# Hopefully moving to Washington State.



## chellej (Jun 16, 2012)

Had a phone interview yesterday and they called me last night and informally offered me the position, hopefully will have the formal offer in the next week or so.

So for you folks that live in the area, I will probably be officed in Kent initially and then hopefully be able to move to Spokane.

Am I correct that the cost of housing is significantly lower in Spokane?  We are looking to downsize considerably...kids are gone and our parents have also all passed away so it will just be DH and myself (and hopefully only one or two dogs).

Any advantages to either location.  We like Spokane because it is only a 2 hour drive to our vacation/retirement property in Northern Idaho.

Would love to hear everyones opinions of each and areas to avoid


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## Skatduder (Jun 16, 2012)

I would think rents and housing would be less in Spokane. Its little a small city, close to the Idaho boarder. Where Kent is close to Seattle with the expence that goes with it. 

Flights deals from Seattle to Spokane run about $140/rt if you shop. Then you could rent a car for your Idaho get aways. I have done this to go skiing in Idaho.


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## Karen G (Jun 17, 2012)

chellej said:


> So for you folks that live in the area, I will probably be officed in Kent initially and then hopefully be able to move to Spokane.
> . . .
> Would love to hear everyones opinions of each and areas to avoid


We lived in Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle, for 25 yrs. & moved 5 yrs. ago to Nevada.  When it's clear and sunny, there is no place more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest. The only problem is that it's rarely clear & sunny! We were sick of the rain by the time we moved.

The traffic is quite heavy everywhere so you may want to consider living as close to your office as you can. If you will be in Kent just a short time and then will move to Spokane, I assume you'll be renting instead of buying.

Congratulations on your new job and I hope your move will be a great adventure.


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## learnalot (Jun 17, 2012)

Karen G said:


> We lived in Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle, for 25 yrs. & moved 5 yrs. ago to Nevada.  When it's clear and sunny, there is no place more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest. The only problem is that it's rarely clear & sunny! We were sick of the rain by the time we moved.
> 
> The traffic is quite heavy everywhere so you may want to consider living as close to your office as you can. If you will be in Kent just a short time and then will move to Spokane, I assume you'll be renting instead of buying.
> 
> Congratulations on your new job and I hope your move will be a great adventure.





Karen G said:


> We lived in Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle, for 25 yrs. & moved 5 yrs. ago to Nevada.  When it's clear and sunny, there is no place more beautiful than the Pacific Northwest. The only problem is that it's rarely clear & sunny! We were sick of the rain by the time we moved.
> 
> The traffic is quite heavy everywhere so you may want to consider living as close to your office as you can. If you will be in Kent just a short time and then will move to Spokane, I assume you'll be renting instead of buying.
> 
> Congratulations on your new job and I hope your move will be a great adventure.



The rain and the traffic are both more intense on the west side of the state.  Spokane doesn't get anywhere near the same amount of rain and the traffic is much less of an issue as well.  And yes, real estate is certainly less expensive there.

Congratulations!


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## ricoba (Jun 17, 2012)

Anymore, I'd rather live in Spokane than Kent.

I grew up on the "wet" side, er West side of the State, north of Kent in the Edmonds area.

Eastern Washington is known as the Inland Empire, and it by far the much drier and more arid part of the State, but I guess you know that since you have vacation property in Northern Idaho.

If I had to choose now between the two, I'd definitely choose Spokane over Kent simply due to the weather as Karen pointed out.  Spokane is a milder four seasons climate where as Kent has one season, the rainy season!  

Also, when I lived in Washington, it was always pretty much cheaper to live over the Cascades in the eastern side, but I don't know if that is so true anymore.

Congratulations on your new opportunity.


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## easyrider (Jun 17, 2012)

Kent is in the central west area of Washington where the weather is mild and wet. There are plenty of places to rent in the area. If you can rent close to work it would be better than getting stuck in traffic each day. 

Spokane is in north east Washington and has all 4 seasons. Summer can get really hot above 100 and winter can get really cold below -15 and snowy. Spokane is a fairly good size area with some heavy traffic at times. To buy or rent in some areas of Spokane can be about the same as South Seattle. 

I would rather be in Kent than Spokane.

Bill


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## chellej (Jun 17, 2012)

easyrider said:


> .
> 
> I would rather be in Kent than Spokane.
> 
> Bill



Curious why...city size, weather, atmosphere, crime , etc.....

We are leaning towards spokane just because it is 2 hours closer to where we bought acreage for a 2nd home in Idaho.   Housing also seems to be less expensive too.


