Considering moving to Olympia. Any info would be GREAT! (Bremerton: 2015, credit)

[darcyfay]

Hey there!
My husband and I have 3 young daughters and have been considering uprooting our family for a change in life style. We are from Portland Oregon and moved to Houston Texas about 10 years ago. My husband works in healthcare and I am a Elementary School teacher. I've already researched the numberous hoops I have to jump through to get certified in WA. Can anyone tell me about the people in Olympia? Are they friendly? Is this a good place to raise kids? What does the general public do for entertainment on a rainy day? Are their jobs? I've looked into teaching job and there wasn't much at the time, but it is the start of school too My husband and I move out of Portland because there was too many homeless people and drug problems. Does Olympia have the same issues? Thanks so much to anyone that helps answer my questions 💚.

[Diana Holbrook]

Hi - We have both sick people and children to teach in this area, so there are probably jobs for both of you! For teachers, there's Olympia, Tumwater, Capital, and North Thurston School districts, as well as Rochester and Tenino, just out of town.

I think we probably have fewer druggies and homeless people than in the city, but they are out here too, in town, and in the country, the homeless who don't like town and shelters end up in the woods, camping. :/ Just a bummer of modern life I'm afraid. Just been talking on another thread, I'm not sure where in the country there are no issues like that.

Still, Olympia is like Portland in it's flannel and easy going attitude, just fewer people. On rainy days, we probably all-too-often do what they do in Portland, stare at screens. The young and adventurous take up a winter hobby, like skiing!

[Angry-Koala]

Homeless people in Olympia? Oh yes, we've got them here. The only reason you'll find more in Portland is because Portland is 30 or so times the size of Olympia, but per capita we've got more. We've got woodland areas scattered all through the town for them to sleep in, along with parks and business doorways too. If you want to see a sight, come to downtown Olympia late at night. It's more crowded than during the day, which is odd.

It's a sad sign of where this country's values are that these people aren't getting much help with shelter, jobs, and with kicking drugs, but that's what we are as a nation.

99.9% of them aren't troublemakers, so downtown doesn't feel unsafe during the day, but the streets are dirty and smelly from them living there. It gets better in the winter when many go south. Then it's easier to pretend that the problem doesn't exist.

[MJ5150]

There are homeless people everywhere in Olympia.
If you left Portland for that reason, don't move to Olympia.
Easy access to drugs as well.

-Mike

[StealthRabbit]

Consider Bremerton / Silverdale (good medical community (Harrison Hospital is tops), decent 'varied' economy and schools). If your kids will ever be High School age... Bremerton has a community college where they can go to FREE Full time college instead of (or along with) attending High school!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Start
excellent program of many since 1990... including mine and most of their peers. (fortunately, they USED to be able to take more than 15 credit hours, so mine went from HS direct into University as FT Juniors. Saved them a bundle on College (Since they had to pay their own way)

Poulsbo would be a sweet place to live if you want to be close to Work, but far from the suburbia / issues of a bigger population base.

[skrude1]

Very small town-ish. Only 40k people.

There are a couple good bars in the area if you're into that. I like the clipper, but Im a fan of dive bars. There is also a local farmer's market and some other things I'm forgetting. If you take ubers, I may pick you up.

[Angry-Koala]

Originally Posted by skrude1

Very small town-ish. Only 40k people.

There are a couple good bars in the area if you're into that. I like the clipper, but Im a fan of dive bars. There is also a local farmer's market and some other things I'm forgetting. If you take ubers, I may pick you up.

Try 50,302, people (as of 2015). Then, since the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area are really all one place, you need to add in Lacey at 46,409 and Tumwater at 19,190, and you get 115,901. Remember, that's only since 2015. It's probably closer to 118,000 or so now. Most definitely a city, and it's got traffic problems to match.

Still, it's a nice place with its good points. Diana Holbrook described it pretty well, "Olympia is like Portland in it's flannel and easy going attitude".

[Ruth4Truth]

I agree that the Kitsap Peninsula might suit you better (Silverdale, Bremerton, Poulsbo).

[darcyfay]

These are helpful! Thank you!!