Moving to Washington state, how's the car scene up there?

I currently live in Orlando FL and frankly I hate it here. I've had a job for a decade and they've just decided that I'm part time and work nights. Bastids. So I'm thinking kick them in the stomach, fart in their mouth and move across country.

I have some friends in the Puget sound area I can stay with for a little while and get settled in. Look for work. I'm planning on selling everything and starting fresh. My DD, my challenge car, all my tools, everything. I'd like to fly there if possible.

but before I go I just want to know what the car scene is like. everything from stupid laws and inspections and rust to what kind of racing there is to be had.

Moving out of Orlando is a good first step. That was my last stop in FL before heading out.

If you're not pressed for time, and your car is capable of the trip, may be more sensible to drive cross country. One less unknown that you have to contend with, and how often do you get the chance to drive so far at your own pace? Just get whatever the best AAA package is.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Where in Washington?

For road racing there's The Ridge, Pacific Raceways, Spokane Raceway.

Theres a National SCCA tour site in Packwood.

Lots of Cars & Coffee, Hot Rod shows, etc.

Car regs aren't too bad other than requiring a front license plate and emissions testing in the Metropolitan areas.

Cars don't rust too much and there's lots of decent old metal to be found.

In reply to turboswede:

We need to be near the water as my S.O. is a diver. were thinking inland a bit along the puget sound. Friends in Wallingford and Tacoma so probably between there.

We're only going to keep one car. The '09 corolla. My Buick has a quarter mil on it and gets 16MPG. I love her but it really isn't worth dragging her cross country.

She's going to drive out first and find a place, since she's unemployed and can stay with a friend. once there's a place I'll sell everything and follow. That's the current plan.

I'm in Bellingham, the PNW is nice if you have the mental fortitude to handle grey skies for most of the year.

As mentioned above, quite a few places to drive cars and no rust issues.
Proximity to Canada is pretty cool, Autocross is about the only reason I'll cross the line (though I'm biased thanks to years getting shat upon by metric shoppers in the states)

On the off chance you're thinking of going Subaru once you're here, pick one up along the way, they're way cheaper as you move down and right.

Oh, yeah, prepare yourself to be constantly angry at cool events and CL finds brought up on these boards, almost all of which are at least 1500 miles away.

No, I'm a GM guy because I love cheap parts. That gives me an idea. Sell all my stuff. Buy a subbie wagon, drive it there and flip it when I get there...

It'll have to be a bugeye in case it doesn't sell...

Serious face, do it.
I came sooooo close to fly-n-driving an 08 Forester XT in Texas last year.
Even after airfare and gas getting home would have been 3k less than a comparable example up here.

Wet, you need to grow webbing between your toes!

Just popped in to say I'm envious, berkeley your employer and best of luck to you.

SnowMongoose wrote: the PNW is nice if you have the mental fortitude to handle grey skies for most of the year.

I've long wondered about the long term impact of those constantly grey skies. Never been there, and I'd like to visit it some time. Suspect I wouldn't do well there over the long haul, considering how I don't enjoy the grey skies of winter here and get so happy when blue is seen.

I moved to Seattle two years ago. The grey isn't so bad, but I did spend my college years in Rochester ny, so I got pretty good at ignoring the weather and just getting on with it.

The cost of housing and commute times will be a shock, but overall my total costs went down with my ct to wa move. Healthcare is like 1/3 the price.

So learn to live with the rain and you are cool.

I hear up there you need to own a Tacoma or a Subaru. Also be LGB or some combination of the 3.

(slight sarcasm)

This area is sort of an underground hotrod hotbed, especially north of where you're looking. Snohomish/Arlington. There used to be a dragstrip at teh Arlington airport, and folk haven't really given up on it. Huge car show there now. Lots of interesting rolloing stock hiding about round these parts, ya never know what you're gonna find.

Hood Canal has some excellent diving. Probably a bid colder than your SO is used to, and the best diving is in the winter.

Car scene is pretty good, several tracks around like others have mentioned. There are emissions requirements if you don't live in a really rural area.

I like the overcast. Not too hot, not too cold.

http://www.exoticsat.com/ You guys forgot this display of dollars and horsepower.

Gray skies? My brother moved to one of the sound islands two years ago. He says he wears sunglasses once or twice a month, on a good month. He loves the locale, the fishing, etc. but hates the clouds.

If it tells you anything, he's considering moving back to central Pennsylvania, where he lived for a about 20 years, for "better weather."

I lived in the Bremerton area for 35 years. Lots of autocrossing, lots of hot rod stuff, lots of older iron used as daily drivers, with very little rust. In fact, what we would call rusty scrap would be considered clean, showroom fresh cars anywhere east of Colorado... I loved being in the middle of Western Washington. Only a couple hours from the mountains if you wanted to ski, only a couple hours from the ocean if you wanted to do that, and a couple hours from Canada. I had many convertibles there and it was often convertible weather. Unlike Florida it wasn't baking hot except in the middle of summer and even then, it's not humid. There's been a bit of a drought most of the years since I left there, and it's not as grey as people make it out to be, except in the winter, when it's grey and rains colder than in the summer... lol!

Don't talk about overcast like it's a bad thing. The Florida sun gives me terrible headaches. I stay indoors most of the time, and wear hat/sunglasses anytime I'm outdoors.

Seattle gets less rain per year by a bunch than Orlando, too (38" vs 50+"). It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. We just usually say it's grey and rainy to keep people from moving there...

I think everyone's covered the major bases.

I'm in Tacoma. If you need anything while getting settled hit me up

Chris_V wrote: We just usually say it's grey and rainy to keep people from moving there...

Chris: I just got an e-mail from the State of Washington's "Rain Rumor" department. They want you "silenced by any means".

On the rain subject: It is grey here a lot, but the sunny days are the best you'll find anwyhere in the world (trust me, I've looked). By "rain" they really mean "mist" which is barely enough to make the roads wet. Some people do respond poorly to it (depression, etc). It is possible that MS is common here because of the lack of vitamin D (due to lack of sun).

The trick to surviving here is: Don't let "a little wetness" stop you from doing stuff.

If you're a beer snob, private pilot, or an outdoorsman you'll be in heaven.

Hungary Bill wrote:

Chris_V wrote: We just usually say it's grey and rainy to keep people from moving there...

Chris: I just got an e-mail from the State of Washington's "Rain Rumor" department. They want you "silenced by any means".

They can try. They already kicked me out 'cause I don't drink coffee... hehehehe.

No place else in the country has as many drive through espresso/coffee stands. Starbucks may have started there (and I've been to the original one) but there it's still just another coffee place. Even my home town that had just one traffic light had 5 drive though espresso stands and two walk up espresso carts...

I hate coffee. I'm a Celt, my lady is a Viking. We don't drink beer. We drink mead. Rain is fine. Overcast is fine. sun is awful.

On a side note. I am a competitive carbine shooter. I have a 922r compliant WASR-10. Is something like that legal in washington or would I be better off selling it here before I move?

In reply to AClockworkGarage:

Sounds like you will be fine. Beards are a plus there too.

Sounds like everyone has covered things pretty well here. I moved to Seattle from Orlando a few years ago myself. About the only thing I want to mention is that housing in particular is expensive. The closer you are to major employment centers (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond) the more expensive it gets.

There are jobs here but it depends on the industry you are in whether they are jobs you can get. You do seem to be somewhat grumpy and peculiar, which means you will probably fit in fine.

So you're saying it's basically an awful place full of hipsters?