, but please, learn to drive in the snow! A few winters back, I saw a dude standing next to a ditch with the nose of his ferrari sticking up :eek: I offered to call a tow truck, he said ones on the way, I asked why he was driving a Ferrari in a snow storm, He replied that it was his first bout with snow and he didn't think that it would be that slippery graemlins/sad.gif

Dan

Deejay, those are some of the exact same reasons I would like to move out there. I was not aware though that there was no income tax...I have been paying income tax for so many years that I just assumed everybody else did too :confused:

Dennis, I work with a woman from CA who has a 2600sf home on a 1/2 acre lot (I cant remember where she said it was though). She bought the house for something like $15k many, many years ago when this area was just a little rural community. She says it appraised last year at $500k :eek: I don't get it...I know most companies have a higher pay scale in places like CA, NY, etc, but it isn't THAT much different than anywhere else. How could a young family just starting out ever afford to live in a real house at those prices??? There ain't THAT many doctors and lawyers out there. $450K around here will get you a an easy 4000sf or larger BRAND NEW home just about anywhere. I just don't get it.

It does make me feel a little better though that Washington has no income tax. Between that, and the nice pay increase this job would give, sounds very do-able for me.

Thanks much for the replys...any other suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

We may not have income tax butttttt, we do have the nations second largest tax on gasoline, alcohol and tobacco :eek: . WWWWEEEEEE. :D

They are gonna get your money from somewhere folks. Higher state income taxes in Minn. but lower gas taxes and property taxes, its all a spinning spending machine. Have a CPA run an audit on your current state income and the taxes you pay there, then he can compare to Wash. Bet you find out other hidden fees and taxes take you to the same actuall take home pay.
If they need it, they get it.
:eek:

Originally posted by travis:
Dennis, I work with a woman from CA who has a 2600sf home on a 1/2 acre lot (I cant remember where she said it was though). She bought the house for something like $15k many, many years ago when this area was just a little rural community. She says it appraised last year at $500k :eek: I don't get it...I know most companies have a higher pay scale in places like CA, NY, etc, but it isn't THAT much different than anywhere else. How could a young family just starting out ever afford to live in a real house at those prices??? There ain't THAT many doctors and lawyers out there. $450K around here will get you a an easy 4000sf or larger BRAND NEW home just about anywhere. I just don't get it.
It's all about location, location, location!!! There are places here in CA where $100K - $200K will get you land and a big new house. I have co-workers that live in places where they don't have 20 really nice days of weather in a year! Too hot, too cold, too much fog, too humid, all the just mentioned with the wind blowing 50mph, flooded streets when it rains and everything you own gets sand blasted when the wind plows and it isn't raining and flooding...

My co-workers make the same money I do though and they have more cars, boats, and RV's. They vacation in Hawaii every year and every other weekend they leave town in the RV with the boat in tow. They also have HDTV's and the latest PC's and gadgets to play with. Every time I talk to them I hear about all their stuff!!

My house cost me 2-3 time what theirs does so I don't have as many toys and don't take as elaborate vacations and don't do too many long weekends but I don't feel the need to escape the way they do. I can be on the beach or in the redwoods within 1/2 hr. I can have dinner in San Fran, Monterey or Santa Cruz on a week night and be home by midnight. A tank of gas buys a top down drive on PCH on a Saturday. You can't beat the weather as well.

The bottom line is it's a trade off depending on what you enjoy. By the way I just read where right now is the first time ever where more folks are leaving CA than moving here.

Here's a neet web site to compare living costs from place to place...

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html

Dennis, that is a very interesting and helpful site. Thanks! It was also quite, umm, enlightning...some of the cities I was looking at would require me to make an extra $40-50K a year to keep my current standard of living :eek: Some though were more reasonable and more in line with the pay increase this transfer would provide. Olympia sounds interesting...smaller city, commutable distance to seattle, considerably lower cost of living that a lot of other areas. So does Everette and Tacoma.

