My retired parents want to move to WA state. I'm in the Seattle area for work but obviously since they're retired they don't need to be within commute distance of it. I don't know the state very well yet so wanted to see if people had suggestions for places 1 - 2 hours away max.

Boy, that's a pretty open request. I'd say it entirely depends on what they want to do... Live near the water? Gig Harbor is nice. Hiking and outdoors? Marysville, maybe. My retired parents live in Sumner and it's a great little community for them. The farther out you move, the cheaper and quieter it will get.

Pierce County is a great place to look into

What kind of financial situation are they in? How big of a place do they want? Do they want acreage, or something like a 55 & up community? Do they want to do outdoorsy stuff, or be close to a city for dining & theater? Do they want to minimize the amount of rain? Are either of them retired military & want to be close to Madigan? My parents wanted to move the Sequim back when they were around, driest place in western WA, but 2-3 hours away from a military hospital so they decided against it.

If it were me, I'd be looking up toward Bellingham, easy 90 minute drive or so, nice area, property values aren't through the roof like they are in the Seattle area, close to Vancouver if they like to travel a bit. The only real drawback is access to SeaTac if they plan to travel.

Right off the bat STAY OUT OF ANY RTA AREA!!!!
http://rtamaps2.soundtransit.org/st_determineaddress.html?_ga=1.168434594.2077222411.1481211495

Fixed income, planning on selling existing house and using that to buy or down payment a new place.

3 bedroom home is fine

Big piece of land isn’t required. A cookie cutter neighborhood is fine. No assisted living or retirement community required.

Ideally it’s closer to the amenities of a city, but open to ideas if the price is right.

If rain means cooler temperatures then rain is ideal.

Not retired military.

eastern WA all the way.

Also, make sure they get a big enough piece of land for a WAGuns range?

Client of mine has over 100 rental houses in the south end, buys several a month and rents them out to immigrants.
He's still finding houses for $100K-$150K.
Could be dumps, or maybe he's just good at finding deals.

Jump over to the peninsula. There are several retirement-oriented areas, and you can come to Seattle if you want. Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Ludlow, etc. Slower pace of life.

Sequim. Rain shadow from the Olympics and a nice community with all amenities they would need.
Close to Olympic national Park, really close to Saltwater and Lakes.
...and it's not King County or anywhere near the RTA Bullshit.

How do they vote? I am about an hour North of North Seattle without a ton of traffic. Usually a little more. Still "good" deals to be found. Conservative area, but growing rapidly. Have all modern comforts, yet minutes to the Bay, River, Mountains, Forests, you name it. Not to mention the best drive over to the East Side the state has is in our back yard. Check our Skagit County.

I’m the opposite, stay in western Washington. Snohomish, Arlington, Tulalip, Marysville, and Lake Stevens are areas I’d recommend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pierce county is so shady. I hear Battle Ground is where the real G’s live.

We just moved to Marysville. Happy with the location and what we got for our money. There are some nice new neighborhoods being built up there. Just make sure you're not too close to the train. It runs often and is loud.

Stanwood, La Conner, Bellingham. The best region to live in the puget sound (imo).