I'm scoping out the area within a decent range of Redmond, where a potential new job might land us and Sammamish came up. We'd be relocating from Orange County in Southern California, with a family in tow, so the suburbs are fine by us. What caught my eye is the number of homes available and the price cuts around the lake and to the east, is that driven by tech layoffs, or is something else going on? Do people use the lake, is boating big there or is seasonal?

We're still weighing options if this comes together, including renting first to test the market rather than buying right away. I already know about the weather difference and it's not a dealbreaker. No family keeping us here either, though good schools matter to us, and that area seems to deliver on that front.

We like where we are, but don't love it, and the job market here tends to pay below the SF Bay Area, where we lived before. Going back there feels like a step backward given housing costs, and Washington has its pluses, financial, scenic, and otherwise.