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Another Seattle move

S

Spindrift

Well Known Member
Hi all,

Looks like there's a good chance I may also be moving to the Seattle area soon. The job is located just south of the West Seattle Bridge Viaduct. I'm not crazy about a long commute, having been spoiled by 20 minute commutes most of my career in Portland, and a half hour to Scappoose where my plane is. I'm curious what areas people recommend for both living and parking the RV. Also, anyone know the cost of bringing a plane in to Washington, i.e. property tax and/or registration fees?

Thanks,
 
I have only tied down at Boeing and Olympia

I have only tied down at Boeing and Olympia and as far as GA friendly is concerned, both were but those were simpler times. My work commutes in LA were on the order of 4 hours every day. They still were after I started flying to work but I put on my leather jacket twice a day and I didn't care anymore.

An aside - I noticed your quote from Steven Coonts and assume you are a fan. I am also and have every one of his books. Amazon advised me he has a new one coming out in May I believe called Sea Witch or something like that. I preordered.

Bob Axsom
 
great transit systems

Look at your transit options for commuting. The light rail runs right through SODO and there are extensive bus routes and even the sounder train with a main station close to your work area. Probably more housing options than you will be interested in exploring really... I would look at an initial rental located with the best commute to start with.

For hangars to the south of town look at Auburn, Pierce, Tacoma Narrows.

WA has a modest yearly registration fee of 35 for experimentals BUT before you can register you have to have proof that you have paid the one time USE TAX... basically a sales tax equivalent calculated on the value (or construction cost) at the tax rate of the airport or your home. They do give credit for any previous tax paid in any state if you have record.
 
No sales tax in OR

Thanks for the comments. We'll definitely rent for the first 6-12 months regardless, but even then the options are pretty endless. We are pretty spoiled by two key things in Portland.

No sales tax -- including on the airplane
An Urban Growth Boundary that has kept the city pretty compact. Yes, it does drive up home prices a bit, but still not to Seattle levels and it also means the airports around the city aren't that far away.

Keep the suggestions coming!
 
Movng to Sewattle area

You probably want to look at the Auburn airport. In my opinion it is a better place than Boeing field to keep a plane. I moved to Crest Airpark myself, but if you are trying for the closest location and best pricing on housing the Auburn is a good option. Crest is nice and also would suffice. Olympia is too far away. Thun Field is great but probably a bit too much of a commute. I see that you have considered moving to a number of places. Is this a long term deal?
 
If all goes well, this would be a long-term job, but the housing situation would be more temporary until my wife also finds a job (she's an RN). Then we'd figure out the best option for both of our commutes as well as get a better feel for neighborhoods. I'm VERY spoiled at the moment because I share an end hanger in Scappoose where my portion is only 100 bucks a month. $800+ at BFI is definitely not an option!
 
Bill,

Good news on the potential new job in Seattle but we'll miss having you and your RV at Scappoose. Give me a call when you're ready to move the RV and I can fly up to get you so you can fetch the airplane.

Mark
 
Look me up

When you get close to the move give me a call. I would like to meet you. It could be that I will have room in my hangar at that time. Right now the hangar is rather full, but There may be 1-2 planes moving out. Ok here comes a cheap plug for a Citabria ...

I have a BEAUTIFUL clean 77 Citabria 7-ECA I am selling. I bought it to fly while building the RV7. Now it is for sale. It has never been offered on the open market only passsed around amoung insiders here on the airpark. Any interest out there? I just finished preping it to sell yesterday. Wife thinks I have too many planes. Price- I need to look up fair market value myself. email me off-line

It should go, and so may another piper in the hangar (also for sale). That would leave a large clean open heated space to put another RV (plane) if you have an interest.
 
Thanks

for the offers, Mark and Toad. Not sure how fast things will move, but it could be pretty quick.

Toad, which airport?
 
Which Airport?

S36 - Crest
I am close to the runway, on the south end, abeam the numbers 33
 
Bill,

Welcome to Washington! I think you'll love it here. My MIL lives in Tigard (just south of Portland) so we visit there often. Seattle is a little wetter, but the flying is absolutely awesome here!

