Fine-Tuning the Port Townsend Area (Sequim, Tanner: sales, house, campers)
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After much reading C-Ding, and visiting, we really like Port Townsend. We're ready to move there, or anywhere between a little west of Sequim to Quilcene. These are our remaining questions:
1. Where are we most likely to avoid bad air / paper mill smell?
2. Is there convenient public access to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and is all of that waterfront public property?
3. Are dogs welcome on the beaches and in the parks there? Any place that's especially anti-dog?
4. Can we find rural without meth, hunting, and related gunfire?
5. We like some snow and 4 seasons, are we going to get them? What we've read is conflicting.
6. We like legal pot too, how available is it?
As always, we appreciate your thoughts. Thank you. JM
After much reading C-Ding, and visiting, we really like Port Townsend. We're ready to move there, or anywhere between a little west of Sequim to Quilcene. These are our remaining questions:
1. Where are we most likely to avoid bad air / paper mill smell?
2. Is there convenient public access to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and is all of that waterfront public property?
3. Are dogs welcome on the beaches and in the parks there? Any place that's especially anti-dog?
4. Can we find rural without meth, hunting, and related gunfire?
5. We like some snow and 4 seasons, are we going to get them? What we've read is conflicting.
6. We like legal pot too, how available is it?
As always, we appreciate your thoughts. Thank you. JM
This was my #1 question in considering a move to Pt. T, too. I'm told the downtown area and generally the north parts of town are best.
It's hard to say about snow, because of global warming, you know. I live in the south end of the Rocky Mountains, and the winters with a foot or two of snow are history. In fact, as of late January, we've been having spring weather! So don't count on snow, but undoubtedly, there will be a cold arctic blast now and then, as there are here, on increasingly rare occasion.
Be aware that beginning sometime this year and continuing for a year's time there will be a furry of military activity, with unusually noisy jets (they call them "growlers") flying over the area for up to 14 hours a day, en route to military exercises out in the coastal rainforest. Local attempts to stop that failed. I'm not sure when it's due to start. The good news is that it's "only" for a year, it's not a permanent thing.
After much reading C-Ding, and visiting, we really like Port Townsend. We're ready to move there, or anywhere between a little west of Sequim to Quilcene. These are our remaining questions:
1. Where are we most likely to avoid bad air / paper mill smell?
Down town PT seldom gets the smell..but it can be bad in some areas if the wind is just right.
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2. Is there convenient public access to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and is all of that waterfront public property?
Depends on where you are talking about as you stated from west of Sequim to Quilcene which is hugh access area. Quilcene has no access to the Strait but has access to Hoods Canal. Sequim has several accesses. Look at Diamond Point which has some access.
Quote:
3. Are dogs welcome on the beaches and in the parks there? Any place that's especially anti-dog?
Yes dogs are welcome and Sequim has a very nice dog park on the West side of down town. I know of no place that is anti-dog unless you walk on Olympic trail without a leach, that will upset a lot of people.
[quote]4. Can we find rural without meth, hunting, and related gunfire?[p/QUOTE]
No, no and no. Why because its rural.
Quote:
5. We like some snow and 4 seasons, are we going to get them? What we've read is conflicting.
Sequim and the valley has very little snow, but it does happen. You may find some areas over by Quilcene or the higher elevation with snow. Four seasons? Guess its what you are used to. Spring flows into summer into fall here without a lot of temperature change. Winter, well it was 52 degrees today with an occasional sun break, does that tell anything.
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6. We like legal pot too, how available is it?
Pricey but available...beyond that, no comment. I suspect Port Townsend would be more to your liking in that aspect.
This was my #1 question in considering a move to Pt. T, too. I'm told the downtown area and generally the north parts of town are best.
I suggest you look at a map. There is no North part of town unless you are considering living on house boat.
Quote:
It's hard to say about snow, because of global warming, you know. I live in the south end of the Rocky Mountains, and the winters with a foot or two of snow are history. In fact, as of late January, we've been having spring weather! So don't count on snow, but undoubtedly, there will be a cold arctic blast now and then, as there are here, on increasingly rare occasion.
