The # 1 State Washingtonians State Are Leaving For (Rockport: property tax, living in)

[MtnSurfer]

While many Washingtonians dream of living in places with warmer winters like AZ, think long and hard about life during summers as well. Arizona has had over 20 consecutive days of temps above 110 degrees. It's also the third most popular state for WA residents to relocate to, just behind OR and CA. Personally, I would much rather deal with colder, rainier winters than scorching hot summers. But it does allow one to 'dry out' that's for sure.

Extreme heat in Arizona increased hospitalizations to pandemic levels at one medical center

What It’s Like Living Through The Phoenix Heat Wave

Derek

[StealthRabbit]

AZ is bigger and more diverse than Phoenix,

As WA is more diverse than Seattle / We_t side.

Most of my WA friends have moved to NW, NE, or SE AZ (none of which are similar to Phoenix).

Nearly everywhere is toasty today, Canada has exceeded record burn acres my mid July.

we're (WA) surrounded.

Get a desalinization machine and head off-shore. Might be our remaining hope.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

AZ is bigger and more diverse than Phoenix,

As WA is more diverse than Seattle / We_t side.

Most of my WA friends have moved to NW, NE, or SE AZ (none of which are similar to Phoenix).

Nearly everywhere is toasty today, Canada has exceeded record burn acres my mid July.

we're (WA) surrounded.

Get a desalinization machine and head off-shore. Might be our remaining hope.

Yes, I've visited the different parts of AZ and have friends and extended family there as well. The problem is, most leaving WA want warmer, drier weather and more affordable housing. So, that tends to be in the hottest regions hence more affordability. That isn't dissimilar to eastern WA home prices compared to the westside.

Our extended family has a nice place in Sedona which is higher in elevation and cooler than Phoenix. Median home prices are now $995K. Crazy, right? But even Sedona has been reaching triple digits.

As imperfect as western WA is, Seattle has about the best weather in the nation right now. Take a look at the extended forecast. Gotta enjoy the good times while you can.




Derek

[87112]

I think a lot of wealthy Northwest people who moved down could just hunker down for 3 months and hire a maid to get groceries and run errands to not leave the house pretty much 24/7.

I've experienced Southwest heat a couple of times and its kind of gross after a few days.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 87112

I think a lot of wealthy Northwest people who moved down could just hunker down for 3 months and hire a maid to get groceries and run errands to not leave the house pretty much 24/7.

I've experienced Southwest heat a couple of times and its kind of gross after a few days.

I've never been one to accept hunkering down since I want to be outside regardless. That is beyond a few days. At least with colder winter temps in the NW, you can dress for it.

It doesn't take too long to not want to go outside during summer months when it hot like that in AZ. And when you do, it's like stepping into a oven, literally. There are very few people doing outdoor activities when triple digits outside. The lows have been in the 90s at night. So, it never cools down even in the evenings. Same thing with TX. We have friends there who said they just don't go outside for most of the summer. The heat becomes a killer in these areas or at the very least extremely uncomfortable.

At least when it gets to peak summer temps in western WA, nights and early morning temps cool down. So, you can do stuff before it jumps back up into oven range.

Derek

[StealthRabbit]

None of my family or friends live in Sedona (or Aspen or Jackson Hole, Big Sky, or Park City...) or move to such places for cheap housing


Though cheap(er) housing is readily available here for those seeking much different weather than Phoenix or Seattle.
Williams, AZ, Show Low, Alpine, Bisbee, Sierra Vista, AZ
Dragoon and Cochise Mountains of AZ are very temperate and have much cheaper housing (if that has any relevance to those leaving WA). Prescott and Prescott Valley seen to be most attractive to WA exiles, and close enough to PHX or Flagstaff (and even closer to Sedona if that's your thing).

Leaving WA, as well as leaving CA or Colorado, requires you to retain a foothold in the RE market if you ever hope to return to affordable housing. That's a good plan if you ever want to come back to an expensive housing market. It's not hard to figure that out. Nearly all whom I've helped move from WA or Oregon have done so, at least for 5-10 years to see if they like it. Friends from Seattle just finished their 3rd flip home, converted it to a Triplex for decent cash flows, and took all their extra cash from 1 & 2, and bought a beautiful MTN home in NM. Sunrises and sunsets, something they had missed for the last 20 yrs in PNW. If they ever want to return, they have a WA triplex to use, or 1031 into whatever / wherever they choose.

