OTs in Colorado, Washington, or California: I have some questions.

My husband and I currently reside in TX, but he is a medicinal marijuana user and we are getting really fed up with living here, where he cannot get safe and legal access to his medication. We're also fed up with the heat. It is TOO DAMN HOT here! We are considering moving to a cooler (weather-wise) and "legal" state as "medicinal refugees" (as I've seen it being called).

Anyway, where we move depends heavily on his job. He is a musical instrument repair technician, which is a pretty obscure job niche, but there are currently quite a few job openings across the US.

We would prefer to move to Colorado, since that is closest to Texas, where all of our friends and family live. However, there are currently no instrument repair openings listed there at the moment.

However, there is one listing in Riverside, CA and another in the Seattle-Tacoma area of WA. I was born in Chino, CA and have some family there, and we would both actually love to live in the Seattle area.

So I have some questions for any OTs living and working in any of those three areas/states (wanted to include CO, just in case something pops up):

My immediate concern about trying to live in any of these states is the cost of living. All three states are pretty damn expensive, especially compared to Texas, where the cost of living is pretty decent (but rising...). I currently work in acute care, which is the lowest-paying setting for OTs, but I get Senior-level pay. Last year our gross income (before taxes) was just under 100k. Due to two car payments and my student loans, we can currently only afford to pay $850-1,000 per month for rent/mortgage.

So, OTs in CO, CA, or WA: if you don't mind sharing this info (you can PM me if you want), how is the cost of living for you? Do you feel you get paid enough to live comfortably, or is it a struggle?

Also, if I were to start searching around for housing in those areas, what price range would you say we could afford? Let's just assume I would find another job in acute care, since OT pay depends on setting. I know I would get paid more to compensate for higher cost of living, but I'm not sure right now if my husband's pay rate would change.

Any other input would be appreciated. Thank you!