Specific Olympia area question (Seattle, Everett: crime rates, new house, established neighborhood)

[KLW]

We've been living on Seattle's Eastside for the past 10 years, and my husband has accepted a new job at Madigan (sp?) Hospital on the military base, so we'll be moving to the Olympia area. My daughter will attend a school in East Olympia. So, I'm looking for suggestions on what neighborhoods to look in for housing that don't have a long commute for either school or work. I've posted on another board that I frequent, and they suggested the Capital Historic District of Olympia or around Olympia High School. Any agreement with that or other suggestions? My husband doesn't want more than a 30 min commute, and I'd really like to be less than 20 min from my daughter's school. We're 30 min in good traffic from her school now, and it's too much (although traffic _has_ to be better in Olympia than on Seattle's Eastside, please tell me it is!!). We're a very non-commercialized, organic, liberal, eco-conscious family, so I don't care about shopping or Walmarts....I'm more concerned about what CSA I can find there, where the great Farmer's Markets are, and where we can buy biodiesel for our cars.....so any thoughts on neighborhoods to look in would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

[Salsa]

Hi. My husband works in Dupont and it takes him 20 minutes. We live in Lacey. Off College/45th. Our home is 10 yrs and there are alot of used and new houses in this area. E.Olympia is 10 minutes from this area. It's a pretty area and we near a walking trail. Also, I know a good realtor if you need one. What is CSA? Good luck.

[KLW]

Thanks for the info...walking trails are good with two dogs. Do you find Lacey to be a transient type of area? A friend mentioned there are a lot of military families in that area, which is fine, I was just wondering about the longevity of one's neighbors? We'll have to look in that area as well though, as the commutes seem ok.

A CSA is Community Support Agriculture, ie. a local farm that we get our produce from each week. We currently belong to one that is in Carnation, and we go there weekly for our produce from June-Oct, and then in the off months, they deliver a box to a "depot location" where we pick it up. Much less expensive, as the middle man is removed, and fabulous, locally grown, organic produce!

Thanks again for your suggestion.

[DBM]

KLW,

Reading through your self-description and concerns, I would suggest Olympia over Lacey, and relatively strongly. In fact, I would endorse the two neighborhoods you listed in your initial post. Both are well-established neighborhoods, with the South Capital District consisting of homes built from the turn of the (last) century to the 30's, and the area around Olympia High School built from the 60's through today. Both areas have great neighborhood infrastructure, with bike lanes, sidewalks (in most areas) and parks. In addition, they are both relatively compact, which makes it possible to walk or bike to neighborhood stores, a couple of restaurants, etc.

Lacey has many wonderful new developments, but it does not have a particular "core." Lacey's big growth didn't start until the 60's, and it suffers from the poor planning of that period -- sprawl, no defined business district, neighborhoods w/o sidewalks, etc. The new neighborhoods are a lot better, but it's tough to re-knit the fabric of a community.

Politically and socially, Olympia tends to be more liberal and "granola" than Lacey, and that seems to match your self-description. There are several farmer's stands around both Lacey and Olympia, but the real farmer's market is in downtown Olympia, and it's a good one -- lots of organic produce. In addition, Evergreen State College, which is quite granola, influences Olympia much more than it does Lacey. My impression has always been that Lacey reacts against Evergreen and the granola aspects of Olympia to a certain extent. If you identify more with Evergreen, then you would probably identify more with Olympia.

Olympia also tends to be less transient than Lacey, partly because of Fort Lewis and McChord AFB. Lacey is closer to both bases than is Olympia, and consequently has had more military move in and out. That is changing now that Lacey has grown so much, but there is still truth to the generalization.

A downside to Olympia would be the slightly longer commute to Madigan. Lacey is about 15 minutes from Madigan if you're close to the freeway (up to 15 minutes more if you have to pass through the shopping areas); the Olympia neighborhoods you're looking at are about 25 minutes to Madigan. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods you're looking at, and my dad was stationed at Ft. Lewis for the last six years of his career -- it was a pretty easy commute for him (I did basically the same commute a few years later).

Finally, I'm not sure exactly which East Olympia school your child will attend, but both Olympia neighborhoods are pretty close. You'd be doing a reverse commute to the school, and it would take about 10 minutes to get there.

