AC is becoming more and more common as our summers get hotter. Olympia is a good spot for retirement. Close to Seattle, but without the big city problems. It might get a bit boring over the rainy months of November-March, but if you get out to sunny spots, like Hawaii or Mexico, you should be OK.

Also- since you mentioned biking- I think it really depends on where you live and work. I'm too terrified to bike downtown, but otherwise biking has a big presence in Seattle- there's some decent infrastructure and people expect to see bicyclists on the road. But obviously there are some considerable hills, and I probably wouldn't bike commute if I lived in on one of those, although in Bellingham, I do live on a hill and generally ride to work and ride the bus back up the hill after work:)

Bellingham is lovely but it is surrounded by a really libertarian small towns that would scare me. Note that Trump had one of his rallies in Bellingham. Olympia has its own share of a redneck element but it is a bit better because it is a state capital.

topeater, I would miss access to our wonderful art museum, theatres, and fabulous restaurants.

Bellevue is across Lake Washington from Seattle. You couldn't pay me enough to live on the eastside.

Seattle traffic is truly awful these days. It seems like anywhere I want to go most times of the day, traffic is backed up. I drove across town to pick up wine this morning and the round trip took me almost an hour - used to be half that just a couple of years ago.

I disagree with marvelousmouse about our mass transit. We have buses. All buses go to downtown. So if you are going downtown, fine. But if you are going elsewhere, you'll go downtown and change to a different bus. Virtually anywhere you go will take a minimum of an hour. We could have had a monorail, but ...

If the towns around Bellingham scare you then you must never go over to the east side of the state;) I would imagine though that conservative politics would not come as a surprise to the OP, coming from Texas.

Trump came to Bellingham, really? I always miss the best entertainment when I leave town during the summer.

There is absolutely no reason you can't find a place to live with central air, or put it in before you move in. Just because it isn't real common doesn't mean you can't have it.

Sorry can't help with outlying areas, I only know urban Seattle.

I thought that since Bellingham is a college town, it would be more progressive. One of the many reasons for looking at the NW was to escape all the RW craziness that we have in Texas...it has even been creeping into Austin which has always been know as the blueberry in the middle of a watermelon soup.

Kathie, what's the difference between the eastside and the westside? I know what you mean about could have had monorail.....Austin could have had light rail, but Department of Transportation and the City of Austin decided it was better to build massive overpasses everywhere and stick a toll on them!

Marvelous, we took Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver last September. It was a very relaxing few hours. Loved not being in a car.

Thanks suze, I've been looking at the neighborhood map you referenced. Wow, there's a lot to try and understand. Still trying to get a feel for the differences in the area.

Oh, Bellingham is about as liberal as you can get. The other poster is talking about the small rural towns in the county which are only ultra conservative compared to Bellingham. But those towns are more like moderate, politically, I'd say, along the lines of other small towns in Washington state. Lynden is pretty much God fearing farming Protestant, much like the eastern farming towns my parents grew up in. I have NO idea where he/she gets the redneck thing from, though...hippies with tats and dreads, sure, we got plenty of those:) I grew up in Washington- lived for 10 years in Northern Idaho- moved back to Washington, and I know what you mean by escaping the RW. But even Lynden is more liberal than just about anywhere in Idaho, and I'd say it mostly has that RW redneck reputation only because Bellingham and Lynden are constantly clashing. Brings out the worst in both sides.

Funny, but Olympia never struck me as all that liberal? I find it pretty depressing for a state Capitol. But maybe there's a revitalization thing going on? It has been several years since I spent much time there.

marvelous, that's a relief!

"Eastside" means east of Lake Washington - Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland are all eastside. We don't use the term "west side", what you are thinking of as westside is simply Seattle.

East of the lake means you have to cross a bridge to get to Seattle.

BTW, I drove downtown today to have lunch with a friend. In the past, it would have taken 15 minutes. Knowing how bad traffic has been lately, I allowed 30 minutes. It took me 40.

