Opinions about Bremerton and Kitsap County Towns in General (Seattle: crime, house)

[JupiterFire]

Hello. We live in Edmonds and are thinking about moving to Bremerton for school.

Please let us know your opinions about Bremerton in terms of the people, safety, things to do, neighborhoods, overall atmosphere, cost of living, job market, etc.

Also, if you are familiar with Olympia College we'd appreciate opinions on the school as well.

Current information would be great!

Thanks so much

[Ira500]

Bremerton is less upscale than Edmonds, and has a bad reputation for being dangerous and crime ridden.
But like a lot of places, it's actually far nicer than it's reputation,and it's gotten a lot nicer in recent years.
Yes, it still has parts of town that are a little scuzzy, and the downtown area , though improving, still has a ways to go..
They've got a nice new boardwalk, there has been an influx of artists into town ( a good sign), they've got a real good Italian restaurant, and the Manette neighborhood is safe and pretty.
It's also some of the least expensive housing in Western Washington. I kinda like Bremerton.

[JupiterFire]

Thanks !ra500.

Any other opinions out there? Lots of people viewing but no one knows about Bremerton?

[Twehttam]

I'm with Ira. I also like Bremerton and would easily live there. It has a decent population, so you don't feel like you're part of a community, and it has the ferry to Seattle so you're only 50-minutes away. There is also some older architecture, which is great, near the ship yard but you'll need to choose wisely because there is a lot of property turnover due to the military. I'd also choose the Manette area.

[JupiterFire]

Yeah, I have read some good things about the Manette area online. I mainly want to live in safe, walkable place, close to the college, etc.

Anybody who goes to Olympic College?

Anybody who actually lives in Bremerton?

[JupiterFire]

My boyfriend and I, both in our younger 30s, are considering moving to the Bremerton area to attend Olympic College next year. We love the arts, take-out food, bookstores, parks, and MOST importantly quiet time at home. Safety and walkability are very important to us. He's a musician and I'm a photographer, so inspirational views/surroundings would be great!

Here are the areas we are considering, all of which are within 30 minutes or so from the college in Bremerton:

Silverdale

Brownsville
Tracyton
Illahee

Bremerton (Manette, Chico Way, others?)

Wildcat Lake
Seabeck

Port Orchard
Belfair

Where should we move?

[jenlion]

My impression after multiple trips to/through Bremerton is that it's in large part a military town. So many of the roads we turn down dead-end in military fences. The carriers are pretty hard to miss. Lots of businesses within walking distance of base look kinda seedy... lotsa tattoos, bars, lending, and, um, businesses with no windows.

I know that's not the whole city, but everywhere we go there, that poor/transient/military feeling seems to pervade the town. Seems almost overwhelmingly blue collar. Blue collar is fine, but not when that's all there is. I kinda liked Bremerton for some reason too, and I see areas where they are fixing up historical homes, but I wouldn't move there simply because I don't want to live on or that near to a military base if I don't have to.

Seabeck -- now that's a tiny dot on the map. Love going through there but there's not much to it. There's even a funny sign about "downtown seabeck" -- pointing into the water. You can go to Holly, a little further down the road, but it's another teensy town.

Views are amazing. I don't know why that side of the Hood Canal is so undeveloped, but boy is it pretty.

-- I'm no expert. I've spent maybe four days poking around in that area. Just impressions. We're curious and drive down lots of roads, but we never really talked to anybody. Just like driving through and enjoying the hood canal beaches!!

[JupiterFire]

Thanks Jenlion

Hopefully, I'll get some replies from people who live in those areas...

[brightcopperkettles]

Honey, I have lived in many of the areas you are considering, so let me see if I can help you.

Seabeck: This is where I live now. Seabeck is an easy 20 minutes to Silverdale, which is where you can go out to eat, shop, get your hair done, etc. It is 30 minutes from Seabeck to Olympic College.

If you want to live somewhere that you can take beautiful pictures, this is the place. I live on 4.4 acres in Seabeck. Our house is 700 feet off the road surrounded by trees. We have lovely neighbors but we also have deer, eagles, squirrels, chipmunks, lots of birds (even some very rare varieties), two streams on either side of us, and room to garden. When we go outside at night, we can see the starlight sky. When the weatherman says chance of snow in Kitsap, we will get it. We are 5 minutes from some of the most beautiful waterfront in Washington. There are magical places around here. There is a grocery store/pizza place/coffee shop, etc., within 5 minutes of us. The lady that owns the little marina/store/restaurant in "downtown" Seabeck is getting new piers, etc., which will allow boats to dock in Seabeck, so that will improve. There is a store called "Camp Union" 2 minutes away from us that is great when you just need something quick, like milk, bread, gasoline, etc. Seabeck is more than just a little "blip." Seabeck actually includes areas such as Holly, Hintzville, etc. Here are some really nice pictures of Seabeck:

Photo Workshop at Seabeck, WA pictures from outdoors photos on webshots

Okay, Seabeck was obviously my choice. Now about the other places:

Manette: Manette is a small part of East Bremerton. It is a lovely older part of town near the hospital. It is very "artsy" but not as beautiful or as quiet as Seabeck.

Silverdale: This is the where the mall is. Not very quiet and lots of traffic and people (okay, I hear you folks from Seattle laughing at me now!) . :-)

It really depends on what is most important to you. If you want a place where you can take photographs of beautiful places, birds, animals, etc., then you want Seabeck. If your boyfriend wants to practice his music as loud and long as he needs to, you want Seabeck. If you don't mind cooking for yourself, you want Seabeck.

However, if you want to take pictures of people more than scenery and animals, Manette would work. If your boyfriend plans to practice his music somewhere other than your home, Manette would work.

The final thing to consider is traveling to college. If you have a car and can pay for a tank of gas a week, Seabeck would work nicely for you. If that is a consideration, Manette would be better because you are still in East Bremerton (most folks don't want to live in West Bremerton). Olympic College is technically in West Bremerton (it's right at the bridge from West Bremerton into East Bremerton); Manette is still very close to Olympic College even though it is on the East Bremerton side.

Remember that Manette is an older part of town. Seabeck is not nearly as developed as other parts of Kitsap County; it is where many of the doctors live because it is so beautiful and quiet.

The best thing you can do is visit Kitsap County. Look at Manette, look at Seabeck, look at Silverdale. You'll then know what "feels" like home to you.

Good luck, honey. If you have any more questions, just p.m. me. :-)

[JupiterFire]

Thanks so much brightcopperkettles

I appreciate all of the detailed information from a resident of the area. We took a ferry to Kingston last weekend and made our way south to Bremerton. We saw Silverdale, Illahee, Tracyton, Manette (East Bremerton), downtown and West Bremerton.

My plan was to check out Seabeck and Wildcat Lake on the way back to Kingston, but it got late and we unfortunately had to skip it. So our newest plan is to go back and spend the day in East Bremerton, and check out Seabeck once and for all.

My only qualm about Seabeck is that it's 30 minutes from the college and you have to go through the icky parts of Bremerton on the commute. We have one car between us so that could pose a problem. I'm sure we'll get a better idea of things after we visit.

Seabeck sounds great and yes, I love taking nature photography! Even if we didn't end up calling Seabeck home, I imagine we'd head out there to take photos and catch our breath from time to time.

Thanks again!