[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Moving to Washington (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 8/25/2012 5:06:46 PM EDT
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Were listing our house and moving to Washington. The wife & I are both looking for employment and will be living in the Seattle area, or north part towards Everett I believe it was. She has family in the area. First off, does WA. allow 30 rounds mags and dirty nasty mean ol' black rifles? I should specify, are there any restrictions on a plain ol' semi auto black rife? Are there a decent amount of ranges to visit? Does the State of WA. honor a Michigan CPL?
I'm looking forward to being by the ocean again. I've only been to Washington once and it was beautiful. Downtown Seattle was pretty fun as well, before the sun went down anyway....... |
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Quoted: does WA. allow 30 rounds mags and dirty nasty mean ol' black rifles? Yes. I should specify, are there any restrictions on a plain ol' semi auto black rife? No. Are there a decent amount of ranges to visit? A few Does the State of WA. honor a Michigan CPL? Doubtful, but a WA one is easy to get and OC is legal. |
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Quoted: Check the Attorney Generals website but I have an app on my phone that says a MI CPL is recognized. Indeedy, my how the world has changed. |
Heck yes we do! 
Since this is WA Hometown I know I am probably not alone in this BUT- I get great joy in watching Seattle/Portland news playing clips of cars slip-sliding down the streets... "Hey, the gun in front of you in his jacked-up 4x4 didnt make it up, maybe your Honda lowrider isn't the 'vehicle of choice' for that hill that is covered in ice?!?!? Oh what? You're gonna do it anyways... and pinball into all the cars parked along the side of the street... OK, lets watch!  "
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Yeah, those wet siders freak out anytime there is a little powder. We we do have these things called hills over here. Check out the grades on some of the roads in Seattle. http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/steepest.htm |
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Quoted: Yeah, those wet siders freak out anytime there is a little powder. Because we actually have fun and exciting places to go as opposed to living in a flat windy desert wasteland. People get in their cars unprepared and try to get to those places. If the wet side was as boring as the east side, no one would freak out because there would be no place to go anyways. |
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Since this is WA Hometown I know I am probably not alone in this BUT- I get great joy in watching Seattle/Portland news playing clips of cars slip-sliding down the streets... "Hey, the gun in front of you in his jacked-up 4x4 didnt make it up, maybe your Honda lowrider isn't the 'vehicle of choice' for that hill that is covered in ice?!?!? Oh what? You're gonna do it anyways... and pinball into all the cars parked along the side of the street... OK, lets watch! "Without suggesting that our drivers on average are as competent in winter driving as the average midwest driver, the OP should probably experience local winter driving for himself before judging it. The western parts of Washington and Oregon are comprised of hilly, mountainous terrain. Many roads therefore have considerable hills and curvature that follows the terrain. Now compound that with the fact that when it does snow here the temperature is usually just below freezing creating particularly wet, heavy snow that immediately compacts into solid, especially slippery ice, usually with a layer of slush on top for added effect. In short, this ain't your daddy's midwest snow or driving. It's not as easy to drive in these conditions as it is where the roads are flatter and straighter and the temperatures colder .He will likely do fine here, but it may not be the cakewalk you are making it out to be. And plenty of 4x4s have pinballed down those streets, too. 
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People overestimate 4x4's all the time. A 4x4 is great for traction and getting up off the line. 4 wheel drive isn't going to help you one bit when you jam on the brakes. I have driven everything from a Deuce & a Half, to a Humvee, to a little car. It's all about handling, anticipation without over reaction, watching other drivers, and the road conditions around you.
