Future of kitsap (Seattle, Bellevue, Bremerton: rent, mortgages, neighborhood)

[beenhereandthere]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

My opinion is that we need to have areas in western Washington that are liveable for middle class and blue collar families. The Seattle metro has arguably forced those people out. Leave Bremerton, Kitsap and the Olympic Peninsula alone - they provide a beautiful, affordable quality of life for many people.

No jobs, however. Or at least good paying jobs, besides the military. I'd love to live there, but again, no good paying jobs.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by tommy64

Unless some large business moves into Kitsap county to provide jobs (Tesla Motors opens a production facility, Microsoft opens an operation to develop new products, etc) and hires 5,000 or more of Kitsap's best and brightest, I don't see it changing.

Are there 5,000 "best and brightest" there? No shortage of the "worst and dumbest," however...

Kitsap voters voted to stunt its growth when they voted for Tim Eyman's car tab initiative.

[prosin]

Wow. Just wow.

Thank you lb and Crazy for keeping the "Kitsappalachia" vibe going. Actually, you may surprised at the number of folks in Kitsap County (including me) that have post-baccalaureate degrees but don't show off to impress the Joneses. And I haven't seen anyone wearing Wranglers and goat ropers since I left CA. So much for "redneck." And tommy, the area I live in (North/Central Kitsap), I've been welcomed and treated respectfully, even though I was an "outsider." But I can't speak to other parts of the peninsula.

Many of us Kitsap folks want to keep this area the way it is. We don't want to be a part of Seattle, which is why we choose to live here. And yes beenhere, the higher-paying jobs here are perhaps limited to government, medical, and higher education, but that doesn't mean someone can't make a good living here in other fields, such as restaurants/pubs, niche markets, home-based businesses, and startups.

Growing up the in the Bay Area made me realize that money alone doesn't make you happy. Because I will not sacrifice hours of time spent with my family to commute to a job where I can be replaced in a heartbeat. It saddens me that people have their priorities so messed up.

[elkotronics]

prosin-good for you. If I do come back to Washington it will be to the eastern side of the state. The west side is chock-full of Seattle. Nuff said. And that is my birth city. It's all about the money that is paid and that can be made.

I really respect you for the position you're taking. I'm being magnetically pulled back north from this thing I was born into. My family.

[JBVirtuoso]

One thing that west coast people can never seem to understand is that it's actually very responsible policy to enable urban expansion in coastal areas. For every development that we block in the name of preservation of the environment, local neighborhoods, or what have you, a development in the Arizona desert springs up. We may feel like we're doing something noble by flipping on the NIMBY switch, but all we're really doing is discouraging development in favorable climates and encouraging it in harsh climates that will ultimately be a heavier tax on the environment. An office park in Seattle will use far less energy than one in Las Vegas or Houston, and it will have ample access to water without running the river dry. Curbing sprawl is also a noble goal, but we tend to do so at the expense of healthy growth that would provide economic benefit while reducing overall environmental costs.

For more info on this, I recommend reading Edward Glaeser's Triumph of the City, which argues that dense urban cities have been the single most productive factor in economic development.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by prosin

Wow. Just wow.

Thank you lb and Crazy for keeping the "Kitsappalachia" vibe going. Actually, you may surprised at the number of folks in Kitsap County (including me) that have post-baccalaureate degrees but don't show off to impress the Joneses. And I haven't seen anyone wearing Wranglers and goat ropers since I left CA. So much for "redneck." And tommy, the area I live in (North/Central Kitsap), I've been welcomed and treated respectfully, even though I was an "outsider." But I can't speak to other parts of the peninsula.

Many of us Kitsap folks want to keep this area the way it is. We don't want to be a part of Seattle, which is why we choose to live here. And yes beenhere, the higher-paying jobs here are perhaps limited to government, medical, and higher education, but that doesn't mean someone can't make a good living here in other fields, such as restaurants/pubs, niche markets, home-based businesses, and startups.

Growing up the in the Bay Area made me realize that money alone doesn't make you happy. Because I will not sacrifice hours of time spent with my family to commute to a job where I can be replaced in a heartbeat. It saddens me that people have their priorities so messed up.

It is simple arithmetic. The "best and brightest" leave Kitsap for higher education, but, because jobs commensurate to their acquired skill/knowledge/expertise are less likely to be available in Kitsap, they are less likely to return. I grew up in Aberdeen (age 5 through 13) - same deal there, only much worse. There, of course, there hasn't been an influx of commuters, many of them professionals. That influx has slowed virtually to a halt, however, except perhaps on Bainbridge or around Gig Harbor, due to high fares and long delays for the ferries. If you want to see where the "worst and dumbest" are accumulating, spend some time in Bremerton (home of the "Bremelo").

[carolochs]

I'm planning an eventual move to Kitsap County and actually, the "keeping it small" mentality is EXACTLY what I want, seek, what attracted me to that area! I'm a homebased business and my biggest concern is reliable internet service & pick-up delivery of parcels to support my global-ness....heh heh. Well-educated, not a redneck, not an idiot...unless you want to label people who want to keep something in this land of ours not over-crowded "an idiot"....then I'll volunteer for the label and wear it proudly!

Re: "keeping it small"..... I currently live in a neighborhood here in central San Diego where we have fought tooth and nail to keep development from coming in and we managed to for a very long while by community vote. When developers and City Planners couldn't convince us it was "for our own good", they managed to either pay off City Council members approving the development, or insert them in their back pocket SOMEHOW, because despite unanimous community vote-DOWN on recent proposals, falsified EIR reports, they are now shoving multi-story development through. Without the projects even being done, we're already seeing how it's impacting our beautiful and quiet lil' 'hood...FOR THE WORSE!

So pardon me when I ::gag:: throw-up at the notion that developers/planners think they know "what's good for us". We're suffering the worst drought in history here, yet they continue to create high-density dwellings for yet more water-users. If we can't support current population with unavailable resources, why are they adding yet more users? How is that "good for us"? Totally mindless! Yet we are repeatedly told that "People are coming so we HAVE TO accommodate them." Um...with that mindset, how long till they are telling us single-story dwellers that our houses need to be mandatorily mowed down and made into multi-stories because "People are coming so we HAVE TO accommodate them." ::headslap::

Uh....NUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All Hail Growth Stunting.....my new battle cry!
Kitsap: Keep it real....and I hope to be there soon!

[CrazyDonkey]

I'm not opposed to Kitsappers choosing a slow- to no-growth economic path. One of the things I like about the Olympic Peninsula is that it is, the more-so as you move west, largely frozen in time. The notion of "urban expansion" all the way to the Coast is to me an abhorrent notion. Be prepared to see your children move away, however.

That doesn't mean that the local economies shouldn't become more diversified and less resource-dependent. As more people cyber-commute or earn their income through the Web, the less they need to clump within driving distance of urban employment centers.

[carolochs]

T'is wise to familiarize oneself with the whole planning/development process---both the political end, and otherwise. And never be afraid to do some Googlin' & snoopin'. It can be interesting who turns up related/connected to whom when it comes to developers, planners and City Council members........which can explain how some projects *magically* make it through, when by all normal avenues, should not have. Not saying this is the case in Kitsap......but we've sure seen the likes of that here, and yeah...it's frightening how that works and before you know it....BOOM....so much for your quaint and charming lil' piece of heaven.

[Seattle4321]

I'd like to leave it how it is but grow it up a lil more and get some better paying jobs.