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I am thinking ahead and I'm interested in moving to the Olympia area in the next few years. Anything specific to the area I should know about? Only locals would know? From what I have seen it seems like a great town and a good place for a teacher to finish out their career.
I live north of Seattle and have not lived in Olympia but have enjoyed my trips there. I like how it's closer to Olp Nat Forest and coast. Only 1 hr from Seatac. I would to hear opinions on how Olympia stacks up vs. Eugene OR and Bellingham WA.
Thanks, it's nice to have a reply! I think its interesting how slow this forum (Washington) is compared to the Las Vegas forum.
After living in Vegas I think I would enjoy the smaller town. I worry about the cloudy and colder weather as I am used to a sunny place and mild winter. However I don't think I can last long term as a teacher here. I feel that Washington invests more in education. It appears that way anyway!
I also like how close you are to the coast and nature.
I originally responded but immediately deleted the post because I figured you thought it rude as I really didn't understand what you're asking.
We have essentially been snowbirds since retiring about ten years ago. We spend equal time in southern NV (Mesquite, Pahrump, and Laughlin and once had a house in Mesquite), and the Olympia area (rural Thurston county). We are both teachers by trade but only taught a few years in public schools in Washington before going into different fields.
Yes, we too consider Washington public schools much better than the Nevada schools. As you know, Nevada routinely is near the bottom in a lot of the rankings of public schools in the country. Washington is still in the lower half of the national rankings but but always seems to be ranked substantially higher than Nevada.
We are Washington/Seattle natives and will most likely come back to Washington to spend the rest of our days. We couldn't wait to leave western Washington when we retired as like many, just had a difficult time putting up with the dark, dreary, and wet climate for over five decades. So we welcomed and looked forward to moving to the desert southwest. However, the climates are so opposite to the extreme. Western Washington always "seeming" to be so wet, cloudy, cold, and dreary and southern Nevada being almost too dry and sunny. After a few years of of what the dry air and intense sun was doing to our skin, we started to miss the wetness of Washington.
Yes, western Washington is wet and COLD in the winter and is wet and cool in the fall and spring. It is mostly perfect in July and August such as most in Vegas think of March and April and late September through early November.
After living so many years in the Seattle metro area, we also were getting tired of the congestion and the increasing crime. That's why we chose smaller towns in NV. No way would be go back to either Seattle or Las Vegas to live as they are now both so congested and full of crime. Even though the Olympia area is getting more congested (so much more than about ten years ago when we first bought property here), it's still much better when it comes to congestion and crime than Seattle or Vegas.
Again, (and not trying to be rude), please ask specific questions as when you ask "anything specific to the area I should know about?" that it is such a wide open question and I'm sure some of us could write a book about what we think might be good points and bad points. I, for one, will be willing to write a lot (maybe not a book but a lot) on what impressions I have of the Olympia area if I knew what types of things you'd like to know. We know a lot of things about the Olympia area as well as some others here who participate on this forum.
I've lived here for almost a month now and really like the area so far. I'm not the best to ask for local advice but if you want to know what a newcomer thinks I'm your guy :P I'm coming from having lived in NYC for 12 years and NJ for another 2 and like the person above me I was sick of congestion/crime etc. I can't say whether it will be for you. That is for you to decide. However, I saw you in the other thread saying you suffered from winter depression from cloudy weather and this is probably not an ideal location to move to for someone with with your condition I imagine.
I originally responded but immediately deleted the post because I figured you thought it rude as I really didn't understand what you're asking.
We have essentially been snowbirds since retiring about ten years ago. We spend equal time in southern NV (Mesquite, Pahrump, and Laughlin and once had a house in Mesquite), and the Olympia area (rural Thurston county). We are both teachers by trade but only taught a few years in public schools in Washington before going into different fields.
Yes, we too consider Washington public schools much better than the Nevada schools. As you know, Nevada routinely is near the bottom in a lot of the rankings of public schools in the country. Washington is still in the lower half of the national rankings but but always seems to be ranked substantially higher than Nevada.
