What's wrong with the Grays Harbor Area? (Seattle, Tacoma: condos, homes)

[Joe_Ryder]

I was driving through a few weeks ago and decided to take the coastal route (101) when I happened upon the area. I didn't have time to really look but a cursory drive through was fairly impressive. I plan to take some more time to explore in a few weeks.

At first glance, the towns around the harbor seem fairly pleasant if somewhat depressed. I'm reminded of a New England coastal town without the psychotic snow plow guys.

How is it there? Schools? I'm a semi-retired widowed dad raising an 8-year-old boy. I'm originally from Texas but have lived in the San Francisco East Bay Area for about 20 years. I like to live near the ocean. Sorry, but rivers and lakes just don't cut it. Nothing wrong with 'em but in the brief times I've lived inland I missed the proximity of salt air. Something about it. Had I not chosen to be a husband and family man, I probably would have gone to sea years ago.

For exploring coastal Washington with relocation a consideration, is this a place you'd recommend? Thanks in advance.

[allforcats]

Despite your title, you seem to like the area, eh? We have quite a lot of threads in the WA forum about Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Ocean Shores which contain gobs of info.
Very near the top of every page here, there's "Search". If you look for posts or threads on those three city names you should find quite a lot which could answer your initial questions. Or just click on this link:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/searc...archid=6218545

Another CD search for Grays Harbor:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/searc...archid=6218655

[Joe_Ryder]

I did like it. I was surprised that a coastal area with what seems to have a lot to offer was not teeming with people. I was just wondering if it was one of those rare forgotten gems or if it had some serious problem. The harbor seems to be quite active. I'm hoping it's just a place that doesn't attract a lot of people because of the rain or has a growth control ethic. Alameda, CA is one of those places. It's a nice and safe town in the heart of the Bay Area that encourages small businesses and keeps the giant discount boxes out. Unfortunately it's an island in the middle of a major metropolitan area and the only way out that doesn't involve traffic jams and driving through a ghetto is by boat.


In all honesty, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like to live on some tropical beach but the problem is that everyone and his brother has the same idea. I'd kind of like to get away from so many people. Most coastal cities tend to be a bit crowded. I'll trade hordes for rain any day.

[Ira500]

Grays Harbor is not a city that has a thriving economy...it had a lot of lumber mills nearby but they are either closed or not doing well. But it is a kind of pretty place that gets a lot of rain. You'll certainly get away from lots of people there.

[allforcats]

Sometimes Ira500 speaks in drollness.... and we cherish him for it.

You said: "I'm hoping it's just a place that doesn't attract a lot of people because of the rain or has a growth control ethic."
Yes, as Ira500 said the "growth control ethic" is lack of work. All of the centers of dense employment are far away, on the mainland in Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Renton and Everett. Grays Harbor and environs have little employment beyond service jobs.

Last time I was there, I spent a lot of time watching Osprey parents feeding two half-grown, very loud kids way up in the nest. Grays Harbor is a superb place for such lovely meandering. And if you could make a life away from a city for periods of time, you could drive right onto the beach at Ocean Shores, see the Pacific forever to your left, forever in front of you, and almost forever to your right, smell the sea air, chat with the seagulls, and watch the sun go down. And when it rains, the air is heavy with the glorious fragrance of Western Red Cedar.

[kanhawk]

Grays Harbor, and most of the Washington coast are more accessible to middle class people than much of the west coast. It is a depressed area economically so property values are lower. While much of the state of Washington has had low unemployment lately, Grays Harbor county has been above 10%. I think it has always been that way. Keep in mind that Aberdeen and Hoquiam have a lot of homeless people for towns their size and have a pretty depressed downtown area with lots of closed storefronts. However, if you are semiretired the local economy may not be much of an issue for you. There are smaller towns right on the coast like Ocean City and Pacific Beach and Grayland you may want to check out. One other town that gets little notice in the area but I think is actually one of the nicest towns out there is Montesano. It seems to be much better taken care of and people seem to have more pride in their community there.It also seems like it would be a good place to raise a child. You might check it out although it is about 10 miles inland from Aberdeen which may be too far from the ocean for your liking.

[nullgeo]

It's called "GRAY's" Harbor for a reason. If you can stand the near constant overcast and the chill most all year long — there you go ... away from lots of people for sure. Think long and hard about the tropical beach attraction ... you'll be re-thinking that a lot ... you can trust me on that one.

I am also a (now retired) widower who just got my 4 kids out on their own a few years back. Was so busy being Dad (and Mom) for so long, I didn't have much time to look up at the sky — until a few years ago. When I did, I heard myself say "... this really sucks, depressing ... " and moved to Hawaii for a couple years. Came back again, but, much as I love it here in the NW, I am looking to go back to Hawaii, or maybe across country back to Maine, where I lived as a kid for a time. Not a lot more hours of sun annually in Maine, but it is equally spread across the seasons ... and if you like small seacoast towns inhabited by real characters, you can't beat the place.

On the other hand, that tropical beach is hard to stay off of after so many years of struggle.

Good luck man. Best wishes to you and your son. Rugged journey — but lots of hidden potential rewards can come out of the struggle.