Hope this helps -- good luck!

[HelloNY]

Safety wise, Lacey is fine. It is true that there is not reallt a city center, but there are some nice communities. If you check crime stats you'll see that many parts of Lacey have lower crime rates than Oly. I really like Lacey since you're so close to both Oly and tacoma. Also, the lacey schools are both excellent and diverse, if that is a factor.

[KLW]

HelloNY, thanks for the additional info on Lacey. It definitely seems to be centrally located for the things we'll be frequenting.

DBM, thank you for the extensive reply! I am grateful for the time you took to respond, as well as the content of the information. It seems as if both those neighborhoods would fit what we're looking for .... thanks again for the info and your perceptiveness in responding to my original post.

We'll be visiting in person soon, and all of this information will help. Thanks to all!

[grillboy]

Olympia and Lacey are both relatively small cities. The area is beautiful with lots of trees and water. There is a great Farmers Market in Olympia and a smaller one in Lacey. There are a lot of military families here so as far as neighbors sticking around I am not sure that you can count on that. Housing is abundant and a lot cheaper than up north in Seattle and Everett. My family recently relocated from north of Seattle as well. Although I must warn you if you are purchasing a home there are a lot of new housing developments with lots of builders in area. Be careful what you buy. We purchased a Soundbuilt Home and in my opinion it is really a piece of garbage. I wish I would have invested time in researching builders before we bought down here. Now we are paying the price. Otherwise the area is great!

[tadaa]

DBM is right on target with the differences between Lacey and Olympia. I'd recommend the same neighborhood too...stay in the Olympia HS service district because the other high school is having major troubles now.

[boybrady]

Originally Posted by DBM

KLW,

Reading through your self-description and concerns, I would suggest Olympia over Lacey, and relatively strongly. In fact, I would endorse the two neighborhoods you listed in your initial post. Both are well-established neighborhoods, with the South Capital District consisting of homes built from the turn of the (last) century to the 30's, and the area around Olympia High School built from the 60's through today. Both areas have great neighborhood infrastructure, with bike lanes, sidewalks (in most areas) and parks. In addition, they are both relatively compact, which makes it possible to walk or bike to neighborhood stores, a couple of restaurants, etc.

Lacey has many wonderful new developments, but it does not have a particular "core." Lacey's big growth didn't start until the 60's, and it suffers from the poor planning of that period -- sprawl, no defined business district, neighborhoods w/o sidewalks, etc. The new neighborhoods are a lot better, but it's tough to re-knit the fabric of a community.

Politically and socially, Olympia tends to be more liberal and "granola" than Lacey, and that seems to match your self-description. There are several farmer's stands around both Lacey and Olympia, but the real farmer's market is in downtown Olympia, and it's a good one -- lots of organic produce. In addition, Evergreen State College, which is quite granola, influences Olympia much more than it does Lacey. My impression has always been that Lacey reacts against Evergreen and the granola aspects of Olympia to a certain extent. If you identify more with Evergreen, then you would probably identify more with Olympia.

Olympia also tends to be less transient than Lacey, partly because of Fort Lewis and McChord AFB. Lacey is closer to both bases than is Olympia, and consequently has had more military move in and out. That is changing now that Lacey has grown so much, but there is still truth to the generalization.

A downside to Olympia would be the slightly longer commute to Madigan. Lacey is about 15 minutes from Madigan if you're close to the freeway (up to 15 minutes more if you have to pass through the shopping areas); the Olympia neighborhoods you're looking at are about 25 minutes to Madigan. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods you're looking at, and my dad was stationed at Ft. Lewis for the last six years of his career -- it was a pretty easy commute for him (I did basically the same commute a few years later).

Finally, I'm not sure exactly which East Olympia school your child will attend, but both Olympia neighborhoods are pretty close. You'd be doing a reverse commute to the school, and it would take about 10 minutes to get there.

Hope this helps -- good luck!

I would second this entire post. I would also go as far as to say that Olympia has character while Lacey is corporate box stores and subdivisions constructed overnight by the thousands. No heart, just bedrooms and minimum wage jobs.

[rima007]

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