Tell Me All About Aberdeen! (Olympia, Hoquiam: houses, buyer, inspection)

[Vertigo]

I'm considering a move to Aberdeen. Never been there; don't know if I'll have a chance to visit before I go.

Housing? Climate? Quality of life? Shopping? Job Opportunities? Etc? Etc?

Thanks!

[BanteringBear]

Aberdeen is a very depressed area economically speaking. There are few jobs, and the pay is very low. Houses used to be very inexpensive because of this, but have experienced significant increases in price due to the rampant speculation in homes and land in Washington state. It's mostly an old logging town, like many others its size in western Washington. It rains quite a bit, and is overcast a lot of the time. I would definitely recommend a trip to Aberdeen before moving there. It's not for everyone.

[Tony1790]

Housing is still cheap (compared to everywhere else in WA), there is lots of growth there now (store's, etc) And there is supposedly a new bio diesel refinery going in there (jobs).

However, it is VERY wet and cloudy, but there are worse places in WA than Aberdeen, worth a visit prior to moving there.....as was said, it's not for everyone, but nowhere really is for everyone.

Tony

[KidBlue]

Do a search for posts about Aberdeen. Ryan and others have provided a lot of information about Aberdeen and the immediate area.

[bnm1]

Originally Posted by Vertigo

I'm considering a move to Aberdeen. Never been there; don't know if I'll have a chance to visit before I go.

Housing? Climate? Quality of life? Shopping? Job Opportunities? Etc? Etc?

Thanks!

We moved here from Ca. two years ago, affter a two day visit. We relied ona realtor to helpus find a home on net, but he was less than honest. We asked if the home we we're considering was out of a flood plain, and was it livable. He answered that there was no flood plain and that the house was great. He even sent pictures. But he avoided showing us the trus condition of the home. the foundation was not only sagging but basically sunk, the walls were cracked and even rotted floors. Now we're stuck trying to restore it so we can seel it and get out, on a retirees income.
We also discoverd were on a truck line and the house rocks and roars everytime the various trucks roar by. We contacted out city councilman about having the bump fixed and he just laughed, ad said Welcome to Aberdeen!!!
If you decide to move here I suggest you move to the higher ground above 6th street. Have a in depth inspection of the home and don't plan on any "later" fixes because the home repair business here work at their own pace and have a Mayberry attitude, and they don't mind leaving you hanging, but will charge for their work as if they were real Pro's.
The downtown traffic and the streets are clogged with large trucks constantly over the speed limit at unsafe speeds. Law enforcement is rare and once a year or so they pull trucks over to inspect them, usually pulling about 100 out for safety reasons.
The streets constantly flood and sirens blare night and day from fires and accidents.
The attitude seems to be;"It's always been this way, but we're re-decortating the downtown area where there is no parking to entice tourism!"?????
Their seems to be a real effort to bring nasty dirty industry into the area and forgoing the residents concerns unless you live on the higher areas where the homes are three times the cost of the "plains" homes".
I would call it a "company town", even after the "Company" has pulled out, becasue they still own all the waterfront access and forests.
The biggest fear here for "newcomers" is the Tsnami threats,and river flooding for the low lands (which is anything lower than 6th Street). If you can afford the higher elevation it's actually pretty nice.
We're in the process of seeing what it will take for us to move further east to avoid the congestion and bad weather.
Lastly my suggestion would be to spend about a week here to REALLY see the areas, and make your choices and DON'T rely on a realtors word about anything. They arn't held to the same rules and ethics as Ca., or other states. Homes here are cheaper than other areas, but you have to be very, VERY careful as to where you plan to live. Caeful scrutiny can make it a very nice experience.

[racechick73]

Having lived in Montesano and worked in Aberdeen, I can tell you honestly that Aberdeen/Hoquiam aren't the most desirable to live in. I can tell you that Grays Harbor county has a huge drug problem. When we lived there, one of my husband's friends came clean with us one day and told us he was addicted to crank. A huge surprise for us, probably b/c neither of us had ever done drugs and didn't recognize the signs. He also told us that pretty much everybody in Aberdeen did some sort of drug. Also, the suicide rate there is extremely high, or at least is used to be.
This is a model town of what happens when the logging industry takes a dive; very sad. It used to be a great area- thriving businesses and a great place to raise a family, up until the 80s. My advice to you is to research it very carefully (or maybe consider Montesano or Elma- you could commute to Olympia for work). Good luck!

[racechick73]

