Kingston (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett: attorney, vacation home, neighborhoods)

[LMB]

My husband and I are considering Kingston as a potential early retirement area. We just returned from a visit with our daughter who lives in Seattle and did some location scouting while there. There were a couple of neighborhoods we really liked, not far from "town" and ferry dock.

We would like to be somewhat close to Seattle, but not live in the city. We've done quite a bit of travel all around the area over the last several years (other extended family members live in Seattle also) seeking the right area for retirement. We're within a year or so of relocating.

We like the easy ferry accessibility of Kingston to Seattle, and home prices aren't at Seattle rates (yet!). Anyone have opinions, pro and con, about Kingston? We would consider Poulsbo as well, or other locations either on the peninsula or near Seattle. We checked out Bellingham a few years ago, and loved Fairhaven, but we're feeling more drawn to the Olympic peninsula area currently, especially since we won't have to commute to the city for work.

Weather is not a real concern. We've been in Seattle during all kinds of weather, from rain/clouds/snow through this past weeks' high 90s! This move is more to get into the same general area as the rest of the family. We're originally from the midwest, but have lived in Orlando for the last several years. Maybe we'll head back to Florida for a month or so during the long gray winters in the Northwest, but we will not be sorry to leave our 8-month-long hot and humid summers here!

Thanks for any insight and advice. This is a great forum!

[the dufferz]

Well, Personally I love the Kingston area. You have to be prepared, however, to adjust to the transportation system.

You know about the ferry. I would recommend keeping an eye on the washington state ferry web site. I live on the other side of the sound, near Edmonds. On summer days the wait to get across can be 2 or three boats (1 to 2 hours). If you talk to anybody over there, life becomes timed based on the ferry schedule.

On the positive side, it is not a Island. You can drive around to the south, but to get to seattle by land is 2 hours. The cost of the Ferry is another rising issue.

On the good side, this is a very beatiful and historically rich area. Everywhere you go is beauty, period. Port Townsand is a really cool town (see "An Officer and Gentleman" if you have not been there)

Other Altenatives:

Camano Island. North on I-5, 30 minutes north of Everett. No ferry, not as nice as Kingston, but easier to get there.

Whidbey Island. Largest Island in America. Gotta see it to get the idea of what it has. Ferry on the south end, Land crossing on the North. Same issues with the ferry, and the land commute time.

Good luck.

The dufferz

[LMB]

Thanks for the info, Dufferz. You hit on one of our nagging concerns about living in Kingston or other areas on the Kitsap peninsula--dependence on the ferry. My sister-in-law lives in Poulsbo, and she said basically the same thing--that we would have to be able to adjust to not always making the ferry we'd planned on. Something to consider for sure. That's why I appreciate advice from locals such as yourself.

We really loved Port Townsend. Although we've only visited there a few times, once was in the winter so we've seen it in the gray season too. It was still very picturesque. We spent a day in PT a few weeks ago, and it was so beautiful--perfect weather, as the heat wave had just broken the day before. It's still one of our favorite towns, but of course anything on the peninsula will bring ferry dependence--or the long drive around, and dealing with Tacoma traffic. We had a taste of that during our trip last month when we decided it would be a good idea to drive south from SeaTac and go up the peninsula through the Tacoma Narrows bridge (we were interested in checking out Gig Harbor). Thankfully we had plenty of time to spend in gridlock! We haven't looked at Camano Island or Whidbey yet, so we'll try to check them out next time we're in the Seattle area.

Thanks again for your helpful insight. We feel sure we'll retire somewhere in WA, but there's so many vastly different areas it's a tough decision.

[jojo7]

You may want to to give La Conner a consideration. One great thing is about La Conner is it is similar to Port Townsend but not as big. I loved Port Townsend as well, but I thought it was too far to travel on weekends. La Conner has all the quaint shops, inns, restaurants, etc. but you don't need to get there by ferry. Just head north on I5. We are considering in purchasing a vacation home there and I just think it's a great community. Very friendly people in town too. Check out Shelter Bay accross rainbow bridge. Really nice gated neighborhood with many amenities like, pool, golf, beach and tennis. Good luck.

[LMB]

Jojo, we visited LaConner during our recent Christmas trip to Seattle. It was a chilly rainy day, but we loved it there! The town is quaint, and you're right, the people were very friendly. Anacortes and Mount Vernon are just a short drive away from LaConner for services and shopping. We plan to visit again during the summer.

Over the last few years, our semi-annual travels around the Seattle area looking for our perfect "semi-retirement" location took us to Bellingham, Mount Vernon, LaConner, Anacortes, Whidbey Island, Camano Island, Sequim, Port Townsend, Gig Harbor, Kingston, Poulsbo and many towns in between. All are wonderful places. We've had a great time exploring this beautiful area (yes, even in the rainy, gloomy wintertime) and meeting so many friendly people. After all our travels, we ended up coming back to one of our original choices and bought a house in Old Town Poulsbo just last month. The factors that played into this decision were based on our specific needs for a new community. Thankfully, there is no such thing as a perfect place for everyone, or it would be way over-crowded!

