Visiting Washington - Lacey or Olympia??? (Renton, Shelton: rental car, 2014, rental)

[wang61]

Work is sending me on training in Lacey, WA, so I am in the process of booking my stay. I think I can get them to spring for a rental car, so now rather than stay right in Lacey, I can stay a bit further out.

Should I stay in Lacey or Olympia?

Any input PLEASE?!

Also, I notice a few indian casino's in the area, anyone play at any of these before????

Thanks!

[CJMom]

It really doesn't matter too much because the two cities are right next to each other and very similar.

And yes, I know almost all the casinos in Western Washington - lol! The casino in Rochester WA, about a 1/2 hour south has a great buffet. I also like the Casino in Shelton - about 1/2 hour west of Olympia. I seem to have good luck there and the food is pretty good.

[fyesti52]

Were moving to Washington in 6 months, why my hubby? We have no clue about the state other then he wants to move to Olympia, I have friends and distant relatives who live in Renton, how are the schools for my grandson who is 8 wanted to know about the climate, and what to expect in Las Vegas we have been having summer weather of a miserable 112 to 117 a day, I cant deal with this anymore, will it rain all the time? I live in Las Vegas, and its so hot and terrible that we said in 2014 we were gonna move..I have been to Oregon (sheridan) and really loved it..not sure if Washington is like Oregon, we are conservative people and would like a small town but a few malls if possible. I have spoken to friends and they say Oregon have a grey cast all the time and it dont have much sunshine. well growing up in California we do love the mid 70's range to 80's range of weather..Help...we are going to Oregon in September for a week and then do Washington St for a week.. I want to change the atmosphere of Vegas..its not me anymore.. and 7 yrs of this is tiresome... We moved from Cali to Vegas..Would appreciate a little more green these days.. any input can help..

[sean98125]

It's going to be overcast much of the time, other than the two months of sunny weather in the summer. And it will rain a lot. We're pretty far north here, so winter light tends to be much dimmer because of the low angle of the sun and the thickness of the clouds. There's less light, too, because days are about 45 minutes shorter than they are in Las Vegas around the holidays. Expect mild temperatures most of the year - you can expect about 250 days between the last 70 degree day at the end of one summer and the first 70 degree day at the beginning of the next.

[Seacove]

You might want to check out Southern Oregon, like around the Grant's Pass area. That will be less overcast than Washington or Portland but still much cooler and greener than Las Vegas. No idea on the schools there.

[poopskooper]

Just to add a couple of things (not to the OP's question which was posted almost seven years ago) for fyesti52's to remember:

1. Olympia has the "most rainy days annually" of the "major" cities in the U.S. (per the US Census Bureau) according to the WeatherBill, Inc. study published in 2007 and is ranked 24th in the nation for being the wettest city. It also has the most rain in the fourth quarter of the year in the study. Click on the link below for the summary of the study.

Top 10 Rainiest US Cities and the One Billion Dollar Question

So yes, it is overcast a lot in Olympia.

2. Olympia itself is a very politically liberal city. You may want to explore the more rural areas in Thurston county or look at Lewis county which is directly south of Thurston county. Centrailia and Chehalis in Lewis county are smaller and much more conservative politically but still close enough to the amenities of the Olympia area.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by poopskooper

2. Olympia itself is a very politically liberal city. You may want to explore the more rural areas in Thurston county or look at Lewis county which is directly south of Thurston county. Centrailia and Chehalis in Lewis county are smaller and much more conservative politically but still close enough to the amenities of the Olympia area.

There are politically diverse neighborhoods within the three cities. Most areas away from the cities are swing territory. The most rabid lefty pockets are the old Westside (Black Lake Blvd/Division east to the bay. Thins out north of Elliott), the Eastside (pretty much everything north of I-5, east of the Bay, west of Woodard Creek, & south of 26th NE), South Capitol neighborhood (home to the rich ones), & the Gov. Stevens/Carlyon neighborhood (south of I-5, west of Henderson). Anywhere else and it is not slanted too far in any way until you get into some peculiar pockets out in the sticks.

[poopskooper]

Originally Posted by Andy

There are politically diverse neighborhoods within the three cities. Most areas away from the cities are swing territory. The most rabid lefty pockets are the old Westside (Black Lake Blvd/Division east to the bay. Thins out north of Elliott), the Eastside (pretty much everything north of I-5, east of the Bay, west of Woodard Creek, & south of 26th NE), South Capitol neighborhood (home to the rich ones), & the Gov. Stevens/Carlyon neighborhood (south of I-5, west of Henderson). Anywhere else and it is not slanted too far in any way until you get into some peculiar pockets out in the sticks.

Thank you for clarifying. However, I hope most will understand that applies to most if not all cities/locations. I always remind folks that it's not wise to paint an entire area as one thing or another but yet I unintentionally did it myself.