<p>Both our children now live near Seattle. We’re from the Midwest. Love it here, but ultimately, we want to be closer as a family.
We’ve made several trips to Seattle to explore, but are so discouraged by the cost of everything! I know there are some smaller towns that might be more reasonable, but for now we also need to keep working, and to do so, we will need to be near a major metropolitan area. It doesn’t really work to “retire” to the Seattle area either, because the value of our home is about 1/3 the value of similar homes in the Seattle area, so much of our retirement savings will need to be applied toward housing.</p>
<p>Does anyone from the NW have more encouraging news?
Are there more reasonable neighborhoods we have yet to discover? Areas should we avoid?</p>
<p>How does Portland, Olympia or Tacoma compare?</p>
<p>Portland seems cheaper, but rentals are hard to find.
I know several couples that have retired to Bellingham and love it. (although they moved from California, so they had plenty of money after selling)
Spokane?</p>
<p>If you need to be close into the Seattle area, there are neighborhoods that are starting to become more “gentrified”, but are more affordable.
Columbia City in Seattle
[Columbia</a> City, Seattle WA Home Page](<a href=“Columbia City, Seattle WA Home Page”>http://www.rainiervalley.org/)</p>
<p>Some parts of West Seattle might be in your budget, if you tell me where you are looking, I can tell you if that area is considered pricey or not.</p>
<p>We have always planned to retire back in Seattle. Two of our children now live there, and sibs, parents and other family members still live there. We used to worry about the cost of housing there compared to where we live…not a worry any more since we will be about 70 before we can retire. By then maybe the kids will have a house with a room in the basement.</p>
<p>My town is WONDERFUL. In good traffic, 65 minutes south of Seattle. Lots of culture - two symphony orchestras, our own opera company, three colleges and universities. Lots of playhouses. Houses are roughly half what they are in Seattle, maybe a little less. Cost of living is relatively low. Rental houses and apartments are readily available and affordable. We are an hour from the coast. Close to Olympia Peninsula, close to Mt. Rainier.</p>
<p>EK4: rentals are not difficult to find in Portland. Not sure why you think that. </p>
<p>Portland, for us, has been one-third less expensive than Seattle for what seems to be to be a higher quality of life here in Portland (shorter commute, easier traffic, better municipal services (don’t know abou schools), great attitude toward bicycles. But jobs are a challenge here.</p>
<p>DMD has more accurate & up to date info than I have I’m sure.
I would also add that Portland has much better public transportation than Seattle.
It’s nice not to have to deal with driving and parking.</p>
<p>D goes to school in Tacoma. It has a bad reputation, however the hilltop neighborhood near her school is very pleasant, with great views of Puget Sound in some places. She says there is a bad part of the city, but I sure didn’t see it. The downtown is small but has some attractions, like the glass museum. For fun on one visit, I went to a few open houses. Prices were not bad at that time, compared to what I have heard of Seattle. </p>
<p>One of the great things about all the cities up and down I 5, is that Amtrak links them all. Very easy to get from one to the other. </p>
<p>You do need to look at the weather carefully, depending on how you feel about overcast. There are some big differences in amount of rain received, and the number of cloudy days in various spots on Puget Sound. </p>
<p>In Bellingham recently I met a few newly arrived retired folk. Though that is one of the overcast spots, I was jealous. It is a very pleasant town.</p>
<p>An acquaintance of mine has moved to Vancouver, WA, which I understand is just across the river from Portland. Maybe things are cheaper there than in Portland (if Portland is a possibility for you)?</p>
<p>I need more sun than the Pacific NW provides…but if my kids lived up there AND if they had kids of their own, I’d be very tempted…</p>
<p>Gig Harbor is a beautiful little place about an hour southwest of Seattle. You also might want to look at Bainbridge Island, where your commute into downtown is a ferry ride.</p>
<p>Eastern Washington is a completely different climate than the Seattle side of the state, and a 4-hour drive.</p>
