Considering a move to WA

[TxGuitar]

From TX. What are some price friendly areas for housing? Paying cash. Schools and commutes are not an issue. Wife is retired and I work remotely. How are prop taxes if one is over 65?

[PSPS]

1. Sky-high property & sales taxes. Housing unaffordable in any of the major cities.

There is no income tax so it's a favorite of the parasite billionaire class in their gated communities. The state limps along with an antiquated and regressive mix of property+sales taxes. As a result, infrastructure is falling apart because there's no money to maintain it. Houses in any metro area, like Seattle & Tacoma, start at $1M. If you go an hour outside a metro area, housing is more affordable. The Eastern side of the state is solidly MAGA, though.

[leftieNanner]

4. Tacoma is much less pricey than that

A big house with a view of the sound will cost a million, but there are plenty of cute little places for less. We moved here in 2022.

[leftieNanner]

2. We moved to Tacoma in 2022

Love it! In the greater Puget Sound area, Seattle and surrounds are most expensive. Tacoma is much more affordable. But it's close enough to enjoy a Mariners game or get to the airport.

Good luck!

[Aristus]

3. I don't have the property tax rate in front of me.

But Mrs. Aristus and I own our home outright, and our taxes are about $10,000 a year. Granted, it’s a pretty big house.

Where in Texas are you coming from? I was born and raised in San Antonio, and have lived in the PNW since 1979. The weather can take some getting used to, but I absolutely love it here. It’s beautiful, there’s a lot to do here, and Western Washington is pretty liberal, although we do have a bunch of right-wing kooks here.

[leftieNanner]

5. I was hoping you would chime in Aristus!

Howdy.

[Aristus]

8. Hi, neighbor!

[TxGuitar]

7. Just west of Houston

Last edited Sun Apr 28, 2024, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)

In Katy. We are not too worried about the weather. We have lived in Ireland and England. Are property taxes that high for seniors? We will also be paying cash.

[Aristus]

9. I lived in Spring for a year.

After living in Washington for two years. After a year in Spring, we wanted to go back to the Northwest.

[Aristus]

10. Mrs. Aristus is 64.

I’m 55. So, I guess so. We have a pretty generous combined income, but taxes may become a problem after we retire.

[leftieNanner]

11. In Pierce County (Tacoma)

There are reduced property taxes for seniors, but there is a financial component to it. They look at assets and income.

[leftieNanner]

6. Property tax

We have a 1500 sf 3 and 2 in a nice neighborhood with families. Our property tax is $5200 per year.

The weather is not gray and gloomy all day every day. Wonderful fresh air and glorious summers

[slightlv]

12. I'm so jealous. I want to move there so bad!

[RainCaster]

13. we live in Kitsap county, easy ferry ride into Seattle

5 acres of mixed forest, 3000sf 4br, 3.5ba. $9k taxes. That will drop when Mrs RC hits 65.

[montanacowboy]

14. We moved from Seattle to

Marysville 3 years ago. It's a short 50 miles north of Seattle. Housing is a little more affordable here - we were able to get a 3 bed 2 bath for around $600K. But that was 3 yrs ago, housing is now bumping up. If you work at home that's a big plus. We are close to the mountains and the views on clear days are spectacular. We can see from Mt Baker to Mr Rainier. Summers are pretty fabulous. Hop skip and a jump to Canada.

[GP6971]

15. We're in SW Pierce County just outside of JBLM. Property taxes are $8.02 per $1K.

Our house is 2,350 sqft and property tax is $4,300. No income tax, but high sales tax...over 9%. Great place to live.

[SarahD]

16. I live on the Olympic Peninsula.

Taxes are not bad, but rising prices cause the valuation to go up, meaning a higher tax bill. Housing is in short supply and expensive. Some of the small towns are better, but your neighbors are likely to be MAGA.

[AnnaLee]

17. Bellingham here (Whatcom county)

1200 sq ft house, tax assessor value $643,000, The property tax I paid last week was $5,006.40. Sales tax is 9%. My sister, now deceased, lived in Katy for over 20 years.

[PlutosHeart]

19. This discussion has sealed the deal for me

not being to afford moving there. It is hard enough for us to pay our home taxes even when they raised them to around 1800/yr now. Coming up with that escrow was awful.

[raising2moredems]

20. Last I looked...

WA doesn't steal money school districts, struggling or otherwise, for corporate welfare (tax breaks) to corporations (Oracle). Now Oracle is getting welfare from Nashville. More like temporarily open for bizness in Texasistan A-butt.

[TxGuitar]

23. Not sure what this has to do with anything

Last edited Mon Apr 29, 2024, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

My post was about areas of WA that we could afford to move to. We did not realize that house prices were that much more expensive. In WA. Taxes seem about the same as long as we move to a county with the senior exemptions. But you do you, ok? FYI-- the first consideration for moving is weather not politics. We will be blue where ever we live.

[LPBBEAR]

21. I live in Central Washington

and our property taxes are quite low. I believe it was around $700 for the entire year last year. That is because the county we live in has a Senior Citizen discount. Check around with the counties Tax Assessors offices you're interested in living in and see if they might have such a program.
On the other hand this county currently has some inflated prices on homes compared to surrounding counties. I know other counties in Central and Eastern Washington have substantially lower home prices. Check area home prices through a service like Redfin to get an idea of the varying prices from county to county.
For instance my wife and I are considering moving to another location in Washington. This morning we were comparing a local 3 bedroom/1 bath home in this area to another 4 bed/3 bath home in another county in Washington. The local 3 bed/1 bath was going for something like $650.000 and was a fairly average home. The 4 bed/3 bath in the other county was priced around 580,000 and was a spectacular home. Way nicer than the one near here and would likely be hitting the million dollar range if it were in our county. Check around with Redfin. Home prices can vary dramatically from county to county in Washington state. Good luck on your move!

[TxGuitar]

22. Thank ypu

This is,great information!