# Retired Couples Looking to Live in WA State



## Opportunity (Oct 18, 2020)

Would there be any interest in renting single family homes in Washington State (west of the Cascades) for retirees on a tight budget?  Rent can be below market rates for folks willing to do some light work around the home.  Must have a clean criminal record and good rental/mortgage history.  Interest in gardening would be a serious plus.  I am just trying to obtain some preliminary information in terms of the level of interest.


----------



## Manatee (Oct 21, 2020)

We considered moving to WA some 20 years ago and found found the cost of living made it prohibitive. 
We did move to Arizona and found that many of our neighbors were from WA and had retired to AZ for the same reason.


----------



## Opportunity (Oct 22, 2020)

Thank you for the response.  Yes, that makes sense.  Prices are ridiculous here, even outside of Seattle when compared to places like Arizona.  I have been looking there as well as TX and NM.


----------



## Lewkat (Oct 22, 2020)

You could not pay me to live in that state.


----------



## Opportunity (Oct 22, 2020)

Why?  I think NJ has its own issues (crowded and high property taxes + income tax)


----------



## Lewkat (Oct 22, 2020)

But, we are such a civilized state.


----------



## Butterfly (Oct 24, 2020)

A while back (couple of years) a friend moved to the Seattle area because she had some extended family there, but she moved back.  She said the cost of living there was through the roof.


----------



## Butterfly (Oct 24, 2020)

Opportunity said:


> Thank you for the response.  Yes, that makes sense.  Prices are ridiculous here, even outside of Seattle when compared to places like Arizona.  I have been looking there as well as TX and NM.



Albuquerque is a pretty good place to live, but both Santa Fe and Taos areas have MUCH higher costs of living.


----------



## Brookswood (Dec 27, 2020)

Alas, WA state is off track.   Let's just say the politicians in this one party state no longer think they need to be very accountable to the people who work and pay taxes.  

Oh, speaking of taxes,  the governor wants to institute an Income Tax in the state for the first time.


----------



## Happyflowerlady (Jan 26, 2021)

If I were not too old to live somewhere else, my first choice would be western Washington State . I lived on the west coast about halfway between Seattle and Portland, near a tiny town called Mossyrock. I lived near a large lake, where there was great fishing and swimming, and lots of walking trails in the state park near there. 
Sometimes, we made a day trip to the ocean, and I really miss living too far away to go and stand with my feet in the ocean. 

It rained a lot, but when the sky was blue, it was the most beautiful blue. My home was at the foothills of Mount St. Helens, and I rode my horse back into the mountains on the old Weyerhaeuser logging roads. Sometimes, we took the Jeep and went camping up there, which was a lot of fun.
 I miss that life. 
There were huge blackberries growing wild everywhere, and I had all of the berries that I wanted every year. 

As long as you lived away from the large cities, the cost of living there was not that bad, and we didn’t have the people and all of the traffic that you would living near Seattle.


----------



## Brookswood (Jan 26, 2021)

Keep in mind that the governor is trying to institute an income tax in Washington state.   And there are a whole slew of various tax increases cooking in the legislature this year.   For example, if the gas tax increase and the carbon tax go through, WA state will have the highest gasoline tax in the nation.


----------



## Aneeda72 (Jan 26, 2021)

My brother and his entire family live in WA state and my 95 year old mother lives there.  The state treats its seniors very well, IMO.  They all pretty much live in Seattle.  The traffic is terrible and I did not think the mall was that great.  That’s all I got


----------



## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 27, 2021)

I love ...or loved (before last year) the state of WA. My brother has a farm in Cathlamet and I love visiting. Not sure what is happening to WA and OR this past year...but it’s not good.


----------



## debbie in seattle (Feb 28, 2021)

Don’t forget the homeless!   It’s terrible.    I live north of Seattle.   Never go to,Seattle any longer due to them.


----------



## officerripley (Feb 28, 2021)

Brookswood said:


> Keep in mind that the governor is trying to institute an income tax in Washington state.   And there are a whole slew of various tax increases cooking in the legislature this year.   For example, if the gas tax increase and the carbon tax go through, WA state will have the highest gasoline tax in the nation.


