Moving to the PNW... Tips/Suggestions

Hello all! My girlfriend and I are currently in Flagstaff, AZ (a nice little mountain town about 2 hours away from the desert). We are planning on moving in July to the PNW and are planning a trip to visit mid-March. We're flying into PDX, driving as far south as Corvalis, through Seattle and as far north as Bellingham, and flying back out of PDX the following week.

I am originally from the Seattle area (born and moved away when I was 12). She's from small town WY and did her undergrad in Bozeman. We like the small town feel but wouldn't mind doing something bigger. Just not too big where we are neck deep in the city or dealing with a 40 minute commute.

Any suggestions of towns/suburbs to scope out while we are there? We're in our mid-20's with no kiddos so chill nights out are usually our thing. Great local brewery recommendations will also be greatly appreciated. Definitely excited to move and meet people!

 

eugene is decent if you dont mind the hippies lol. Are you just in search of a nice town to call home? leaning towards anything in particular from your research?

 

I think Eugene might be too South. From research, I think Vancouver, WA or Beaverton to be near Portland. On the Seattle side, maybe Edmonds or Bellingham?

 

Seattle is the biggest small town you'll ever live in.

 

I live in Shoreline, which is adjacent to Edmonds. Edmonds/Mukilteo are both nice communities. East of Seattle are places like Redmond/Kirkland and further out in the valley is Fall City/Snoqualmie/North Bend all about 30 min east of Seattle. I grew up in North bend and it's a small town but has a lot to offer especially for people into the outdoors. I've been wanting to move back into the valley.

 

Thanks, man. I'll definitely add those places to the list to check out. How do you like Shoreline?

 

Bring an umbrella... and a snow shovel.

 

We have 4 snow shovels... Nothing we're not used to

 

There are plenty of smaller towns North of Seattle and South of Tacoma. Depending on where you are looking to work, there are plenty of option. Whatcom County and Skagit County (north of Everett) have some smaller towns that still are affordable.

As far as breweries go we have more of those than we know what to do with! Whats your beer style?

 

Boise ID. Small yet big enough to have a decent airport, local breweries, quick access to the great outdoors, good night life, etc. Taxes in Washington way too high + way too many hippies.

 

There are a lot of small towns around Seattle. Starting south going north there's Yelm, Sumner, Buckley, Enumclaw, Maple Valley, Snoqualmie, North Bend, Carnation, Duvall, Monroe, Granite Falls, basically anything that tucks up against the mountains. Between Olympia and Portland there's Chehalis and Centralia. Both are nice towns, but your a decent drive from something bigger. I'v spent quality time around most of the outlying Seattle area and doesn't really matter where you live, there are a lot of great people. Now Portland on the other hand.... well........their just weird.

 

Learn to drive in snow, 95% of people who live their don't

 

What kind of work do you do? How far are you willing to commute? Lots of beautiful places aren't so great when it comes time to make a living

 

If you want lots of local beer and small town look at Bend or Redmond Oregon not Washington

 

We'll add those to the list to check out too then. She likes the lighter beers, I'll drink most beers except for IPAs.

I think ID is not an option for us. We're fed up with living in a Red State, especially with the work that we do.

We're plenty experienced in the snow - Don't worry about that!

I do health education with a potential to do work from home, she's a counselor/victim advocate. We're not looking to commute far but I think with our jobs, we can stay away from big cities. I think we're willing to give up views and beauty for accessibility and a nice community. It kills us that the closest Trader Joe's and Costco in 1.5 hours away

 

215,000 people is not a small town.

Increasing taxes and extreme liberalism starting to take hold in WA are making it less and less likely that I will move back there.

 

Then get ready for aren't. There is two schools of thought for Driving in the Snow in Washington State.
1. Drive so fast I will beat every flake down to the ground
2. Drive so slow I will wait for every flake to hit the ground before I get there

 

Hahah sounds about right. We have folks here that are from Phoenix or California that have never seen the snow before and it's scary

 

@jaaack312 Try your best to find a town and job that don't require you to use I-5 or most other highways around the cities. The traffic will kill you. Where you find a job will be the deciding factor but the smaller towns east of I-5 and west of the mountains offer a good combination of small town life, light traffic and accessibility to a lot of outdoor activities while keeping the drives to larger city conveniences within reason.

 

Bend/Redmond has little traffic and had a very nice community