Moving to Clark County from Phoenix (houses, place to live, price)

[notnamed]

Right now this feels like the "sunshine state". We have a 3 days of 100 degree temps on tap and nothing but sun in the extended forecast. Meanwhile it's 84 and cloudy with rain in the forecast down at my parents place in Florida. They stole our weather!

Especially painful as we just had the inspection done on our new a/c equipped house. Couldn't talk the realtor into letting us hide in the closet as he locked up so we could enjoy it.

Regarding marijuana stink out in public I haven't encountered that much on this side of the river. Definitely not up in Battle Ground. Occasional whiffs downtown Vancouver. But it is all over Portland for sure. The no smoking it in public law seems to be more respected by Washingtonians.

Hot real estate market is nice once you've bought a place. Our realtor says the place we are in the process of buying is easily worth $20k more now just a month and a half after our offer.

[Desert Digger]

I think legalizing marijuana was a very short sighted and incorrect decision. I work in law enforcement and see first hand the problems it brings. The smell is terrible and highly offensive. Another reason why am only considering a rural location. I've had enough of the city.

[notnamed]

Well you work in law enforcement in a border state and see all the problems it being illegal brings. Aside from seeing the stores it has zero impact on me here in Battle Ground and brings in some nice tax revenue to boot.

[notnamed]

And drug problems are actually what turned me off from a more rural location like Yacolt. I don't mind the marijuana users, but meth is rampant out in the cheaper more rural parts of the state(well many states at this point). That's where both a lot of users are and the producers rather than in the cities. Exception for west Vancouver.

[iuecon99]

Originally Posted by notnamed

Right now this feels like the "sunshine state". We have a 3 days of 100 degree temps on tap and nothing but sun in the extended forecast. Meanwhile it's 84 and cloudy with rain in the forecast down at my parents place in Florida. They stole our weather!

Especially painful as we just had the inspection done on our new a/c equipped house. Couldn't talk the realtor into letting us hide in the closet as he locked up so we could enjoy it.

Regarding marijuana stink out in public I haven't encountered that much on this side of the river. Definitely not up in Battle Ground. Occasional whiffs downtown Vancouver. But it is all over Portland for sure. The no smoking it in public law seems to be more respected by Washingtonians.

Hot real estate market is nice once you've bought a place. Our realtor says the place we are in the process of buying is easily worth $20k more now just a month and a half after our offer.

No question, it's a matter of perspective depending on which side of the bubble you're on. Luckily most people I know are buying places to lock down their costs and are planning to live in them for years, because if interest rates ever normalize we should see a steep decline in prices.

I agree the weed isn't as bad on the Washington side. I've greatly reduced the amount of time I spend in downtown Portland this summer because the smell is too much for me. I've gone to some of the concerts in the park which I really enjoy and at almost every one they come on several times and appeal to people to stop smoking. Those are supposed to be family events- really ridiculous.

A lot of smokers don't realize how bad it smells until they stop doing it and are around others- at least that's what they tell me. A lot of them also claim they think it's legal to smoke in public which is laughable- why would anybody think they're allowed to go smoke on the riverwalk?

[iuecon99]

Originally Posted by notnamed

And drug problems are actually what turned me off from a more rural location like Yacolt. I don't mind the marijuana users, but meth is rampant out in the cheaper more rural parts of the state(well many states at this point). That's where both a lot of users are and the producers rather than in the cities. Exception for west Vancouver.

I don't mind the users either provided they comply with the laws (no smoking in public and no impaired driving). Unfortunately this is rarely the case in Portland.

[iuecon99]

Originally Posted by Desert Digger

I think legalizing marijuana was a very short sighted and incorrect decision. I work in law enforcement and see first hand the problems it brings. The smell is terrible and highly offensive. Another reason why am only considering a rural location. I've had enough of the city.

It's one of the worst smells ever and not surprisingly I've been told the lower the grade the worse the smell. The entire riverwalk in downtown Portland is unbelievably foul. I saw a guy with his kids complain to the police about it and they went and talked to the people smoking but didn't do anything. Yeah I know 99% of the people in this area smoke and it's hard to stop them all but when people are flagrantly smoking pot right by the river on a Saturday ruining the day for families who want to have a nice walk with their kids something isn't right.

[Desert Digger]

There is no escaping it sadly. It seems it has infested the entire county. Well, weed in the city and meth in the country. Now I don't know where the heck to move too. I guess I'm screwed. Twenty years of dealing with this crap on the street and there is no escape after retirement even. I am sick of having to deal with these loser dopers. Oh, and I almost got stuck with a dirty needle today during an meth arrest.

[notnamed]

To the yuppies in the suburbs who are at least better at hiding whatever they may be using.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by notnamed

To the yuppies in the suburbs who are at least better at hiding whatever they may be using.

The yuppies in the suburbs get prescriptions for their drugs, so it's all good, right?