Although Washington State appears to be on track for a continuance of recent policy, the national scene will likely change in 2021 with a new President and a much tighter Congress. Democrats barely hung on to the house and Republicans lost a couple Senate seats. This may lead to a gridlock scenario but should the Democrats manage to snag the Senate (It is possible with two Georgia run-offs in January), things could look a lot different. For middle to upper income retirees, Washington may look even better financially since Joe Biden has indicated an intention to reverse the 2017 tax plan. Living in a state with income tax and paying even more federal tax could lead some retirees to choke on their tax bill. Washington of course, has no state income tax.
Washington State continues to be the northern state best suited to upper middle income and higher income seniors as income tax punishes those with higher incomes. Those retirees with more modest incomes may not feel the pinch in 2021-22 as hard leading to more options for a clean getaway on their taxes. Nearby Idaho can look attractive for some, but Idaho's urban amenities are a touch lacking and the winters tend to be a bit chillier than ours.
For many, Washington State is getting too expensive. Our state is now ranked 4th in the nation for median home price with Seattle leading the way as the 3rd most expensive large city (500k residents city proper) in America, behind, San Francisco, CA and San Jose, CA.
But Washington has a great many areas whereby the housing costs are substantially lower than the statewide median. In fact, Vancouver, WA is the 4th largest city in the state and immediately adjacent to Portland, OR and the median home price is about $390k sitting under the statewide median of about $425k. Clark County, Washington for which Vancouver is the seat of government is at roughly the statewide median and offers the full range from high rise urban condos, to ranchettes and horse properties along with everything in between.
2021 is just around the corner and hopefully it will be better than this crazy 2020 we are wrapping up.
