Like it says, what am I getting into moving from SoCal to WA? Likely moving to Coastal/Pugent Sound area

So far considering Gig Harbor or Vashon Island-type areas. She these a no-no politically?

Anyone have suggestions for an area that offers available land for purchase (2+ acres less than $100k), good schools and near water?

I guess it will depend on what you consider "near water."  But generally no, I don't think you will touch anything in the Puget Sound with those conditions.  To get acreage that affordable, you will be near a small pond or inland lake, and fairly remote.  That precludes the good schools in most cases.

Like this:  Elbe "waterfront" acreage for sale  (no affiliation, just did a quick search)

But I could be wrong.

The part in bold.....not eva eva eva eva gonna happen on the wet side.  Unless it is a former superfund site, former land fill, etc.  Especially the "good schools" part.  All of the good school districts are filled with mid to high end homes.



Your island areas are generally full of hippies/liberals or super wealthy.  Gig harbor you can probably find a house on a postage stamp size lot for mid 200's but it is going to be a REALLY old home.  Most new construction, 1300-1600sq ft will run you 250K-300K in Snohomish county.  The house we just rented is 2700sq ft and the lot size is 5600sq ft and according to the county assessor value on it is 347K and the landlord paid 260K for it in 1999.   Given the size of the house, condition, etc. we stole it for 1995/mo in rent.  There are a few of the homes in the same neighborhood listing for sale in the 400-500K area.  And lot sizes usually max around 6-7K sq ft.  In a lot of cases your lot is just big enough for your house.  Comparible homes in the area are renting for 2200-2700/mo



The closer you get to water the higher the price gets.



This link has everything for sale in Gig Harbor right now according to zillow.  I'm sure there are others out there.  The cheapest lot I saw 145K for a lot that is proably less than 6K sq ft.  Be ready for some sticker shock. 1 acre with a house on it. will go for over a million for a few listed.



http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Gig-Harbor-WA/45429_rid/waterfront_att/days_sort/47.407063,-122.49052,47.24999,-122.826977_rect/11_zm/0_mmm/



But coming from So. Cal, you should be used to housing costs like this.  Rent prices in the area are spiking right now.  The 1200 sq ft. appartment we just left is going to be rented out for 1500/mo and its in the freaking hood.  In the nicer areas a 1400sq ft. 3bed appartment will list for 1800/mo (with no garage...thats 100-150 more).



Marysville (in snohomish county) you can still get some deals on homes for rent.  But you have to deal with the crime in the area and its not to much cheaper than any place else.



Anyways, I could type all night about the housing market here.  Like I said, there are deals to be found but you will more than likely end up with something pretty dated or needs a good chunk of money thrown at it to get it up to standard.

If you look on Zillow, there are plenty of 2+ acre lots all around the Puget Sound area for less than $120k. You aren't going to be getting prime waterfront property at that price, but it looks like you could find something within reasonable driving distance of salt water and in a decent school district. You are probably just going to have to come up here are start looking at lots and getting a feel for various locales.

You'd have to live way out there though. I couldn't find any residential two acre properties near water or decent schools in King County under $100k, and the only ones in Kitsap have restrictions like wetlands, or no power and water.

As for politics near the water, King County is very liberal as you probably know. And Kitsap County is heading that way too, despite Republican efforts. See Randy's thread in this forum on the recent closure of the Kitsap Rifle Club for an example. Bainbridge especially is packed with liberal voters, and the growth of the Bainbridge vote bloc is causing the whole county to trend Democrat.

You could pick up something like this 2 acres in Lakebay for $24k, but I suspect it is probably a swamp for six months of the year. And the local school is ranked 3/10.

http://u.zillow.com/p2IGz50/

To get a couple of acres under $100k otherwise, you need to be way out in Duvall or Enumclaw.

Where are you going to  be working OP? Given our crappy traffic, work should be the biggest influence on where you should live, unless you enjoy sitting in a traffic jam. Seattle traffic is almost as bad as Los Angeles, and we have a lot of water that forces traffic into choke points.

liberal as hell...but still not as liberal as CA.  As far as prices go, what happened to all the Kalifornicators that would move up and say "I got a house for less than $500,000...this place is cheap!!" I know we cost less than you guys, but $100k / waterfront / nice schools? You're not going to find that anywhere in WA AFAIK.

Way too many Liberals here and very expen$ive.  Stay in CA

Where would you be working?  Housing close to the most/largest employers is expensive, and if you live farther out, the commute sucks.  That said, if you can live and workfar enough away from Seattle and the suburbs East of Seattle, your should be good to go.

Xbillion

Yeah, everyone who hasn't lived here for at least 30 years should just go back to wherever you came from. Including those who were born here but aren't at least 30 years old yet. You are all ruining the place.

My parents were looking for land for a year before they found a lot they liked enough to buy after finding out about all the building restrictions. If you are looking in king county and find a empty lot, 90% of the time there is a significant build restriction on it, either seasonal water or wetlands. Who wants to buy a lot where 75% of it is illegal to build on? Nevermind the retardedness of them having to test for fish in a "stream" that is only there during the spring melt and drains in to a storm drain.  

Politics are mixed, but we are gradually fixing nfa stuff. If we could get people to understand that throwing more money at education isn't always the best approach we'd be making progress.

Did I hurt your feelings? Sorry

Their egos bursted at the same time as the housing market there.  

You need to look west of Gig Harbor and into the south Kitsap area.

The land use restrictions here suck, I had a house on six acres in Monroe where the only part of the land I was allowed to use was the small portion my house was on, the rest I was not even allowed to fence or have animals on.

I just bought a house that was made before all of those crap laws and have three acres I can use. But it cost $270k

Amen! If the gov doesn't want you building on it they should BUY IT themselves.

The state is essentially identical to California politically, just with a strong aversion to raising taxes & far less gun laws...

 


So you get all the same liberal policies, without even the slightest plan to pay for them...




Only difference is there is still plenty of water & less wildfires...


 

I was born in WI, the Army left me here... I will be in Texas within 2 years.