Possible move from Texas to Washington (Tacoma, Federal Way: fit in, homeowners insurance, daycare)

[lisa360]

Originally Posted by Under The Clouds

Btw, it's "Democratic Boot".

Ha ha- that drives me crazy too!!!

[Patron of Wrath]

Only two things come from Texas.... erm, no wait, that can't be right.

I often refer to the following site listing unemployment rates by city, for a general idea of how a local economy will be:

Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas

Nearly every listed city in TX has lower unemployment than Seattle.

[TXLara]

My husband and I are also from the DFW area and I just came on here to find out the same things! Everything I've read about Seattle sounds like what we're looking for.

Our current mortgage is $1500/mo, but we're looking to downsize a little and rent a house instead of buying, not on the eastside, and also not right in the city. We lived in Hawaii for a while, so we were able to adjust to the higher cost of living for things like groceries and going out. The jobs he's looking at right now are paying around $130k-$150k. We don't have any kids. Does this sound possible? Are there any other things we really need to take into consideration?

[exseattlite]

don't underestimate that offset from property taxes - i have friends "back home" who's homes are 2-3 times more expensive than mine, but pay less than half the property taxes i do outside of Houston, which actually puts our mortgage payments about equal due to the escrow..

depending on how things are around your area, even things like gas can be almost equal too -- i can go across town and find "seattle" gas prices even here, and we make a lot of the damn stuff here (yet another reason for wanting to move back myself: being able to breathe outside again

[just4ivaylo]

Originally Posted by TheWilliams

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Washington as we have heard nothing but great things about the state. We are looking into the Seattle and surrounding area. As I said, we are from Texas and living here is cheap.. i dont expect it to be as cheap, but is it "doable"? We hate the Texas weather... when it gets to 110 for a straight month... We do not have children yet, but will be having kids soon and we do not want them to go to school in Texas. I know public schools are random (some good, some bad) but in general - are the kids smart? Texas focuses way to much on state tests and many kids dont retain anything they learn from these tests. Are there jobs there? It seems on job boards there are, but it is the same here and i know a lot of unemployed people. ... i think thats about it. Sorry for the random questions! I appreciate any help!

thanks!

It's doable, but it's a lot more expensive. I moved from Bellevue to Katy (near Houston) and it's quite different. I'm almost used to it now (after a year and a half). As for the schools...they're a lot better in the Seattle area. Most of them are smaller (my old school is 1600 vs. the one I attend now...2800) which creates a better learning environment for the kids. They receive more attention and aren't treated as just one more name on an attendance sheet.

If your kids do go to at least an OK school, they will have no problem with the state tests. Those tests are a complete joke, both in WA and TX.

[just4ivaylo]

Originally Posted by exseattlite

don't underestimate that offset from property taxes - i have friends "back home" who's homes are 2-3 times more expensive than mine, but pay less than half the property taxes i do outside of Houston, which actually puts our mortgage payments about equal due to the escrow..

depending on how things are around your area, even things like gas can be almost equal too -- i can go across town and find "seattle" gas prices even here, and we make a lot of the damn stuff here (yet another reason for wanting to move back myself: being able to breathe outside again

South Houston is unbearable.

[Waianaegirl]

As far as schools go we have the dreaded WASL test. And it's more expensive here and our govenor is rasing our taxes (to death) and she just hinks that we are her personal ATM machine. I know that TX summers are hot, but can you get used to the clouds? You will go days and days and days with no sun and that can be really harsh in itself. Liberals do rule here, but the founder of the Tea Party is from Seattle. There were 22 rallies on 4/15, in this state alone. I know a ton of people that voted for Obama that regret doing so. They are changing to Independants now. We have family that swore they would never ever leave here and now they live in TX. They say life is better there, than here. We are looking to leave, if we can, if things do not get better.

[just4ivaylo]

I doubt it will be as bad as it is now in Seattle for much longer. Let's hope that things in prove in a couple of years both in Seattle and the whole US.

[TheWilliams]

Well, my husband and I do not plan on living in the actual city of Seattle, we of course would like to, but we are interested in the areas surrounding Seattle as well. We plan on renting and doubt we would run our heat as much as some people do. We keep our home below 74 for sure! We want smaller schools for our kids (when we have them) and we just do not believe in the Texas education system. As far as liberals go... i never said I wasnt one. I do not want this thread to get into politics at all, as that will not help my decision or anyone else's for that matter who happen to look in this board for help. We appreciate all of the help! Yall have def. given us some things to think about!

[seattlenextyear]

74 is pretty high. Only CA and TX transplants keep their heat that high.