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## DaveNV (Jun 18, 2012)

chellej said:


> Curious why...city size, weather, atmosphere, crime , etc.....
> 
> We are leaning towards spokane just because it is 2 hours closer to where we bought acreage for a 2nd home in Idaho.   Housing also seems to be less expensive too.




My guesses would be that Spokane has much harder winters than Kent.  There is more "to do" in Western Washington.  SeaTac airport has more direct flights to more cities than Spokane does.  Spokane is more isolated, in terms of getting to other major cities on the coast, so it means more driving to get across the state, before you can begin to get to those other cities.

Having said that, Spokane is also a great city, with a lot of infrastructure to support its citizens.  It's a great jumping off point to the other places you like to visit, and it's a nice place to raise a family.  I know a woman who uprooted her family from their home in Hawaii, and moved the whole lot of them to Spokane, just because she enjoyed it so much after visiting a sister there.  That says a lot for the place, if it can get a Hawaiian to move there, right?  

Dave


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## ricoba (Jun 18, 2012)

BMWguynw said:


> I know a woman who uprooted her family from their home in Hawaii, and moved the whole lot of them to Spokane, just because she enjoyed it so much after visiting a sister there.  That says a lot for the place, if it can get a Hawaiian to move there, right?
> 
> Dave



You know Hawaiians affectionately call Las Vegas the 9th Island!   

So, what does that say about Vegas or the many Hawaiians who now call our desert oasis, paradise?  

BTW, I am with the Hawaiian who moved to Spokane.  Sure there are lots of things in the Everett, Seattle and Tacoma area, but man-oh-man it sure does rain a lot!  So, I guess if the Hawaiian was from Puna, they'd feel right at home living south of SeaTac!


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## easyrider (Jun 18, 2012)

Yes, the reasons Dave give are what Im thinking for us. Especially that Spokane has a long cold winter. 

Im not a big fan of the city Kent but really like the area around Kent. Lake Tapps and Des Moines are areas we like near Kent. There is so much more to do on this side of the state. The downside for me is the traffic. Certain times of the day in certain areas traffic is terrible. Because of the traffic and rain I wouldn't want to live here either.

Spokane is nice. Its a big area with plenty of golf course and places to fish. The recession has really hit Spokane hard. Many businesses up there have closed. The long drive on I 90 to get to Spokane is really boring.      

Even though I wouldn't want to live in either location we do visit both areas. Mostly Seattle on the west or Cour de Lane to east of Spokane.

Bill


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## ampaholic (Jun 18, 2012)

I've lived south of SeaTac (Des Moines) and Spokane both (currently).

Spokane is much dryer and has just as good of outdoors man type of opportunities - except deep sea fishing  .

Spokane has less crime (gross) but about the same per capita. Housing is somewhat depressed here currently - cost of living is lower.

One thing to consider is "drive to" resorts - the ones on the coast are further from Spokane and the ones in the Rocky Mountains are closer.

It is also more than 2 hours from Everett to Spokane (more like 5 hrs.) at least the way I drive.


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## hypnotiq (Jun 18, 2012)

If it were not for my job, I would not live here. 

Enough said.


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## ricoba (Jun 18, 2012)

hypnotiq said:


> If it were not for my job, I would not live here.
> 
> Enough said.



So, I am curious, where did you move from and where would you move to if you weren't in Redmond?

Like I have said, I grew up north of Seattle, and I really wouldn't want to move back there by choice.  But I know many folks who love the area, rain and all.


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## hypnotiq (Jun 18, 2012)

ricoba said:


> So, I am curious, where did you move from and where would you move to if you weren't in Redmond?
> 
> Like I have said, I grew up north of Seattle, and I really wouldn't want to move back there by choice.  But I know many folks who love the area, rain and all.



I grew up a military brat, so I lived all over CA (San Diego, Camp Pendleton, El Toro, Fresno, Bridgeport), Nevada, and Japan (Okinawa).

I move to PacNW to work @ Microsoft 12 years ago. At first I was OK with it but overtime, the area has slowly wore on me. Between the weather and the traffic, it just sucks the life out of you up here. :ignore: 

I will admit, when it is nice in Seattle (those 2mo out of the year), its BEAUTIFUL! It just doesnt happen enough for me...

Honestly, I would probably move back to San Diego given the choice. But my daughter is only 2, so I have 16 more years before I can really go anywhere. LOL


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## jancpa (Jun 18, 2012)

Which two months out of the year is Seattle beautiful?


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## learnalot (Jun 18, 2012)

jancpa said:


> Which two months out of the year is Seattle beautiful?



July and August are the most consistent.


