I am a Engineer and I live in Portland, OR.
My company is moving from Portland to Washington, and I'm trying to
decide if I should move to Washington or not.  Everyone around here
claims that living in Washington is so much cheaper becuase of the no
income tax  -- but I hear that WA property tax is much higher.

I'm looking into buying a house -- could you tell me if there is a
SIGNIFICANT difference between me living on one side of the Columbia
river or the other.  All my family and friends live in Portland, so
wherever I end up, I will be commuting to and from Portland alot.

A few details to help out the comparison
Single, not married, no kids, no child support, etc
Looking at a house around $150-175k, first time buyer