‘It’s expensive as heck here’: Gee blames cost of living for 35K people leaving WA yearly

The number of residents leaving Washington since the pandemic has dramatically increased, with roughly 35,000 people leaving the state per year.

Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, firmly believed the No. 1 reason people move out of Washington is the high cost of living, whether it’s taxes, street parking, or affording a home.

“I believe it. I totally believe that people are deciding to move from Washington, it’s expensive as heck here,” Gee said. “What I have been saying for the last two to three years. Specifically. Let’s talk about Seattle. I told you before that they are going to make and they’re continuing to make Seattle a place of affluence. They’re making sure that you can’t afford it.

“We talk about housing, it’s all the median home. House prices in the city of Seattle are around 900,000,” Gee continued. “Before we even get to affording a house. Can we just talk about parking? We can’t even afford to park downtown Seattle.”

Increased tech layoffs spur cross-state move

Gee noted that the ever-growing number of tech workers who have been laid off in recent months is contributing to the increase of roughly 18% of people leaving Washington.

“When I think of people that are leaving Washington, I am thinking about the people that are like, ‘You know what, these taxes are crazy for us, it is hard to run a business because the way it is designed right now, and the state of Washington is anti-small business,'” Gee said. “Can we also talk about the number of tech workers who have been laid off here? The layoffs of Amazon, the layoffs of Meta, the layoffs at these big companies. If you can’t afford these things, some people are making a smart decision to move.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.