I live in Olympia WA and love it here. What is your financial situation and what type of work will you be doing? The economy in Western WA is very good and housing is realatively cheap compared to CA. Decent homes are starting around 200k for something decent (non fixer). Feel free to IM me if you want more info. Where I live it's about 99% white and the schools are great. The wife and I want to keep it that way and that's why child #6 is on the way. I used to live in the LA area and trust me, your kids will thank you!