Yankeehillbrewer

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So the wife and I are pretty tired of California, we are born & raised here but I think we've had enough. We are thinking about moving to the Olympia area, maybe Chehalis or Centralia. So far it looks like you pay a little more in Property Tax, but there is no State Tax, & Sales Tax is about a percent higher. I haven't had a chance to look up Vehicle Registration fees yet, but that is a big one on my list, I'm tired of getting raped by Cali every year. I've been up there a few times, & I do like the area, There seem to be a lot of good breweries & golf courses. I would definitely like the cooler climate, but I always hear about much rain Washington gets. I'm sure that is blown out of proportion. For the Wife it's important to be in Horse Country and the Olympia area seems to have plenty of that.

Anyhow, if any of you Washingtonians have any advice I would appreciate it. I'm sure the last thing y'all want is another California family moving up there.

Thanks in advance

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Kegged:Coffee Porter, ChinSimTra IPA,American Brown,Motueka Pale Ale
Bottled: Barleywine

Primary #1:Pilsner
Primary #2:
On Deck:Hefeweizen,IPA

nebben

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Golf courses and good breweries? Ahh, priorities!

While my post is pretty useless regarding Washington, just over the river in Oregon, my sister in Portland does report that even though the cumulative rainfall may not be huge, it happens slowly and often. Especially in fall, winter, and spring.

Why move from California if taxes (and climate?) are similar or better there anyway?

Yankeehillbrewer

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I'm still trying to figure that out, I think the tax situation is better in Washington since there is no state tax, but even though the other rates are a little higher, I think it still works in my favor a little. I suppose either way the gub'ment is gonna get theirs. Climate wise, I don't think it gets to 105* in Washington, but I could be wrong. But I think mostly it is just time for a change in scenery.

__________________
Kegged:Coffee Porter, ChinSimTra IPA,American Brown,Motueka Pale Ale
Bottled: Barleywine

Primary #1:Pilsner
Primary #2:
On Deck:Hefeweizen,IPA

Hang Glider

Recipes 

Forty years ago - when I lived in Seattle - the summers rarely got past about 78°, but last year I think they got in the 90s, and no one has air conditioners....

Nebben has the rain right - summers were usually drier and pleasant, but the mountains cause the rainfall, so if you don't mind a daily drizzle, you'll do just fine.

I'd go back...but my life evolved here, ex's, kids, grandchildren, job, ...

david_42

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Western Washington and western Oregon have similar weather, drizzle from September to May, with the serious rain in December and January. The last couple summers were unusually hot, 100F+ many days; but this summer was average, ~85F with a few over 90F (like last week). Inland it is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter.

Vehicle registration fees are much lower. California basically charges the sales tax over again every year.

As an Oregonian, I encourage you to move to Washington.

Disclaimer: I've lived in California, but I'm not FROM California.

Retarded_Penguin_Brewing

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I was born and raised in Olympia, moved to Puyallup with my wife. quite frankly I'm ready to get out of washington as the cost of living is pretty high. that's pretty much the norm up and down the west coast though. it does rain a lot, car tabs are relatively cheap and depending on what county you live in you may or may not have to go through emissions as well. marijuana laws aren't as lax as california, but they're getting there. gun laws are much more lax compared to california.

Shooter

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Me too, only I STILL live here!

I'm hoping to move back up north to western Washington myself at some point.

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JonW

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I was born and raised in Puyallup until I was 22, then moved to SoCal. I now live in Huntington Beach. I would not trade HB for anything in Washington!!!

Don't get me wrong, the summers there are incredible. It's just the other 10 months of the year that I can do without. If you're an outdoors person and the rain doesn't bother you, then go for it. Myself, I prefer the sunny beach and clean cars year round.

Yankeehillbrewer

Recipes 

Yeah I lived down in So Cal when I was in the Marines, and I liked it a lot. But my lifestyle these days requires me to have a decent size piece of land, and there is no way I could afford that down there. I agree though, the climate in So Cal is perfect.

__________________
Kegged:Coffee Porter, ChinSimTra IPA,American Brown,Motueka Pale Ale
Bottled: Barleywine

Primary #1:Pilsner
Primary #2:
On Deck:Hefeweizen,IPA

JonW

Recipes 

It's high, but not nearly that high. You can use the DMV online calculator to see what the fees are for a new vehicle. Using $30K as an estimate for a 2010 gasoline vehicle, tax is $2625 (8.75% in OC) and registration is $434. Registration normally goes down each year unless there is a bump in fees.

I'm not sure what the property tax rates are in WA, but they do asses it on full (current) market value where CA does it based on purchase price. Thus if you purchased years ago, your property taxes are much lower than what you would pay today if you bought the same house. This is a huge savings.

Here's a site I just found that compares a bunch of the taxes by state: http://retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html . It might help in the research a bit.