Relocate to the PNW

SeaDawg · Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 384

Help me choose. Washinton or Oregon, I'm ready for a big change. Sports include windsurfing,sailing, power boating, Dual Sport MC, and touring on my BMW K1200RS. Kids will get back into snow boarding.

I've had one trip to Hood River and a quick shot out to the coast. For schools and job opportunity's I'm thinking bigger city. Redmond Washinton-Portland Oregon.

Any tax pro/cons Washinton/Oregon?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

HUGE tax advantage to WA, but its schools near Hood River are reported to be absolutely horrible.

What career field are you in? The TriCities (Pasco/Richland/Kennewick) near the eastern Gorge are absolutely booming -- the recession bypassed us -- with many thousands of engineering positions from a $15B construction project to cutting edge research in many fields. Schools here are reportedly outstanding. Google Tridec for much more info, and search this forum for hundreds of pages on this topic (maybe the key word TriCities will reveal most of them; I'd add a manual historical scan of the topics, considering what's at stake.)

It straddles the Columbia, but urban and natural topography is much more suitable to power- and sail-boating than to WSing in town; except for a few rare days with decent swell smack downtown, Gorge WSing starts 20 minutes away. An acquaintance who moved from Texas to eastern WA primarily for its road-biking on his new Harley is ecstatic over his choice; the highways here, from freeways to thousands of miles of twisty/scenic/hilly two-lane blacktop, are a) pot-hole-free and b) flat empty. My neighbor is an avid, serious dirt biker. Overall, eastern WA is on a different planet than the "West Side" in virtually every way (e.g., our annual precip is about 6 inches).

I could live anywhere I want in the U.S.. I chose and still choose to live here, with WSing as my top priority.

Mike \m/

SeaDawg · Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 384

Thanks Mike, almost knew you would be one of the 1st to post up. I've read lots of your posts and no lack of stoke on your part.

SD

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

What can I say? Enthusiasm + insomnia + drive-by computer = quick reactions. Heck, if we were in the same time zone, I'd have answered before you asked the question.

Mike \m/

Mulekick84 · Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 407

Check into Vancouver, WA. Its basically North Portland, but no State income tax, solid schools, and windsurfing is close. Nuke Alley/Jones beach 45 minutes, Stevenson-White Salmon, close.

Skiing Crystal Mountain in WA is as uncrowded as it gets or drive up to Hood.

Tri-Cities? Too far from the action and you could get stuck being friends with ISO. I wouldn't wish that bad vibe on anyone.

Besides, he's always bitching about having to get up at 4 AM to get to the Hatch for a supposedly good forecast. Easier to stay home, so he does. Then argues that WMP and Andy didn't sail their 4.2's all day or that it couldn't have been that good because it never is unless he shows up.

What I want to know is, who has actually SEEN ISO on the water? NOT ME!!!

SeaDawg · Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 384

I don't read all that much about the coastal windsurfing in Oregon and Washington. My sailing started on Lake Erie, big wide beaches a long fetch of good clean air. Now a days there's usually only 1-3 windsurfers out.

I just read about some conflicts between kiters n' wndfers at the event site in Aug.

I'm used to lots of f@$%& water around me, don't think I've ever looked downwind before a gybe......

Talk to me about coastal weather n' conditions. Also i'm spoiled by accsess to the OBX and warm gulf stream waters.

cgoudie1 · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:58 am Post subject:

I've seen Mike on the water, briefly, on a fairly light wind day, he was still
ripp'n.

-Craig

WMP · Joined: 30 May 2000 Posts: 671

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

cgoudie1 · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:27 pm Post subject:

I've seen Pete out on some fairly honk'n days (both East and West)
he definitely rips.

-Craig