We are Washington/Seattle natives and will most likely come back to Washington to spend the rest of our days. We couldn't wait to leave western Washington when we retired as like many, just had a difficult time putting up with the dark, dreary, and wet climate for over five decades. So we welcomed and looked forward to moving to the desert southwest. However, the climates are so opposite to the extreme. Western Washington always "seeming" to be so wet, cloudy, cold, and dreary and southern Nevada being almost too dry and sunny. After a few years of of what the dry air and intense sun was doing to our skin, we started to miss the wetness of Washington.
Yes, western Washington is wet and COLD in the winter and is wet and cool in the fall and spring. It is mostly perfect in July and August such as most in Vegas think of March and April and late September through early November.
After living so many years in the Seattle metro area, we also were getting tired of the congestion and the increasing crime. That's why we chose smaller towns in NV. No way would be go back to either Seattle or Las Vegas to live as they are now both so congested and full of crime. Even though the Olympia area is getting more congested (so much more than about ten years ago when we first bought property here), it's still much better when it comes to congestion and crime than Seattle or Vegas.
Again, (and not trying to be rude), please ask specific questions as when you ask "anything specific to the area I should know about?" that it is such a wide open question and I'm sure some of us could write a book about what we think might be good points and bad points. I, for one, will be willing to write a lot (maybe not a book but a lot) on what impressions I have of the Olympia area if I knew what types of things you'd like to know. We know a lot of things about the Olympia area as well as some others here who participate on this forum.
Thank you for the extensive post and I apologize for my opening statement.
I see you have much in common as were a teacher and you have lived in the Las Vegas area as well as Washington. I think I am weary of Las Vegas, the crime and lack of community. For some reason I thought Washington was the place to be for education so I am surprised to hear it falls short.
In Las Vegas the intensity of the sun makes my winter depression disappear. I love the climate and supply of light however the city is depressing. I am actually from the North and grew up with a strong winter, snow, ice and cloud cover. My mom uses lights and they help her get through the fall and winter. I think I might be interested in a change.
Questions:
Is there a sense of community?
Do people gather and invest in the community or do people tend to keep to their own life?
From what I have read this area is strong in the arts and music, areas that I would like to be involved in especially meeting other people who are creative, artistic and musical.
Why did you leave teaching?
Do parents in this area support education?
Again, thank you very much for your comments. I enjoyed reading your analysis and reasons for living in the PNW vs SW!
I've lived here for almost a month now and really like the area so far. I'm not the best to ask for local advice but if you want to know what a newcomer thinks I'm your guy :P I'm coming from having lived in NYC for 12 years and NJ for another 2 and like the person above me I was sick of congestion/crime etc. I can't say whether it will be for you. That is for you to decide. However, I saw you in the other thread saying you suffered from winter depression from cloudy weather and this is probably not an ideal location to move to for someone with with your condition I imagine.
Yes, its what I worry about the most. I grew up in a cold wintry area and I have to say I really love the climate here in Las Vegas. Although, my dry skin would probably enjoy the moisture!
I think it is important to consider all the costs and benefits. I have always wanted to live by the coast, by water. I now live in the driest most barren place on earth. Don't get me wrong I really love the desert beauty but I think I might be more receptive to change and adapting.
I also have interest in Northern CA- the bay area. I lived in the bay area for a short time and loved, loved it there. But the clouds burn off mid day for the most part every day so I get my sun!
I would have to invest in the special lights for sure!
Thank you for the extensive post and I apologize for my opening statement.
I see you have much in common as were a teacher and you have lived in the Las Vegas area as well as Washington. I think I am weary of Las Vegas, the crime and lack of community. For some reason I thought Washington was the place to be for education so I am surprised to hear it falls short.
In Las Vegas the intensity of the sun makes my winter depression disappear. I love the climate and supply of light however the city is depressing. I am actually from the North and grew up with a strong winter, snow, ice and cloud cover. My mom uses lights and they help her get through the fall and winter. I think I might be interested in a change.
Questions:
Is there a sense of community?
Do people gather and invest in the community or do people tend to keep to their own life?
From what I have read this area is strong in the arts and music, areas that I would like to be involved in especially meeting other people who are creative, artistic and musical.
