Question about Everett / Whidbey Island Navy Stations Best place to live ? (Oak Harbor: for rent, house)

[bunky3301]

Hello all,

My wife is a Navy Corpsman and we are thinking of requesting Everett / Whidbey Island for our next duty station.(Doesn't mean well get it but we are considering putting it first to try a new area to live in)

Is there any advice on where one would live. A nice community with good schools (We will have two school age kids by then) and a reasonable commute for my wife to the base. I work out of the home so where we live is not a problem for me,but I like for my wife to have an easy drive if possible.

(Just an FYI , we would be in the market for a house in the price range of up to $250,000 which from what I've seen can buy alot of house in Everett area.)

I'd also like to hear from any prior or current military families that have been stationed in Everett. How did you like the area or not like the area. How were the schools? etc,etc. Now I know I'll take the answers with a grain of salt but I do like to have kind of an idea of a place before we get there.

We have live in Va.Beach ,Va ,Norfolk , Va, San Diego,Ca (loved it) and now the DC area (Bethesda Naval Hospital Maryland). We liked it out West when we were in San Diego and although we know the weather is nothing like San Diego in Washington State we'd like to experience another part of the country. But we don't want to move to someplace where the schools are horrible or just not a good place to raise a family.

Thanks in advance and look forward to some replys..................

[LombardyLane]

Hi there. My post won't be exactly what you're looking for but I have a little input. I was born on Whidbey and lived there until my step-dad was stationed elsewhere. I was a civilian for all but one year on the Island. My DH and I are looking at moving back to Whidbey and are thinking about Coupeville. After living in several places I have come to realize what a unique experience growing up on Whidbey was. When I was there the schools were really under-funded. My last year there we got out of school at 1:45 pm due to budgets. I believe that they have had a change in that situation since they tore down the school I was in at the time and rebuilt a beautiful one on the same land. I have heard that Coupeville schools are better, but I don't have any experiences or stats to back that up. Given that this won't be a permanent situation for you (I assume at least) I would choose Whidbey, and especially if I was going to work from home, I'd really take advantage of the opportunity by living in Coupeville or south of there (in my opinion, if I was able to work from home in Coupeville, I'd feel like I had won the lottery). There is so much to see and do on that island as well as in the surrounding areas. The San Juan Islands, LaConnor, all the parks and beaches, the history, drive-in, great swimming pool, tide pools, roller-rink (not sure if that's still open), great seafood, farmland, etc. Good-luck to you.

[NotALizard]

I too am looking for info on the Island. I am considering a civilian job transfer working on the base. I am more concerned about the cost of rent, for the first year only and also how brutal the winters may be as I have lived in the desert the past few years. If you gain any useful knowledge in the immideiate future feel free to pass it along.

[sanj09]

[quote=NotALizard;9688678]

I guess the cost of rent depends on the size of place you are looking into. I might be putting my house up for rent in the next couple of months. It is a 4 bdrm, 3 bath in an excellent location for $1600 per month. Anacortes is another city (off the island) across the Deception Pass bridge and is also a nice area to live, but a little further drive with a higher cost of living.

Oak Harbor winters aren't too bad. Be prepared for snow, not heavy snow, but snow nonetheless. I have been here for two years and the most snow was 2-3 feet. A good amount, but it doesn't stay around for long.

It takes some getting used to the weather if you move here from a different climate. I guess the time it takes to acclimate yourself to the weather will depend on the individual, some people never acclimate. Some acclimate in months, it took me a good year to get used to it. I am from the desert (Imperial Valley) I was used to dry and hot, here is cold and wet. Except for the summers, which are very short, but incredibly beautiful. Lots of outdoor things to do such as, camping, hiking, fishing, biking. Gorgeous scenery. Spring is rainy and the fall is cold and rainy. There is also a good amount of wind throughout the year.

Good news is that you wont have to spend as much for A/C, don't really need one here. BUT you will probably be using your heater a lot, especially the first year. Hope this helps.