Be aware that beginning sometime this year and continuing for a year's time there will be a furry of military activity, with unusually noisy jets (they call them "growlers") flying over the area for up to 14 hours a day, en route to military exercises out in the coastal rainforest. Local attempts to stop that failed. I'm not sure when it's due to start. The good news is that it's "only" for a year, it's not a permanent thing.
14 hours a day...really. I think I heard one jet go over today and it wasn't loud. Local prop planes landing at the local airports in both Sequim and PT are just as loud. The whole thing is overblown by the C.A.V.E and anti-military people, IMHO.
Oh and by the way, weather on the Peninsula hasn't changed in the 74 years I have live here or the Northwest in all that time.
I suggest you look at a map. There is no North part of town unless you are considering living on house boat.
14 hours a day...really. I think I heard one jet go over today and it wasn't loud. Local prop planes landing at the local airports in both Sequim and PT are just as loud. The whole thing is overblown by the C.A.V.E and anti-military people, IMHO.
Oh and by the way, weather on the Peninsula hasn't changed in the 74 years I have live here or the Northwest in all that time.
North side ie. North Beach, fairgrounds, fort Worden area..
A Cessna just as loud as a growler? Lol IMHO...
I have hobby planes fly over every day... The old biplanes are loud but cool.
At my place inland a mile or two, growlers sound like giant blow torches, with that deep low growl. When they pass by a home near the straight.. You can not yell out a conversation and windows rattle, and the earth shakes.
Their is.no comparison between the performance or noise level of a 160 mph Cessna and a mach 1.8 EA-18G growler.
Imagine how loud it will be when they open up the throttle durning war games over campers and hikers.
Ya know we rely on tourism money on the OP.. This is not a way to attract tourists seeking to get away to the quiet. It also lowers our property values, makes less people build, hurts builders.. Bad for the economy.
A.growler just went by now and it is 7:30 am on Saturday.
This is is new and different, we got the right to gripe.
_-----;
Johnwmackay..
Don't need potheads doing bong hits on the beach where kids are playing. I can not believe access to pot is in your top 7 things to consider. Rural.OP is definitely NOT a fit for you.
Pot shops always look empty, people may look stoned but most.are.high on life.. We have a moratorium on any more pot shops. We do not need pot tourists.. We got plenty of natural beauty to enjoy by itself.
Most of us feel neither pot or alcohol should be.used in public settings. Especially not while out hunting and shooting.
Last edited by TrueTimbers; 02-14-2015 at 09:14 AM..
1. Where are we most likely to avoid bad air / paper mill smell?
2. Is there convenient public access to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and is all of that waterfront public property?
3. Are dogs welcome on the beaches and in the parks there? Any place that's especially anti-dog?
4. Can we find rural without meth, hunting, and related gunfire?
5. We like some snow and 4 seasons, are we going to get them? What we've read is conflicting.
6. We like legal pot too, how available is it?
Hi JM:
Since you're asking about Port Townsend specifically, I'll answer from that perspective. Disclaimer though, I don't live in PT, rather PA and now near Sequim but have spent a fair bit of time in PT over the years as we have several friends who live there. Perhaps some of the C-D posters who actually live in Port Townsend will chime in for you. OK here goes:
1. Paper mill smell. Ah yes, sort of a scorched cauliflower aroma... As mentioned, we've spent a lot of time in PT and honestly, I don't often smell the mill. It seems to depend upon how the wind is blowing that particular day. My friends who live in PT maintain that smell from the mill is less on the north side of PT (North Beach and Fowler's Park) for what it's worth-
2. A lot of waterfront on the peninsula is private property but we are fortunate to have a great deal of waterfront state park land and public access to the waterfront as well. Easy access to the waterfront from the downtown area. Fort Warden has lots of waterfront access as do the other parks in the area.
3. I think western WA in general is dog friendly, PT included. The usual dog related manners apply here as they do elsewhere- dogs on a leash in public areas and please pick up after Fido. PT has a small dog park area near Chetzemoka city park.
4. Rural areas without meth? There is meth just about everywhere it seems but I don't (personally) perceive it to be a huge problem in PT. Maybe I just don't run with the right crowd to know better though. Are there rural areas in WA or the northwest in general without hunting and guns? Maybe but they're few and far between. IMO you aren't going to see too many big lifted trucks sporting fully loaded gun racks running around PT like you do in some rural areas of the country. I find that PT has a very "live and let live" attitude. You leave me alone to adorn my 4x4 truck any way I want to and I'll leave you alone to drive your Prius. Personally, I like it that way!
