Considering South Whidbey Island - Questions (Seattle, Port Townsend: 2013, felons, income tax)

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by AADAD

Excellent and balanced Mainlander. I talked with the Sheriff yesterday for about 30 minutes. He is very helpful and can be of assistance to any person thinking of moving there. The incident map clearly shows all calls (851 in the last 2 weeks) 3 of those were burglaries and the overwhelming majority were dog barking, traffic issues. No assaults, no home invasions, and various and assorted alcohol drugs but most were the kind of thing a small town sees all the time.
......

Thanks to all posters.

Having also lived in San Diego, you should know that property crime in the PNW is much higher than where you are now. While I will maintain that S. Whidbey has less of it than the surrounding areas, the entire PNW has much more of it than you currently see. Take Seattle vs. San Diego. San Diego sees about a third of the property crime despite being twice as large.

I loved the PNW and would move back there in a heartbeat. That is one of the unappealing aspects of it though.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

If your DW is an artist she will love South Whidbey. Know this though, she will be one of many. When we would visit people we often saw an easel in a corner with a nice painting in some phase of completion. It's what people do there. There is a very large artist community for her to socialize with. There were plenty of times there when I felt like a talentless toad. Never been around so many artistically talented people in my life. If they don't paint they play an instrument...or make their own dishes....or blow glass...or make jewelry....and so on.

Yes she loved that environment (as did I). Her work is gaining popularity ...........she paints mixed media abstract. We loved the Langley center for the arts and felt excited by the environment in general. Add to that the availability or organic meat and produce and the lack of violent crime we are looking forward to it.

I am working through the details of perimeter alarms and secure buildings...there are many options and I think that one of the telecom companies in Freeland offers monitoring as well and while it's not fun thinking that the property crime is higher there in the PNW on the island it's still better than SD. Now we live in a very good area and there are 3-4 car thefts/smash and grabs every week within a mile of us. We are in a gated community so it's not affecting us directly here now but with costs associated with the living arrangement and the lack of state income tax in Washington, it becomes simple math.

Thank you for the really helpful information. What do you miss the most there? Favorite places etc.

[elkotronics]

you seem pretty fearful

bloom, man, you totally missed my point. Didn't you read where I said to move anywhere on Whidbey Island if you want? What is with this misperception of intended meaning thing on the internet? We must all interpret information differently. No, you also missed where I said that a week and a half ago we had a tornado hit Dodge City, KS, (my town) and it hit someone's house I work with? And how everyone has been wonderful to her and helpful? Man, get your facts straight. There are far more helpful, good people than bad. Unfortunately, the morons who choose ta be bad can make life miserable for all the others. They'll have a day of reckoning that has never been seen before.


As for Whidbey Island, I say move there if you want. Make sure you've thoroughly thought out the fact that you'll be on an island and the big city concerts, sports, shopping and restaurants will be a boat-ride away. And sometimes you'll have ta wait for that ferryboat for a ride back to the mainland.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by AADAD

Yes she loved that environment (as did I). Her work is gaining popularity ...........she paints mixed media abstract. We loved the Langley center for the arts and felt excited by the environment in general. Add to that the availability or organic meat and produce and the lack of violent crime we are looking forward to it.

I am working through the details of perimeter alarms and secure buildings...there are many options and I think that one of the telecom companies in Freeland offers monitoring as well and while it's not fun thinking that the property crime is higher there in the PNW on the island it's still better than SD. Now we live in a very good area and there are 3-4 car thefts/smash and grabs every week within a mile of us. We are in a gated community so it's not affecting us directly here now but with costs associated with the living arrangement and the lack of state income tax in Washington, it becomes simple math.

Thank you for the really helpful information. What do you miss the most there? Favorite places etc.

I miss a lot there. I'd take the next flight back if I could. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, there were times I wished we lived in Edmonds or some other area instead mostly for the amenities and being closer to the mountains.

What do I miss the most:

1. The community! Great sense of community. I describe it this way. When we lived in CA people were friendly in a Disney kind of way. When we lived on Whidbey people were friendly in a "sitting in the backyard having a beer and bbq with friends and family" kind of way. When we dropped our kid off at his school (ICA) it felt like we were dropping him off with friends and family. We went to all of the little cultural events and you'll get to know a lot of good people doing so. I've lived in a lot of places. S. Whidbey was special. I don't think I'll ever find another place like it. So many talented and interesting people living in such a small place.

2. The beauty. We lived in a bucket of eye candy. No better way to describe it. Even on a cloudy drizzly day the place is beautiful.