Originally Posted by bnm1

We moved here from Ca. two years ago, affter a two day visit. We relied ona realtor to helpus find a home on net, but he was less than honest. We asked if the home we we're considering was out of a flood plain, and was it livable. He answered that there was no flood plain and that the house was great. He even sent pictures. But he avoided showing us the trus condition of the home. the foundation was not only sagging but basically sunk, the walls were cracked and even rotted floors. Now we're stuck trying to restore it so we can seel it and get out, on a retirees income.
We also discoverd were on a truck line and the house rocks and roars everytime the various trucks roar by. We contacted out city councilman about having the bump fixed and he just laughed, ad said Welcome to Aberdeen!!!
If you decide to move here I suggest you move to the higher ground above 6th street. Have a in depth inspection of the home and don't plan on any "later" fixes because the home repair business here work at their own pace and have a Mayberry attitude, and they don't mind leaving you hanging, but will charge for their work as if they were real Pro's.
The downtown traffic and the streets are clogged with large trucks constantly over the speed limit at unsafe speeds. Law enforcement is rare and once a year or so they pull trucks over to inspect them, usually pulling about 100 out for safety reasons.
The streets constantly flood and sirens blare night and day from fires and accidents.
The attitude seems to be;"It's always been this way, but we're re-decortating the downtown area where there is no parking to entice tourism!"?????
Their seems to be a real effort to bring nasty dirty industry into the area and forgoing the residents concerns unless you live on the higher areas where the homes are three times the cost of the "plains" homes".
I would call it a "company town", even after the "Company" has pulled out, becasue they still own all the waterfront access and forests.
The biggest fear here for "newcomers" is the Tsnami threats,and river flooding for the low lands (which is anything lower than 6th Street). If you can afford the higher elevation it's actually pretty nice.
We're in the process of seeing what it will take for us to move further east to avoid the congestion and bad weather.
Lastly my suggestion would be to spend about a week here to REALLY see the areas, and make your choices and DON'T rely on a realtors word about anything. They arn't held to the same rules and ethics as Ca., or other states. Homes here are cheaper than other areas, but you have to be very, VERY careful as to where you plan to live. Caeful scrutiny can make it a very nice experience.

Ever heard of "Buyer Beware?" Any reason why you didn't have an inspection?

[trent80]

Originally Posted by bnm1

We moved here from Ca. two years ago, affter a two day visit. We relied ona realtor to helpus find a home on net, but he was less than honest. We asked if the home we we're considering was out of a flood plain, and was it livable. He answered that there was no flood plain and that the house was great. He even sent pictures. But he avoided showing us the trus condition of the home. the foundation was not only sagging but basically sunk, the walls were cracked and even rotted floors. Now we're stuck trying to restore it so we can seel it and get out, on a retirees income.
We also discoverd were on a truck line and the house rocks and roars everytime the various trucks roar by. We contacted out city councilman about having the bump fixed and he just laughed, ad said Welcome to Aberdeen!!!
If you decide to move here I suggest you move to the higher ground above 6th street. Have a in depth inspection of the home and don't plan on any "later" fixes because the home repair business here work at their own pace and have a Mayberry attitude, and they don't mind leaving you hanging, but will charge for their work as if they were real Pro's.
The downtown traffic and the streets are clogged with large trucks constantly over the speed limit at unsafe speeds. Law enforcement is rare and once a year or so they pull trucks over to inspect them, usually pulling about 100 out for safety reasons.
The streets constantly flood and sirens blare night and day from fires and accidents.

Their seems to be a real effort to bring nasty dirty industry into the area and forgoing the residents concerns unless you live on the higher areas where the homes are three times the cost of the "plains" homes".
I would call it a "company town", even after the "Company" has pulled out, becasue they still own all the waterfront access and forests.
The biggest fear here for "newcomers" is the Tsnami threats,and river flooding for the low lands (which is anything lower than 6th Street). If you can afford the higher elevation it's actually pretty nice.
We're in the process of seeing what it will take for us to move further east to avoid the congestion and bad weather.
Lastly my suggestion would be to spend about a week here to REALLY see the areas, and make your choices and DON'T rely on a realtors word about anything. They arn't held to the same rules and ethics as Ca., or other states. Homes here are cheaper than other areas, but you have to be very, VERY careful as to where you plan to live. Caeful scrutiny can make it a very nice experience.

I moved here, and I really like it. There are some areas that are rundown, mostly East Aberdeen, anywhere past F Street is pretty crappy, until you get up in elevation a bit. That's where the undesirables seem to live. Most of the rest of town is actually fairly nice, to really nice, by anyone's standards. I would suggest a look at realtor dot com.

The weather is really no big deal, if you've ever lived in another state that has actual weather. Winters are not "cold", and it does not really rain "all the time".Late Spring, Summer and early Fall are actually magnificent, so so green and sunny. I've never seem such beautiful green Summers.

The worst problem in town is that some of the residents have a problem with people moving here, and fixing up the houses. I would say 95% of the locals are the nicest people you could ever meet. I have even found the people at the stores, especially Home Depot, to be very helpful and friendly. EVERY town has a bad element, and a bad area or two.


The streets are NOT congested with trucks speeding, and sirens blaring, that is simply not true.

I can't imagine how someone would buy a house without an inspection. I've been involved in more that a couple of houses, and I've never heard of a contract that did not have an inspection contingency. I don't think any bank would go for that. The buyer might waive it in a cash sale, but only if it's such a hot property with multiple bids.


Yes, it's surely not for everyone, and that's how it should be.

[RobE]

Curt Cobain was from Aberdeen and had an absolutely miserable time there and the social environement, I think, helped create some of the factors that later lead to his suicide. It is basically a depressing little redneck town. Give it a miss.

[knittie]

From the book I read on Curt Cobain, I don't think we can blame the city of Aberdeen for his troubles. He was a mess for a long time. You have your nutjobs on each side of the political spectrum too. The more liberal cities have just as many problems, just different ones.