possible move to Chehalis, WA area? (Seattle, Olympia: real estate, renter, appliances)

[mturpin]

Hello. New here. My husband works for Imperial Fabricating here in Portland, TN, just north of Nashville. He found out they have a plant in Chehalis. First off, how do you pronounce this? We are just now starting to think hard about moving to Chehalis or nearby

We are not "liberals" or "democrats" and certainly not "republicans". We are neither left, right or even in the middle. Politics and politicians make us cringe so we really don't go there. We are just peaceful souls who don't eat meat and generally love everyone (be they similar to us or not). We are now, unfortunately, stuck in a part of the country still caught up in racism, ignorance and religion. If you aren't baptist here, prepare to be invited to chuch. Church is something else we don't care for, though we hold no grudges against those who do care for it. We just prefer to worship in our own, private way. Tennessee is gorgeous but we are unable to be ourselves here without being ridiculed. Quite frankly, we are sick of this.

Would Chehalis be a good place for us to move? Are there nearby towns we should consider? I work at a winery. Are there wineries around Chehalis? I looked at real estate out there...wow...our house we are in now here in TN. was $89,000 brand spanking new...1200 sq. feet with all the trimmings. I'm guessing that's not going to happen there. But we like old houses out in the country. We don't need anything else new ever again (besides appliances). We have no children and don't plan on having them. We have lots of animals. We love nature and are active.

I'll bring this honker to a close now. Any thoughts (and no detail is too small) would be appreciated. We have no clue as to what is in NW Washington. We need to start getting facts from somewhere and here looks good. But it already seems better than where we are now.

Thanks,
Michelle

[scirocco22]

Hi Michelle and welcome to our forum. I'll try to answer some of your questions. The political leaning of the Centralia/Chehalis area I'll leave to somebody else because I have my own ideas but not may be the same as some of the people who live in the area. However, the Chehalis area may be a bit more liberal than what you're describing where you are in TN.

The pronunciation is sha-HAY-lis

I know there are at least three wineries in the general area. I've been to one of them. It's called Widgeon Hill (Widgeon Hill Winery).

If you've read some of the other threads here on the Centralia/Chehalis area, you might be discouraged but it's not all bad and, yes, it could very possibly be better than where you are now.

Good luck and hopefully others will chime in with their opinions.

--'rocco

[VeronikaW]

I can't be too much help, as I've only been to Chehalis once, on my drive up to Seattle from CA. We stopped there for some food. Coming from CA it seemed very rural and kind of country. The thing we laughed about most were the signs all over town that stated "Meth Watch", so I'm guessing meth is a problem in the area.

Anyway, that was my initial impression of that place, but we were only there for like 30 minutes. I do remember hitting some bad traffic right around there, too.

V. =)

[mturpin]

Meth watch? A sign for it?? Oh dear. Well, there's bad stuff everywhere (but I don't consider the "green stuff" bad; does that make me a tree-hugger?? :-) As long as we don't hear racial slurs or have people shoving their religion (or politics) down our throats, we are good. Live and let live is how we try to be. It's hard to do that here in the bible belt. Though I must admit, Nashville is very progressive compared to the deep south. We lived there, too. Thank God we got out of there. Geez. The Klu Klux Klan is alive and well there and that is NO JOKE.

Rural and country is what we like. We are both in our mid-30's and consider ourselves spiritual but not religious. We appreciate hospitality. We are going to take a trip out there hopefully by the middle of next year. We are going to fly into Portland, OR and drive up to check it out. Like I said earlier, we are picking Chehalis b/c my husband can work at a plant there. But I'm guessing there are small towns other than Chehalis close by? I just can't figure out the real estate out there. Why so high? Here you can get a REALLY fancy, big, nice house for 150,000. There, you get a shack for that amount. I guess you have to pay to live in such beauty and splendor.

One more thing and I'll hush so maybe someone can respond. Are there any upscale restaurants in the Chehalis area? How about in Centralia? I'm just trying to figure out where I would work. It could be part-time. Oh, can anybody give me the name of the other wineries there (thanks to the person who gave me the name of the one he knew!!!)