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## Karen G (Jun 18, 2012)

jancpa said:


> Which two months out of the year is Seattle beautiful?


Usually August is a good month. It doesn't seem to warm up or get sunny until after July 4. Often the first couple of weeks of September are nice. It's really hard to predict.

More times than not in the 25 yrs. we lived there, it was cool enough on the 4th of July to require jackets to watch the fireworks and often it was rainy.  When my daughter was on the golf team in high school part of the official uniform was a rainsuit and she usually wore in most every day of golf season.  I remember many days spent in the rain & cold watching softball games, and often games were rained out completely.


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## DaveNV (Jun 18, 2012)

It's a banner year if Seattle sees 80 degrees before July 4th, and the rest of July can be sketchy, too. (I live an hour or so north of Seattle, and it's currently 56 degrees and gray here.  The first day of Summer is just two days away.  Niiiicce...   )

If anyone says they want to come visit here, I always advise them to come the middle two weeks in September.  Weather is usually great, the crowds are down, kids are back in school, and the Fall storms haven't started yet.

The Navy and my travel bug have taken me all over the world, but this area was always home base for me.  I've lived around this area off and on all my life.  It never gets to be too bad, but it also never gets to be much better. And it's always changing.  As the local saying goes, "If you don't like the weather here, wait about ten minutes."  

Given my druthers, someday I'd like to live in St. George, Utah.  It's a beautiful little city about two hours from Las Vegas, but centrally located to everything I enjoy most about the desert Southwest.  Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Moab, Sedona, Las Vegas, and even the California Coast are all within several hours drive.  And they even have a Costco there.  

Dave


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## hypnotiq (Jun 19, 2012)

Like everyone else said, mid July to Mid Sept is "summer" around here or as I like to call it, the only 2 dry months.


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## chellej (Jun 19, 2012)

BMWguynw said:


> It's a banner year if Seattle sees 80 degrees before July 4th, and the rest of July can be sketchy, too. (I live an hour or so north of Seattle, and it's currently 56 degrees and gray here.  The first day of Summer is just two days away.  Niiiicce...   )
> 
> 
> Dave



Well it sounds good to me...it is 82 here right now expected to be 89 today with 73% humidity... and summer is 2 days away


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## Karen G (Jun 19, 2012)

chellej said:


> Well it sounds good to me...it is 82 here right now expected to be 89 today with 73% humidity... and summer is 2 days away


Where do you currently live?


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## ampaholic (Jun 19, 2012)

hypnotiq said:


> Like everyone else said, mid July to Mid Sept is "summer" around here or as I like to call it, the only 2 dry months.



Seattle there are two seasons here: Wet and not so wet.

Like we used to joke about Fairbanks Alaska - There are only two seasons around here: Winter and July!!


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## DaveNV (Jun 19, 2012)

ampaholic said:


> Like we used to joke about Fairbanks Alaska - There are only two seasons around here: Winter and July!!




I heard that once about the four seasons in Minnesota:  Pre-Winter, Winter, Post-Winter, and Next Winter.



Dave


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jun 19, 2012)

There's lots of information out there about climates in different cities.  I won't go into details but I will throw out a few comments.

Seattle is a marine climate; Spokane is interior continental climate.  Which means Spokane has more extremes - summer and winter.  

As many others have noted Spokane is significantly drier than Seattle - in fact Spokane is close to a desert climate.  Most of the countryside around Spokane is pine forest of the type that grows where mountain forest peters out into a desert climate. In that region, the forest is a function of elevation.  To the south and west of Spokane elevations drop and the area immediately becomes scrub land where it is not farmed.

Summers in Spokane are warm and dry.  Ninety degrees in Spokane is quite pleasant, because there is little humidity.  Thunderstorms are rare.

Winter is the wet season, and snow is common in wintertime.  Snow often sticks for a significant amount of time.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 19, 2012)

Congratulations on your big news, Rochelle.  How exciting for you.  I love Washington State.  Is there a more beautiful place?  I don't think so.


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## Rent_Share (Jun 19, 2012)

In the 80's I traveled to Seattle, Kent and Spokane, always refered to Spokane as the Fresno of the Pacific Northwest,,,,,,,,:hysterical:


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jun 19, 2012)

Rent_Share said:


> In the 80's I traveled to Seattle, Kent and Spokane, always refered to Spokane as the Fresno of the Pacific Northwest,,,,,,,,:hysterical:



I've always thought of Yakima as being the Fresno or Bakersfield of the Pacific Northwest.  I've usually thought of Spokane as more like the Redding of the Northwest.


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