We love the tri-cities in WA, low cost of living, family friendly,
Easy traveling distance to Portland and Seattle etc. We moved here just after our first child was born with no family around and felt very welcome. The economy has held fairly stable, but it does get iffy as it's heavily reliant on funding for the national lab/Hanford site. The schools are all over the map depending on where you live. It's a country feel, but plenty of shopping and so forth. The cities are Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco.