This morning, my commute was one of the most beautiful I can remember. Granted the Pacific NW rains a lot and days are often cloudy and dark. I'm covering at a different location from my regular office and my drive happened to be more scenic. I live about 1.5 to 2 hrs from 3 ski resorts and 1.5 hrs to the coast. Demographically, we have all kinds of ethnicities and a large LGBTQ population. With all the diversity, we also have world class food.
The downside of living in a highly desirable area is saturation. I don't know the exact numbers in the metro, but in a small town of 15k people, an hr away, there are 32 dentists (possibly some are part-time). Private practice can be a big struggle with lots of competition. There are some dominant Capitation DMOs that competes with numerous DSOs rivaling Cali. Income taxes are one of the highest in the nation, but we have many watchdogs that ensure our tax dollars aren't being wasted. We have crippling traffic due to all the influx of people as well as rapid rise of COL they cause. It's looking more like Cali's crowded conditions. Subjectively, an OK house runs about $350 to $600k depending on the area. Thank goodness there's always people wanting to move out because of the rain and numerous cloudy days. However, compared to growing up in Red Neck country, I love it here.
The downside of living in a highly desirable area is saturation. I don't know the exact numbers in the metro, but in a small town of 15k people, an hr away, there are 32 dentists (possibly some are part-time). Private practice can be a big struggle with lots of competition. There are some dominant Capitation DMOs that competes with numerous DSOs rivaling Cali. Income taxes are one of the highest in the nation, but we have many watchdogs that ensure our tax dollars aren't being wasted. We have crippling traffic due to all the influx of people as well as rapid rise of COL they cause. It's looking more like Cali's crowded conditions. Subjectively, an OK house runs about $350 to $600k depending on the area. Thank goodness there's always people wanting to move out because of the rain and numerous cloudy days. However, compared to growing up in Red Neck country, I love it here.
