ER's flock to Seattle

[brett]

Washington State would be a wonderful place to retire. Many beautiful areas. Extremely friendly people. Probably our favourite state to visit which is why we have visited so many times. We could not have better neighbours! So to all you Washingtonians...thanks folks for do many happy times in your state. Camping, resorts, and the San Juans.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fermion I dunno, for $700,000 I can get a 10 acre ranch with a 2500 sq ft house and still be closer to Seattle than a hour wait for the Bainbridge ferry.

If you timed the ferry right, then you would not have to wait for an hour.

[OrcasIslandBound]

If I was going to to retire to Washington,.... Wait! I AM GOING TO RETIRE TO WASHINGTON! To Orcas island.

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[OrcasIslandBound]

BTW you can make reservations for many of the ferrys now, including the San Juan Islands ferrys

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[HadEnuff]

DW loves to watch the TV shows about young couples buying homes. We live in an area where housing has not appreciated much, if at all, (read:economically depressed) for a long time. It would be nice to think someone would fork over a bunch of money for our very modest home on a very modest street ,but it ain't gonna happen.
We were watching one wherein a couple was looking for a home somewhere in San Francisco. Their budget was maybe 800K. They found one listed for 795, but to buy it, it went for over a million.
How is that for a windfall. List for 795 and watch the sharks take the bait until you over a million.
I wonder how real estate bubbles happen.

[Senator]

Housing prices are a function of wages. Very few people buy a home for cash and live in it, it's all about monthly the payment.

Every time property taxes or mortgage interest increases, it makes the home worth less, unless wages have a corresponding increases. Demand exceeding supply forces some people to pay a higher percentage of what they can afford, but that eventually stops.

Look for wages available to pay housing costs to go up, or home prices to go down.

Of course 40+ year mortgages, lower qualifications, and government programs, etc. may let the prices run for a few more years.

[aja8888]

We are staying in the affordable south (Texas) were $700+ K is three 2,000+ Sq/Ft houses. And, with oil down, it's getting more affordable.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrcasIslandBound If I was going to to retire to Washington,.... Wait! I AM GOING TO RETIRE TO WASHINGTON! To Orcas island. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

good call - someone I worked with in Houston retired there several years ago

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 We are staying in the affordable south (Texas) were $700+ K is three 2,000+ Sq/Ft houses. And, with oil down, it's getting more affordable.

definitely more affordable than SEA/PDX but IMO much less livable

[hurricane harry]

I sold my 432 sq ft condo in Ballard last April. It went for $225,000 and even the real estate agent was amazed. Two more years and I am done with Seattle.

[bld999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 We are staying in the affordable south (Texas) were $700+ K is three 2,000+ Sq/Ft houses. And, with oil down, it's getting more affordable.

As usual, house prices are so relative: 700k /6000sf = $117/ sf, which might
pay the hard construction costs only in Seattle. That leaves lot, entitlements, design and any other soft cost off the budget.
Of course if oil rises to 75 in the next couple years, houses in your area will likely follow proportionally.

There are plenty here who would find Seattle to be untenable, and it is testing the patience of those who have been here a while, as we remember how it "was".

There probably wasn't cheap accommodation in the Klondike during the rush, and the tech gold around here so far keeps rolling. When it stops, we may be buying homes below replacement cost, too [if we're still here]

Rumor has it that Oracle is looking for 3000+ personnel for it's new cloud initiative here; that's in addition to the vacuum that exists in software talent supply. SpaceX is apparently poaching Boeing and Microsoft for engineers for it's new venture a few miles south of here. These are all paying remarkable salaries.

That said, it's still possible to drive 1 - 1.5 hours east and be in the desert, or 2.5 hrs to the ocean. It ends up being your perception of what you have to give up for what you get in a living location. Good thing we don't all like the same circumstances...

