Bremerton vs. Oak Harbor (Tacoma, Bainbridge Island: apartment complexes, crime, neighborhoods)

[preston39]

Bainbridge vs. Whidbey Island. Which would you choose to live in, and why?

Scenery/outdoor recreation:
Culture:
Education:
Economy:
Food:
Cost of living:
Crime:
Infrastructure/transportation:
Urbanity:
Desirable suburbs:
Climate:
Other:

[CrazyDonkey]

What are you asking about? Bremerton is not on Bainbridge Island. Both Bremerton and Oak Harbor are dominated by large Navy installations. Bainbridge is nothing like either.

[preston39]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

What are you asking about? Bremerton is not on Bainbridge Island. Both Bremerton and Oak Harbor are dominated by large Navy installations. Bainbridge is nothing like either.

I meant Bremerton, not Bainbridge. Whoops.

If any mods would be kind enough to change it, that’d be awesome.

The question’s just asking which one would be preferable to live in if given the choice between either.

[Hemlock140]

We were actually in Bremerton Sunday, and noted that they have the biggest Dutch Bros. that we have ever seen. Overall though, I wouldn't want to live there. Oak Harbor is preferable, but I would prefer the southern part of Whidbey, or Poulsbo, even Silverdale over Bremerton or Oak Harbor.

Scenery/outdoor recreation: Bremerton is the loser, though there is some
Culture: None of them
Education: Neither
Economy: Oak Harbor
Food: Bremerton, because it's close to Silverdale and Poulsbo
Cost of living: Bremerton is cheaper, for good reasons
Crime: Oak Harbor
Infrastructure/transportation: Bremerton
Urbanity: Bremerton, though the urban areas are sketchy
Desirable suburbs: Oak Harbor
Climate: Oak Harbor is in the rain shadow, only 20" of rain, Bremerton gets 49", otherwise very similar.
Other: The transient nature of a military base and the low paying businesses serving them tend to result in more crime and poverty. With the Bremerton population being so much bigger than at Oak Harbor, Bremerton has about twice the crime of Oak Harbor.

[wolfdog]

We've been in OH for a couple of years now, and haven't been to Bremerton in decades. Hard to believe it would be better. Rains more there.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by preston39

I meant Bremerton, not Bainbridge. Whoops.

If any mods would be kind enough to change it, that’d be awesome.

The question’s just asking which one would be preferable to live in if given the choice between either.

You should be able to edit your post, as long as you don't wait too long.

What are you looking for?

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Bremerton feels like a mini-Tacoma --- decent-sized downtown, lots of restaurants and bars and a few cafes, with a decidedly blue-collar feel. Some legit neighborhoods outside the downtown, with a few small commercial strips (Manette, Callow). The better choice IMO for anyone under 40 without kids.

Oak Harbor is much smaller and oriented towards an older crowd (more quaint, safer, less going on, likely higher COL). I'd pick Bremerton personally.

[Returning2USA]

OP Preston,

I think the replacing the city of Bremerton with Kitsap County would be more accurate.

[CrazyDonkey]

Bremerton does have that strange creature, the "Bremelo".

https://youtu.be/bTc5aKZj98k

[BjorntheCold]

Whidbey is a horrible place - I live there, and am eager to leave. The entire time you're here, you feel trapped by the insufficient infrastructure. Rt. 20/525 is a fast, winding road that nevertheless manages to get congested every day in Oak Harbor because there's no real way to skirt the city, and the lights are all out of sync. The food options here are terrible - there are 20+ minute backups at every fast food venue in town. Housing is expensive; all the apartment complexes are dated and run down.

Honestly, 'island life' is completely overrated. The temperatures here are a little cooler, but the flipside is we get even less rain than other places within the Olympics' rain shadow. The scenery is lovely, but not significantly moreso than on the mainland, and the geography and north-south aligned roads/ferries really make getting somewhere else an enormous chore. I could not recommend this place.