My main objective of coming in here was simply to ask a few questions about WA. State. From what I remember, it's absolutely beautiful. It will be nice to be able to leave the house and only have to drive less than a half hour and be able to actually experience the out of doors. I miss that from living up in Alaska in the service. Michigan is a gorgeous state, once you drive a couple hours away from the big city. If you go "up north" towards the water, it's breath taking. The trouble is, the big cities are so nasty. I mean come on, Michigan earned the top two deadliest cities there for awhile as Detroit & Flint. Pontiac was a little dirty secret. Hell, Pontiac is so bad, I remember the news a couple of years ago talking about how even a couple of off duty police officers were robbed at gun point. The Pacific Northwest is simply breath taking and I intend to soak it in. My family & I are eager to get out of here and point our wagons west if you will. |
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Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. |
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Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. I read an article by a meteorologist a while back and he was saying how, in addition to there being hills on the way to just about everywhere, the snow we tend to get (on the rare occasions that we get any at all), is actually qualitatively different than in many parts of the country due to our climate. Essentially, it's wetter and slicker, and tends to pack into ice more easily than in many other areas, making the snow around here harder to navigate than many other places. |
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It will be nice to be able to leave the house and only have to drive less than a half hour and be able to actually experience the out of doors. With Seattle traffic half an hour from Seattle is still Seattle. Pretty much. However, you can still be in your choice of two mountain ranges by the afternoon if the mood hits ya. |
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Quoted: I read an article by a meteorologist a while back and he was saying how, in addition to there being hills on the way to just about everywhere, the snow we tend to get (on the rare occasions that we get any at all), is actually qualitatively different than in many parts of the country due to our climate. Essentially, it's wetter and slicker, and tends to pack into ice more easily than in many other areas, making the snow around here harder to navigate than many other places. And it doesn't help when SDOT dumps diluted salt water on the roads when it's already below freezing.  |
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People overestimate 4x4's all the time. A 4x4 is great for traction and getting up off the line. 4 wheel drive isn't going to help you one bit when you jam on the brakes. I have driven everything from a Deuce & a Half, to a Humvee, to a little car. It's all about handling, anticipation without over reaction, watching other drivers, and the road conditions around you. My main objective of coming in here was simply to ask a few questions about WA. State. From what I remember, it's absolutely beautiful. It will be nice to be able to leave the house and only have to drive less than a half hour and be able to actually experience the out of doors. I miss that from living up in Alaska in the service. Michigan is a gorgeous state, once you drive a couple hours away from the big city. If you go "up north" towards the water, it's breath taking. The trouble is, the big cities are so nasty. I mean come on, Michigan earned the top two deadliest cities there for awhile as Detroit & Flint. Pontiac was a little dirty secret. Hell, Pontiac is so bad, I remember the news a couple of years ago talking about how even a couple of off duty police officers were robbed at gun point. The Pacific Northwest is simply breath taking and I intend to soak it in. My family & I are eager to get out of here and point our wagons west if you will. Having lived a lot of years in the Midwest, and having lived in a lot of "scenic" highly desirable states, Washington is really hard to beat! I went shooting on DNR land today in the mountains, temp was 65, a few clouds, simply awesome. |
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Quoted: The trouble is, the big cities are so nasty. I mean come on, Michigan earned the top two deadliest cities there for awhile as Detroit & Flint. Pontiac was a little dirty secret. Hell, Pontiac is so bad, I remember the news a couple of years ago talking about how even a couple of off duty police officers were robbed at gun point. The worst parts of Seattle will probably look like a utopian paradise comparatively. It's so cold in the D.   |
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Quoted: Quoted: Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. Or the city decides to plow the nice high traction snow pack off the road down to bare ice.  THAT was fun. |
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Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. Or the city decides to plow the nice high traction snow pack off the road down to bare ice. THAT was fun.