[Fermion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter definitely more affordable than SEA/PDX but IMO much less livable

Sorry, I couldn't hear you for the moss that is growing on my head from this miserable wet winter in Seattle.

[Rosie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrcasIslandBound If I was going to to retire to Washington,.... Wait! I AM GOING TO RETIRE TO WASHINGTON! To Orcas island.

Yep, that's the other area right near the top of our Nice Place to Visit list. We'll be there (well, specifically, Lopez Island) in June!

(Our absolute favorite place is the Victoria BC area on Vancouver Island. If it weren't such a PITA for a US retiree to relocate there, it's likely that's where we would have wound up. We looked into it, but, nah. We're not wealthy enough to be able to manage that.)

[OrcasIslandBound]

We can hardly wait. September 1st!

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[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fermion Sorry, I couldn't hear you for the moss that is growing on my head from this miserable wet winter in Seattle.

Maybe you can weave garments from the moss, sell them on street corners, and use the profits to help pay for the insanely high housing costs in Seattle. Just kidding around.

[Fermion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrcasIslandBound We can hardly wait. September 1st! Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

I have a ton of pictures of Orcas Island and the other nearby islands from our last sailing trip. We stopped on Orcas and ate lunch (actually I think we spent the night at the marina there). Very pretty area.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bld999 As usual, house prices are so relative: 700k /6000sf = $117/ sf, which might pay the hard construction costs only in Seattle. That leaves lot, entitlements, design and any other soft cost off the budget. Of course if oil rises to 75 in the next couple years, houses in your area will likely follow proportionally. There are plenty here who would find Seattle to be untenable, and it is testing the patience of those who have been here a while, as we remember how it "was".

I first came here during the Vietnam War. The Smith Tower was the tallest building in town, and once the workday was over not many people around downtown other than military and whores. Boeing was King, and the big Boeing bust was starting. Soon came Gates and Redmond, and a fantastic transformation. I have 2 sons whose lives were basically formed by the wonderful climate of opportunity for talent and initiative that defined this area, and IMO still does. Seattle has been very good to my family. Big department stores were Frederick and Nelson, The Bon Marché, asd upstart Nordstrom. There were no grocery carts full of bedding shoved into sheltered spaces, and little panhandling at least that I remember.

Ha

[bld999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I first came here during the Vietnam War. The Smith Tower was the tallest building in town, and once the workday was over not many people around downtown other than military and whores. Boeing was King, and the big Boeing bust was starting. Soon came Gates and Redmond, and a fantastic transformation. I have 2 sons whose lives were basically formed by the wonderful climate of opportunity for talent and initiative that defined this area, and IMO still does. Seattle has been very good to my family. Big department stores were Frederick and Nelson, The Bon Marché, asd upstart Nordstrom. There were no grocery carts full of bedding shoved into sheltered spaces, and little panhandling at least that I remember. Ha

My wife and I met at UW 1970; as Garcia said, "what a long strange trip it's been" , and I agree on the opportunity and sheer force of ideas and innovation. No shortage of cool stuff going on.
San Francisco had always had the tenderloin, Vancouver the downtown eastside, etc. It's an irritation, but my engagement with that stuff is minimal, so it just becomes a human story to me.

[OrcasIslandBound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fermion I have a ton of pictures of Orcas Island and the other nearby islands from our last sailing trip. We stopped on Orcas and ate lunch (actually I think we spent the night at the marina there). Very pretty area.

Next time you are near orcas and need a "keel schwein" to help man the tiller for a while, give me a ring! After September 1st of course.

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[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gretah So the good people who would make great caregivers, repairmen, etc, all leave to find jobs where they are paid decently.

I had a good chuckle over that one. In my area there are many hi-tech, highly paid couples looking for daycare for their children but can't find what they want. These people who might gross 200,000+ a year in combined salary still want the child care workers to get at most $20 an hour. This in an area where a plain-Jane one bedroom apartment rents for $1500+ a month. Gosh, it is any wonder they can't find help?