u/CommonDouble2799

I'm going to be moving down to WA and am taking a little exploration trip next month. Should we stay in Bremerton, Silverdale, or Port Orchard? I'll have my wife and 3 kids, looking for family friendly places to stay and activities for the kids, 13, 5, and 1.

We will also be spending 3 days in PA and 2 days in Olympia. Kitsap county is on our list as well for a possible relocation thats why we're are looking for suggestions.

2023 TRD ORP

Got a pretty lengthy trip coming up. I live in AK and am looking for a way to carry both a canoe AND a roof top box. Canoe is a Sarnac 146 and I do not have a roof top box yet.

If you have ran this, what is your set up? Cross bars, full rack, what models, etc.

I currently don't have anything except the factory side rails. My birthday is coming up so I'm going to ask for something to help with this expedition. We have a family of 5 and will be putting all soft gear up top in the box.

Inside I will be carrying saws, guns, coolers, fishing equipment, etc.

Rear hitch will have our Mountain Bikes.

I'm fully aware that its absurd and will never allow myself to spend that kind of money!

I was approved for up to 975k with 5% down. Affordability wise, I think max my budget will allow is 480k.

This is my 3rd time getting pre-approved in the last 6 years. Still haven't been able to find a home to purchase.

Looking at moving out of SEAK.

Edit: What all is there to do for kids and families around the area?

A job popped up that I'm qualified for and will probably get. I've never been on the OP but I'd ideally like to stay in the PNW with a little more sun than current location.

We are a family of 5 mid 30's with kids 13,5, and 1. We keep to ourselves and mostly Camp, Hike, fish, and like to explore new places. Good food is important but not a deal breaker. Looks like having the ferry over to Vancouver would help mitigate that problem.

I am nervous as we both have great jobs and make pretty good money but unfortunately cant quite afford what we need as a family for our living situation. I would thoroughly enjoy a change of scenery and to be back on the road system of the US.

What are your thoughts on Clallam county?

What are your total costs, ages, duration, etc.?

Feel like its easiest to ask here to see what an average we might be looking at.

I moved back to Juneau a few years ago because housing was much cheaper then where I was at the time and needed some family support with the kids. Decided to hold off on purchasing while the wife finished up school and pad our bank account a little more.

But what the fuck happened the last 4 years!?

Who can afford this shit anymore!?

We are making 60k more annually than when we first moved back for a total of +/-170k a year. We need a minimum of a 3/2 but with a family of 5, 4/2 would be great. Everything is 600k+ it's insane! In the flood zone to boot! I'm not going to teeter on the edge of finacial ruin for the sake of a house.

I'm to the point where I'm thinking of leaving my family behind who have been here for almost a century. We are in a 2/1 right now. I'm thankful we are able to save and have affordable rent but I'm over it and will be packing up and headed south come spring time.

Edit: Must have access to GOOD FOOD!

I'm up in the far reaches of the PNW in South East Alaska. We are looking at a relocation down to the PNW in the lower 48. Our plan is to take a 2-3 week road trip to check out different areas for a relocation.

What's really getting to us is the isolation but community is great, its safe, and the outdoor recreation is awesome when the weather cooperates. We are a family of 5 mid 30s with three kids age 12, 5, and 1. I work in Telecom and my S/O is a director in child care. We don't mind the cold but 8 month long winters are too long!

We are looking for:

-Quality safe community for Children with good schools and plenty of parks and activities for them

-Wage vs COL are stable and in line with each other, affordable housing around 400k

-Smallish town 10-30k within 30mins of a 100k+ town with everything you would need/want

-Temps between 25-85 annually days +/- are ok

-More than 44 days of sunshine a year (current location haha) some snow is fine

-Excellent access to outdoor recreation, camping, hiking, swimming, fishing, etc

I believe these would meet all of our necessities. We plan to take our trip down south either this fall late October or May after school is out next year.

So send some amazing PNW town suggestions my way so I can start planning our trip and dial in whats right for us! Farthest East I'd go would be Bend to Spokane/N ID area. We prefer the cooler climate of the rain forest though.

Ya pretty lame. This is the first company I have been at that doesn't base the 401k contribution off of total paycheck dollar amount. They only pull your contribution percentage from your straight regular hours worked.

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We get alot of OT, Double Time, In Charge, Night Time differential, and Hazard pay. Pretty bummed about that! Previous employers I was able to load my 401ks with the amount of overtime I tend to do.

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My coworkers aren't Fire oriented so this doesn't bother them. That is all just a rant.

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Example:

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Straight time amount $3149.60 = $472.44 Contribution

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Straight W/premiums $5385.36 = $807.80 Contribution

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Long story short, I live in Alaska with very limited resources and shipping is a pain. Back in '22 I bought a Giant trance 3 29er in Large. I despise it the geometry feels soo off for my build. I dont think I'll ever buy a 29er again either. This was my very first full suspension purchase as I had only ridden hard tails for the last decade.

I don't know enough about dimensions and geometry to know what I'm looking for. I also only have 1 bike shop that I can access and they carry Trek and Kona. I honestly think I'm looking more for an Enduro style bike instead of the All Terrain. I like the feeling of being more stretched out and not being so far forward over the front end.

Have any suggestions for me? I'm hoping to keep it under 3k.

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Hey all, looking at a relocation to Spokane area. Been there a few times and it checks alot of boxes for us as a family.

Checking Indeed quite frequently but can't seem to find any decent listings and the FB page that seems to have the highest number of leads won't add me as I'm not a resident.

Any Recommendations? Companies to look into?

Skill sets are as follows, 6 years Automotive Industry, 4 years Power Generation/Diesel in Telecommunications, 2 years Telecommunications Network Technician, 2 years Diesel Technician in Transport, and currently back into Telecommunications in a field support role. I have an unrestricted Class A with Hazmat/Tanker.

I'm really trying to avoid going back into turning wrenches as a Diesel Mechanic. Looking for 85k+ and really struggling to find anything that isn't in the Diesel world around that pay grade. I'm realizing that pretty much regardless I will be taking a paycut and am ok with it, current rate is 51/hr.