Why did you leave teaching?
Do parents in this area support education?
Again, thank you very much for your comments. I enjoyed reading your analysis and reasons for living in the PNW vs SW!
First, I didn't want to give you the impression that Washington public schools are bad. They really aren't. They sometimes score quite well but at times through the years that I've spot checked, not as well as they probably should. It also depends on what is being rated and who is dong the study. However, Washington state and specifically the districts in Thurston county, have some excellent school districts so don't be disappointed.
I was just basing my initial comments on the last year's Wallethub study as I just had been reading the article on their 2015 ratings last week. Their 2015 rankings lists Washington 31st and Nevada 49. However, the year before (2014), Washington was ranked 15 and Nevada 47. So you can see that the Wallhub studies show a dismal ranking for Nevada but a much better one for Washington.
Here's a report card from Education Week showing how poor NV schools rated compared to WA: WA, a hair above average - NV, dead last
These rankings don't indicate a whole lot but can give you a summary or an indication of consistency. For a more detailed analysis, here is the National Education Association study from March 2015:
Pertaining to "sense of community," my personal opinion is that the Olympia area has a much more cohesive sense of community than Las Vegas proper. However, for the places mentioned previously, there probably is just as much or better sense of community in smaller towns outside of the main Las Vegas metro area such as Mesquite especially and Pahrump too. Mesquite being a small town of about 15k, I believe that it inherently has a sense of belonging and identification just because of its smaller population but also because of its strong LDS influence. We haven't actually lived in Vegas proper but visit and know friends and relatives who do so it may be unfair for me to compare Vegas one-on-one to Olympia.
When it comes to gathering and investing in the community, again, I can't compare Vegas with Olympia first hand but from observation, I'd give the nod to Olympia. I'm sure, however, it's better in a smaller and more isolated town ...again, like Mesquite, for instance. I've never experienced "gathering and investing in the community" more than I did in Mesquite but we've lived in the Seattle's eastern suburbs for so long that going to a small town such as Mesquite was a refreshing change to see how people just seem to naturally want to invest in the community. It was something we didn't get a chance to really see in the bustling and crowed suburbs of a big city.
As you may have heard, Seattle has the reputation of people "keeping to their own life." Do a search on this forum for the "Seattle Freeze" and you will find multiple threads discussing it here on this forum. In Olympia, it's markedly different, in my opinion. People seem much more open and willing to engage in casual conversation in both the public environment and in neighborhoods. For instance, in retail stores, there seems to be much more openness to start conversations when shopping. I've noticed multiple times when people will just casually start conversations with others they don't know. I've experienced that quite a few times where I will just easily and naturally get into a conversation with a fellow shopper in the isle of a store where in Bellevue or Redmond, as an example, that almost NEVER happened. And store clerks, as another example, seem to be much less stressed out and more apt to engage in friendly banter in the Olympia area.
I'm going to defer your inquiry about the fine arts to others as we aren't heavily into art nor music. As you mention, the area seems to have a very strong influence in the arts and we have attended several events through the years but are just not into it to a great degree. Since I played the violin in my high school orchestra, we have attended several performances of the Olympia Symphony. The Olympia area has always had an active alternative rock scene. One of the more famous bands associated with the area from the 1990s being Sleater-Kinney, the female indie rock band and we're reminded of them by the street which they named themselves after as it's a prominent arterial that runs through Lacey's business district (Lacey is the town to the east but you'll notice once you're here that Olympia and Lacey have borders that intertwine where in some places, you won't know if you're in Lacey or you're in Olympia. Same with Olympia and Tumwater to the south ...so you'll eventually realize that greater Olympia is composed of three physically interlinked cities (Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater) where it just feels like one big city akin to Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas.
I left teaching after being laid off after several years on the job in the early 1970s. I went back to school in order take some courses and decided to apply to law school, was accepted, but essentially flunked out after about a year. I'm not a good student and also have limited intellectual capacity. After that, I started working for a local government agency and because the pay was five times as much as teaching in public schools (first year teaching salary back then was substantially less than $10k a year). Because I felt comfortable at what I was doing, I never went back to teaching. I regret it at times and at other times, not so much.
