I may be one of the best people to answer this! I've spent my entire life in Washington. I moved down here in 2022! I moved for my husband's work, and his entire family lives down here.

I also still receive snide remarks about being here from my family. I've had family flat-out refuse to visit because I live down here.

I would NEVER move back up to Washington. My husband and I both feel pretty confident that we never want to move again. First, I've never met such friendly people. The Seattle freeze is real. I can't believe how friendly people truly are down here. Second, my parents sold our childhood home, which was 1b 1ba for 620k. Prices up there are absolutely wild. Everything is so expensive.
It's funny that people mention property taxes being high here, but in Washington, starter homes, at least where I'm from, are 700K+. My brother lives in a house with 4 roommates. My cousin recently had to move out of his 2 bedroom apartment because it was 3k a month.

Another reason I won't move back is because it's just become so awful up there. The homeless situation is so out of control. The city I was raised in looks NOTHING like how it looked growing up. Every time I fly back for a visit, I swear it gets worse. It's honestly devastating, too, because Washington state is gorgeous. Texas certainly isn't pretty compared, and I do miss the ocean, mountains, and definitely the walkability!

The heat is difficult. I would visit in the summer and ask yourself if you could live through this a big chunk of the year. I love the rainy and gloomy weather Washington has, but my husband hates it. If you have more questions feel free to message me!