SoCal Officer Looking to Move

[moparfan]

Im an Officer in SoCal with a specialized agency and may be looking to move to Washington. What are the better areas to move to that is great to raise a family ie good to great schools, good housing. I would like to work for a med size department with a variety of assignments and has enough action to keep an officer busy yet other assignments that would allow an officer to get ready for retirement.

Any advice would be great thanks.

[LINY]

I'm not much in a position to answer... but I always thought Seattle looked like a decent place to work and live:

http://www.cityofseattle.net/Police/

[AR-15]

There are few threads in this section in regards to laterals looking to relocate to the PNW. There are at least 3 department reps./recruiters on the forum that would be able to answer any questions you may have.

[jc2545]

My intial response to your post would be "Don't do it." That being said, it depends on why you want to move up here. I lateralled up here after 10 years with San Diego Sheriff's Office. Personally, it was the only option. Professionally, not a good move. If you want, PM me with some more specific questions and a little more info about you, your experience, and where you work and I'll be happy to share my experiences as a lateral from SoCal.

[TPD Recruiter]

It Depends...

Puget Sound has a lot to offer, it just depends on what you are looking for in regards to a department and also what you are looking for in regards to your family.

From your description "would like to work for a med size department with a variety of assignments and has enough action to keep an officer busy yet other assignments that would allow an officer to get ready for retirement." it sounds like Tacoma is just the right place.

If you want to move the family away from the urban problems then the Pierce County area has a lot to offer, if you move to the right areas away from the urban core. The Gig Harbor Peninsula offers a lot for a family, so does the Puyallup area, Graham, Roy, and Bonney Lake and Buckley areas.

Send me a PM so I can send you my e-mail address. That way I can send some attachments to you. I can send our lateral officer flyer so you can see the specialty assignments we offer. I can also send you our 2009 Pay and Benefit flyer. We can also talk about the difference in the areas around Pierce County.

Good luck!

[DwightSchrute]

Yeah I'd stay in So Cal or move over to AZ or New Mexico.

[kcso]

If you enjoy the sun, then don't do it. If you don't care, then you need to decide if you want to live in the ultra liberal Seattle area in Martin Luther King County (they recently changed it to that), more conservative Bellevue or Pierce County areas, Sound or mountains or up north in Sno County, or the foothills.

Traffic is a be-atch so either plan on working close to where you live or get ready for very long commutes.

Check out this thread where a lot of questions have already been answered. Las Vegas to Washington State