Olympia? Lacey? Tumwater? Imminent move from Midwest - looking for advice! (Seattle: rentals, house)

[cyclecat]

Hi all -
I'm a Trader Joe's employee with several family members in the Seattle area - three in Redmond and one attending UPS. I'm sick of the Midwest winters and have decided to sell my house and give Washington a 12-month trial run while my youngest finishes college. I find the size of Seattle somewhat intimidating, not to mention expensive, so have settled on the Olympia area as a place to put down (shallow) roots while I decide whether I can tolerate 9 months of gloomy weather as opposed to 5 months of cold & snow!

I am super-excited to move. I am a pretty avid cyclist and would love to find a place close enough to W. Olympia that I could bike to work if that's possible (and if I get the coveted TJ's Olympia job I'm hoping for). Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Bike-friendliness of Olympia area; could I possibly commute from Lacey, which also looks nice; good restaurants, coffee shops, etc.,; other outdoor activities within reasonable driving distance from Olympia; etc. etc. Thanks!

[Sandy Nelson]

Cyclecat,

Commuting to the West Olympia Trader Joe's by bike from Lacey may not be realistic. West Olympia is pretty spread out and goes all the way out to the Evergreen State College. You should have no problems finding a home in West Olympia within easy bicycle commute to work, shopping and parks. Another option would be the Tumwater Hill or Summerset Hill area around South Puget Sound Community College. This area connects nicely to West Olympia.

[Andy]

The geography of the area make West Olympia the most difficult to cycle to from Lacey. Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake (and downtown Olympia) are in a sea level trough which splits the area in two. Cycling from Lacey to West Olympia requires large hills or a longer route south through Tumwater.

I'd focus in West Olympia first. There are bike lanes all the up Division, so the bike commute to work would be easy. For a less traffic congested path to work, there is a trail at the south end of Decatur that connects the residential neighborhood to the commercial area around the Auto Mall. West Olympia and nearby downtown Olympia have a great variety of restaurants, shopping, and access to outdoor activities.

Another area to look at would be the south end of Olympia, NE corner of Tumwater. The Carlyon, Governor Stevens, and other neighborhoods around Olympia High School are a good central area to access downtown, Lacey, and West Olympia. Biking to Trader Joe's would require a smaller hill climb on Tumwater Hill. Shopping, restaurants, bike shop, running shop, etc. around the Tumwater Safeway. Tumwater Falls & Watershed Park bookend the area.

[lady fern]

Lacey would be a rather long bike commute. I would second Andy's suggestions on where to look for rentals. As far as other outdoor activities....west Olympia is about an hour away from hiking in the Olympics, there are several places on Puget Sound where you can rent kayaks and go out on the water for the day, if you are into team sports there are a number of softball and soccer leagues that play at Yauger Park (close to TJ's), and tons of people cycle so I am sure you will make quick connections with plenty of biking enthusiasts.
Good luck with the transfer to Oly TJ's. I think you will like the area.

[lady fern]

Oh, and BTW...where in the Midwest will you be coming from?

[cyclecat]

Lady Fern - I'm currently in St. Paul. I love my home and my neighborhood, but especially now that I am an empty-nester and single, the winters are pretty much unbearable. Got a good vibe from the TJ's but didn't have enough time to really explore the immediate surroundings (except the CA Burrito truck!), and also managed to get a taste of the lovely Sunday afternoon traffic clogs (3 of them) between Oly and Tacoma.

[lady fern]

I lived in Iowa for a bit as a kid. I can remember going on a couple of trips up to St. Paul with my family. Winters are long and cold there, for sure!
Yes, traffic on I-5 is pretty lame. I always managed to plan my trips poorly and get stuck in the Fort Lewis traffic. But if you work and live on the West side of Oly you find that you barely even go on the interstate.