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...it is a small inconvenience to me. I just need to modify my plans and put up with things for a little longer than I wanted to is all.
BTDT... had care responsibility for a disabled parent from the day I turned 18 to age 50... minor adjustments needed to master plan.... Most posters are not in that realm...
Good advice... Find some place that SHE will be comfortable. AND where you can commute and get decent paying jobs.
I would try Olympia and nearby rural areas accessed by transit.
Or Camas, WA or Washougal (each town near their Safeway), (Which has bus service to Vancouver and thus Portland). Jobs do not pay as well as Seattle, BUT traffic is much less, as is rents. Many folks commute Camas to Portland for work. Try to FIRST find a job in WA, as Oregon has 10% income tax for workers earning wages there.
Vancouver, WA near Andreson Rd. Winco or Welcome to Gateway Produce is a walkable / bus / cheap apartment area. Don't go WEST (crime), go east a few blocks for decent housing. You can walk to Van Mall, and numerous places of employment. With your background you might be a great asset to one of the many Insurance brokers in that area.
For very nice CHEAP and beautiful recreation, you can take the Skamania County Bus out to the Columbia Gorge destinations. (Weekdays only)
TRANSIT FARES AND SCHEDULE | Senior Services (http://www.skamaniacounty.org/senior-services/homepage/services/public-transportation/skamania-county-transit/transit-fares-and-schedule/ - broken link) (They will drop you at one of many trailheads, this is the newest, and right at a transit center) http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide....Horn_Loop_Hike
MY MOTHER CHANGED HER MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry for screaming but I am way beyond happy.....so back to my plans
I have been told that Port Townsend and Bremerton are nice areas...what's your guys' opinions?
Mom might 'reconsider' ...
I WOULD NOT consider Port T with your transportation and cost / job needs. It is an expensive tourist centric town that is somewhat remote (Especially w/o car) and definately few jobs.
Bremerton has good access to jobs and REGIONAL transit. Plenty of BAD areas, but lower rent that way . It or Port Orchard / Silverdale would be a decent choice. See if you can get a job at Retsil (WA STATE VA HOME), if your mom is a veteran, she can live THERE (for FREE). It is swell. (And on the bus route)
MY MOTHER CHANGED HER MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry for screaming but I am way beyond happy.....so back to my plans
I have been told that Port Townsend and Bremerton are nice areas...what's your guys' opinions?
Port Townsend is beautiful, just beautiful. Again, jobs will be issue.
Bremerton does have some nasty areas, schools are okay, again, not as many jobs around... but it is a beautiful area as well. 1hr ferry ride to Seattle, believe it or not: people actually do make this commute. But then again say you did find a job in Seattle and live in Bremerton... if something happens to your son, that one hour getting back to Bremerton probably would be nerve-wracking, especially since you're alone.
Port Townsend is beautiful, just beautiful. Again, jobs will be issue.
Bremerton does have some nasty areas, schools are okay, again, not as many jobs around... but it is a beautiful area as well. 1hr ferry ride to Seattle, believe it or not: people actually do make this commute. But then again say you did find a job in Seattle and live in Bremerton... if something happens to your son, that one hour getting back to Bremerton probably would be nerve-wracking, especially since you're alone.
The case of emergency would be nerve racking at the very least. Right now I am 2 blocks away from his school. Only had to be called over there twice in 3 years (1 for ear ache and 1 because he was coughing too much). I have tended to keep him home when he is sick.
I'm really looking into working from home which would solve some of those problems.
What are the "nasty" areas like? I wish I could take a picture of where I live right now for some comparison. We have the homeless shelter/food kitchen 3 blocks away, 3 rent by the week motels on our block, light rail construction outside the window, a half-way house for sexual predators on the way to his school, the Blue Boutique on the way to his school, the only grocery store in a 10 block radius is a Mexican food and bazaar, his school is tagged by MS 13 and another gang, in the spring and summer the corners are littered with hookers, dealers, and pimps....
So that is the 5 block radius where I live....how is Bremerton or any area for that matter? He told me last night he doesn't want to live in the city. He wants to live near the ocean or the woods. He doesn't want to hear construction at night or see garbage on the way to school.
As Inkpoe has explained, jobs are most likely going to be in the Seattle metro area. Trees and water are pretty much everywhere on the West side of the mountains. To live near gangs and graffiti, you'd have to seek that out. You're probably not going to get a sense of the area until you see it, even if you Google image every location on the map. People can describe places to you but no one can tell you the right place you're going to want to live your life. And the realities of needing an income, schools and resources often outweigh the dream of a small coastal setting while you work from home. It's been many years now but my family ate silently in Poulsbo while a couple pulled up in their boat, got groceries and sailed off for their afternoon. Instantly we knew this was the place, but we got jobs on the Eastside and live there while we visit places like Poulsbo and Whidbey Island.
