Small Nevada Family Looking to Move to Washington (Seattle, Tacoma: rentals, home)

[Colombos2015]

Hello there! My husband and I are looking to move to Washington with our young son (currently 5) and our 2 medium sized dogs. We are a young, growing family in our mid-20s with balanced liberal leaning views. We love family, music, creativity/artistic expression, photography, animals, nature, coffee and overall good vibes. Our kind of relaxation is at a kid's park or dog park, coffee shops, playing music, or in nature amongst the greenery/water (We can't wait to not be desert rats!). We are looking to be south or west of Seattle away from major metropolitan areas, preferably near a coastline.

My husband works from home in multimedia, music, and post production. I work in customer service as a receptionist at an animal hospital with a background in animal shelter work. Our son starts kindergarten this year, and though his school is a priority, we know every school in WA will be better than in Nevada, where we currently reside. We are looking to find a rental sometime in August at the soonest or this time next year at the latest.

Any suggestions on the place that might best fit us? Somewhere with a strong sense of community?

If anyone lives in the areas we've mentioned, we are open to any and all advice. We are also interested to hear of any smaller towns or neighborhoods we may not hear about simply through researching moving to WA on the internet.

Thank you so much for any help or guidance you provide!

With Love,
The Colombo Family

[Seacove]

Do you need to be near the Seattle metro for income? Or are you looking at possibilities along the coastline around Gray's Harbor, Aberdeen, Hoquiam or Ocean Shores? If you only need to go to Seattle occasionally, you could go around Bremerton, Gig Harbor or Tacoma, all of which will have a lower cost of living. Tacoma will be less competitive for rentals. There are also areas like Burien and Federal Way that might work.

Is there a reason you chose Washington? Have you looked at Portland or even Astoria? If you have not been in the area, you might want to visit, drive around and see what appeals to you. For example, taking a ferry to Seattle is certain idyllic but you might not find it practical on a daily basis if you were commuting to Seattle. And while housing in Aberdeen and Hoquiam are far less expensive, the economy there is challenging.