[springshades]

The area was dependent on the lumber industry which took a very large hit starting about 30 years ago. That's the main reason why the place seems somewhat empty. The economy can't support the size of the previous population anymore.

Compared to the climate of the puget sound region, the areas directly on the Pacific tend to have 1. a lot more wind, and 2. even more moderated weather (cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter).

[g-oke]

Hi Joe,

I live in Ocean Shores and can provide you some insight.

Pros about Grays Harbor:

1) Land, homes, and even Ocean front condos are reasonably priced depending upon the location/amenities you desire

2) Environment is beautiful; especially on a clear day

3) Lots of recreational activities - close proximity to beaches, hiking trails, Olympic National Park.

4) If you're an avid fisherman, there are a lot of great rivers/lakes to fish from.

5) People, for the most part, are very friendly and hard-working.

6) Despite an article posted in the Seattle Weekly two years ago about Hoquiam/Grays Harbor being a racist town, Black and White in Grays Harbor County, page 1 - News - Seattle Weekly, I find this to paint an inaccurte picture. There are several native americans, mexicans, that live in the town and don't face severe discrimination.

7) The transit system is excellent and covers almost every area of Grays Harbor.

8) When locals talk about "heavy traffiic," I laugh and encourge them to spend some time in Seattle or another metropolitan city.

Now the down side ....

1) It's not the best place to live if you're single.

2) The weather is somewhat miserable; in fact, I would say it's some of the worst weather in the world! The beaches tend to have a lot of wind/cloud cover for about 70% of the year; this coupled with lots of rain. Blue sky is very rare!

3) When the sun does shine, a lot of tourist are fooled thinking the weather is somewhat sunny or similar to that of the Monterey Bay/ Bay area coastal cities. I can remember taking a couple's picture on the beach on a rare summer-sun, no-wind day in Ocean Shores. The couple was from Florida and stated "this reminds us a lot of Florida!" I said, "give it 48 hours."

4) Good paying jobs are rare; unless you land a government/city job or one with the school. Some of more wealthy people in the area are school teachers, administrators, state workers, federal workers, etc. If you're the entrepreneurial type, get into the construction business - contractors are also doing well right now.

5) Again, the weather. Today (7/2/08), it's windy, overcast, and 60 degrees. Over at my brother's place in Olympia, it's 83 degrees, sunny, and dry.

6) If you're into 90's rock (if not, consult a family member), Kurt Cobain of the lead group Nirvana grew up in the area. Most of his songs reference the dreary-depression smug that sort of overcasts the entire Grays Harbor area (partly due to the crummy weather).

7) Lots of meth activity in Grays Harbor; but, most cities along the west coast are having the same problem. A lot of people in Grays Harbor have seasonal affective disorder or some form of depression.

Final thoughts:

1) Is the area a bad place to live? No; but if you're going to live here year-round, you may want to vacation up here sometime in the winter/early spring (for a month) to get a feel for the weather.

2) The beaches are nice; but, the drawback is the weather. Most people who live out in Ocean Shores/Westport live out there for three months of the year (summer), then go back south to somewhere warmer (Arizona, Southern California, Texas, etc.). There are also a lot of people who live in the Puget Sound area, and have a vacation condo/parcel of land in Ocean Shores/Grays Harbor for recretational days/those rare blue sky days.

3) I enjoy living out here, but miss the sun! During the winter/spring months, I had to vacation to sunny locations four times (San Diego/Las Vegas/Miami/Hawaii) to get some vitamin D in me.

Originally Posted by Joe_Ryder

I was driving through a few weeks ago and decided to take the coastal route (101) when I happened upon the area. I didn't have time to really look but a cursory drive through was fairly impressive. I plan to take some more time to explore in a few weeks.

At first glance, the towns around the harbor seem fairly pleasant if somewhat depressed. I'm reminded of a New England coastal town without the psychotic snow plow guys.

How is it there? Schools? I'm a semi-retired widowed dad raising an 8-year-old boy. I'm originally from Texas but have lived in the San Francisco East Bay Area for about 20 years. I like to live near the ocean. Sorry, but rivers and lakes just don't cut it. Nothing wrong with 'em but in the brief times I've lived inland I missed the proximity of salt air. Something about it. Had I not chosen to be a husband and family man, I probably would have gone to sea years ago.

For exploring coastal Washington with relocation a consideration, is this a place you'd recommend? Thanks in advance.

[bmsea]

Grays Harbor is home to about 80,000 people, most who live in Aberdeen in Hoquiam. During the lumber boom days, it had the highest concentration of wealth the state of Washington. Its economy was highly dependent on the logging/lumber industries.

The bad economy since the early 1980's has hampered growth, but its not as bad (there is a lot of misinformation on this board). Unemployment runs just about 1-1/2 times the state rate, around 7 -8%, and if you look past the unimpressive street scapes, you'll find a growing population of Gen x'ers, echo boomers, choosing to start their small professional businesses here and service the Seattle and Portland Market. It's only a 2-hour drive to metro Seattle, and 2-1/2 hours to Portland, so its not a stretch. Because of its industrial past, the infrastructure is amazing.

It is not called Gray's Harbor because of the weather (although it shares similar gray weather to San Francisco or many coastal areas). It's called that because its discovery was made official by Captain Gray.

Look beyond the facade and see if you like it!