Do parents support education? Again, I'll defer to those who may have children attending public schools in the area as we are quite removed from it ourselves. I'll will make a strong presumption they do. What we've observed from friends and acquaintances in the area is that parents do get involved and support education. We know parents with kids in both the Olympia SD and North Thurston (Lacey's SD) and they are actively involved with the schools and, of course, vote for and support all levies (click here for the results of a recent special election for schools back in February and it's obvious that school levies in all Thurston county schools did easily pass).
My apologies for not being able to answer all your questions in a thorough manner. I should have probably made it more clear that I'm not an expert at everything when it comes to Thurston county. But heck, keep asking questions and hopefully somebody will be able to answer and I'll chime in when I can.
~amanda
eta: I just ran across this as I was looking for something else. It's a list of social groups in the area but I noticed that there are some pertaining to the arts and music ...or if you're into anything outdoors, I see a few in that category too:
I'm sure there are other resources too. As you've heard, it's an area that is heavily into arts and music. People here are friendly and welcoming so I'm sure you'll have no problem networking in those areas you have interest and should make friends quickly.
Last edited by poopskooper; 07-09-2016 at 12:34 AM..
Thank you so much for that MeetUp link! I'm moving back home to Washington in about a year, specifically to the Olympia area and I won't know anyone locally. All my friends and family are primarily up north in North Seattle/Lynnwood/ Edmonds/ mill Creek. I'm sort of starting fresh. (I currently live in California...long story.)
Can I drive to go see people and can they come visit me? Sure, but busy lives often make that hard and infrequent, so I'm so glad to have a lead on where to make some friends!
I originally responded but immediately deleted the post because I figured you thought it rude as I really didn't understand what you're asking.
We have essentially been snowbirds since retiring about ten years ago. We spend equal time in southern NV (Mesquite, Pahrump, and Laughlin and once had a house in Mesquite), and the Olympia area (rural Thurston county). We are both teachers by trade but only taught a few years in public schools in Washington before going into different fields.
We are Washington/Seattle natives and will most likely come back to Washington to spend the rest of our days. We couldn't wait to leave western Washington when we retired as like many, just had a difficult time putting up with the dark, dreary, and wet climate for over five decades. So we welcomed and looked forward to moving to the desert southwest. However, the climates are so opposite to the extreme. Western Washington always "seeming" to be so wet, cloudy, cold, and dreary and southern Nevada being almost too dry and sunny. After a few years of of what the dry air and intense sun was doing to our skin, we started to miss the wetness of Washington.
Yes, western Washington is wet and COLD in the winter and is wet and cool in the fall and spring. It is mostly perfect in July and August such as most in Vegas think of March and April and late September through early November.
I hope it's ok to jump in with questions on this thread: I'm a retired teacher heading to the PNW from Ohio. I've arranged a temporary spot to land on Point Roberts and will be exploring up and down the coast.
Looking for a small- mid sized area (less traffic, congestion) with all amenities and reasonable rents.
Considering Olympia too- wondered if you could describe Olympia- areas one should avoid in renting, better areas to look at; are there enough things to see and do - decent food, theater, shopping, books, coffee/ tea spots so that one would not have to drive the long drive into Seattle often? Is it a low crime area in general? Is traffic reasonable? Are there farmer's markets and festivals? Lots of daytime fun stuff to do that won't break the bank? Are rents reasonable? Is there any demand for subs in the schools? Are they rough or are they pleasant? Also considering Bellingham - I kind of like that it's half way between Vancouver and Seattle but realistically, a 90 minute drive is not going to happen daily.
Have you any thoughts on comparison of these two areas? I read a lot of great things about Edmonds and passed through last October- enchanting little town- very small from what I saw- but located near ports - which seems great too. Rents are high; almost Seattle levels. I've been spoiled on Ohio rents a while- and retiring on an Ohio pension too so I need to be careful, but hoping to make ends meet with subbing.
Thanks!
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But heck, keep asking questions and hopefully somebody will be able to answer and I'll chime in when I can. 