try it with a 60 foot articulating bus......it took my wife seven hours to make her run from Seattle to Lynnwood. |
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People overestimate 4x4's all the time. A 4x4 is great for traction and getting up off the line. 4 wheel drive isn't going to help you one bit when you jam on the brakes. I have driven everything from a Deuce & a Half, to a Humvee, to a little car. It's all about handling, anticipation without over reaction, watching other drivers, and the road conditions around you. My main objective of coming in here was simply to ask a few questions about WA. State. From what I remember, it's absolutely beautiful. It will be nice to be able to leave the house and only have to drive less than a half hour and be able to actually experience the out of doors. I miss that from living up in Alaska in the service. Michigan is a gorgeous state, once you drive a couple hours away from the big city. If you go "up north" towards the water, it's breath taking. The trouble is, the big cities are so nasty. I mean come on, Michigan earned the top two deadliest cities there for awhile as Detroit & Flint. Pontiac was a little dirty secret. Hell, Pontiac is so bad, I remember the news a couple of years ago talking about how even a couple of off duty police officers were robbed at gun point. The Pacific Northwest is simply breath taking and I intend to soak it in. My family & I are eager to get out of here and point our wagons west if you will. Having lived a lot of years in the Midwest, and having lived in a lot of "scenic" highly desirable states, Washington is really hard to beat! I went shooting on DNR land today in the mountains, temp was 65, a few clouds, simply awesome. I agree. I think that within the 48 contiguous states the Pacific Northwest in general and Washington in particular are unparalleled for both their beauty and variety of climate and terrain. |
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Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. Or the city decides to plow the nice high traction snow pack off the road down to bare ice. THAT was fun.
try it with a 60 foot articulating bus......it took my wife seven hours to make her run from Seattle to Lynnwood. I'll bet the commuter trains were packed that day. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. Or the city decides to plow the nice high traction snow pack off the road down to bare ice. THAT was fun.try it with a 60 foot articulating bus......it took my wife seven hours to make her run from Seattle to Lynnwood.  Was that the year they didn't want to salt/ brine the roads in Seattle because it would have run off into the Puget sound and made it a little saltier for a day? |
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Oh just wait... worked with guys from MI and they couldn't belive how town "shut down" at the first signs of snow and/or ice. Winter will be a breeze for you. yeah...those guys are usually the ones in the ditches because snow on the roads here usually means ice under it..oh..and we have lots and lots of hills. Or the city decides to plow the nice high traction snow pack off the road down to bare ice. THAT was fun.
try it with a 60 foot articulating bus......it took my wife seven hours to make her run from Seattle to Lynnwood. Was that the year they didn't want to salt/ brine the roads in Seattle because it would have run off into the Puget sound and made it a little saltier for a day?
nope...that shift gave her 23 hrs on the clock...most of it stuck in Bellevue....the seven hour trip was this last winter. |
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The trouble is, the big cities are so nasty. I mean come on, Michigan earned the top two deadliest cities there for awhile as Detroit & Flint. Pontiac was a little dirty secret. Hell, Pontiac is so bad, I remember the news a couple of years ago talking about how even a couple of off duty police officers were robbed at gun point. The worst parts of Seattle will probably look like a utopian paradise comparatively. It's so cold in the D.
 http://youtu.be/aktLRiWXfqg
YES! That is EXACTLY the reason why I won't miss Detroit or Flint, or Pontiac for that matter. I remember driving through Fairview, ("Ghetto" of Anchorage, AK.) when I was stationed up in Alaska. My wife is from AK. Were driving, it was a sunny day, I had my window down and my elbow resting on the open window there just driving around. My wife is hunkered down in the passenger seat, window up, doors locked and telling me to "Get me the hell out of here.!" I asked her why and she proceeded to tell me that it was the ghetto. She didn't appreciate my laughter. Fast forward 16 years, and 14 of them living in MI 5 miles from the murder/crime capitol of the USA and only 35-40 minutes away from the #2 murder/crime capitol in the USA, and 25 minutes from Pontiac, and she now understands my thought patterns a little bit better. If I have to go into the city, I carry two spare magazines on my person........... I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SEATTLE! |
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Quoted: The worst parts of Seattle are better than the nice parts in many cities. It won't even phase you. People I know who have never traveled outside of Wa straight up just don't get that. Seattle isn't even really a big city. It's a tiny city that annexed a bunch of small towns and communities that are geographically separated by hills and bodies of water. |
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The worst parts of Seattle are better than the nice parts in many cities. It won't even phase you. People I know who have never traveled outside of Wa straight up just don't get that. Seattle isn't even really a big city. It's a tiny city that annexed a bunch of small towns and communities that are geographically separated by hills and bodies of water. I live in Ballard, which coincidentally was a separate town until the 30's when they built the Ballard bridge.