On the way home traffic was a mess on Elliott/15th. I couldn't understand the problem, then I noticed several tiny parking lots with "Parking $45." I realized that the traffic and the parking prices were due to the first day of Hempfest.

Since you are coming from Texas anyway, make a stop in Salem or Portland Oregon. You might find that you like it as well or better than the Seattle area.

While I love living in the city (and own my condo on Capitol Hill) if I were looking for a retirement location this would probably not be that. Because it's very expensive here, traffic is really bad, and if I weren't working there really wouldn't be a compelling reason to be here.

Oregon is a good suggestion. I really like the Eugene and Corvallis area.

As far as the neighborhoods, you just need to visit and take a look around. I think pretty much any part of the city has it's pros and cons.

We live in both the Seattle area snd Portlans areas. The biggest drawback of OR is the income tax. That is why DH is a WA resident;)

As suze says, you really need to one check out many areas to see what is a good fit for you. DH grew up in Seattle on Phinney Ridge and we are now on the east side and live it over here. We love to hike and backpack etc so love having all of that much closer to us. Plus his company is over here. We drove over to a Mariner's game yesterday late afternoon around 4ish and it did not take long at all, about 25 minutes from our door to the parking garage.

There are also some areas north of Bellevue you might look at. Woodinville/Snohomish etc are great places to live, based on our experience FWIW.

My great grandparents lived on Queen Anne over a century ago and it is fun to go by their old place. Huge home but a garage has been added;) It is not huge due to the lot, but as mentioned in the older areas space is prime.

Suze, if being a fellow Fodorite equates to "knowing," you do indeed know someone with AC. This afternoon it was 95 outside and 70 in house.

Because this thread is not travel-related, the administrators will delete it soon. Why not move the discussion to the Lounge, where just about anything goes?

In the meantime, you should know that there are many, many homes in the Seattle metropolitan area with air conditioning and dozens of firms anxious for your business. Just add the cost into the cost of relocating.

Regardless of what the politicians say, climate change is real and there is no turning back. This summer was the warmest on record.in Seattle. Next warmest? Last year. As the saying goes, you can pay now or pay later...but you will pay.

Thanks everyone for all the information. I didn't know there was a lounge!

Can't wait to visit in October. I think we will spend a couple of days in the Bellingham area, then relax somewhere in the San Juans, visit Tacoma and then about 3 days in Seattle looking at different neighborhoods. This will probably be the first of many trips.

You all have given me a lot of ideas and a lot to think about. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sounds like a wonderful plan! Have a wonderful trip, and do let us know what you thought of each place:)

(Don't understand why people suggest the lounge. You probably didn't know about it because it's closed to new members and we can't see it, we just see teasers for it once in a while lol).

Because this thread is not travel-related, the administrators will delete it soon.

This an absurd statement. Of course this thread is "travel-related" and the administrators are not about to remove it soon or not so soon.

It's the TripAdvisor forums which close down relocation threads.

My in-laws lived in downtown Seattle (First Ave), Bellingham, Sequim, then Mill Creek (between Sequim and Mill Creek, there were a few years in McMinnville, OR).

My mother-in-law said she wished they had discovered Mill Creek first and skipped most of the other places. It's a beautiful community. Walking trails everywhere. Outstanding supermarket. Lots of nice restaurants and shops. Congenial community vibe.

Price-wise, in general it's more expensive than Bellingham but cheaper than Seattle. The condo (actually a single level townhouse) my MiL lived in was in a very pretty setting and was quite spacious. It did have a garage.

Sadly, my mother-in-law died earlier this year. Her home sold the first week on the market and for slightly more than the asking price. We received full price offers within 24 hours of it being listed.

Mill Creek is known for its golf course but many people who live there aren't golfers.

If we were to move back to the U.S. (we live in Switzerland), Mill Creek would be on our short list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill_Creek,_Washington