"Homey," small town in WA? (Snohomish, Colville: best town, motels)

[JerZ]

Hey, all. I'm writing a book and one of the characters is originally from a somewhat rural area. This is to provide a contrast to a large city. Can anyone name a nice, cozy small-ish town and give any details you'd like about it? The weather, what people like to wear, what things there are to do there?

Thanks a bunch...

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by JerZ

Hey, all. I'm writing a book and one of the characters is originally from a somewhat rural area. This is to provide a contrast to a large city. Can anyone name a nice, cozy small-ish town and give any details you'd like about it? The weather, what people like to wear, what things there are to do there?

Thanks a bunch...

What kind of weather do you want? Agricultural or touristic or even one of the pathetic remnant of timber towns? Cute or soulless? Hapsburg jaws or honor students? What percentage of Hispanic population do you want? Looking for a town with an old world ethnic strain such as Dutch or Finnish?

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

What kind of weather do you want? Agricultural or touristic or even one of the pathetic remnant of timber towns? Cute or soulless? Hapsburg jaws or honor students? What percentage of Hispanic population do you want? Looking for a town with an old world ethnic strain such as Dutch or Finnish?

Oh hon. I'm not THAT particular. The old home will be referenced but they won't live there. I don't need to go crazy on accuracy. I just need a good old-fashioned town.

Agricultural sounds fine...not touristic. "Soulless" I'll leave alone since everyone has a different definition of that. Hispanic: Oh good gravy, who cares? As many as like to be there, I guess. I mean I'm in big trouble if someone wants to move to my town but says, "Oh wait. How many Ukrainian descent people are there? Okay, FORGET it." No, my town does not particularly require a strain shared with any Old Masters. But I suppose my protagonists could be former lutefisk eaters; again, not important.

Just a good, homey town and what makes it so, in any given person's perspective. Obviously different people will have different ideas of what "home" means and that's why I wanted to hear people's personal opinions/experiences; because I don't have a clear enough idea in my own head yet as to what I want to stress as far as differences, and I feel learning more about different areas may help.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by JerZ

Oh hon. I'm not THAT particular. The old home will be referenced but they won't live there. I don't need to go crazy on accuracy. I just need a good old-fashioned town.

Agricultural sounds fine...not touristic. "Soulless" I'll leave alone since everyone has a different definition of that. Hispanic: Oh good gravy, who cares? As many as like to be there, I guess. I mean I'm in big trouble if someone wants to move to my town but says, "Oh wait. How many Ukrainian descent people are there? Okay, FORGET it." No, my town does not particularly require a strain shared with any Old Masters. But I suppose my protagonists could be former lutefisk eaters; again, not important.

Just a good, homey town and what makes it so, in any given person's perspective. Obviously different people will have different ideas of what "home" means and that's why I wanted to hear people's personal opinions/experiences; because I don't have a clear enough idea in my own head yet as to what I want to stress as far as differences, and I feel learning more about different areas may help.

Sorry. Just trying to pick the best town to suit your writing efforts and storyline.

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

Sorry. Just trying to pick the best town to suit your writing efforts and storyline.

Thank you very much, j_k_k; I appreciate it.

[David Aguilar]

Rockford
Colfax
Ritzville
Colville
Chewelah
Snohomish
Colton
Uniontown
Newport
Palouse

I could go on and on.

[JerZ]

Thank you, David.

[Ira500]

Soap Lake. Central Washington desert. The town was a tourist attraction because of it's mineral laden lake, but it fell out of fashion and declined, remaining a town with a lot of agriculture nearby, a few motels, something of a Western/Cowboyish feel. It has some natural beauty, overlooking the sometimes purplish looking coulees. Some people do still visit the lake for it's medicinal attributes,and it's not uncommon to see immigrants from Eastern European countries lying on the beach, covered with the black mud from the bottom of the lake.

[JerZ]

Thanks, Ira! I'm going to go look that up.

[StealthRabbit]

This topic has come up many times in Rural Living thread, as well as other states (Like NE, WY, SD, CO...) Fairly lengthy and well written synopsis on these threads.

Why don't these authors go buddy-up and live in a small town for awhile? I would think that to provide better writing material (and plenty of time to write).... It seems there is quite a 'hollywood' stereo-type of small towns that doesn't fool or interest the vast majority of readers. Even Michener had it wrong with too much 'sensationalism'. I'd prefer to read Ralph Moody for more realist portrayal. Having BTDT...

A $89 air trip and a few weeks hanging around and befriending / living with locals would be $$ well spent. Just show up at a fundraising dinner or breakfast, or local church potluck and make a few friends. It's EZ, then you have a place to stay plus a good connection with the community. Spend a couple days with the local historian, work in the local paper and write a few stories for them (good chance to interview folks). Wait tables at the local diner. Pump gas and fix tires at the filling station, Bag and deliver groceries to the elderly, volunteer to paint / fix houses. Lots of fun, lots of AUTHENTIC material. Learn a few skills in the process.