Lots of trees and rain, liberal, low religiosity and affordability...does it exist? (Vancouver: to rent, crime)

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by freepelican

A couple of posters have referred to the Olympic Peninsula as "liberal." I'd like to offer my perspective on this. I do not quite agree. Of all the areas mentioned, I would say Port Townsend is the most liberal area of the Olympic Peninsula but not as liberal as other more liberal areas of the country. One of the main employers in Port Townsend is a big ugly stinky paper mill that's an eyesore and a major source of pollution (I may get flack for saying so but it's true). This keeps the area from going "completely" liberal in my opinion. It also causes tension within the township... some people pitch it as "jobs versus environment." To me, it is a lot more complicated than that but that's for another post!

South of Port Townsend but still in Jefferson County, you have some smaller communities like Port Haddock and Chimacum. These areas are more liberal than conservative too but still not super liberal imo. You've also got some smaller communities west of Port Townsend (but with a bay in the middle so you have to travel south then north and then west to get there) that are also fairly liberal. These are places like Gardner and Blyn. However, again they are not super liberal.

Now, if you go west of this area, you start getting less liberal really fast. By the time you get to Port Angeles and beyond, I would not call these areas liberal at all. I would classify Port Angeles as a mix of liberal and conservative with a lot of moderates around as well. Same with areas north and west of Sequim. Sequim itself has an odd character to it as there are a ton of retirees moving in, many old farms have been replaced with housing developments (very sad), and the bulk of the people that call themselves living in "Sequim" don't actually live in the city limits. The average age of the Sequim citizenry is also considerably older than the average for most other areas.

Another way to look at this is to check out a map and see the funny shapes of the two counties that make up the peninsula: Jefferson and Clallam. Then look at voting records, especially for national elections. Jefferson usually goes blue and Clallam usually goes red but I don't think it is a landslide in either case, at least not usually.

Going west past Port Angeles in Clallam County, except maybe Neah Bay perhaps, is very solidly in the red camp.

Yet another way to look at this is the following. "Red" in Clallam County is no where near as conservative as places in the deep south. In other words, it's not the Florida panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas.... not by a long shot, but it is conservative in its own unique sort of way. "Blue" in Jefferson County is no where near as liberal as places like San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Missoula, etc but it is somewhat liberal and liberal compared to most areas in Washington state outside of Seattle.

Hope this helps. Others may disagree but I have lived a lot of places around the country and therefore have a lot of experience to compare things to.

I 100% agree...Excellent point you make... IMO It is old school... NOTHING like what we think of as liberals like in major urban areas. or a modern Republican...

More of a weird oxymoron of Libertarian/Socialist. Or I like to think of it good ole fashion blue collar progressive like the anti corporate trust busting Teddy Roosevelt for the common man, monopoly breaking, National park creating Republican.. (Heck they called him a Socialist..) Or the counties namesake, Jefferson and what he represented.

IMO this old school blended Red/Blue exists in many rural remote areas of the west coast, from Northern California all the way up into Alaska. As it does in rural areas up on the iron range in Northern Minnesota, and other pockets around the country..

I really believe the majority can not be boxed and labeled as conservative or liberal, republican or democratic.. Very unique refreshing mindset in todays polarized day and age... At least from my biased perspective..

[mev]

It's called Port Hadlock, not Haddock.

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by mev

It's called Port Hadlock, not Haddock.

You're right... thanks :-) I don't know why I keep wanting to call it that.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by freepelican

You're right... thanks :-) I don't know why I keep wanting to call it that.

Maybe you are a closet fish n chips fan, Haddock is the best fish for that but not available here as it comes from the north Atlantic.

I just returned from a weekend on the Olympic Penninsula and while it's less liberal than the Seattle area it's still not like the eastern part of the state. There are a lot of pickups with gun racks, American flags, and other signs of conservatism that we don't see here on the eastside, and they are much more into property rights.

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Maybe you are a closet fish n chips fan, Haddock is the best fish for that but not available here as it comes from the north Atlantic.

