The # 1 State Washingtonians State Are Leaving For (Seattle, Everett: extended stay, high crime)

[MtnSurfer]

Interesting numbers. I would have guessed places like AZ, ID, OR, FL and TX first. However, while living in CA, I met quite a few native Washingtonians who swore they would never return. Apparently, they wanted to flock to warmer climates after decades in the PNW. Those other states are high on the list as well.

Anyone surprised by the moves, all of them more southern except ID? There are also some northern states, but they are lower on the list.

The #1 State That Residents of Washington State Are Leaving For


#7. Florida

#6. Colorado

#5. Idaho

#4. Texas

#3. Arizona

#2. Oregon

#1. California


Derek

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Interesting numbers. I would have guessed places like AZ, ID, OR, FL and TX first. However, while living in CA, I met quite a few native Washingtonians who swore they would never return. Apparently, they wanted to flock to warmer climates after decades in the PNW. Those other states are high on the list as well.

Anyone surprised by the moves, all of them more southern except ID? There are also some northern states, but they are lower on the list.

The #1 State That Residents of Washington State Are Leaving For


#7. Florida

#6. Colorado

#5. Idaho

#4. Texas

#3. Arizona

#2. Oregon

#1. California


Derek

That theory doesn't bear out, entirely, because the 2nd most popular state for Washingtonians to move to is Oregon. Go figure. But my guess is, that most of the Washingtonians moving to CA probably aren't born-and-raised Washingtonians. They're likely Californians (and perhaps others) who moved to WA at some point in the past, and found they couldn't hack the short days in winter, and the cloudy skies for much of the year.

But I wonder how Washingtonians could afford California RE. Did you get much of a read regarding what parts of CA are most favored by them? And where in WA they moved from? Anyplace but Seattle would have to high a COL jump for CA to be affordable to them, I would think. Or maybe a significant percentage are techies taking tech jobs in the Bay Area and LA?

[texasdiver]

Based solely on the unrepresentative sample of my own enormous extended family I would have said:

Arizona
Nevada
Hawaii

in that order.

I'm frankly surprised that Nevada is not on the list.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

That theory doesn't bear out, entirely, because the 2nd most popular state for Washingtonians to move to is Oregon. Go figure. But my guess is, that most of the Washingtonians moving to CA probably aren't born-and-raised Washingtonians. They're likely Californians (and perhaps others) who moved to WA at some point in the past, and found they couldn't hack the short days in winter, and the cloudy skies for much of the year.

But I wonder how Washingtonians could afford California RE. Did you get much of a read regarding what parts of CA are most favored by them? And where in WA they moved from? Anyplace but Seattle would have to high a COL jump for CA to be affordable to them, I would think. Or maybe a significant percentage are techies taking tech jobs in the Bay Area and LA?

The native Washingtonians I've met through decades of life in CA either moved down for college and stayed once they got a job, married and established or got job transfers. The ones with new jobs were highly skilled in their fields. So, they were better able to afford the COL increase. While I didn't ask their pay differences, I know one worked for the gov't which provides 'some' COL adjustments to their salaries based upon the area. As for the others, I'm sure there are some that moved to WA initially from CA and then moved back. Or they came from other states and eventually moved on.

I'm not sure which parts of CA they favored. But I did notice more Washingtonian natives in Monterey than I did while living in SoCal. I think the redwood forests and beauty of the Monterey Bay draw folks from the PNW as well as other northern states more easily. That's just anecdotal and opinion knowing the areas since I don't have the numbers in terms of which cities they migrated to most. I would guess the big job centers bring many in depending on life stage and careers. Conversely, I wouldn't think as many retirees move to CA. Though we have extended family who lived in Everett where the husband worked at Boeing for decades until he retired. They just sold their home and moved down to CA to be closer to grandkids in their retirement years. Some have family in both states.

Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Based solely on the unrepresentative sample of my own enormous extended family I would have said:

Arizona
Nevada
Hawaii

in that order.

