buying land and building is wayyy harder than buying a house and fixing it up. Land is a horrible investment, if it's a good location then it's already expensive, if it's not you'll have to pray that it will.

But if you actually do, you'll need to clear the land, get it survey, put in a well and septic, put in electricity lines. Very very expensive work.

Welcome to Vancouver! If you have time, I love a day trip out to Hood River, OR. There are several short hikes (less than a mile roundtrip) that take you to waterfalls along the 84 highway plus a couple of stops for beers and food along the way. Then you end the day exploring Hood River which is super quaint and cute. It's my absolute favorite side trip to bring out of town guests! I even wrote a little article guide about it if you're interested.

Aside from that, Downtown Vancouver is a fun place to hang out. There are a lot of cool shops to see. Amaro's Table, Thirsty Sasquatch, Little Conejo, Heathen Brewing are all downtown must visits.

Other cool hikes are Beacon Rock, Cape Horn trail, Ape Cave, and Moulton Falls (my personal fave).

Vancouver, WA is pretty nice, much cheaper than Seattle but it's a solid city. $400k is cutting it close but you can definitely get a good 3 bedroom house with that budget. It's a super central location. Lots of good hikes within an hour drive, even 30 mins if you're not picky. It's right across from Portland if being a foodie is important to you. It's 2 hours to the coast, Bend, Hood River, Mt. Hood. If you're buying a house I'm not aware of any HOA that has a breed restriction. Some apartments do restrict but there's plenty that will allow german shepherds. I've got a few neighborhood guides on my website if you want to know more about it or feel free to message me.