3. The nature. Deer walked all throughout our neighborhood. You could pass within feet of them. Bald eagles would fly right in front of our balcony. Seeing the whales migrate in the spring. Seeing the seals play hide and seek with me while kayaking. Clamming and crabbing right in front of the house.

Favorite Places (on island):

1. Langley. We'd go there a lot to get a bite to eat, grab a cup of coffee, etc. Our favorite restaurant on S. Whidbey was the Prima Bistro.

2. Double Bluff. It was fun to take the kid there. In the summer when the tides are very low the sun heats up the sand pretty well. When the tide comes back in the water would be like bath water for a small amount of time.

3. All the cultural venues. The Northwest Language Academy, Island Dance, The arts center, the children's theater.

4. Deception Pass.

Favorite Places (off island):

1. The Olympic Peninsula. My favorite part of Washington. LOVED IT.

2. Seattle. Plenty to do there. San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle are my favorite three cities.

3. The mountains. Loved Mt. Baker and Rainier. Loved the remote town of Stehekin.

4. BC, Canada. Another giant bucket of eye candy.

[Mainlander]

Caraway DJ:

You’re right, we haven’t become involved in the cultural events on the island. We’ve been too busy and preoccupied holding down the fort, unfortunately it is a target now, and it’s hard to enjoy yourself when you’re worrying who might be breaking into what is supposed to be your private space. The problems we’ve experienced have made it difficult for us to feel footloose and fancy free, our lifestyle has been hindered by our present situation.

Understand that not only do our experiences shape our perceptions, there is also a domino effect in the way in which we relate to our environment. I should not have used such strong language in my first posts and you should try to understand sometimes people use strong language because they’re justifiably upset, not because they are lying or purposely trying to mislead others. Take care.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by Mainlander

Caraway DJ:

You’re right, we haven’t become involved in the cultural events on the island. We’ve been too busy and preoccupied holding down the fort, unfortunately it is a target now, and it’s hard to enjoy yourself when you’re worrying who might be breaking into what is supposed to be your private space. The problems we’ve experienced have made it difficult for us to feel footloose and fancy free, our lifestyle has been hindered by our present situation.

Understand that not only do our experiences shape our perceptions, there is also a domino effect in the way in which we relate to our environment. I should not have used such strong language in my first posts and you should try to understand sometimes people use strong language because they’re justifiably upset, not because they are lying or purposely trying to mislead others. Take care.

Strong Language? Not really man. I'm surprised you did not have laser guided permitter arrows. Geez, I hate thieves.

[elkotronics]

Strong Language? Not really man. I'm surprised you did not have laser guided permitter arrows. Geez, I hate thieves.

Me too.

[pikabike]

Me three.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

Having also lived in San Diego, you should know that property crime in the PNW is much higher than where you are now. While I will maintain that S. Whidbey has less of it than the surrounding areas, the entire PNW has much more of it than you currently see. Take Seattle vs. San Diego. San Diego sees about a third of the property crime despite being twice as large.

I loved the PNW and would move back there in a heartbeat. That is one of the unappealing aspects of it though.

The difference is that Seattle is mostly urban (#10 in population density) and San Diego is mostly suburban. Seattle is almost twice as dense, but only about 1/4 the size. I'm not sure where you get "San Diego sees about a third of the property crime despite being twice as large." Crime stats are roughly equivalent (although San Diego has more violent crime):

San Diego (4,024 per sq mi; 325k sq mi):

Property: 31,728
Violent: 5,303

Seattle (7,962 per sq mi; 84k sq mi):

Property: 35,883
Violent: 3,758

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

The difference is that Seattle is mostly urban (#10 in population density) and San Diego is mostly suburban. Seattle is almost twice as dense, but only about 1/4 the size. I'm not sure where you get "San Diego sees about a third of the property crime despite being twice as large." Crime stats are roughly equivalent (although San Diego has more violent crime):

San Diego (4,024 per sq mi; 325k sq mi):

Property: 31,728
Violent: 5,303

Seattle (7,962 per sq mi; 84k sq mi):

Property: 35,883
Violent: 3,758

Crime stats are usually based on crime per 100,000. Physical size has nothing to do with it. Are those raw numbers you show? Keep in mind San Diego has a tad over twice the population of Seattle. Every single crime stat site I have ever viewed shows San Diego with significantly less property crime than Seattle. Even the violent crime rate is less. Oakland CA even has less property crime than Seattle. Look, I love the area but there is a big property crime problem throughout the PNW, Seattle included. Wouldn't stop me from moving back though.