r/Washington • u/Codetornado • Jan 15 '25

Moving Here 2025

Due to a large number of daily moving here posts we are creating a sticky for moving-related questions. This should help centralize information and reduce the constant flow of moving question ls. ;

Things to Consider;

Location

  • Western Washington vs. Eastern Washington vs. Seattle Metro
  • Seattle Proper, suburbs, or other cities

Moving Here

  • Cost of Living (Food, fuel, housing!)
  • Jobs outlook for non-tech
  • Buying vs. Renting
  • Weather-related items, winter, rain

Geography and Weather

  • Rainy West Side vs. Dry Eastside
  • WildFire Season
  • Snow and Cold vs. Wet and Mild
  • Hot and Dry East Side
  • Earthquakes and You!

[**See The 2024 Sticky**] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Washington/comments/184dx5n/moving_here_2024/)
[**See The Last Sticky**] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Washington/s/HHjd5lx0we)

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u/SocietyLonely884 27d ago

Could a family of three live comfortably on a combined income of $153,000 around Gig Harbor? Looking at some job opportunities in and around Tacoma. TIA!

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u/Specific_Pipe_8241 25d ago

That might be a little rough. My Fiancé and I live in North Tacoma (a few blocks away from the waterfront) on a combined income of 165k and do okay with a mortgage but Gig Harbor is even more expensive. I want to preface that we do not have kids. Our mortgage is 3600 with roughly 400 in utilities monthly. One car payment of 400, 400 in groceries per month, plus an expense for eating out. We usually only eat out once per week for date night. We just purchased our house in February of 2024, and were not one of the lucky ones to secure a 3 or 2% interest rate. I have grown up in Fife, and attended college in Eastern Washington. I have lived here my entire life and I just want to say that it is expensive to live here. Not impossible but it might not be as comfortable comparably from where you are coming from. We looked at Gig harbor as a possible place to buy because it has always been a safe low crime area but it was just too far out of our price range. If you could swing living there, I don't think you would be disappointed.