What are the best places to live if you have a home based bussiness (Seattle: oceanfront)

[leavingaizona]

That is in Washingtom State of course. I know you can live just about anywhere on the planet, but I would like your thoughts. I am looking for;

the availibility of high speed internet.
rain, cool temperatures, green everywhere.
small town.
great place to raise kids.
not to expensive. (inexpansive would be better)
low crime.
lots of parks and trails.
conservitive politicaly.

Thanks

[wilbur washington]

I am in the same position your in. We moved to a small town called wilbur washington. 1,000 people, but close to major places .Spokane is 72 miles from here, 62 to moses lake . We shop weekly at either place. Seattle is only 3.5 hours away for major entertainment. Housing here is cheap, 1800 square foot house with minor tlc for 150k or so . We are 13 miles from the lake. Alot of awesome farm fields around wilbur. Slow life slow pace the way we like it,

[leavingaizona]

Thanks, Sound like I need to check that one out

Donna

[dan_mp]

Originally Posted by wilbur washington

I am in the same position your in. We moved to a small town called wilbur washington. 1,000 people, but close to major places .Spokane is 72 miles from here, 62 to moses lake . We shop weekly at either place. Seattle is only 3.5 hours away for major entertainment. Housing here is cheap, 1800 square foot house with minor tlc for 150k or so . We are 13 miles from the lake. Alot of awesome farm fields around wilbur. Slow life slow pace the way we like it,

If you need to be closer to a major city than 3.5 hours, try SW Washington (Clark/Skamania counties). Camas is where I live and we're 8 minutes from PDX and 1/2 hour from downtown portland (with no traffic, of course).

Housing is about double what the poster from Wilbur described, but still affordable.

[kc2sweet4ne1]

Have you looked into Centralia? It sounds just about what you described. It is about an hour and a half away from Portland, the same to Seattle, the beach or the mountains. (Very CENTRALly located!!) We have a couple of very beautiful parks right on the edges of town, plus many just a short drive away. About 20 minutes away there is Rainbow Falls Park and it is goregeous with lots of trails for walking or biking!!

We have lived here our entire lives and love it! My daughter (8) has done great in the schools here and we don't have a lot of crime as far as I know. All towns have some....

Check it out! Good luck!

[bmsea]

Originally Posted by leavingaizona

That is in Washingtom State of course. I know you can live just about anywhere on the planet, but I would like your thoughts. I am looking for;

the availibility of high speed internet.
rain, cool temperatures, green everywhere.
small town.
great place to raise kids.
not to expensive. (inexpansive would be better)
low crime.
lots of parks and trails.
conservitive politicaly.

Thanks

Look into Grays Harbor County. Aberdeen and Hoquiam together comprise a medium sized metro area with a small-town feel. High quality health care is available. Housing and cost of living are very low.

I like Westport, which is population around 2,000. The schools are very good, and crime is limited to fights at the local tavern.

Grays harbor is a lot like most of rural Washington, generally conservative with an environmental bent. Westport, especially, is run by independent business owners who are more conservative fiscally than anywhere else.

Westport is a fantastic community with a rich history and great infrastructure. You can still buy a home here for under $150,000 (less if you're handy), but there are areas that cater to the upper middle class as well as the mega wealthy (a new oceanfront subdivision just South of town is selling 1900 SF homes for $1.6M). It's extremely eclectic.

Shopping, there is a Red Apple grocery store that is, again, eclectic - carrying what you'd expect to find in a rural grocery as well as things that appeal to the tourists. Your nearest Safeway/WAlmart/Top Foods is 25 minutes away in Aberdeen. Nearest Costco is in Olympia or Astoria (equidistant, although the drive to Astoria is prettier).

Banking and services, there is an Anchor Bank branch and Bank of America branch here in town. We have one attorney. Anything else you will have to go out of town.

There is a strong sense of community service, with an active VFW, Senior Group, Maritime Museum, and Kiwanis.

Summer is amazing. We get 1/10 the number of visitors that Ocean Shores gets. Fishing is still king in this community, and 35 boats operate out of our Marina. There are 2 surf shops, which rent equipment reasonably and give lessons. Festivals and community events happen every weekend all summer long.

Clamming is usually open once or twice a month from September through May. Crabbing off of the fisherman's boardwalk is also popular in season (usually late winter to early spring, if I'm not mistaken). If you love fresh seafood, this is the place to be. Because so many people are related to the fishing industry, its not uncommon for your neighbors to drop off fresh (crab, halibut, salmon, ling cod) when they have extras.

The beaches are fantastic, even on a hot summer day (like today, Sunday, sunny and 75 degrees) you will not be crowded. Driving is not allowed on our beaches in the city, so its not nearly as dirty or polluted as other beaches in the state. Hiking here is a 2-1/2 mile concrete path along the beach, or 18 miles of sandy beaches. You're also less than an hour from the Olympic National Forest, which is a great day trip.

I have lived in Hawaii, in Los Angeles, and have traveled extensively, and there is no where in the world as beautiful as Westport in the Summertime.

Wintertime is your standard PNW gray, but the stormwatching is awe inspiring. We do lose power 3 - 4 times a winter, but the PUD is putting in some redundancies to mitigate that in the future.

From an investment standpoint, you can't choose a better place right now, because there is a master planned resort with an 18 hole golf course currently under construction, and it is expected to increase property values, but right now you can still buy in town for less than any other Pacific town along the West coast.

Give us a look!

You can check out my blog at Discovering Westport for more info from a personal perspective and photos.