Spokane, WA

[Jumpseater]

Kitsap penninsula. Reliable ferry to Seattle, 1:20 drive to employee parking if you have to drive around ,good schools, and off Bainbridge it is still very affordable.

 

[Pinto]

Central Wa

Wenatchee is pretty nice too. Horizon has four flights a day to Seatac and the airport is installing an ILS to help when the weather comes down. The drive time to Seatac is about 2:30 and if the passes close, like I-90 did last week, you can get to Spokane in 2:45. Wenatchee is about 20 degrees hotter than Seattle in the summer and 20 degrees colder in the winter with a lot more sunshine. The cost of living is a ton cheaper than Seattle and less than Spokane too. The local ski hill, Mission Ridge- 15 miles away, just installed a high speed quad chairlift. The waterskiing is not too bad either.

 

[Sioux115]

Issaquah and Snoqualmie are good places to look. The inlaws live out in Snoqualmie. They are east of town on I-90 about 35mins. to airport. Still quiet out there too. Don't know the housing prices out there, I assume high just like everywhere in the west.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

I have a cousin in Issaquah. I don't know what the market is like there but you could check out www.realtor.com or similar site to get a feel. Anyhow my cousin is very family oriented and I'm sure she and her husband checked out the schools before buying there. Although there's traffic it would definitely be commutable while on reserve.

 

[Annie]

Compare Housing prices in Western Washington

Go here for housing comparison prices around Issaquah and such:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/homevalues/

 

[av8instyle]

Gig Harbor, no doubt.

 

[seatrumpeter]

Seattle

I've lived in Seattle for 12 years and love it. Sure, it rains now and then but Spring Summer and Fall are wonderful. As for outdoor recreation - if it exists you can do it here.

For living, you could try Olympia, Enumclaw, Monroe. All close and affordable. Look at a map and google some of the outlying areas. Sure the city is fiendishly expensive but even then if you are willing to take a risk on some of the up and coming areas (Central District, Beacon Hill) you can get affordable housing and will probably see big capital gains.

As for Portland to Seattle, I have been doing that commute for 4 years. Door to door in no traffic (from my house in the U-District of Seattle to PDX) is 2 hous and 40 minutes precisely, at 5 miles above the posted speed limit. During rush hour, depending on the direction of the commute, you can add up to one hour.

As far as flying that commute goes, well, in winter it works OK but in summer forget it... Horizon is permanently full, cancels one or two a day and Skywest is so weight limited... Much easier to drive, listen to a book on tape and forget the hassle.

I agree with Dave B. I think Spokane to Seattle is probably fairly tough commute. I fly that route regularly and we can rarely take non-revs especially in the winter when alternates are frequently required.

Also, comparing Spokane to Seattle as a place to live.... well unless you like small towns with not much going on....


Seatrump

 

[mach none]

Gig Harbor, no doubt.

The pilot ghetto.