I'm frankly surprised that Nevada is not on the list.

I was surprised too. NV and HI are still on the list, just not as high as the others.
#14. Nevada
#13. Hawaii
-- https://stacker.com/washington/where...re-moving-most

I think OR is a default since its a border state and Washingtonians sometimes get jobs in PDX or have family there as well. Maybe they moved to WA from OR at some life stage and then move back. Plus, I think the OR coast draws more retirees than does the WA coast. The progressive tax system can favor some. Washington is also the #1 most common destination from Oregon. So, its like the border almost doesn't exist with folks moving between WA and OR all the time. This may even be more common than folks from SoCal to NorCal and back. That's almost like two entirely different states since CA is 760 miles long and a lot of open land between them, more than WA and OR combined. Living in Clark County, Oregon is our backyard. So, I don't think twice about visiting either state for day trips and extended stays. Besides not pumping my own gas and much better bike lanes, I hardly notice the difference. Of course the cities are all unique. But its like we are all apart of the same combined area making up the PNW. There are lots of similarities. I would argue more so than there are between SoCal and NorCal including climate, culture and geography.


Derek

[SciFiNerd1]

I wonder why are they leaving Washington State. I don't think they will like hot and humid Texas.

I am actually trying to move to Washington State from Texas. I love the scenic beauty of WA State and its moderate climate, access to nature and hiking trails, and many possibilities for road trips to Alaska, Canada, and the rest of West Coast.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1

I wonder why are they leaving Washington State. I don't think they will like hot and humid Texas.

I am actually trying to move to Washington State from Texas. I love the scenic beauty of WA State and its moderate climate, access to nature and hiking trails, and many possibilities for road trips to Alaska, Canada, and the rest of West Coast.

We've got several even here on CD who have moved back and forth between the two. I think there are different draws toward each depending on what one is looking for in their next move, life stage, hobbies, interests, financial goals, budget, climate preferences (need for a change), family pulls, etc... Some will even move for politics. Like every state, there are pros and cons with each of them.

Derek

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

I'm not sure which parts of CA they favored. But I did notice more Washingtonian natives in Monterey than I did while living in SoCal. I think the redwood forests and beauty of the Monterey Bay draw folks from the PNW as well as other northern states more easily. That's just anecdotal and opinion knowing the areas since I don't have the numbers in terms of which cities they migrated to most. I would guess the big job centers bring many in depending on life stage and careers. Conversely, I wouldn't think as many retirees move to CA. Though we have extended family who lived in Everett where the husband worked at Boeing for decades until he retired. They just sold their home and moved down to CA to be closer to grandkids in their retirement years. Some have family in both states.

Derek

I agree with the bolded. The redwood forests are the NorCal equivalent of the PNW's cedar forests, but on an even grander scale. That's interesting that you ran into quite a few WA natives in Monterey. Thanks for the response!

[rkcarguy]

RE Prices are still greatly inflated, never ending new/increased taxes, rights infringements, record high crime and homeless(revolving door justice system and enablement), poor availability and quality of healthcare(WA sank to 44th-46th depending upon source), and in the past couple years we've has two 100 year floods and one 500 year flood. There are lots of reasons to cash in now and leave WA.

[StealthRabbit]

Seems typical to me.

Hundreds of my ex-coworkers fled back to their CA Prop 13 enclaves for retirement. They're happy fat cats. Received paid moves & lucrative bonuses for their pain and suffering of having to move to PNW, retained their CA pay scale while in WA (& OR), made a bundle on their PNW homes, and kept their Cannon Beach / Hood River vacation homes. Pretty good gig, they're having a good retirement.

Many 'common folk' WA workers move to NV or AZ for retirement.

Plenty move overseas.

Farmers, ranchers, business owners move to ID if they have enough years remaining in their life to start over, develop new lands, orchards, water systems, buildings, corrals, customers, employees, and suppliers. Not a simple transition, but worth it for those leaving businesses to kids or family.