Where in Washington is best for someone like like me to live? (Seattle: sales, rent)

[mrmover801]

I am moving very very soon to Washington from Utah. I'm looking for any info anyone can give me on where is a good place for someone just out of high school to live? I'm looking to just work and save. I was considering Vancouver since I could shop in Oregon and save but I don't really know. Any thoughts anyone?

[Inkpoe]

It'll be hard to find a job in Vancouver. Given the amount of traffic between Vancouver and PDX, you're not really saving yourself *that* much.

The bigger question is what do you plan on doing in the long term? Other than shopping. You might find better opportunities up in Seattle.

[mrmover801]

That is great information that I was kind of worried about being a factor. The same was with Portland I was told by a buddy who lives there. I don't mind living in Seattle or near. I just don't know anything about where is a good place to live.

Long term I am just looking to save money and work. But being young and single, I'd hate to live on the little house on the prairie ya know? Unless I had only a small drive to where I could work and play.

[poopskooper]

What kind of work will you be looking for? Are you planning on going to college? What are your interests? Why are you choosing Washington? Do you like small towns, big cites, isolated towns, etc.?

Utah is a conservative state. Are you from a small town or from the SLC area? Would you feel more comfortable in a more conservative area?

As Inkpoe said, I'm not sure if choosing a place to live based on spending $10 on gas to save $5 in sales taxes would be prudent if that's the only reason you'd be choosing that place.

[mrmover801]

Thanks for the reply first off. I chose Washington/Oregon based on the proximity to the coast and that I only need to take a convenient train to Cali for business when needed.

I ended up choosing Washington because from what I was told work isn't as good in Oregon compared to Washington for people with only a diploma. At least the Portland coastal areas. I lived in Washington when I was very young for a while and it was absolutely beautiful is another main reason I lean towards it.

The work I am after is just general employment that I could get with a Diploma other than Construction work.
I don't really have any solid plans for more schooling just yet. Mainly I am looking to just leave Utah and narrowed my final selection to Oregon or Washington.
I have lived all over Utah and I loved the more rural areas as well as the downtown SLC areas but I wouldn't like to live somewhere I can't drive under 30 minutes to have fun or go to work. I used to live in Honolulu before Utah and the city is nice just as long as it isn't a really dangerous area.

The tax breaks were just me trying to decide between the two. They're really both just so nice. I'm not really conservative or in favor of Utah's ideals or views in the slightest tbh.
My interests are general for the most part and can be had in most places. Other than the productions in Cali. But I could easily do this from Washington or Oregon via train without even needing to fly

[poopskooper]

Thanks. Yeah, I would have to agree that you'd probably have better opportunities in the more populated areas.

The Puget Sound area, as you may already know, is similar to the Wasatch Front in that it is a corridor of one city and town after another with Seattle kind of in the center as SLC is at the center of the string of cities and towns along the more populous areas of the I-15 corridor going through Utah.

I'd probably recommend looking at the populous counties of Thurston (Olympia area and its suburbs), Pierce (Tacoma and its suburbs), King (Seattle and its suburbs), and Snohomish (Everett and its suburbs) as these will probably present the best employment opportunities. They are, however, the most expensive too ...especially King County.

The Puget Sound area is also convenient and on the I-5 corridor. Better transportation opportunities and convenient to recreational areas. Again, kind of similar as the Wasatch Front is convenient to the same.

Keep asking specific questions and hopefully others can chime in with their opinions and help you decide.

[mrmover801]

I am single and will need to be able to support myself if I use up my savings completely by the time I get settled so I'll need a place suitable to a general Starbucks or restaurant like jobs pay. I liked the city life more than country living.

Would it be worth living close to one of those cities with the employment and just driving a little to work each day, saving on cheaper rent .etc ? I'm not sure if that's even an option in the areas.

[poopskooper]

Hopefully you can find a job close to where you live. You obviously would want as little commute as possible as you've probably heard about how ugly the traffic can get in some areas.

hah, obviously there will be more Starbucks in Washington than in Utah so you won't have to go too far to find one if you've had barista experience.

[mrmover801]

I usually have no trouble getting a job if there is one to be had. I'm a likeable person. I didn't mean specifically Starbucks, just a job that pays decent that I would probably have a good chance of finding. Now that you mention it though, I was a Barista for six months at a pretty good place in Idaho. I didn't know traffic was bad there either. Generally here it is at certain times but not most of the day.

[sll3454]

Once you get as far north as Marysville traffic is not bad. Marysville would also be less expensive than Seattle itself. I don't know what kind of fun you look for, so I don't know how far away it would be, except that there is minor league baseball, youth hockey, and professional lacrosse in Everett.

Where in Washington did you live before?