Port Townsend is not desolate, but it is in a rural community. It is a tourist town of about 8,000+ that attracts thousands of visitors and is especially busy in the summer with some sort of festival or celebration nearly every weekend.
It is a Victorian seaport, and I think the statistic is it has more Victorian homes from the 1800s than any North American city? Two big emphases are the arts & boating.
It gets about a foot less rain per year than Seattle, so it is dryer. The wind nearly never stops blowing since it's located on the Strait of Juan de Fuca which serves as a wind tunnel for wind coming from the Pacific Ocean, heading straight for Whidbey Island.
The largest employer is the paper mill; as you come into town, you'll catch a whiff of it.
However, they were in PT before most people and like I said, many in the town are dependent on it for their livelihood.
PT does attract retirees. What they bring to the table with their backgrounds & experience helps the town to thrive. It also attracts just a very eclectic mix of people which IMO makes it very interesting and a big draw.
There is one high school, two middle schools (but I think one is closing soon). I do hear complaints from younger people that there isn't a lot to do here for them which is probably typical of any small town. There is 4H, scouting, dance studio, county fair, live theater, two movie theaters, a skate park; not sure what else!
PT does not allow "chain" restaurants or businesses in the town proper. That being said, out on the main road leading in and out of town, IF a chain manages to break through that barrier, they are out there, including a Hollywood Video and a McDonalds. There are nice restaurants in PT with really good food, but not tons of options. There is Mexican, Chinese, Thai (x3), Japanese, seafood, Italian, pizza places, and more.
There are two mainstream grocery stores in town: Safeway & QFC. There is a small local neighborhood grocery store, Aldrich's, that is very cool. There is a local organic bakery, several local coffee places, a pastry place (with a French baker) that also serves great coffee, a thriving farmer's market every Wed & Sat from about Apr/May into Nov, small local shops that the locals try to support as much as possible to help keep them in business.
There is a small hospital which can handle quite a lot (mammograms, lab work, MRIs, etc); dentists and doctors, but no specialist physicians. If you need a specialized physician, you do need to go to Poulsbo, Silverdale, Sequim, or Port Angeles. Some have their GP in PT which covers most things, but go to Silverdale for other needs.
If your husband was to commute from Poulsbo or Silverdale, he would need to deal with crossing the Hood Canal Bridge, which is a floating bridge. High winds and other inclement weather can temporarily close down the bridge. Additionally, next year, in 2009, the bridge will be closed for several week for scheduled work to be done on it. That would mean a very long drive around on hwy 101, or staying in PT for those several weeks. Many, from individuals to city/state leaders, are trying to figure out now how to negotiate that bridge closure. I'd rather stay on the PT side of the bridge.
Other communities are Sequim (which boasts something like 300 days of sunshine a year; they are really in the banana belt and benefit more from being in the rainshadow; more retirees there, but more going on as far as easy-access to businesses; about 25 miles from PT). Port Hadlock, but it's smaller than PT. Port Angeles, bigger, but a little farther away...about 14 miles past Sequim.
That's about all I can think of at the moment!
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Port Townsend?
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