WA has many attributes even though blue. The tax burden is on the sale tax and property excise tax. The best deal i can see is to live in south Washington and buy in Oregon, which has no sales tax. Bellevue is amazing, but they pay for it in cost of living. WA is an unfriendly business environment, one of the reasons Boeing is leaving the state, and taking heat for it from some parties.
OK but I just read that 2 years ago Bellevue was rated like the 4th best place in the country to start a business. I'll try to find the link. Edit: Downtown Bellevue is undergoing rapid change. It is currently the second largest city center in Washington state with over 35,000 employees and 5,000 residents. Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the 6th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington.] In 2008,Bellevue was named number 1 in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch a business. More recently, Bellevue was ranked as the 4th best place to live in America. The name "Bellevue" is French for "beautiful view". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue,_Washington
Well I know that Illinois just plain sucks. One of the worst places in the country for employment, taxes, weather and the place is packed full of assholes. You know a place is totally fucked up when they consider waffles to be a viable dinner. Thats the only place in the world I've been where people want to go to a wafflehouse for dinner. See what I'm saying? At least in Texas I can get a steak and a few beers for crying out loud.