Moved from Willamette Valley Oregon to Olympia 18 mo ago and feel the same way. WA is gorgeous with all the water and trees and with Olympic National, Mt Rainier and St Helens close at hand. But cost of living is incredibly high here (not like Bend though!). No income tax in WA but you get hit every other way possible. higher car tags, higher property tax, expensive fish permits, expensive snowpark passes, expensive state park passes and sales tax rates in the top 5 of US states. Also, my family is struggling to find medical providers here despite a supposedly more robust medical infrastructure than OR. Because of these things basically everything here to include dining and entertainment is substantially more expensive than W OR.
I was expecting better bike access and sidewalk infrastructure but compared to Corvallis/Eugene most of the W Wa cities are behind in this respect. Also, the state pulls in SUBSTANTIALLY more revenue for schools yet every district is complaining about budget overruns and insufficient funding. From a financial perspective, if you are a six figure earner, WA might shake out better because then your overall tax burden is probably less than what you would pay in income tax to OR.
Plenty of other things to like though. Lots of parks, more water activities, strong job market, great people, and overall more entertainment and dining options.
Bottom line, second the Eugene, OR suggestion. You have a decent airport in town. You will also pick up a few more weeks of sunny days and have access to some nice beaches in Newport and Lincoln City.
Draconigae_Camper_81 t1_j9x8ei4 wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in What cities/towns are cheap but not too isolated? by wtfisreality
Moved from Willamette Valley Oregon to Olympia 18 mo ago and feel the same way. WA is gorgeous with all the water and trees and with Olympic National, Mt Rainier and St Helens close at hand. But cost of living is incredibly high here (not like Bend though!). No income tax in WA but you get hit every other way possible. higher car tags, higher property tax, expensive fish permits, expensive snowpark passes, expensive state park passes and sales tax rates in the top 5 of US states. Also, my family is struggling to find medical providers here despite a supposedly more robust medical infrastructure than OR. Because of these things basically everything here to include dining and entertainment is substantially more expensive than W OR.
I was expecting better bike access and sidewalk infrastructure but compared to Corvallis/Eugene most of the W Wa cities are behind in this respect. Also, the state pulls in SUBSTANTIALLY more revenue for schools yet every district is complaining about budget overruns and insufficient funding. From a financial perspective, if you are a six figure earner, WA might shake out better because then your overall tax burden is probably less than what you would pay in income tax to OR.
Plenty of other things to like though. Lots of parks, more water activities, strong job market, great people, and overall more entertainment and dining options.
Bottom line, second the Eugene, OR suggestion. You have a decent airport in town. You will also pick up a few more weeks of sunny days and have access to some nice beaches in Newport and Lincoln City.