What Am I Missing? (Seattle, Olympia: condos, high crime, new home)

[ness]

It's really strange to me b/c I've been reading a lot of negative posts about WA and they just don't seem to match up at all with what I see/feel/experience when I'm there. So far I've spent time in -- Gig Harbor, Whidbey Island, Port Townsend, Ruston, Olympia and University Place and think all those areas seem very nice. I'm not "getting" all the things I've been hearing, like:
1. Cold, unfriendly people
2. Ridiculous home prices
3. high crime

Am I just blind? What's up?

[bmsea]

Originally Posted by ness

It's really strange to me b/c I've been reading a lot of negative posts about WA and they just don't seem to match up at all with what I see/feel/experience when I'm there. So far I've spent time in -- Gig Harbor, Whidbey Island, Port Townsend, Ruston, Olympia and University Place and think all those areas seem very nice. I'm not "getting" all the things I've been hearing, like:
1. Cold, unfriendly people
2. Ridiculous home prices
3. high crime

Am I just blind? What's up?

I agree, this forum can be pretty strange. I love Washington, but there seems to be a majority here that feel like the weather somehow ruined their lives. I get that there is some portion of the population that is affected by SAD and can't handle the constant gray skies. But honestly, I lived in both Capital Hill and the Central District and worked downtown, and now I have lived and worked in rural washington. I maintain that this is some of the most beautiful places in the world (even when compared to Hawaii - where I grew up and so cal where I spent my 20's).

What struck me the most the first year I was here was that the weather was overrated. When I moved from So Cal, everyone told me how miserable I was going to be. But for every cloudy day, there always seemed to be a ray of sunshine in there, or a crack of blue sky.

The people I worked with were always friendly - not Hawaii friendly, but more than LA friendly. People on the street were no better or worse than any other city I'd lived in or visited.

Home prices - what Coastal metro area hasn't been susceptible to high home prices (San Diego, LA, the Bay Area, up and down the East coast too). That's the price we pay to live near the ocean. And its worth every penny.

So, you have to take everything with a grain of salt, because everyone has their reasons for posting, and for some of these more negative posters, I think it must be therapeutic for them to get it off their chest. Doesn't mean I agree with any of it.

I love Washington!

[dogmom]

Most of the unhappiness does tend to center around the weather...well, wherever you live there is a weather issue, unless you are in San Diego, where it is almost always nice...

We are in southern utah for the last 2 years, this is the hottest place I have ever been. I am not just talking hot..I am talking HOT...in the 100's during the day...the coolest I have seen it during the night since May is 78 and that is just too warm to open up and get a breeze. The breeze that does come feels like a blow dryer. The winters are cold! We got down in the teens, some snow...brrr... so that leaves us about 4 months a year with nice weather. And I won't even talk about how dry it is. Even my furniture is drying out...

I love WA, my skin feels good, my emotional health is good..it is a happy place for us. Turn on the lights and enjoy the beauty of it all...

[fairweathergolfer]

In my experience none of the communities you mentioned have any of those problems. There is high pricing everywhere that is wonderful these days.

There are some places that do have much more crime then the areas you mentioned, but they are usually cities, in areas that one expects high crime. Sounds like you have visited some nice communities. I wouldn't worry a bit if I was going to move to any of those areas (although I have never been to, nor do I know where University Place is--unless it is that great mall I love in Seattle in the U-district :-).

Originally Posted by ness

It's really strange to me b/c I've been reading a lot of negative posts about WA and they just don't seem to match up at all with what I see/feel/experience when I'm there. So far I've spent time in -- Gig Harbor, Whidbey Island, Port Townsend, Ruston, Olympia and University Place and think all those areas seem very nice. I'm not "getting" all the things I've been hearing, like:
1. Cold, unfriendly people
2. Ridiculous home prices
3. high crime

Am I just blind? What's up?

[geometricdisaster]

Cold, unfriendly people: I'd say it's more introverted, cautious people than cold or unfriendly. Many people up here go out of their way to be helpful to others, but some people from other areas find it difficult to get to know people and make friends here. From what I gather, people who grew up here, or moved here some time ago and stayed, generally have small but close social networks that they aren't especially looking to expand. I find the people in Washington to be too conformist, which isn't a social characteristic that I personally like, but that's just an opinion. Washingtonians tend to have a few quirks that people from other regions don't like. They're not so big on making small talk or eye contact, sense of humor tends more toward sarcasm, and there's of course that infamous NW passive aggressive streak that comes from not wanting to look like the bad guy, but still wanting to get one's way.

High housing: it's relative. I'm not sure it's so much the principal home price, but the type of houses in the inventory that gets Seattle and its suburbs this reputation. Some older homes that may need fixing still garner higher prices here -- it seems like location (proximity to downtown), rather than the aesthetics or newness of a home dictates the price. Some places tauted as nice neighborhoods may not look so nice to people coming from areas that have more new home construction (although, of course, this area has its share of new homes/condos being built as well). Also, I think the weather requires more upkeep on houses and other buildings. The rainy climate + predominately wood or composite exteriors tends to make things look dingier faster -- unlike, say, a more arid climate with more brick/vinyl siding type of construction. Seattle also has an industrial/warehouse/seaport kind of look that people from inland cities aren't used to so much.

High crime: I'd say the area has relatively low violent crime. Some of the stats that skew the area include auto and ID theft -- but violent crime tends to be lower than other major cities. There are weird, seemingly random, minor assault cases that make the paper (but figure, a non-fatal assault being front page news instead of buried on page 15 tells you something), and apparently the State has a hard time keeping track of people on parole, etc. I would say that Seattle and WA in general is more lax than other areas with police presence and it looks like they're having a hard time recruiting cops. All in all, though, I wouldn't call this a dangerous place to live.

[CityGirl72]

Ness:

I hope I don't make it so negative. I think the places yo visited are some of the nicer spots in West WA though.

I think my biggest problem was I LOVED where I lived - I LOVED my life and the weather. But I didn't realize it til I left. And Sacramento is such the opposite of it up here in Seattle. I didn't know.

It's not Seattle that I hate - it's that I was a Sacramento gal. And have had ahorrible time trying to transition.

[ness]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Ness:

I hope I don't make it so negative. I think the places yo visited are some of the nicer spots in West WA though.

I think my biggest problem was I LOVED where I lived - I LOVED my life and the weather. But I didn't realize it til I left. And Sacramento is such the opposite of it up here in Seattle. I didn't know.

It's not Seattle that I hate - it's that I was a Sacramento gal. And have had ahorrible time trying to transition.

that makes a lot of sense. hind sight is 20-20, right?

[dogmom]

Got that right..hindsight is 20-20. Wish I was 20 years younger and knew what I know now...sheesh....

[LadyMSgt]

I agree with your post, we are moving up to Whidbey in a couple of months and have always loved it when we have been there. My husband has family on the island and they love it too.
So we shall see, we are leaving the Phoenix area. It has become so big and rat race, we want to slow it down alittle and we are not that young( early 50's ) and figure if we don't try it now, when? We are not gettin any younger!

[dogmom]

Sounds like when we all get to Washington we should have a get together...sounds like we are mostly relocating for the same reasons, family, finances, and getting out of the rat race. I figured out long ago - the rats are winning