Any desirable areas to live will probably retain their values and potentially gain to "unaffordability". Plan on it. People are still moving to Sedona, AZ, as cost of housing is not relevant to many who relocate, including a lot of retirees. They want to go (even to very expensive housing areas).... So they go. Sun City, or Sun Valley, if they want to go.... they pay the price, which is not a barrier to those who plan for it. The PNW Microsoft, Amazon, HP, and Intel retirees have a LOT more money than they did when they retired (at age 30), especially since the beginning of 2023.... About 20% more added to their fortunes in just the last 6 months. 41.48% if just divested into QQQs. Why work? Why be concerned about high housing costs if you want to relocate from WA? We've ridden very high on the rising tide. Piece of cake.

Retire (relocate) often!
You might not get it right the first time, or second, or third.
Life brings lots of chapters, make them interesting and beneficial. Then... move on.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by 87112

I think a lot of wealthy Northwest people who moved down could just hunker down for 3 months and hire a maid to get groceries and run errands to not leave the house pretty much 24/7.

I've experienced Southwest heat a couple of times and its kind of gross after a few days.

We now have several older family members and friends (and the assessor lol-you know it's bad when the assessor has been priced out of the area, but that's for another thread) that moved to AZ. Property taxes services and costs of living are getting too expensive in WA, so they cashed out their WA homes and bought nicer ones with cash. ALL of them, come back to WA and park a trailer/RV at a relatives place, instead of bearing the triple digit heat during AZ's summer.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

We now have several older family members and friends (and the assessor lol-you know it's bad when the assessor has been priced out of the area, but that's for another thread) that moved to AZ. Property taxes services and costs of living are getting too expensive in WA, so they cashed out their WA homes and bought nicer ones with cash. ALL of them, come back to WA and park a trailer/RV at a relatives place, instead of bearing the triple digit heat during AZ's summer.

Yes, its what folks from FL, AZ, TX, etc... call sunbirding during the most unbearable periods of the year for them. I've long thought that a near perfect living situation is more like having two(+) places to live in depending on time of year. Then you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. Florida or Arizona in the winter and the PNW during its prime time and so on. If you can swing it with a trailer/RV, cabin in the woods, boat, granny shack or by whatever means, its likely far more enjoyable than hiding out indoors for 3-4+ months waiting for more livable outdoor conditions to return. Life's too short to hibernate for me when I can be actively enjoying it somewhere else.

This is likely what some of the Vrbo/Airbnb homeowners do to have a place pay (mostly) for itself while not living there. Enjoy it when they want to and rent it out the rest of the year.

If those friends saved money during their 'cash out' move, they will also likely have more funds available for travel with their lower overall COL when the weather gets nastiest. Lots of FL folks leave during hurricane season to the mountains or somewhere more pleasant. Then they go back to near perfect winters with palm trees when most others are freezing their tails off somewhere else.

Derek

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

......... I've long thought that a near perfect living situation is more like having two(+) places to live in depending on time of year. Then you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. Florida or Arizona in the winter and the PNW during its prime time and so on. .........Derek

That was very common where I lived in Central Oregon. In Crooked River Ranch nearly half of my neighbors headed to Arizona for the winter. I don't know whether or not they also owned a house in AZ, not caring enough to ask.

In Idaho, I have one neighbor who spends summers here and leaves at the end of summer. I think they are going back and forth to Florida.

The weather in Seattle doesn't seem that bad to me that people would winter elsewhere, but there are some areas of WA where I can understand why it would be desirable to get out of town for a few of the coldest months.

I've always suspected that people who move to AZ to escape the snow have discovered they had not thought it through as well as they could have.

[WestGuest]

Umm Washington is and will be the 7th Fastest Growing State over the next 10-20 years. https://247wallst.com/state/how-wash...next-20-years/


Its not a surprise that one fool posts about people leaving Washington but doesnt mention that more people are moving to Washington and that its growing rapidly. No one bothers to check and the rest of posters make up reasons for something that isnt happening.



I live in Texas and SW Washington and Washington is nicer, more educated and prettier than Texas. Rockport TX on the coast is one possible except as are other coastal cities. Texas gains people because its warm and has lots of jobs even if many are low-paying . It has slightly higher property tax than Washington.