I'm not so sure that the cost of living & property values in Seattle are going to be much cheaper than Cali, I know the traffic & conjestion are about the same. I love Tacoma, $250k will buy you a nice home & for the most part the traffic isn't real bad. Seems there is plenty of construction going on, including a new bridge.
http://www.tacomanarrowsbridgebusiness.com/pages/4/index.htm