These small places can be done but the odds of success are smaller because the assumption is you will be self-sufficient. That's why places like Anacortes are mostly for retired people - if it had a lot of jobs and companies, more people would live there and it wouldn't be small anymore.
When you say "how is Bremerton or any areafor that matter?" that is like saying please describe every area so I can decide where I'll live from this forum. If you want Olympia, there are some jobs there but not as many and it's smaller. If you want the Seattle metro, that's a large area and the further out you are, the greater the challenges. But the metro area is beautiful and you won't know that until you see it. People can't keep trying to convince you of that and most people don't try to "sell" this area. We get plenty of people without selling anything so we just try to be realistic. I'm really hoping things turn out great for your son and yourself but you need to focus on a location, visit or both.
Yes... what Seacove said. Many of these places you asked about are beautiful and safe, but none of that is going to matter if you can't find a job in that town. Focus should be mostly on getting a job first, then worry about where to live. Its not impossible. I have a friend who earns some $10-11/hr job and she lives in West Seattle with her now 8 year old daughter in a 2 bdrm apt... they don't have cable or many of those kind of indulgences (well, except the web)-- but they're very happy. They have easy access to many parks, school is decent, good cheap eats, the beach is right there.
Also the other thing you'll have to realize: Seattle and Washington is pretty safe. While we do have run down areas, we don't really have ghettos or barrios type of places. When you come here and get to know Seattle... you'll realize people here really have no sense of what "dangerous" is (or just how bad it can really get in other place). Generally, to get "trouble", you have to seek it out.
Thanks for the info. That's what I wanted to hear. I know the decision is mine and I am looking at three areas mainly. I don't really worry about income/jobs...it always seems to work out. I did not want to replace one "bad area" for another. This move is about getting away from that. From reading some peoples' posts it sounded worse then here. Graffiti is all over, gangs are a problem (they are recruiting in kindergarten) and such. That is why I wanted/needed a clearer picture of what a "bad area" is there. I've been looking at pictures all over the web and haven't seen that many areas in Washington that look like I have right now.
Oh yeah, the other thing... I've lived in Las Vegas where it's perpetually in construction. I can tell you right now... Never will happen here. Construction are normally during business hours, usually M-F. The only time they do overnight construction if they're doing the freeways (minimizing effect on traffic)-- and that's not always done all the time. Sometimes, there'll be emergency fixes, but even those are rare. Quite frankly, those people try to work with the people that live around in the area as to not disturb folks.
As for garbage, even in Seattle/WA... its pretty clean. I'm not saying you won't ever see garbage again... but they try to keep it clean here.
For me... I have a 5 year old daughter. I simply wouldn't choose to live/raise my daughter in Bremerton simply because it's a Navy town and it feels a bit depressed. I do remember one person was saying her main gripe with Bremerton was that it wasn't really school-supportive. She said it is hard to get school levies passed because the Navy folks don't want to raise the taxes ("but if they're not going to be there permanently, what difference would it make to them?") I like Bremerton, but there are infinitely other choices around that are better for my daughter and I. If I was told that I have to choose a place in the peninsula, my preference would be Gig Harbor or Poulsbo.
Again, visit the town... maybe you'll like it... or realize you're not impressed.
Quite frankly, those people try to work with the people that live around in the area as to not disturb folks.
Maybe that's why everyone I talk to is moving to or back to Washington. I've met so many people in Salt Lake that are from Washington and going back as soon as they can. It used to be like that here. Then everything changed. Its a me, me, me world. I don't live that way. The coffee shop in the apartment complex hosts "street art" classes and spray paint ends up on the drive way, sidewalk, cars, etc....not to mention open night mike every Friday with amps, drums, and all walks of life. Don't get me wrong, I love music and independent artists but not right outside my window at 11 pm when I am trying to get my kid to go to bed.
I can't wait to get up there. Even if I don't exactly like where I end up at first, I can always use that as a stepping stone to another part of Washington.
Thanks for all the great advice. I really do appreciate it.
My son loves the pictures he saw of Seattle this morning because of the "architecture"...lol
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. It or Port Orchard / Silverdale would be a decent choice. See if you can get a job at Retsil (WA STATE VA HOME), if your mom is a veteran, she can live THERE (for FREE). It is swell. 