Travis! NO. DONT go to Olympia. They hate cars there, especially older ones. They're all environmentalists. If you hit a squirrel in the road they'll toilet paper your house and call you a murderer!

Tacoma is nice because it's very old car friendly and there is quite a bit of industy. OK, you're saying "That's a good thing?" put it this way..if you need sandblasting work, interior work, welding supplies, sandblasting supplies, hard to find parts, most types of old -car services are here. You won't find that in Seattle. Also, Tacoma has cheaper properties and larger properties than Seattle. My house cost 130K 2 years ago. I have 1/2 acre and already a 60x35 shop built. You can't do that in some of those tightly compacted areas of N. Seattle. Also, they're rejuvinating the downtown Tacoma area and it's looking great. We also have the Tacoma Dome so we don't have to drive to the middle of nowhere to see a concert! AND we're ALOT closer to Mt. Rainier. smile.gif

Panther, thanks for the reply. Wouldn't want to stuck with a bunch of tree hugging hippies, now would I ;) Tacoma sounds interesting. Any idea on the population? How far is it Seattle? The house prices sound much more inline with what I could afford since we just have a single income. Any chance you could send me some pics of the area? I checked out the pics of your car but suspect there aren't too many palm trees in washington ;)

I have spend a few vacations in the Seattle area, and I really enjoyed myself. Beautiful area, about 3/4 the size of SF only alot cleaner and alot less homeless. The golf was cheap also. :D I will plan a return visit within the next few years, the seafood was killer also....Mike graemlins/beers.gif

:D My signature is old. I keep deleting it but somehow it keeps coming back! I don't have any pics but I'll go out and take a few. I drive up to Seattle every weekend. it's exactly 32 miles to downtown Seattle from my house. But, if you'll be working IN Seattle you'll probably need an hours drive one way to work. But,They are in the middle of starting a commuter train from Tacoma to Seattle. Housing can be VERY cheap in Tacoma, but there are some areas that you wouldn't want to live in too, so you have to take the good with the bad. Outlying areas such as Lakewood, Puyallup, Spanaway, Milton, Fife, Federal Way (King co.) still have room for a house and a nice shop. ALso, check out Auburn and Kent. It may be a few days, but I'll snap some pics of the area.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I ought to know something about the job in the next week or so...my application is under management review right now.

Auburn/Kent area is worth consideration, commuting distance to both Tacoma and Seattle, affordable, lots of space, close to the racetrack (quarter mile and road course), and full of old gearheads. Hey, isn't there a residential area just across from the racetrack, over that very jumpable fence? How cool would that be?

You may want to consider renting for a while, make sure you're upwind from the meth labs.

Originally posted by deejaygee:
You may want to consider renting for a while, make sure you're upwind from the meth labs. [/QB]LOL. You got that right! "If it sounds too good to be true"... The ONLY way to get a decent house with acreage in the northwest is to move far enough away that either your commute is lengthy, or you wind up in a less than desireable community. Dennis didn't pay 3x more than his coworkers because he lives in a frumpy area...He lives in a nice area convenient to everything. The coworkers probably live in a "sea of homes" off the beaten path.
When I was house shopping 2 years ago, I had 3 choices: South, towards Kent/Auburn etc. North, Everett/Marysville or further. or East (I couldn't see paying 350k or more for a house w/no land.)
I chose north because property values are going to climb dramatically in N. Snohomish county. They are building like crazy in Marysville, Lake Stevens, Arlington etc. You have 2 N/S freeways (9 and 5) and property taxes are WAY cheaper than in King county. Some of the worst traffic problems are just South of Seattle (Kent, Auburn, etc.) Get out of marysville heading North, and the speed limit jumps up to 70!
I guess all of this discussion is moot if you find that you're gonna wind up in Portland or stay in Ok. There is no "miracle community" where everything is cheap and close to work and traffic is non-existent! I agree with the above statement that maybe renting for a short time would allow you to get more familiar with the areas. Good luck no matter where you go graemlins/thumbsup.gif