Moving to Washington

Moving to Washington Tips

Moving to Washington is a big, challenging step and the state offers so many different opportunities. Whether you are moving for work or for pleasure you will find our tips useful. Here are 10 TIPS about moving to Washington, 10 facts that will help you prepare for this step.

• Choose The City Wisely - Each city in the state of Washington has its own character, its own pros, and cons. If you love being in the center of happenings, you should choose Seattle, but there is much more to Washington then Seattle.
• Use The Public Transport - Traffic in Washington is bad but the public transportation systems are well developed and using it will reduce your commute time.
• Buy a House - Washington state is one of the few states where buying a house is more affordable than renting one. The average mortgage rate is lower than the average monthly rent.
• Washington Is Family Friendly - There are only a few places throughout the state where kids are not allowed, don't be surprised if you see them in beer pubs and bars.
• Learn To Love Nature - Washington nature is breathtaking and most of your friends will want to go on outdoor adventures. Embrace the recreation opportunities and explore the state parks whenever the wheater allows it.
• Washington Is Pet-Friendly - Whether you are a dog or a cat lover, or both you and your furry friends will enjoy living in the state of Washington. You can bring your pet almost anywhere with you.
• Beer Industry Is Big - Washington residents love their beer and the beer industry is providing more than 40.000 jobs. There are almost 300 breweries throughout the state, and Washington is one of the largest beers making USA states.
• Get Used To Getting Up Early - Most of the Washington residents love to get up early in the morning and go out for a walk or just enjoy the outdoors. Outdoor activities are the most popular hobby in the state, and you should prepare yourself for the new lifestyle.
• Taste The Wine - California is the top one wine producer but Washington is the second. The wine scene is amazing in the state, and you should take a lot of road trips to explore it.
• Umbrellas Are Not Popular - Rain is frequent in Washington but the state residents do not use umbrellas that much.

Check out our printable Stage-by-Stage MOVING CHECKLIST.

This ultimate moving checklist will help you complete your moving without stress.

Washington Moving Costs

There are certain costs associated with moving that most people tend to neglect. Even if you have opted for a self-moving job that does not involve hiring a professional moving company, you will have to pay extra for certain things. Here is a list of moving and packing costs you may have forgotten.

• Packing Supplies

  If you plan to move on a budget and want to fo the packing yourself, you must know that you will need to invest in packing supplies like boxes, tape or bubble wrap.

• Moving Insurance

  During the move something almost always brake. Getting moving insurance is always recommended. Most of the moving companies offer insurance and you can decide how much to get, considering how valuable your things are.

• Moving Start-up Costs

  For renting new space start-up costs include things like your first and last month’s rent, a security deposit, a pet deposit or an application fee.

  If you are buying start-up costs are much bigger. They include closing costs for your new mortgage which is often measured in thousands of dollars. Average closing costs typically range from 2% to 5% of the cost of your home. These costs include things like a fee for running your credit report, a loan origination fee, attorney’s fees, the cost of a home inspection, a title search, an appraisal fee, and a survey fee, etc.

• Boarding Your Pets

  You can expect extra costs for boarding your pets. Often enough, people tend to move their pets overnight, that way pets are not exposed to the stress.

• Stair Fees

  Some of the moving companies will ask you to pay a stair fee.

• Moving Large Items Fees

  It is always best to check with moving companies about extra fees and inform them about your large items, like piano or pool table, in advance. That way you will avoid surprises on a moving day.

• Valuable Artworks or Decorative Pieces Are Often Handled by Specialised Movers

  There are professionals who are trained to handle valuable items. Packing and moving valuable items is more complex than regular moving. So you can expect to pay extra on moving those kinds of pieces.

• Storage Space Renting

  Sometimes, you don't want to bring all of your things to your new home, but you don't want to throw them either. If you find yourself in this situation you will have to find storage space for those things. Having to store items could mean an additional monthly expense.

• Re-buying Items Once You've Moved In

  While you shouldn't get rid of everything before a move, there are going to be some items that you're not going to want to bring to your new space.

• Tips For Your Movers

  Your movers are doing a lot of hard work and heavy lifting, and they deserve to be compensated. Just note, that tips are always expected by your movers.

Moving to Washington

Here you can find a list of shipping costs. Please note that the cost of international shipping (calculated with reallymoving) is solely the cost of shipping itself. Costs are calculated for moving entire two bedroom home, in the next three monts.

Washington Living Costs

Compared with other parts of the country, Washington State is a rather expensive place to live in. Costs of living in Washington State vary throughout the county. Everyday living costs are above national averages but housing costs are reasonable almost everywhere, except Seattle. Taxes are lower than in most other USA states. Moving to a new state is always challenging and you need to learn all about the costs. For more information about living costs visit numbeo or BestPlaces.

How much are utilities in Seattle

• 85m2 Apartment Monthly Utilities, Basic (Electricity, Water, Cooling, Heating, Garbage):

  $157.72

• 1 Min. Of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans):

  $0.11

• Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/adsl):

  $65.74

• Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), for 20 Years Fixed-rate, Yearly:

  4.17

Work and Salary

Average Yearly Salary in Washington is $72,000

Currently, most popular and best-paid jobs in Washington are:

• Software Engineer - $103,000/yr
• Project Manager - $76,000/yr
• Operations Manager - $65,000/yr
• Senior Software Engineer - $132,000/yr
• Mechanical Engineer - $74,000/yr
• Software Development Engineer - $111,000/yr
• Software Developer - $85,000/yr

All the information is provided by Glassdoor and Payscale where you can get more detailed information about the job of interest. If you don't have a specific job in mind, you can also check this list of 10 common jobs and professions in the United States with an average salary for each of them.

Famous National Parks in Washington

Nature is one of the Washingtons' most admirable features. The diversity of landscapes will provide you with endless recreational and sightseeing opportunities. From mountains, rainforests, planes, beaches, lakes, volcanos and hot springs to the protected areas of wildlife. Forests cover 52% of the state's land area, mostly west of the North Cascades. Washington has a variety of National Park Service units and three national parks - the Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Mount Rainier National Park. Olympic National Park's area has been designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System.