I live in Arlington, keep my RV-7 at the Arlington airport. There's a contingent of about 15 or more RVs on the airport. I commute in to Seattle - it's about a 45 minute commute. Well worth it if you want to get away from the urban crowds and enjoy country hospitality. On the other hand, if you like city life, there's lots of good info from others about the benefits of living closer to Seattle.

Good luck!
 
tax

Spindrift said:
Thanks for the comments. We'll definitely rent for the first 6-12 months regardless, but even then the options are pretty endless. We are pretty spoiled by two key things in Portland.

No sales tax -- including on the airplane
An Urban Growth Boundary that has kept the city pretty compact. Yes, it does drive up home prices a bit, but still not to Seattle levels and it also means the airports around the city aren't that far away.

Keep the suggestions coming!
Click to expand...

Be prepared. You WILL be paying the use tax. As soon as you change your address you will recieve a "welcome letter".

Good luck with your wife findng a job. Being an RN in Seattle should take about 30 seconds to find employment,

Ryan
 
Use tax

:rolleyes:
Spindrift said:
Thanks for the comments. We'll definitely rent for the first 6-12 months regardless, but even then the options are pretty endless. We are pretty spoiled by two key things in Portland.

No sales tax -- including on the airplane
An Urban Growth Boundary that has kept the city pretty compact. Yes, it does drive up home prices a bit, but still not to Seattle levels and it also means the airports around the city aren't that far away.

Keep the suggestions coming!
Click to expand...

Be prepared for a shock, if you have paperwork to show what your airplane cost to build, you will need to show that. If not, I don't know what they do. Let's say your build cost with a used engine was $40k, they are going to ask you to hand over $3200 + ( a little over 8% one time) for the right to move to WA. On the other hand we do not have a State income tax!
 
Weather for flying?

As someone who may also be moving to Seattle relatively soon, I'm curious what the weather allows for flying in the winter. I know it's overcast most of the time with drizzle, but are the ceilings high enough to usually allow VFR flight?
 
You can fly here!

I've been putting on about 100 - 110 hours annually where here in the Seattle area. Lots of overcast, but you can fly quite a lot, and the winters are no where near what you get with the cold and nasty white stuff in the upper mid-west!
 
Ramendala said:
Being an RN in Seattle should take about 30 seconds to find employment,
Click to expand...

You would be surprised. According to a doctor friend, most of the hospitals in the area have a hiring freeze. Despite conventional wisdom, there is no nursing shortage at the moment. There will be, no doubt, when baby boomers start retiring en masse, but that's not the case now. Luckily she's got good experience so I'm sure she'll find something.

On the tax thing, since I paid cash for the plane 2 years ago, purchased in Michigan and brought back to Oregon, would it still be taxed? A friend who moved up from OR a few years ago said they only had to pay tax on their leased car, but the one they owned outright didn't apply (no airplane).

I know, any advice is only worth the pixels on the screen, but just trying to get an idea before talking to a tax advisor.

Thanks!
 
taxes..yummy

Spindrift said:
You would be surprised. According to a doctor friend, most of the hospitals in the area have a hiring freeze. Despite conventional wisdom, there is no nursing shortage at the moment. There will be, no doubt, when baby boomers start retiring en masse, but that's not the case now. Luckily she's got good experience so I'm sure she'll find something.

On the tax thing, since I paid cash for the plane 2 years ago, purchased in Michigan and brought back to Oregon, would it still be taxed? A friend who moved up from OR a few years ago said they only had to pay tax on their leased car, but the one they owned outright didn't apply (no airplane).

I know, any advice is only worth the pixels on the screen, but just trying to get an idea before talking to a tax advisor.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

My Sister is an RN in Olympia. They went through downsizing and freeze but every position they rehire to is now requiring RN (vs LPN and any other non-RN type qualification).


Disclaimer: I am not a tax professional in anyway, I just went through this once :)

If you paid sales tax in Michigan, you get credit for that. If not be prepeared for 8-9% use tax (taxed at sales tax rate for county/city) based off of the sales price.

http://dor.wa.gov/docs/pubs/industspecific/aircraft.pdf

Ryan
 
Seattle weather

skelrad said:
As someone who may also be moving to Seattle relatively soon, I'm curious what the weather allows for flying in the winter. I know it's overcast most of the time with drizzle, but are the ceilings high enough to usually allow VFR flight?
Click to expand...

