Living in Gig Harbor, working in Olympia (Seattle, Lacey: homes, neighborhoods)

[crimson4154]

As our quest goes on to find our "perfect place" to live, my husband is interviewing in Olympia for a job. Could we live in Gig Harbor, and be able to live with the commute? Would he be going against the bulk of traffic?

[cobolt]

He'd be going against the traffic for the most part on I-5 south in the morning going towards Oly and pretty much against it on I-5 N---he would hit traffic on the I5 interchange to Hwy 16 (the narrows bridge) but the traffic with the new bridge flows better than it used to. It's doable--might take 20-30 min. Why not just live in Oly?

[crimson4154]

Great point - is Olympia as scenic as Gig Harbor appears to be? Property prices the same in both areas? I'll be a stay-at-home mom for a few years and I'd like some "pretty" surroundings.

[ness]

I have friends in both Olympia and Gig Harbor. Both have really nice family friendly neighborhoods. GH feels a bit more rural. I would try living in Olympia first b/c it would be close to work. Short commute = happy husband = time with family = happy wife = the good life. Just in my opinion. If Olympia were a NOT nice place I'd say commute.......but I think Olympia is nice.

[LMB]

Definitely check out Olympia. Nice little city with a lot to offer. Supposed to have a great farmer's market, but I didn't have a chance to go this summer--next year for sure. Very scenic there too, just in a different way from Gig Harbor. Beautiful capitol building. If your husband's working there, I'd give it a try. You'd be close enough to enjoy GH too. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Lynn

[bmsea]

You might also consider some of the other surrounding areas to Olympia, like Centralia (which I have seen a lot of posts for here). I also like Montesano, which is in Grays Harbor County, I will post some pictures of Montesano, cute town, but definitely not yuppified like GH.

[Pugetsoundman]

We checked out Olympia and the Farmers' Market is really nice. We have friends who live on St. Claire Lake south of Lacy. If you take the job in Olympia I recommend you live closer to Olympia than GH. There are lots of really nice and actually more affordale areas around Olympia. Commuting from GH to Olympia for a surgeon would be a pain, I wouldn't do it myself.

[Sandy Nelson]

The commute from Gig Harbor to Olympia will be around 45 minutes. I know people who commute to Seattle from Olympia every day. They have to do it because they simply can't afford the home prices closer to Seattle. In your case you'll find home prices in Olympia more affordable and the community is just as nice as Gig Harbor.
Olympia is a beautiful, safe and great place to live. The Farmer's Market is second only to Pikes Place Market. There is much to do as far as cultural events, art, shopping, recreation and dining. You really should come down and explore the city. I recommend seeing the Capitol, the boardwalk (Percival Landing), the Farmer's Market and the downtown shops. Check out the homes of the South Capitol Neighborhood, a national historic neighborhood. Other nice communities near Olympia are Lacey, Tumwater and Boston Harbor.

Sandy

[cobolt]

Yes Oly has an active arts scene and alot of my coworkers live there. I've been there several times and there is enough to do and alot of cute neighborhoods and you do have the waterfront and lots of places to walk. There is an incredible bakery not too far from the State Capitol---I can't remember the name.

[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. Thank you for that great input!!

Sandy, is waterfront doable on our budget of 400K? I heard about a park nearby with trails etc. The more we have within reach of not getting in the car will help sell a home to us.

Thanks again!