Moving To Washington, seeking some guidance please (Seattle, Vancouver: home, living in)

[dav51lin]

dreary weather s and people

[Taz22]

I second Olympia, it might work for you. Thurston county is progressive, housing prices are not too bad, it has Costco, TJ’s, parts of it are decent looking. Downtown is seedy, but you might want to take a look at the outskirts. Trees abound in Olympia and there are lots of places to go hiking. I frequently see deer by the side of the road.

It’s a college town, people are generally friendly. When I first moved to Washington, I was finding my way around Olympia and turned in a narrow driveway, needing to reverse back out into traffic. An incoming car stopped and let me back out, even though the driver was holding up cars behind him. Amazingly polite.

[StealthRabbit]

Bellingham / Fairhaven / Ferndale (and surrounds ~ 30 min) (#1) Proximity to BC is really handy for many events / camping / skiing / international diversity

Silverdale
Steilacoom (worth a look)
Olympia an option, but... masses of people and politics.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Bellingham / Fairhaven / Ferndale (and surrounds ~ 30 min) (#1) Proximity to BC is really handy for many events / camping / skiing / international diversity

Silverdale
Steilacoom (worth a look)
Olympia an option, but... masses of people and politics.

Ferndale is a decent option, so is Sliverdale. I brought up Olympia because the OP said he wanted politically progressive, and it ticks most of the boxes he said he wanted.

Hey Stealth, what about your neck of the woods? It’s close to Portland and there are some nice scenic areas.

[StealthRabbit]

Far away from any hunting areas.

Gotta dodge lots of bullets and arrows around my part of WA.

SWWA would be a political hxll hole for OP, but we (and 36 'other' counties) certainly don't matter one bit to WA politics.

[Diana Holbrook]

Yeah... There is going to be hunting in any part of rural Washington.

But not so much in town :-) usually!

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by lovesFog

Thanks.
Born in England and so grey and drizzly is mother's milk to me.


Smokey air does not encourage me to throw my hat in the air but nothing is perfect. The fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills were pretty brutal.


I've been perusing Zillow listings but actually checking things out in person is the best way to go, I think. Peppered with a few reality bites, too, no doubt.


Will check out Pt Townsend, thanks.

Would you tolerate the paper mill stench (mild most of the time but sickening at others) and the Navy Growler high-db roaring in and near Port Townsend? Hunting is forbidden within city limits, but poachers have shot deer in town, right under the noses of all those progressive people who didn’t want to report gunshots to the police. Hunters probably were reading the deer-lover Facebook page based in PT, drooling over the photos of bucks with huge racks. Right after the SECOND poaching incident, that page mysteriously stopped posting info and photos of deer. Poachers also checked out other places such as Anacortes, Bainbridge, etc., as good poaching grounds. Hunters’—no, make that poachers’—websites even recommended what towns to hit.

Real hunters don’t hunt in places it is not allowed. Maybe what you mean to say is “firing guns.”

Places like PT are not so much progressive as unable to grow a spine against illegal behavior—especially substance abuse and related victimizing crimes by their favored sons.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Would you tolerate the paper mill stench (mild most of the time but sickening at others) and the Navy Growler high-db roaring in and near Port Townsend? Hunting is forbidden within city limits, but poachers have shot deer in town, right under the noses of all those progressive people who didn’t want to report gunshots to the police. Hunters probably were reading the deer-lover Facebook page based in PT, drooling over the photos of bucks with huge racks. Right after the SECOND poaching incident, that page mysteriously stopped posting info and photos of deer. Poachers also checked out other places such as Anacortes, Bainbridge, etc., as good poaching grounds. Hunters’—no, make that poachers’—websites even recommended what towns to hit.

Real hunters don’t hunt in places it is not allowed. Maybe what you mean to say is “firing guns.”

Places like PT are not so much progressive as unable to grow a spine against illegal behavior—especially substance abuse and related victimizing crimes by their favored sons.

Why wouldn't people report gunshots in the neighborhood?

When I visited Pt T, I was astonished at the number of deer leisurely walking around Uptown neighborhoods.in broad daylight, as if they owned the place. On Orcas, they only come out at night.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Would you tolerate the paper mill stench (mild most of the time but sickening at others) and the Navy Growler high-db roaring in and near Port Townsend? Hunting is forbidden within city limits, but poachers have shot deer in town, right under the noses of all those progressive people who didn’t want to report gunshots to the police. Hunters probably were reading the deer-lover Facebook page based in PT, drooling over the photos of bucks with huge racks. Right after the SECOND poaching incident, that page mysteriously stopped posting info and photos of deer. Poachers also checked out other places such as Anacortes, Bainbridge, etc., as good poaching grounds. Hunters’—no, make that poachers’—websites even recommended what towns to hit.

Real hunters don’t hunt in places it is not allowed. Maybe what you mean to say is “firing guns.”

Places like PT are not so much progressive as unable to grow a spine against illegal behavior—especially substance abuse and related victimizing crimes by their favored sons.

Good points. None of the rural Washington towns that appear idyllic on a summer day are paradise. They are great to visit, but living in them will quickly reveal the imperfections.

[Diana Holbrook]

No place with people in it is idyllic.

But small towns with a variety of people in it is not so bad.

Case in point the situation I think you're describing in Port Townsend. No hunting and no predators means being overrun with deer. Balance is better.

Well regulated and managed hunting is not a bad thing. If you're worried about the deer... Good hunting is FAR more humane than the alternatives.