But all but 9 states have state income tax, likely because they found out they couldn't operate any other way, not in a global economy, especially states with a lot of industry like Wash.; so I'm amazed the Wash. governor held it off this long.


----------



## jujube (Feb 28, 2021)

I love Seattle with a passion and at one time considered moving there.  It was a great place to visit because I have relatives to stay with there and there were so many wonderful things to do and see.  

I don't think I'd like it at the moment because of all the "unpleasantness", but I have great hopes for many more visits in the future when things settle down.  

I couldn't live there, though, full time at least.  Summers, yes.  Winters, no.....too gloomy.


----------



## Lewkat (Mar 1, 2021)

I've read a couple of books recently about folks who moved to Seattle and really tore that city apart with its disgusting homeless situation.  They abhorred living there and couldn't wait to move.  Reason they were there was due to professional transfers.  One of those books is based on a real person, titled, Where Have You Gone Bernadette?  Of course it is fictionalized, but the message was clear.


----------



## Brookswood (Mar 2, 2021)

officerripley said:


> But all but 9 states have state income tax, likely because they found out they couldn't operate any other way, not in a global economy, especially states with a lot of industry like Wash.; so I'm amazed the Wash. governor held it off this long.


It's a bit more complicated than that. In place of a state income tax, Washington has very high other taxes such as a B&O tax on business, very high sales tax, very high liquor taxes, very high car tabs, very high gasoline taxes, and a whole assortment of excise taxes.  *Nothing in in the new income tax proposal  reduces these other taxes by so much as a penny.*   Not so good.

Oh, the governor is calling the Capital Gains income tax an 'excise' tax to get around the state constitution.  Really, Mr. Governor? What other words will he redefine in order to get around the constitution? It's a dangerous precedent.   My two cents.


----------



## Brookswood (Mar 3, 2022)

debbie in seattle said:


> Don’t forget the homeless!   It’s terrible.    I live north of Seattle.   Never go to,Seattle any longer due to them.


A local TV station showed video of a street in downtown Seattle. In the past few weeks several people have died violently on that street due to weapons.  The street looked like a junk heap.  Several local businesses on the street have closed up for safety reasons and won't reopen unless the situation changes.  

Later that evening I saw a photo of a building in Ukraine that had suffered some damage from an explosive.  Somebody had died there due to weapons.  Businesses on the Ukrainian street had closed up for safety reasons.

The street in Ukraine and the street in Seattle looked eerily similar.


----------



## Manatee (Mar 3, 2022)

Stehekin would be better than Seattle.


----------



## Lara (Mar 3, 2022)

Opportunity said:


> *Would there be any interest in renting* single family homes in Washington State (west of the Cascades) for retirees on a tight budget?....*Must have a clean criminal record and good rental/mortgage history.  Interest in gardening would be a serious plus.*  I am just trying to obtain some *preliminary information in terms of the level of interest.* Prices are ridiculous *here*, even outside of Seattle


Wait. Are you soliciting for renters where you live in WA, or are you looking to move to WA?


----------



## dseag2 (Mar 3, 2022)

Lara said:


> Wait. Are you soliciting for renters or are you looking to move to WA?


It's an old thread and I think he/she was looking for clients.


----------



## Lara (Mar 3, 2022)

I was confused because all comments were advising her not to live in WA


----------



## Murrmurr (Mar 3, 2022)

Lara said:


> I was confused because all comments were advising her not to live in WA


I'm sure the OP was soliciting.

Two helpful hints: 1) check the date on a thread, and 2) check the number of posts/messages of someone who peaks your suspicion (hover your mouse over their icon and look in the bottom left corner). The OP of this one logged only 3 messages.


----------



## Ruthanne (Mar 3, 2022)

Lewkat said:


> I've read a couple of books recently about folks who moved to Seattle and really tore that city apart with its disgusting homeless situation.  They abhorred living there and couldn't wait to move.  Reason they were there was due to professional transfers.  One of those books is based on a real person, titled, Where Have You Gone Bernadette?  Of course it is fictionalized, but the message was clear.


What disgusting homeless situation?  I have not heard of it.  My brother lives near there.  He seems to like it.


----------

