***Washington State Residents***?

I live in Vancouver, WA (near Portland Oregon) and I love it! We have a bit of traffic but you get "big" city activities in Portland but nice safe neighborhoods in Vancouver. Vancouver has a great public school system, good roads, a lot of parks and recreational activities. We do have higher gas prices due to a state imposed gas tax but you can see your tax money at work here. The Seattle area is very nice as well. Many more activities than Vancouver but also a lot more traffic. The weather can be a bit wet and gray but spring, summer and autumn really make it worth it. I think our cost of living is very reasonable. I did a quick job search on the link below and found many jobs above minimum wage. Where else can you live and get clean air, mountains and ocean a couple hours away, nice people, and fair wages?

Seattle was chosen within the top 3 most livable places in the U.S. and for good reason. High employment and affordable housing and outdoor and indoor activities. Education is just a bit better than average compare to other states but we have two major universities and many community colleges and trade schools. Great for medicine and high tech employment and education. Negative is traffic and rain or gray sky days. There are several restaurants and bars for you to work at and of course great seafood and local wines and beers. Check out the want ads on this site for possibilities: http://marketplace.nwsource.com/jobs/?from=stn

the sales tax is 8.8% where i live (kent) housing is also very expensive

Lynden,WA is a quite town and is about 10 miles North of Bellingham..4 miles from the Canadian border..nice view of the mountains (Mt.Baker) lot's of dairy land, so lot's of dairy cow air..better then pollutition of the big city I guess..good luck

Kent, just below Seattle, hate it here, everything(housing, food, cars, gas..everything) is expensive..it's chilly and damp most of the year, but very little if any snow in my area..

In addition to those facts you have already discovered it's hard to find a more beautiful place than Washington State. Seattle has one of the highest literacy rates in the country as well so the smartest people live here also. My favorite companies, Starbucks and Costco are headquartered here. We'll see you soon! Ocean Shores, Wa.

No, that's all true. Cost of living is somewhat higher here in Seattle than in other parts of the country, but it's worth it to live in an amazing city like this, where culture and intelligence abounds. As for those that complain about the dreariness here...you've obviously never lived anywhere else. Try living in the midwest. It might be gloomy, but it's hella hot in the summer and hella cold in the winter!!

I love living in Washington State. I've been all over the country and I enjoy the diverse scenaries and love the culture of the city. Depending on where you live, the cost of living can be very low or it can be outrageously high. I live in the city of Covington which is about 30 to 45 minutes outside of Seattle and kind of in the country. We bought our house for 230,000 two years ago and our house is a little under 2000 sq. ft. The same houses in our neighborhood are going for 380,000 right now. We couldn't afford to buy our own house if we were to buy it today. But if you go further south or east, then the cost of living lowers. If you move here, try to move to Tacoma or south or even on the eastside of the state such as Spokane. Spokane has a lot less rain, more sun in the summer and lots of snow in the winter. Seattle has a lot of rain, and if you aren't used to it, it can be dreary. But you could also move to the west side of the state such as Sequim which is in a rain shadow and has gorgeous weather a lot of the time and is close to the coast.