moving from Oregon to Washington?

[sailorfej]

Hi Folks,

I currently live and work in Portland, Oregon and looking for a new home with at least a little acreage around it. Seems like there are a lot more options in Washington within commuting distance of Portland for better prices than Oregon. My work is flexible so I can shift commute time to avoid the worst rush hours.

Are there any other drawbacks to living in Washington and working in Oregon?

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[Stomper]

Non-resident income tax to Oregon....

 

[TOVO]

No full autos in WA State.

 

[rdb241]

Non-resident income tax to Oregon....

But we have a sales tax up here.

 

[Stomper]

Then drive into Oregon and buy stuff... no sales tax!

 

[rdb241]

yeah of course you can do that.

 

[etrain16]

Most of my family have moved into the Vancouver/Camas area in the last 10-15 years, I'm the last OR holdout. Initially, they liked it for lower property taxes, which, as I understand it, is no longer the big savings it once was, thanks to politicians increasing those taxes. You can pump your own gas, which is a nice bonus, but it won't save you any money as I've sometimes paid more in Vancouver than I have in Portland.

As already noted, if you work in Oregon, you're still going to pay Oregon state income tax.

There are still some decent semi-rural areas if you can get on the outskirts of Vancouver, but they are building like crazy up there and it's just going to keep getting busier. My brother is building a house right now out east off of Eastman Parkway. Looks like a nice place, but single lane roads feeding into new big developments looks like potential traffic nightmares to me.

My family has pushed me for years to move up north, but honestly, I have yet to see any benefit to that move. I'm down south in Clackamas county, and at least for now, I've got no desire to move away. I commute to PDX every day for work and it's not a bad drive most days.

 

[Joe13]

Ridgefield is the next Battle Ground/Vancouver.


I wouldn't buy property any closer to the border then Woodland personally.

Be prepared for a 20-30 min drive to the freeway and the same just to get across the bridge, maybe 45 min total if you have flexible hours.

That's an extra 90 min of commute time daily, plus the gas and wear and tear on your vehicle.

I want to move out of town but that it my number one issue currently - the cost to commute back into town.




More shooting areas in the woods, less gun clubs/Ranges .



Hard alcohol is more expensive.



That's about all so can think of right now that hasn't been posted.

 

[oknow]

Most of my family have moved into the Vancouver/Camas area in the last 10-15 years, I'm the last OR holdout. Initially, they liked it for lower property taxes, which, as I understand it, is no longer the big savings it once was, thanks to politicians increasing those taxes. You can pump your own gas, which is a nice bonus, but it won't save you any money as I've sometimes paid more in Vancouver than I have in Portland.

As already noted, if you work in Oregon, you're still going to pay Oregon state income tax.

There are still some decent semi-rural areas if you can get on the outskirts of Vancouver, but they are building like crazy up there and it's just going to keep getting busier. My brother is building a house right now out east off of Eastman Parkway. Looks like a nice place, but single lane roads feeding into new big developments looks like potential traffic nightmares to me.

My family has pushed me for years to move up north, but honestly, I have yet to see any benefit to that move. I'm down south in Clackamas county, and at least for now, I've got no desire to move away. I commute to PDX every day for work and it's not a bad drive most days.

Depending on your job. truck drivers that drive interstate do not pay Or. income tax.

 

[sailorfej]

Thanks Folks, I appreciate the response. I definitely would prefer staying in Oregon, but I am seeing a lot more options for property in Washington right now, particularly around Woodland. I already have a 45 minute commute to Portland, so that won't change much for me.

 

[PBinWA]

I'm outside of Washougal, and I can make it to Downtown Portland in 35 minutes with no traffic. But that is driving fast (really fast).

The benefit of outlying unincorporated Clark County is that if you have a safe backdrop you can shoot on your own property. There is a map somewhere on the county website that says where shooting is permitted. You may want to find it and reference it if you are serious.

With really bad traffic it is an 1-1.25 hours. Most days I can do Portland to Camas in 45 minutes. I usually am driving just before the rush traffic starts (Traffic guy is usually saying: "And here they come out of Vancouver")

I suspect Ridgefield with traffic is just as bad.

You may want to look out in the Happy Valley, Boring area. If you can commute in the off hours then it would be a good option.

 

[The Heretic]

I considered it, but:

If you work in OR you can't avoid the OR income tax.

The commute from Vancouver into downtown Portland where I work is horrendous.

If anything bad happened - Cascadia Earthquake, etc. - it would be very hard and hazardous to get across the Columbia into Oregon. The most important person in my life - my daughter - lives in Beaverton, and I took a cut in pay and now work at a lesser job so I could live in Oregon near my daughter. It took me 25 years to get out of the Seattle area and back here to Oregon where my family is, so I am stuck here for the duration.

There are nice areas outside of Vancouver though. If I didn't have those family and job considerations, I would probably live somewhere in SW WA state.

 

[PDXSparky]

No full autos in WA State.

This is what ruins it for me. Otherwise I'd like to live up by the Puget Sound.

 

[coastal steelheader]

There are nice areas outside of Vancouver though. If I didn't have those family and job considerations, I would probably live somewhere in SW WA state.

Just stay away from the Coast - Grays Harbor and Pacific County especially. I see a lot of low wage jobs, a ton of government jobs, even more sucking off the government, tweekers, heroin addicts, and hard core alcoholics.

To make things even worse the local leaders have let the gang problem get out of control here. For years they flippantly wrote them all off as wannabes, and now we have weekly gun play in Aberdeen (mysteriously none of them ever seem to get caught either). Give it a year or two and we will be just like Yakima.

Just my .02

 

[notazombie]

I see you're in Scappoose. If all you want is some acreage, why not just move up the hill a bit? I'd take the Hwy 30 commute (which I've done) over the I5 commute (which I've also done) any day. While I don't know this to be fact, I'd suspect that Columbia county would be less restrictive than Clark county in many respects.

 

[transittech]

You will be one of "those" drivers...

 

[erudne]

move to eastern WA, near the ID state line

 

[Martini_Up]

Best to only shop in OR. Live and work in WA. At least they now get suppressors.

 

[PaulB47]

If you still pay OR income tax, it makes no sense to move.

We looked at moving two or three times. Never pulled the trigger - couldn't put up with those bridges. I really liked Ridgefield, used to be a nice little town, but it has become a giant amoeba sucking up the countryside. A realtor told us it was the fastest growing area in the state right now.

To me, the only reasonable options are:
1) Work in Portland? Then live in Portland.
2) Can't stand Portland? Then disconnect completely, go live in Prineville or Fossil or whatever. Far outside of commute range. Of course your income won't be much but if you are inventive and a hard worker you might survive.

I've been trying to get out of the Portland metro area for decades, but I've come to the conclusion that if I want to stay married, I'll be here till the day I die. Sucks, but that's the way it goes. Anybody live on the east side of the Cascades, who can put up with an old fart in a trailer home? Will work for food...

My avatar is a beautiful area outside of Klamath Falls. Wish I lived there...

 

[Redcap]

This is what ruins it for me. Otherwise I'd like to live up by the Puget Sound.

It is nice up here and I can't afford to feed F/A anyway (all my spare money goes toward car projects right now).