We've always loved Kitsap Peninsula, and finally decided to "get over" our concerns about ferry dependence and give it a try--at least it is drivable to Seattle if necessary. We love that we'll be able to walk to everything in the Old Town area, and that we're just two blocks from the waterfront. We plan to move before summer.

Thanks to everyone here. This forum has been a wonderful help!

LMB

[jojo7]

It's funny you mentioned Poulsbo. That is the other area in contention for me to purchase our vacation home. I loved the homes in Poulsbo Place because you can take a short walk to town. You are so lucky!!!! Unfortunately, we were not ready to purchase when they built those homes but they looked very nice and priced well. There is a new development of homes going up call Stendhal Ridge (I think) and we are going to check them out next month. Poulsbo is very pretty on Liberty Bay and the town is just lovely to walk around with a cup of coffee. How do you like living there if you don't mind me asking?
You are so right about there is no perfect town. I cannot seem to find that perfect "small town" but La Conner and Poulsbo are very close what I am looking for and more than likely, will be purchasing there.

[LMB]

We haven't moved yet, but plan to before summer. We don't want to miss any of the "six-week summer!" :-) We feel very fortunate to have found a house in the Old Town area of Poulsbo with so many things that were on our wish list, especially since we live 3,000 miles away and house-hunting was challenging to say the least. We looked at Poulsbo Place too, but we wanted a little more yard and space between houses. It's a very cool area though, and would be a great vacation place. Good luck with your search!

[shelleyw36]

Hadlock is very nice. You might want to check it out.

[akcurnutt]

Originally Posted by LMB

My husband and I are considering Kingston as a potential early retirement area. We just returned from a visit with our daughter who lives in Seattle and did some location scouting while there. There were a couple of neighborhoods we really liked, not far from "town" and ferry dock.

We would like to be somewhat close to Seattle, but not live in the city. We've done quite a bit of travel all around the area over the last several years (other extended family members live in Seattle also) seeking the right area for retirement. We're within a year or so of relocating.

We like the easy ferry accessibility of Kingston to Seattle, and home prices aren't at Seattle rates (yet!). Anyone have opinions, pro and con, about Kingston? We would consider Poulsbo as well, or other locations either on the peninsula or near Seattle. We checked out Bellingham a few years ago, and loved Fairhaven, but we're feeling more drawn to the Olympic peninsula area currently, especially since we won't have to commute to the city for work.

Weather is not a real concern. We've been in Seattle during all kinds of weather, from rain/clouds/snow through this past weeks' high 90s! This move is more to get into the same general area as the rest of the family. We're originally from the midwest, but have lived in Orlando for the last several years. Maybe we'll head back to Florida for a month or so during the long gray winters in the Northwest, but we will not be sorry to leave our 8-month-long hot and humid summers here!

Thanks for any insight and advice. This is a great forum!

I can sure relate to your situation. We are retiring most likely at the end of the year from living overseas (currently in Nigeria) and want to have "north" and "south" houses (winters in Texas). We have 3 adult children in the Seattle area so want good access but not in Seattle. We have home-based in Bellingham the last six years having bought a house when our son was going to school there allowing us a place to hang our hats when we come home. Bellingham is a fabulous place but is too far north for running to Seattle. I'm born and raised in Bremerton and my husband is from Texas. He found a place in Kingston over the holidays that we are considering purchasing. I've never lived in that small a town but everyone there seems to love it. I'm trying to read everything I can about it. I grew up with the Bremerton ferries and the Kingston locals are hoping for a passenger-only ferry when the economy picks up as those discussions were in place and were heading in that direction. I'm struggling with this decision as I am stateside with my husband's power of attorney to do this. I'm not sure what's holding me back but need to decide soon. The house I'm looking at is very close to the ferry which is a plus. Best of luck to you in your decision.

[LMB]

Originally Posted by akcurnutt

I'm struggling with this decision as I am stateside with my husband's power of attorney to do this. I'm not sure what's holding me back but need to decide soon. The house I'm looking at is very close to the ferry which is a plus. Best of luck to you in your decision.

We ended up choosing Poulsbo (wow, that was nearly two years ago!) and have been very happy here. We liked Kingston, but its main advantage to us was the ferry convenience. However, since we weren't commuting, we realized that wasn't as important for us as other considerations. In January 07 we found our perfect home in oldtown Poulsbo--walking distance to the quaint little downtown, the waterfront, the library, farmer's market, doctor's office, etc., and we're located an equal distance to either the Kingston or Bainbridge ferry. We were in rural Poulsbo (very close to Kingston actually) this morning for breakfast at The Farm Kitchen, a delightful organic farm that serves breakfast to locals & in-the-know visitors only on the first Sat of each month. Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll enjoy living in Kingston--it's a nice little town with friendly people and beautiful views, and the ferry too!

Lynn