Rural USA in a nutshell. I lived in a very small Iowa town for about 8 years after graduation. Population less than 1000 and maybe 5 different last names. I was always the new person who lived in "the old so-and-so place" and "so-and-so" was like three owners ago.
Really depends on how close you are to the Seattle metro. Anywhere along the east side of Puget Sound is expensive. It gets cheaper as you go north, to a point. Marysville is kind of the northern edge of commuting distance so north of that it gets cheaper. But further north yet is Bellingham, which is a cool city but it is more expensive too. It's a lot like Cedar Falls - smaller but urbanish with a the state's third largest public university. Also right on a deep water bay so has a cool, historic waterfront. There are a lot of more affordable places on the peninsula that, with ferries, are still very accessible to downtown Seattle.
I’ve definitely noticed the same thing. As a general rule, in areas with lots of transplants it’s fairly easy to make friends because lots of other people will be in your same shoes and are looking to add to their friend group and will be quick to invite you in.
My family moved from DSM to Columbus, OH last year and it has been a very positive change for all of us. Give Columbus a look - the cost of living is very comparable to Des Moines.
I really enjoyed my 2+ years in Columbus. Definitely has bigger city vibes, especially with the sports team in town, but with a midwest vibe.
My daughter and SIL lived in Seattle. We live in Minneapolis. My wife is not a flier so we've driven I-94/I-90 a few times. Its a pretty good road trip. Bad lands, mountains, and Coeur d'Alene is kind of the crown jewel of that trip.
We went out to Seattle last year. Wife had a cousin who lives in port Townsend, main reason we were there. The houses seemed to be mostly 1940ish two stories where they were. They were about a block from the water. Made me feel like small town Iowa there. Except for the water.
We're in Mount Vernon, in the Skagit River Valley. It's a flat(ish) agricultural area so it actually reminds me of Iowa a bit. Significant immigrant population that works the fields. The crops are human food though - potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, baggage, lettuce, berries, etc. And a few thousand acres of commercial daffodil and tulip fields. Its right in the Pacific Flyway so twice a year we get trumpeter swans that migrate through in addition to the normal ducks and geese. Chuckanut Mountains to the north, North Cascades to the east, Straight of San Juan de Fuca to the west, and Seattle to the south. I don't work in Seattle fortunately so my commute is only about 15 minutes.
Boise/Nampa has been booming for quite some time. Its the mountain states version of Des Moines
I lived in Columbus after graduating, 1995-1998. Was surprised at the size of Columbus. I'd never been there and thought it was another typical B1G college town, didn't know at the time it had >1 million. Lived in German Village and worked in the Short North. Crime was still an issue then on the tOSU campus along High St. but it sounds like they've cleaned that up. The obsession with tOSU athletics was something else, but a fun couple of years. Went down to Yellow Springs several times, cool little town and the state park down there is beautiful.
This was our justification for moving back to Iowa from CO. At the time we were heading back all the time for weddings, holidays, etc and not spending much time on fun stuff. Plus having grandparents be able to go to activities and sporting events is worth a lot. I still have regrets about not trying to stay out there, though.
Moved to a small Iowa town in 2010 because it was kind of half way between where we each had roots. And I'd already lived rural, city, and subdivision, but never IN a small town.