I just returned from a weekend on the Olympic Penninsula and while it's less liberal than the Seattle area it's still not like the eastern part of the state. There are a lot of pickups with gun racks, American flags, and other signs of conservatism that we don't see here on the eastside, and they are much more into property rights.

Yes, I'm thinking fish and seafood subliminally all the time I did have some good fish in Port HadLOCK at a little "hole in the wall" restaurant that was jumpin' busy at an off hour right on the main drag through town... can't remember the name. There's also that eclectic place down on the water: Ajax... good for fish too

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by freepelican

Yes, I'm thinking fish and seafood subliminally all the time I did have some good fish in Port HadLOCK at a little "hole in the wall" restaurant that was jumpin' busy at an off hour right on the main drag through town... can't remember the name. There's also that eclectic place down on the water: Ajax... good for fish too

At the risk of getting off topic, next time in the area try the Dockside Grill at the John Wayne Marina. Take plenty of money but it's worth it.

Back on topic, I know a guy that lives in Port Ludlow which is really nice but seems to be mainly retired rich folks, like him. Port Hadlock is much lower income (median is 1/2 of Port Ludlow) but both towns vote Democrat 2-1 over Republican.

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

At the risk of getting off topic, next time in the area try the Dockside Grill at the John Wayne Marina. Take plenty of money but it's worth it.

Back on topic, I know a guy that lives in Port Ludlow which is really nice but seems to be mainly retired rich folks, like him. Port Hadlock is much lower income (median is 1/2 of Port Ludlow) but both towns vote Democrat 2-1 over Republican.

Ya...But... They have very different "motives" than your typical Seattle Dem.. Take Snowden for example... How many mainstream Obama supporting Dems are Snowden supporters?... The Leader, had one or two Government spying on us pieces in the paper a while back... That to me sounds more Libertarian than Democratic.

I can only speak for myself... But Checking the Dem box on the ballet is simply the lesser of two evils... Not that I (and what I perceive as we) are that big into the dem party and what they represent.

Again.. Very "old school"... No real philosophical, difference in a logger in Port Angles and a retired military officer in Port Ludlow, they may check different boxes on the ballet.... But neither are passionate about what either party represents.

I can keep going on and on... Keep in mind all Republicans and all but one Democrat and Paul voted for the Patriot act in the Senate ..

The issues do not fall cleanly on party lines.. Look at the way Port Townsend takes the freedom of speech issue with the white board guy... This is serious stuff for us... Something to debate and contemplate... Again.. It surely does not fall into a neat little box of "liberal or conservative" I know conservatives that are huge supporters of the free speech guy, and I know liberals who think he over stepped his bounds.

Just saying... IMHO... Don't box folks on the Peninsula by the way they two party vote falls..

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

At the risk of getting off topic, next time in the area try the Dockside Grill at the John Wayne Marina. Take plenty of money but it's worth it.

Back on topic, I know a guy that lives in Port Ludlow which is really nice but seems to be mainly retired rich folks, like him. Port Hadlock is much lower income (median is 1/2 of Port Ludlow) but both towns vote Democrat 2-1 over Republican.

I've driven through Port Ludlow and to me it seemed like a "artificially constructed" place... like people were living in a Hollywood set and not a real place that developed in a natural way. I prefer naturally developed places with a real sense of community.

[Settled in PNW]

Cinebar,
Having come from the bible belt--actually fled, never looking back--Centralia is delightfully liberal and I've never had anyone knock on my door at 0900 on a Sunday morning to invite me to their church (aka, social club or worse based on a 2000 year old myth propagated by gray-haired men).

[PrincessoftheCape]

Originally Posted by Paulygirl12

I'm a liberal, childfree atheist, so you can imagine how well I fit in here.

Your poor neighbors. I bet they are even more eager to rid themselves of you than you are to flee the Lonestar State. Why did you even move to Texas? With that degree (which you apparently like to wave around --- Ooo, as if everyone and their mother doesn't have an undergraduate diploma these days), one would think that you'd have done a little research and known that Texas was the veritable hell on earth you make it out to be before moving there.