Living in Gig Harbor, working in Olympia

[Dancingearth]

Originally Posted by crimson4154

Too funny - I told my husband yesterday, I simply did not want to live completely isolated - that I wanted a coffeeshop AND a bakery within walking distance.

Wagner's European Bakery & Cafe - on Capitol Way is just one. Olympia has many coffee shops tucked all over downtown. Try the Bread Peddler for good bread and sandwiches. I just found Ultimate Burrito - very good food in one of the old buildings downtown with high ceilings and local artists' work displayed--lots of character. South Capitol, if you can afford it, is a great area and not far from downtown, the Children's Museum, and an alternative public school--Lincoln. I've lived in the area (from NM & before that PA) going on four years and have enjoyed the town. If I stay after I finish college my goal is to live in town and be able to walk and take public transportation. Now if they'd get a fast train to Tacoma and Seattle so I could go for an evening of dancing or a day of museums without the hassle of driving.....it would be perfect. But then house prices would escalate.

[cobolt]

No I don't live in King county, thank you very much. And Lakewood, for the most part, is pretty scummy. I'm not talking about the insane disparity between the haves and the havenots either. To get to any shopping, entertainment, etc you have to drive through some pretty undesirable areas. And if you think Lakewood is so nifty, then why don't you try walking down the streets for a spell? I think the fact that there are 32 homes listed for 750K (mostly concentrated in one small speck of Lakewood) says very little.

[mthomson]

The original post asked about commuting from Gig Harbor to Olympia. Gig Harbor has some high end homes, so the high end homes in Lakewood wouldn't be out of the question for a buyer like this, and Lakewood is significantly closer to Oly than GH is, making Lakewood a good option. Seattle isn't a slumhole, but I don't want to walk their streets. Olympia isn't slummy, but you won't see me out at night on their streets.
Being new to this forum, I thought the purpose was for people to obtain intelligent information regarding our area from people who know the area. It's just my opinion, but to give facts such as 32 homes for sale over $750k says more about an area than "scummy." One is objective, one subjective. If I were wanting to know about an area and what the commute was like, etc, real facts would be more helpful than opinionated critiques.
If I lived on Nyanza (a street in Lakewood with some of the expensive homes) I'd have an easy drive to shopping and theaters without going through any bad areas.
Are there bad areas of Lakewood? Absolutely. Probably some of the scariest in all of Pierce County if you were to research crime rates.
I'm just trying to help the original poster with their questions about the area.

[cabocurtis]

I have a brother in law who did the commute from Gig to Olympia for years and never had an issue expecially with the new bridge. I also have family that have lived in Olympia for years, kids went through school system and love it. The family member I saw said the commute to the Seatac airport is sometimes a hassle as he travels alot for business. I also was born in Tacoma and there are plenty of nice areas to consider from University Place to Proctor area. If the job was in Olympia check it out first. There are some waterfont/view areas that are beautiful. I have a job in Seattle and look forward to relocating to Gig Harbor for the smaller community feeling but also is up and coming with new retail and the hospital. I like being a bit closer to get to Seattle and with passage of the new transit bill there will be more mass transit options with extra trains back and forth between Tacoma and Seattle. In addition its a bit closer to the airport.

[blakemckenna]

Was curious...is their any properties in Olympia with acreage...say 5+ acres w/house?

[Ultrarunner]

Yes... there are quite a few...

Much of the Thurston County Zoning surrounding Olympia is 1 home per 5 acres...

Head out towards Boston Harbor and you will find home with Acreage and only minutes from Downtown.

[Sandy Nelson]

Boston Harbor is a close-in option for larger land parcels and so is East Olympia and Tumwater.

Sandy

[mkcHeather1]

I grew up in Gig Harbor. It is a fantastic place to live. School district is great there.

One thing to consider.... Just know that with the new bridge (Narrows Bridge #2) came a Toll. You pay either $4 each if you don't have the "Good to go" pass. If you do have it then you can breeze through for $1.75 (unless they have raised the prices in the last few months). You pay the toll when you head east only. My parents commute every day to Tacoma and pay the lower toll.

Growing up I rode my horse to "town" which was about 5 miles from our home. The "town" part I'm referring to is off Soundview Drive. It isn't DT Gig Harbor, but now it has a lot of upper-end stores, yest starbucks and even a Borders Books, Chico's, Cold Water Creek, and a bunch of other stores.

I have many clients in the Harbor and in Olympia. I find that Olympia is more rural... but that might be because the Harbor is more contained whereas Olympia is a larger area.

Hope that helps!

[blakemckenna]

Thanks for all the information. I really appreciate it folks. Small town hospitality. It reminds me of my farmtown upbringing back in Ohio. Definitely something good to be said about that...