5. Some snow? Check. Four seasons? Hmmm.... not so much. My wife and I joke that the peninsula only has two seasons- spring and fall. We get a bit of winter with a skiff of snow here and there (which melts fairly quickly) and we get a brief summer (some years more so than others).
6. Legal pot? Since the last election yes. The problem, so far, has been implementation. Check out the online Jefferson County version of the local paper (Peninsula Daily News). The last I read, the Jefferson County city commissioners had voted to extend the marijuana moratorium there. Just like anywhere else though, this may not slow down pot sales through alternate routes which have traditionally been in place.
Good luck in your search JM!
Last edited by Dendrite; 02-14-2015 at 09:40 AM..
Reason: mis-spelled word
4. Rural areas without meth? There is meth just about everywhere it seems but I don't (personally) perceive it to be a huge problem in PT. Maybe I just don't run with the right crowd to know better though. Are there rural areas in WA or the northwest in general without hunting and guns? Maybe but they're few and far between. IMO you aren't going to see too many big lifted trucks sporting fully loaded gun racks running around PT like you do in some rural areas of the country. I find that PT has a very "live and let live" attitude. You leave me alone to adorn my 4x4 truck any way I want to and I'll leave you alone to drive your Prius. Personally, I like it that way!
Thought this comment was great. Thanks for the dose of common decency.
Thank you all, I appreciate the input. Before this thread veers off track, you ought to know that I drive a 4x4 F250 with an 8" lift. I also own a couple of firearms. We just spent 6 years in rural Georgia, and while it too has plenty of natural beauty, it was hard for us to enjoy that beauty because of the noise of constant gunfire, sometimes augmented with Tannerite. It is relentless for much of the year, and sometimes not too safe. So we're hoping to avoid that.
And don't worry, I don't plan to bring a bong to the beach or to compromise anyone's kids. Access to pot is one of our top considerations, along with gay marriage and assisted suicide - hence Washington. To us those are measures of freedom, and after those 6 years in rural Georgia, we're looking for a little more of that. Reasonable minds may differ.
Thank you all, I appreciate the input. Before this thread veers off track, you ought to know that I drive a 4x4 F250 with an 8" lift. I also own a couple of firearms. We just spent 6 years in rural Georgia, and while it too has plenty of natural beauty, it was hard for us to enjoy that beauty because of the noise of constant gunfire, sometimes augmented with Tannerite. It is relentless for much of the year, and sometimes not too safe. So we're hoping to avoid that.
And don't worry, I don't plan to bring a bong to the beach or to compromise anyone's kids. Access to pot is one of our top considerations, along with gay marriage and assisted suicide - hence Washington. To us those are measures of freedom, and after those 6 years in rural Georgia, we're looking for a little more of that. Reasonable minds may differ.
I can't speak on the "bong on the beach" comments, nor can I speak specifically about the Olympic Peninsula, but Washington is generally a gun friendly state (so far), and most rural areas have gunfire as a semi-common "background noise". In forty years of living in the rural areas of this state, though, I have never once felt "unsafe" when it comes to hearing gun shots in the distance.
Thank you all, I appreciate the input. Before this thread veers off track, you ought to know that I drive a 4x4 F250 with an 8" lift. I also own a couple of firearms. We just spent 6 years in rural Georgia, and while it too has plenty of natural beauty, it was hard for us to enjoy that beauty because of the noise of constant gunfire, sometimes augmented with Tannerite. It is relentless for much of the year, and sometimes not too safe. So we're hoping to avoid that.
And don't worry, I don't plan to bring a bong to the beach or to compromise anyone's kids. Access to pot is one of our top considerations, along with gay marriage and assisted suicide - hence Washington. To us those are measures of freedom, and after those 6 years in rural Georgia, we're looking for a little more of that. Reasonable minds may differ.
Sorry about the bong hits at the beach comment..
In town, or up against a park would reduce gun shots. So would a large parcel you own. Otherwise it is a crap shoot on who your neighbor is.
Here ya on the freedom angle..
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