The only place in town that I won't go at night is the parking area under the Viaduct. That's where tourists go to get mugged. That's not to say that I don't use my head and keep my eyes open in some neighborhoods after sundown, but we don't have any actual ghettos here at all. |
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Pike place market gets sketchy at night from the crazy homeless people, and belltown, especially down by venom has Asian gang shootings occasionally. No where to even really park under the Viaduct anymore.  I used to like parking down there at night when it was free albeit it is sketchy. |
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Seattle isn't even really a big city. It's a tiny city that annexed a bunch of small towns and communities that are geographically separated by hills and bodies of water. LOL- People from "Seattle" get mad when I consider everything from Tacoma, to Marysville, east to about Issaquah/Snoqualamie to be "Seattle" Being from Longview/Kelso, it all looks 'big city' to me
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Yeah, ran into the same thing down there, got asked if I knew Kurt, or Ann and Nancy a couple of times. Leesville, population 6,600 and 5 last names. HAHAHAHHA, What a shiethole! We got turned loose for a night in Leesville many many moons ago, and our BC found quickly that his decision was a mistake. I remember seeing a remotely attractive woman in a bar, then she had to smile and it just ruined the picture. How does one start that conversation, hmmmm, "My, what a nice couple of teeth you have there." Call me crazy though, I still preferred the snakes, spider, fire-ants, chiggers, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and every other insect over the NTC.
On another note. OK, my wife & I are looking at houses for rent. Cost of living is pretty expensive in WA. Were gonna have to rent for a year or two as we are unfortunately going to have to short sale our home here. The jobs here suck, you can't find one, and wife's dad's health is starting to slip. Wife & I are both going to be looking for jobs when we get there. Actually, were both looking online now. It will be easier to do interviews when in WA. Were both marketable. On that note, we need to find good schools for our kids. One's starting 8th grade and the other 9th grade. We don't want to be too far from Mukilteo if we can help it. The in-laws live on Whidby Island. Mukilteo is the ferry crossing. Wife was looking at Marysville area. I don't mind Seattle proper, but I want good schools. The education of my children trumps all right now. Of-course, we have to find some place affordable as well. Can you guys give me some ideas on the schools in the Seattle and surrounding areas? We want to educate ourselves as best as possible. Were looking online for places to rent, then will eventually fly out to look at them right before we move. Thanks so much in advance. |
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Define "affordable".
Places like Mill Creek, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc are probably going to have the best public schools. But they are going to be among the most expensive to live in as well. My wife and I have been pleased with the school system and the education our children have received in Snohomish. On average Snohomish tends to be a bit more expensive to live in than most of it's neighbors, but there are not large tracts of low income neighborhoods and apartments here so we feel that the overall caliber of students is a little higher than in many of the surrounding communities. I would personally be very reluctant to have our children attend Everett schools and be mixed up with kids from rougher neighborhoods such as north Everett, Casino Road, Mariner, etc. Marysville is not better much, in my opinion. Mukilteo and Lake Stevens seem decent enough. Good luck with your decision. |
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Thanks so much Boomer. Any & all help/advice is greatly appreciated. "Affordable" would be $1k or less a month. As I search, I see that may not be an option for a 3 bedroom. Prices are much higher in WA than MI. At this point, if I can find a 3 bedroom with an outhouse for under a grand I would be happy. An outhouse is sufficient as it's no where near as cold as MI in the winter. We have to look at houses due to our dogs. Ain't life grand. Were not set on any part of town yet. Just not too far from the ferry so my wife & the kids can see their grandparents without having to drive cross country. If we can both get jobs rather quickly, then it should be easier to afford more. Michigan is the worst state in the country right now for employment & real estate.
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Hmmmm, I' guess I'm going to have to do some serious looking around. I'm going to have to float the first 6 months rent as nobody is going to rent to somebody who has no job. We shall see what the future holds. I'm doing a ton of praying, that's for sure. This is a huge move for us. The job market in WA. looks good, and the pay seems a bit higher than MI. to compensate the higher housing costs. On a plus note, MARS HILL CHURCH is in Seattle. We went there last year while we were visiting and loved it. So, at-least we have found our church already. 
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