Washington -- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Seattle: to rent, how much)

[MechAndy]

I consider our area rural.
It’s a nice area and most all of my neighbors seem rather normal too.
We’re about a 10-15 minute drive from town.
Even in town most people I meet are nice and friendly.

We have a couple of 80 year old “Jesus Freaks” that have signs at our protest corner in town.
I like to wave at them even though I’m not religious.

Our protest corner is a great place for the locals to protest things on their minds and we all get along regardless of which side of the topic we are on.
I have been there in support for several issues myself.

There are the occasional panhandlers in town and while I don’t like them they seem harmless.

Deliverance this place is not.
For the most part our area is just a bunch of people doing their best to do their best.

People sometimes see what they want to see or see from narrow vision.

[E Roy Slade]

Originally Posted by Taz22

OP, Derek gave a very fair and accurate post of Washington. The difference is the area. Clark county has plenty of services and crime isn’t like living in Concrete. The thing no one has spoken of, is the meth problem all over the state. It’s sad to see, but not enough has been done about it.

I switched my address on NextDoor to get an idea of what’s going on in my new neighborhood. A lady was having a heat stroke in front of Walgreens and people walked by calling her a druggie and vagrant. Attitudes on meth and drugs are very different from Washington, but people should have helped this lady. Someone else had a stranger jump in their pool, a turtle got hit and the lady who posted that was very passionate about people respecting wildlife and the encroachment of humans on their habitat.

The point is that every area will have something, no place is perfect, but you can minimize the bad by doing your due diligence and even reading NextDoor. It will give you a good idea of what’s going on in your neighborhood of interest. People and the local issues going on, can help you decide if it’s the right place for you.

heat stroke?people are getting meaner-this usa is intolerable

[twelvegates]

CalWorth -- I hope you didn't read anything other than my general silliness into my reply. I appreciate your opinion and have had lots of experience with people who want to, or actually, live in the country, but gradually find that what they really want is a militant HOA with much larger lots.

[rkcarguy]

Most people into the equestrian thing on the west side complain of the wetness, mud, and resulting hoof/health issues it causes the horses. It takes a lot of site prep and ongoing site maintenance to have horses. My boss was constantly bringing in huge truckloads of wood chips and gravel to level up the horse area because it just kept getting stamped into the mud. Literally 40 cubic yards of gravel and chips would just disappear in the fall. There is also growing environmental concerns about animal pastures and water runoff, municipalities are getting very strict about them, you can't just come in and buy a place with acreage, throw up a stall or barn and start bringing in animals. In some watersheds its completely prohibited.
When I think horses I think of the Ellensburg area, its just a bit drier, still has lots of rivers and streams in the area, lots of AG property already, and not too far from the west side if you want to travel there.
FYI, Washington State is one of the worst for private property rights, if you are looking to buy anything and build a home, add a barn, outbuilding, driveway loop for turning around a truck and horse trailer, or otherwise change the property, inquire with land use first and get a response in writing. The family I bought my land from, wanted to use it as an equestrian property with a home on it and was told "no horses/live stock" by land use.

[twelvegates]

Wow rkcarguy -- that is exactly the kind of information I would not know if someone didn't clue me in. Thank you!

I actually have thought about Ellensburg. If I'm to believe the online data, they get 9 inches of rainfall to our 16 inches of rainfall in Fort Collins, and 21 inches of snow to our 48 inches. But if I were able to afford irrigation water, that calculus changes.

Here, ONE share of irrigation water costs $250,000, which gives you the "right" to rent water every year. And, if you can't flood irrigate your property, you have to pump irrigate which is wildly inefficient and more expensive because you have to pay for a pumping permit every year. The water companies really don't like pumpers, so they make it as inconvenient and useless as possible.

I will look into irrigation water in the area -- maybe it evens out the natural water deficit between here and there.

I've also thought about the muddy conditions and have spent way too much time trying to retrieve my boots from the muck, even in Fort Collins. I expect its much worse in Washington, but as has been said, that's why the land is so beautiful.

[Diana Holbrook]

rkcarguy - what entity are you saying could deny someone the right to have livestock? Is that county?

I have had a lot of complaints about our state and county government down here, and we do have zoning laws, but I'm not aware of any point where the state or county would have standing to deny a rural property owner - on property zoned rural - that not governed by an HOA or other covenant, from having livestock.

I have seen this in other parts of the country, Wisconsin for example, even in very rural agricultural areas. But not here.

There is no time where we have to ask government permission for having horses. Buildings, yes, maybe, which is bad enough. I have never heard of this in this state, and I spend quite a bit of time looking at farm property here, so please explain!

[homesinseattle]

Have you considered Port Townsend area? Liberal vibe, horse properties around. Other possibilities that fit those parameters are the outskirts of Olympia or Vashon Island.

[CrazyDonkey]

Here's another interesting Ellensburg "horse" property:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...22780780_zpid/

[twelvegates]

Port Townsend looks nice. Vashon Island seems wonderful to me. Still looking around Olympia. Thanks homesinseattle. And CrazyDonkey -- that's one green place for eastern Washington.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by twelvegates

Port Townsend looks nice. Vashon Island seems wonderful to me. Still looking around Olympia. Thanks homesinseattle. And CrazyDonkey -- that's one green place for eastern Washington.

Hood Canal Bridge is one of the obstacles with PT. The horsey props would actually be outside of PT, in the unincorporated county. There will be mud. Rain shadow is relative to the rest of western WA, not relative to interior areas, and definitely much wetter than FC.

Don’t be fooled by the propaganda that is promoted so heavily by the downtown merchants assoc and other vested interests. There are some old hippies still alive but more hypocrites who like to think of themselves as hippies. The city is heavily vacation rentals and Nth-homes, and getting more so. “Horsey” would be one of the last adjectives I’d call it.

Beautiful maritime setting, but hardly horsey.