So a friend and I are thinking about moving to Washington state

[NicoleWasHere]

Of course, not anytime soon, because her and I still need to save up money, and learn to drive and all that.

But I brought it up to her, earlier today. And both of us are planning on moving there, eventually, once we can get somethings saved up, and whatnot. Neither one of us are planning on breaking it to our families until we're sure we're ready, which more than likely won't be until later next year.

So, I wanted to ask, what is life in Washington state like? Is it expensive? Does it really rain a lot? Do we NEED a car? What about job opportunities? Stuff like that. Pretty much, all we want is the basics, because with both of our family situations, we're not planning on staying here, in Missouri.

[HelpMeRhonda]

Why there? Just wondering..

[Just Kill Me]

You have the internet.

Get a job at Whole Foods...

Washington, particularly Seattle is a great town to be homeless in.

My sister has actually taken to asking for change before they can ask her.

Anyway, my sister rides her bicycle and takes the bus without any complaints.

[NicoleWasHere]

I hope you know, we're both serious. We also chose Washington state, because we want to get as far away from our fucked up families as possible.

[Just Kill Me]

Move to DC and become a bike courrier. Hell any large city for that matter, my sister and her husband did that for years.

[southernbelle]

Washington State is absolutely beautiful. Depending on the area, it can be relatively expensive to live there. I have family in Seattle, and they love it.

There are some gorgeous islands off the coast of Washington that are really neat to visit on weekends. In some of the metro areas, in my experience, you wouldn't necessarily need a car, but it's been a few years since I've been there. I'd probably recommend getting one, just in case.

Here is a website where you can compare the cost of living in your current town and in various areas of Washington, or other states.

Cost of Living

[LynnieD]

Never been to Washington State, but think about ANY move before you do it.

[NicoleWasHere]

Washington State is absolutely beautiful. Depending on the area, it can be relatively expensive to live there. I have family in Seattle, and they love it.

There are some gorgeous islands off the coast of Washington that are really neat to visit on weekends. In some of the metro areas, in my experience, you wouldn't necessarily need a car, but it's been a few years since I've been there. I'd probably recommend getting one, just in case.

Here is a website where you can compare the cost of living in your current town and in various areas of Washington, or other states.

Cost of Living

Thanks, Southern! I can't do the website, though, because it told me I don't make a reasonable enough salary. O__o I will, soon, though.

Never been to Washington State, but think about ANY move before you do it.

Of course. It's not like we're leaving, tomorrow. We're gonna do research, and save up money before we go anywhere.

[Penny Lane]

How exciting. Make sure you have something to fall back on, though. I have a cousin who up and moved to Detroit a few years ago. She had a very hard time finding a place to live, a job, and people to meet because she didn't do her research before hand.

I wish you the best of luck even if it is a long ways off.

[azoria]

I live in Seattle, we came here in March.

It.rains.all.the.time. The gloomy weather seems to just suck the energy out of people here, they appear to mope around a lot. Seattle-ites aren't outgoing on a good day, and because of all the rain it's an indoor climate most of the year, they just hole up with their books and computers in a personal fog.

Housing here is very very expensive, right now running ahead even of California. In order to rent an apartment you have to pay application fees, get backround checked, employment checked and income verified, have references; commonly rentals even stipulate that your rent can be no more than 30% of your gross monthly income. So even if you pass all the other hurdles they may still not rent to you. We are middle aged middle income people with verifiable work histories, but with no previous rental references (we were home owners) and had a difficult time finding a place. I'm paying more in rent here for a small 2 bedroom apartment than we made in mortgage payments on a 10 acre place with a 4 bedroom house.

I think the economy here is headed south. Every job I have been interested in has required mandatory pre-employment drug testing. In Seattle if you want to work you're going to pee in a cup. I's degrading. Even the Goodwill requires a drug test, no shite. I have never seen such a rampant culture of drug testing.

I think the whole drug testing farce can be blamed on the general tolerance for drug use here. You will get busted for drinking a beer in the park with your hambuger barbecue, but I see people smoking joints at the bus stop downtown and nobody cares. Employers are very rigorous about the drug testing because of the widespread drug use. It's a real backlash.

Housing is outrageous. The climate is miserable. The people are very clannish. Drug use is tolerated and widespred. Employers are beyond cautious. The only real saving grace is that it is a very pretty place.

You decide.

[msdeb]

i visited there a year ago. it rained the entire time. people drive fast on the freeway like it isnt raining. i'm from CA and am used to crazy traffic, but that i wasnt used to.
even though it rained non stop, people were still getting their cars washed at the car wash.
my friend lives in Gig Harbor, moved there from here. He is sick of the rain, but loves the people.

[sputnik]

i've never been. but i have friends who live there and they liked it. but i also have friends who lived there and liked it, but then moved to portland, oregon and absolutely love it there.
if you don't want to have a car, do your research and go to a city that has good public transportation. and check out craigslist for a place to live. especially if you're just starting out, it's easier to rent a room in someone else's flat than to rent something on your own.

from what i've read of your posts, you need to get out of your house. the sooner the better.

[ariesallover]

Something to think about: money saved in advance that is purely emergency money. Have you set parameters for the amounts you'll need for different steps of the move?

When you move, have enough money saved up to carry you in case it takes a while to get a job - if you don't already have one lined up. I had enough friends move first and then job hunt; it was risky, but it worked well for some of them.

If you have your job lined up before moving, save anyhow: ideally have enough money pocketed so that if you get canned, you'll be able to live decently (that includes covering any medical bills and perhaps another emergency) in the time it takes to network and hustle your way into a new position.

Final thought on saving, because I am a painfully close witness to this sad story: your job is fine; your income is fine; however, you have nothing saved up to carry you more than 2 weeks. You're healthy, working, no sign of getting laid off; in fact, your health insurance through work is peachy. Then you get hurt. Have enough money saved to get you through this period in case you get canned and your health insurance similarly gets terminated. Regardless of what any official rule might say, it can and did happen to others - best to go in prepared. Maybe you'll have to push your move date back by a bit in order to save, but the security could be worth it.

Good luck! That's an area I considered moving. Different vibe and personality than the East Coast, which I have welcomed. More laid back. I prefer soggy days to sunshine, so I'm a weirdo like that.

[Butterfly]

Move to Forks ... Anyways, I would love to live in Washington.

[DeadDwarf]

I think the economy here is headed south. Every job I have been interested in has required mandatory pre-employment drug testing. In Seattle if you want to work you're going to pee in a cup. I's degrading. Even the Goodwill requires a drug test, no shite. I have never seen such a rampant culture of drug testing.

I live in southern California and I have had mandatory drug testing for every job I have had, except for a pizza place I worked at in high school. I've worked mostly in corporate jobs though- insurance, accounting, sales, etc. It's been a requirement for every "adult" job I have applied to, but I would assume places with higher turn overs don't care about drug testing. I just expect to be drug tested before I am hired.


Anyway, Nicole, good luck and let us know what ends up happening!