Ask Lemmy

I’ve lived in Washington State (western) for 4 years total and have seen exactly 10 days of snow the entire time I’ve been here. Houses are still 3-400k. I want to move either closer to SeaTac or down to Vancouver because I bought a house in an area with a lot of flags on trucks if you catch my drift. We have more cloudy days than anything. We get lots of rain but it’s mostly just clouds and drizzles.

Tennessee still has some affordable housing in rural areas. Very little snow as well.

Are you prepared for no-flouride water, septic tanks, an awful education system, a sub-tropical climate that seems to get less "sub" every year, more types of pollen than you've ever dreamed of, more guns than people, and rampant meth/opioid abuse?

I would recommend somewhere in Europe. You will have paid vacation and heathcare insurance and (almost) free school and … :)

Raleigh/Durham in NC. it's a little bubble of progressive in a red state. Houses aren't crazy yet. Lots of tech work. No snow.

"No snow" and "Affordable housing" are going to be a tricky combo.

Eastern Washington gets lots of snow and is basically Idaho, but houses are around 3-400k. Western Washington doesnt tend to get much snow, but it does happen, and housing is averaging around 600k for a 2bd/2ba even out in more suburban areas, so not exactly affordable. Big cities think more like 750-850k.

Im also assuming you're looking for West coast vibes given the Cali to Washington idea. New Mexico/Arizona/Nevada might match what youre looking for.

A friend of mine just moved to California. San Diego. Couldn’t afford a house so he bought a boat and he now lives on the boat. He said the boat is much better than any house. It’s much larger than any house he could maybe afford there and if he doesn’t like San Diego, he could just float away to somewhere else.

Western Washington doesn't get a lot of snow unless you're in the mountains.

Are you working remotely or would you depend on the local economy for a job?

Because the big catch is, the places you can afford have no work.

Or even with remote work, you need broadband access, so no DSL, no Hughesnet.

Snow? Realllllyyyy depends on where in the state

Western Washington gets almost none, and you’ve got the whole I5 corridor to move to. Vancouver is the biggest city with the most affordable housing ratio. Not that it’s an oddly deep red district which is counter intuitive considering its size and proximity to Portland.

Bellingham up near the border is next in line, but it’s smaller and further from city activities.

Tacoma and Olympia are both cities that Seattleites are starting to move to despite the commute due to more affordable housing.

Then there’s Everett, the home of Boeing and about 25 miles north of Seattle. Cheaper than Seattle and has reasonable access to Seattle or to head north to the border. Still expect to pay 600k plus for a house though.

Lastly there’s everything between. It’s all small towns, rural areas, trees, and hills. The spot about smack dab between Tacoma and Portland gets more snow than most of the west side of the state, so maybe not for you. But the rest is good. And these places will all be cheap as hell to buy in. You just won’t have city amenities.

Consider SW Michigan. 2h drive/train to Chicago, proximity to large bodies of water for summer enjoyment, and if you live in a reasonably-sized town they're probably good at clearing roads when it snows.

Besides, our winters get milder each year. There's a couple of big snow/ice events, but the trick is to not be on the road while the heavy stuff is coming down. Wait a few hours for it to ease up and for the snow plows to do their thing.

City Nerd has a few great videos on affordable places to live that have urban amenities, for example: https://youtu.be/1qzePci2N6E?si=dWq43GmzH5ObF1q8

Just live where other people don't want to live. Living in desirable places drives the prices up.

You want less snow than Seattle??

Nowhere can you buy an affordable house, unless you move out to middle of nowhere. I've heard they're still affordable in Appalachia

Find a purple voting district, move there and vote blue - the republicans need more social services to use regularly while they complain about people expecting "handouts"

So many comments suggesting American cities... I would rather suggest humbling yourself to the point where you can beg for EU citizenship. There's no point in the US anymore.

People in Washington strongly dislike Californians

Split the difference. Go somewhere in northern CA or southern OR (Portland is pricy too).

Upstate New York or maybe Michigan. Just not Buffalo. That is some snow hell at times. As for driving in snow in general? It really isn't that bad and I moved up here from the South. Just buy good quality tires, or if you are really paranoid, snow tires. I have always regretted my life decisions when I got shitty whatever the crooked mechanics had on sale tires. I have never needed chains in the areas I live in. You cannot be any worse than every other idiot in snow. Promise. You will be fine.

I think New Mexico is where it’s at for low/no snow and affordable housing. Not coastal vibes at all, but neither is it anywhere close to Texas feeling. They just kind of have their own thing. Almost anywhere on the I-25 between Albuquerque and Las Cruces might suit your desire.