NY gets more rain than Seattle. Atlanta almost twice as much! In the winter there is usually one good day on a weekend to fly. Like Jim, I try to go up every weekend and usually make it. Overcast is typically 2500 ft.
 
Brandon -

I also moved here from Madison (a long time ago). I have not shoveled any rain yet, and swatting mosquitoes is almost unheard of. That about covers the two seasons...

You'll love flying here!

Mike

skelrad said:
As someone who may also be moving to Seattle relatively soon, I'm curious what the weather allows for flying in the winter. I know it's overcast most of the time with drizzle, but are the ceilings high enough to usually allow VFR flight?
Click to expand...
 
Bainbridge Island?

Are there any GA airports on Bainbridge Island? That's where my wife would really like to live, and while I think it's beautiful there, if it doesn't have a place to fly out of, what's the point? :rolleyes: I know Bremerton has an airport, but if we're going to be over in that area we'd prefer Bainbridge for the shorter ferry ride to downtown (likely where she'll be working). Any hope, or do we need to stay on the mainland for me to live near my future plane?
 
Ferries

skelrad said:
Are there any GA airports on Bainbridge Island? That's where my wife would really like to live, and while I think it's beautiful there, if it doesn't have a place to fly out of, what's the point? :rolleyes: I know Bremerton has an airport, but if we're going to be over in that area we'd prefer Bainbridge for the shorter ferry ride to downtown (likely where she'll be working). Any hope, or do we need to stay on the mainland for me to live near my future plane?
Click to expand...
The closest is Bremerton but it take 45 min to get to it. My friend lives there. It is really cool to live on an island but if you are commuting you will grow to hate it.
 
RV7AV8R said:
The closest is Bremerton but it take 45 min to get to it. My friend lives there. It is really cool to live on an island but if you are commuting you will grow to hate it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's something we're talking about. However, if she works downtown, in order for me to have my shop and be close to an airport we'd have to be on the outskirts anyway. Her point of view is that an hour commute (with 30 being on the ferry where she can read/work) is better than 30-60 minutes in the car in traffic. I think it'll be a non-issue if there's no airport though, and we'll end up somewhere else. Regardless, the whole area is beautiful, so it doesn't seem like we can really go wrong. We're just in the planning stages right now, so have time to consider our options.
 
Vashon Island

Brandon,

We're considering Vashon Island because it does have an airstrip, unlike Bainbridge. It is just a grass strip, but no problem for an RV. Supposedly its has a bit more 'hippy' culture compared to Bainbridge's being more 'yuppie' but that's only hearsay. I can tell from the research I've done that home prices on Vashon are definitely less than in West Seattle. Given where my job would be, I could take the walk-on ferry with a bike and have a 3 mile, flat ride to my office from the downtown terminal. We're thinking to rent on Vashon for a while and see how the commuting goes before committing to buying something.

Even coming from Portland, house prices and the size of lots was pretty shocking when we explored around last weekend. Coming from the mid-west, you may be even more surprised!
 
weather

RV7AV8R said:
NY gets more rain than Seattle. Atlanta almost twice as much! In the winter there is usually one good day on a weekend to fly. Like Jim, I try to go up every weekend and usually make it. Overcast is typically 2500 ft.
Click to expand...

What locals won't tell you (it keeps the population down) is that aside from Nov/Dec 'ish, the rain clears up quite a bit in the late afternoon for a few hours of flying time. Be surprised how many sunsets you get to see. Sunrises, however are less of an occasion due to fog.

RYan
 
Definitely moving

Well, the job came through and I accepted, so we are definitely moving to the Seattle area in the next couple of weeks. We're thinking about renting for a while on Vashon Island to see how painful the ferry commute is before we commit to buying. Looking forward to meeting more of the many RVers up that way.
 
I have a friend who bought a Glastar in FL recently and flew it back to Seattle. As far as the taxes go, he said that you pay the local tax rate at your point of entry, and chose the Dalles as his point of entry because it has a lower local tax rate than many other places. It saved him $1000 or so he said. You would want to verify this.

It sounds like you may be working in the industrial district South of downtown Seattle. West Seattle and Beacon Hill are both neighborhoods with good commuting access, the same as what you mention that you have in Portland. I don't know what hangar rent at Renton is like, but from Beacon Hill you'd have good access to both Renton and work.
 
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