Thanks!

[earls]

If you think Chehalis is pricey consider that this county is one of the least expensive in the state Eastern WA excepted. If you are talented you could buy a fixer and turn it over until you could afford what you want. There are areas outside of town that may be more in your price range. Look on the map and consider Tenino and Mossyrock as about the farthest you would want to travel. This county is more conservative than most. More religious than some but if you want to be left alone no one will bother you. The Meth problem is high because of the same reason the 'green' stuff is in vogue elsewhere only problem is once you try it there is no going back. Centralia and Chehalis are basically the same each has population of less than 10,000. We have good outlet mall, lots of factories for employment, As far as 'upscale' go We cant even spell upscale. You need to go to the harbor area north of Olympia for that.

[kc2sweet4ne1]

I've lived in Centralia my entire life and haven't had any problems or "in your face" issues with meth. Yeah, it's here, but it's everywhere. The meth labs are found in the out of town area... and there haven't been many. Our police are on top of that, hence the "meth watch" signs.

There are a lot of places for employment, although I don't know much about wineries. There are some small "wine tasting" signs in downtown Centralia. I could pay more attetion next time I drive by.

It's a buyers market here right now. You could probably get a nice (not brand new) 3 bedroom, over 1300 square foot home with a decent yard for $250K or less. Just check out Century21.com or Windermere.com, tap in what you are looking for and see what pops up. There are a lot of listings that will match.

I really enjoy it here. There are A LOT of outdoor activites either right here or a stone's throw away.

As for upscale... we have a few independent restaruants here. There is a very classy Italian resturant in downtown Chehalis and we have an Applebees!! But yes, you'd probably have to drive 20 minutes to Olympia for something like that.

It's a nice area to live it! Good luck and if you have anymore questions... I'd be glad to help!

[ptmsawyer]

I have worked 39 years for the same company, during that time we have moved 7 times. Maryland, Penna, Texas, Calfornia, Washington, Ont. Canada and back to Pa. It was 1985 thru 1994 that We spent some of the best times of our lives, in a little town called Chehalis.
Things can and do change, but if its half the place I remember, you won't go wrong. No matter where you go someone will always have an opion that will differ from yours, no different there. I hold lots of good memories and still have many friends in the area.

[StealthRabbit]

If you're not a conservative, you may be a bit taken back by the 'Uncle Sam' billboard at exit 72 (south Chehalis)... not to worry, it reflects a very minority on the west side of Cascades, and this one poor farmer (Al Hamilton) that owns the sign, gives the very few conservatives a tiny voice and frequent laugh. He has passed away, but I'm glad his sons are continuing reader board, tho they claim they get lots of honking and fingers while changing the slogan. I feel it gives a little balance and food for thought that even the Left-Coast has diversity.

But Chehalis is a nice place, and there are plenty of other choices quite near. It is also a quick connection to the coast, Mt Rainier, Olympia, or Portland. Centralia might have a social makeup more to your liking.

And it is a good time to bargain on homes. (I'm really glad I sold all my Chehalis income pros last year + it was a 3 hr round trip for me to deal with renter issues)

Just to bring some diversity... I really like to eat here - Mary Mccrank's Dinner House - quite near Exit 72. Mary McCrank's Restaurant

I have never had a decent meal at an Applebee's, and don't like corporate restaurants and what they do to local provisioners and economy. (and I can't digest with 98db background music)

[earls]

some difference of opinion:
1. sign does not reflect minority opinion - and not just Chehalis most of Lewis county and Eastern Washington is Republican.
2. He WAS not a poor farmer the Hamilton's and relations own a lot of property.
3. Centralia is the other part of the Twin cities and no difference between us.
4. Never had any renter issues. - Same renter for 14 years.
5. Mary's restaurant will be even nicer once remodeling is done.
6. I have never had a bad meal at Applebee's.

[kc2sweet4ne1]

I have to agree with earls on all six points. I especially feel strongly that there is no difference between Centralia and Chehalis, other than the highschool football rivalry.