Any info on the Aberdeen area (Bellingham, Olympia: real estate, rent, house prices)

[ontheroad]

I'm planning to drive over to WA in the next month or two from New Mexico to check out both the Aberdeen area and perhaps down to OR.

I am recently retired, prefer north over south, median sized rather than small or large, and cosmopolitan over rural but love beautiful landscapes.

Any help, suggestions, thoughts, ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Happy holidays to all that come along!

[KidBlue]

Check posts done by Ryan. He lives in Aberdeen and has provided lots of great information on Aberdeen and the surrounding area.

[ontheroad]

Thanks, Kidblue, I'll do a search and check out Ryan's posts.

Have a good one!

[Ira500]

Aberdeen has pluses and minuses. Pluses are low housing costs, pretty buildings downtown and pretty surrounding area, lots of nature, not too far from the ocean, lots of nearby water. medium sized city.
Minuses?
Economically depressed area( Timber industry) vacant storefronts, and lots and lots of rain.
Would I move there?
If you are willing to put with the rain, housing is cheap.
For less rain but somewhat higher higher house prices( but far less than seattle's) maybe check out Oak Harbor or Anacortes or Mount Vernon.

[ontheroad]

Ira500, thanks for the additional info. I shall be driving from the SW and will take a good look at the map to see the best way to get to Aberdeen from here and see some of your suggestions.

I am not interested in depressed or depressing towns, but as I don't need a job today, I shall try to seek out some pleasure.

[Ryan]

As far as being depressed, I'll agree that it once was. I moved from the most expensive community in NorCal to here and I don't find it depressing. The town has a lot of charm; especially above the flats. Some of the most beautiful homes I've seen anywhere are in the hill areas. Most of downtown has been revitalized and the timber industry is gone now. Weyerhauser left last year. It does rain quite a bit, but mists even more. We do get A LOT of precipitation over winter, but that's followed by 7 months of the best summer you've ever seen. It's a 20 min. drive to any number of beaches. The area innodated with lots of wildlife, trees, rivers and streams. The town is quiet, but has it's moments, especially during the tourist season. Public schools are moderate to excellent depending on which part of town you live. Lots of shopping for the size of the town. We have a huge shopping center and a mall. ~5-6 really good restaurants in town and every major fast food chain represented. Very small town community orientated atmosphere depite the conveniences. The people here are very genuine and friendly. Areas above downtown see very little crime. Most all of the bad element stays in the flats south of 101 (which is just a 4 lane road around these parts). The breadth of work around here revolves around the retail, service, medical, real estate, finance, education and government fields. Some people commute to Olympia, which is only a 45 minute drive. I like it a lot here. For the money, I couldn't find a better place in this genre than Aberdeen. Other (smaller) towns to check out: Westport, Grayland, Satsop, Tokeland, South Bend. I have posted a ton of info about Aberdeen etc. in some of my older posts, but if there's anything specific you'd like to know let me know.

[ontheroad]

Thank you, Ryan, for adding some additional thoughts. I did go back and read quite a few of your posts--much appreciated information.

Aberdeen is a traveling plan at the moment, until I see her and can take her worth myself--especially as I am an East Coast lassie.

[margo0645]

It's a dying town. Stay away. The rain there would depress even Dr. Phil! Check out Bellingham, Anacortes, Mt. Vernon, LaConner. I'm sorry, I just think that whole area is ugly by Aberdeen/Hoquiam, etc. And the beaches in WA are lousy too, and I'm a native. I'd much rather be somewhere that I could be close to the San Juan Islands (ferry from Anacortes daily) than the ocean. But it's all relative.

[ontheroad]

Thanks for your reply. At this moment I am only visiting a friend who just bought a house in Aberdeen. In fact, she hasn't even arrived yet--she is driving cross country. But, I am interested in what living is like or would be to live in the PNW.

I am planning a visit, and perhaps I'll get up to some of the places you mention. I have been to Bellingham, and thought it lovely.

Originally Posted by margo0645

It's a dying town. Stay away. The rain there would depress even Dr. Phil! Check out Bellingham, Anacortes, Mt. Vernon, LaConner. I'm sorry, I just think that whole area is ugly by Aberdeen/Hoquiam, etc. And the beaches in WA are lousy too, and I'm a native. I'd much rather be somewhere that I could be close to the San Juan Islands (ferry from Anacortes daily) than the ocean. But it's all relative.

[Sean_Harrington]

After living in rotten horrible Northern Arizona for 2 1/2 miserable years. I just bought a house in Aberdeen. I have been to Washington state several times. The first time I was there, I just loved all the GREEN. I was just looking at photos of the house, it was a rainy day, but the grass and trees are GREEN! I am from NYC, so rain is nothing new to me.

There are some depressing areas of Aberdeen, but you have to get off the 101, and see the rest of the town. I've never seen a perfect town, and I would just curl up and die if I had to live in some planned community.There are lots of beautiful old houses, and great neighborhoods in Aberdeen. I actually had a few people smile and say hello in the street. After my time in suspicious-everybody-has-a-chip-on-their-shoulder Arizona, I was STUNNED.

People working in the stores, will actually look you in the eye and talk!

As for the beach; when I was a kid we spent Summers out on the East End of Long Island, some of the most beautiful beaches around, and I have to say, Ocean Shores made my trip. I sat in the car on the beach, and knew this is where I want to be. You can even rent horses to ride on the sand. It doesn't get any better than that.