Moving from CA; relatives in Elma-where to live? (Seattle, Olympia: job market, wages)

[rheadabovewater]

I have a great resume as an executive assistant, and have relatives in Elma (~40 miles west of Olympia) - so where do you suggest I look for a place to live, so I can commute to a job (which I don't have yet)? Olympia maybe? But if I get a job in Seattle, won't Olympia be too far?

Thanks, rheadabovewater

[KidBlue]

I don't live in WA state yet, but have done a lot of research on the Elma/Shelton area. From what I've learned you may be able to locate a job in Aberdeen if you can handle the weather. Aberdeen is a doable commute from the Elma area. Olympia would have more job opportunities and is about 20 minutes from Elma. Lacey is a nice suburb of Olympia and is a short commute.

If you can't locate a job in the Olympia area, Seattle would be the best bet but would be too far to commute from Olympia. Only people living in San Francisco are crazy enough for that type of commute.

There's a lot of posts regarding places to live around Seattle and the commute from those areas. Good luck with your move. Hope to be living in the Olympia area in about a year or so.

[rheadabovewater]

Thanks Kidblue, I appreciate the response.

From what I've seen of Aberdeen, it's a ghost town. I go through there every time I visit my relatives (at different times of day) and I'd hate to work there. It literally looks deserted all the time. My daughter told me it's because there isn't any work there anymore (with the timber), so a lot of people moved away.

I don't know if that's true, but I do know one thing - Aberdeen is depressing!

[HomeAtLast]

I moved from CA to Grays Harbor in late December. Although I love it here, I must say it has been quite difficult to find a job. I, too, have an excellent resume as an executive assistant/project manager. There doesn't seem to be many positions available and the majority of the jobs I have found are in the $10-12/hr range... a far cry from CA pay wages. You have to take that into account when moving up here. You will probably have better luck in the Olympia job market and looking north towards Seattle. Good luck!

[ogarro]

I would recommend focusing on Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater. As the state capitol there are a lot of jobs and the cost-of-living is much less than Seattle. The commute from Elma can be really long in bad weather and the hills can ice in the winter. It would take 30-40 minutes to travel one-way I suspect. Lacey is a military, family, suburb type town. Olympia is a very liberal, greener type town. Then there are very rural areas outside the urban hub were you could live in the country. Depending on your personality and preferences, you can most likely find a fit. The plus of this area also is once you get on, you can move around more easily to other positions. Make sure you look at the State Department of Personnel webpages, if interested in government and WorkforceExplorer.com for all positions in the area. Nirvana's lead singer was from Aberdeen, he committed suicide and those songs are pretty depressing... fits your instinct. It rains A LOT here - if not used to that, I hope you can adjust as some people cannot handle it and find they need to move.

[rheadabovewater]

Thanks everyone, that's good info. Appreciate it. If anyone else can respond, I can use all the info I can get.

Thanks again, Rheadabovewater