I got priced out of Seattle when I retired. I spent three years on the Georgia coast in a little town I discovered when I was stationed at Fort Gordon, but the humidity and the mosquitos forced me back here. But I had discovered the joys of small town life.
I had dropped in on Lynden many times during my Seattle years, and I found a place a few blocks from downtown. It's much cheaper than the Seattle area, but close enough for my chamber music concerts at Benaroya in July and January. Even better, the Vancouver classical music venues are only an hour or so away, and I get through my little border crossing in less than a minute. It's a good place to be.