Living in Olympia Wa (Seattle, Kent: sale, 2013, luxury)

[NWarty]

Downtown is charming???

Sure if you like dilapidated store fronts, passed out bums, drugs, urine, panhandlers, street kids, people-asking-for-cigarettes-constantly, tatoo parlors, graffiti, trash and a non-existant police presence. And yeah, I worked downtown for close to ten years. Downtown Oly USED TO BE charming before the patients ran the insane asylum; otherwise known as the City Council.






Here is what I wrote about Oly several months ago:
I've lived in Olympia for the past 15 years, but I'm originally from the east coast, so I'll give you my thoughts on some of your questions.

The People (are they friendly or dangerous in general/how you're treating by the public/community etc):

Folks for the most part are very cordial, but not friendly like you'd see in the deep South. Customer service can be hit or miss in the locality. Most are very good, but many restaraunts/coffee shops are awful. You get a wide range of people who live in Olympia, from Government and State workers, to Every-Day folks, Military and Military Retirees, Students (Evergreen State College) etc. Downtown on weekends can bring out the worst in panhandlers, bums (LOTS of bums) and drunken idiots. But for the most part relatively safe during the weekday and daytime. People won't generally bring their kids down 4th Avenue after dark on a weekend. I won't lie and say that crime hasn't been an issue downtown because it has. For a town of this size, we seem to have a dispropportionate amount of seedy individuals causing a lot of problems and the city council continues to put their head in the sand in addressing crime. We can buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of solar-powered parking meters with built in networking, but apparently too broke to provide for walking or bike patrols to keep downtown cleaned up.

I'm also Military and have been treated incredibly well. Everyonce in a while, I've had a bad encounter, but the good has most definitely out-weighed the bad. Olympia is also very liberal, which is a good thing for the most part. Once in a while you'll have issues with a very small percentage of folks who don't like to follow rules (i.e. protestors or the local causeheads) but they are becoming fewer and far between.


The Job Market: Most of Olympia is State Government, so you have a HUGE population of workers that commute in. The job market is difficult, just like everywhere else in the country.


Events and Nightlife: Lots of events happen during the year, Arts Walk, Sand in the City, Lake Fair, Music in the Park and lots of other little festivals here and there and they run the spectrum. Night life is mostly bars along 4th avenue, but there are severals wine bars around and higher-end restaraunts. Several theaters exist in downtown along with the Washington Center (performing arts), that host plays, music, etc. Lots of neat little stuff to find.

Keep in mind, when the sun comes out, there isn't a soul inside, so everyone gets out and about when the sun is shining.


Walk-ability (how close together are things, is it practical to not have a car and rely on buses and bikes?):

Public transportation is excellent in the City and TONS of people use it. Lots of buslines and the waits are minimal. Many people bike who live in the city. Rain or shine.


Transit Between Olympia and Seattle:

60 minutes with no traffic. (think Sunday morning). When I worked in Seattle (near the Space Needle), my commute time was roughly 90 minutes. Coming home is a different story depending on when you leave and what day it is. Plan on 100-120 minutes. Seattle Traffic is ROUGH.


Outdoor Attractions(I've heard good things about forests and rivers etc. that are fun to visit for the day):

My God, TONS of stuff. You're basically two hours away from the Coast/Beaches or two hours from the Mountains. Hiking, Skiing, Kayaking, Climbing, Camping, the list goes on and on. Lots of shops to get gear from, both local and REI. Olympia also has a wonderful little Farmer's Market that opens in April and runs through the beginning of Fall.


Entertainment (Museums, Shopping, arcades etc):

Hands-on Children's Museum, State History Museum are the local ones. Further north in Tacoma you have The Glass Museum (very cool), LeMay Auto Museum. Near Seattle, Boeing Museum of FLight, Seattle Art Museum, EMP and Sci-Fi and tons of other things.

Shopping consists of small local shops downtown and smattered throughout the city. West Olympia has Westfield (or Capitol Mall) which has all the big box retailers plus REI.

I grew up in Atlanta for 20 years and have lived here in Oly for 15. Even though the town can be frustrating at times, I do love it here. At 45,000 people, it still retains much small-town charm while being so close to Tacoma, Seattle and everything the PNW has to offer. Go for it

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by FRYN654

I have the opportunity to move to Olympia, Wa this December. I will be driving from Richmond, Va and wanted not only advice on the best way to travel this close to winter, but also what is life like in Oly. Like for example, are you able to walk to downtown from the westside easily? What is a day in Olympia like? And are there any photos that you guys would be willing to share? Thank you!

When you are ready to travel and know the route you want to take, check with Dept of Transportation (DOT) site for possible road closures/ construction.

National Traffic and Road Closure Information | Federal Highway Administration

This link has much to offer any traveller!

Enjoy your trip.

Peace,
wc@h

[GSherman]

When I lived in in Olympia and took out of town family downtown, They were shocked! It's run down, dirty. Got so tired of
people asking for money. Weather gets old.


Parts of Olympia and Lacey are pretty. Lots of trails, fresh air. Seattle is an hour away.

[Sandy Nelson]

Walking downtown from the west Side is easy. Walking back up may be a bit strenuous

[FRYN654]

I recently found out that I will be moving near Harrison Ave, is the west side of Olympia a safe place? A few people above have stated that the downtown area is run down, it seems that maybe Olympia may not be the best fit if that is the case. I have lived in Edmonds, and have family up there. Although I have not been to Olympia, the research I have done, has shown it to be beautiful (I am perfectly ok with the weather), and that it is nearly crime free. Any more insight? Are the apartments near Harrison Ave safe? Thank you.

[Cinebar]

I just wanted to comment on travel over the passes in the winter.

You have, basically, three options: Snoqualmie Pass/I-90, White Pass, and what was previously mentioned, I-84 (on the Oregon side)/Columbia River Gorge.

Any one of those routes can be a challenge in the winter and the conditions can change literally hourly. For updates on the Washington passes, check here:

WSDOT - Statewide Mountain Pass Map

I don't have the link to the Oregon DOT site handy but it should be easy enough to find.

I wouldn't even make a decision on which route to take until you have to make a decision and then base that decision on the conditions. I know often when I-90 is bad, White Pass is fine - and vice versa. The Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful and scenic trip (especially if you've never seen it), but ice and snow and wind can be a problem in the winter.

As for Olympia, I live about 60 miles southeast of the city and only have to go there on occasion, so I can only speak as a "visitor." But I find, as far as cities go, it's not bad (I'm a country person myself); one thing that I like about it is that you don't have to go far to get out of the city and find yourself in some beautiful rural countryside.

I have no opinion on Edmonds; I've never been there.

Good luck on your move and welcome to this great state.

[FRYN654]

Thank you Cinebar, this information is very much appreciated!

[Webfoot_Wa]

DEC. BUMP.........heading that way in the spring from NM

[lady fern]

FRYN654, we made the trip cross country from west to east last December without issue. I believe we took I 90 and then headed over to 84 for a more southerly route (we were pulling a trailer and wanted to miss some of the Midwest winter weather). I lived in Olympia for just over 20 years. Yes, there are panhandlers and bums downtown - always has been. I worked downtown for several years as a teenager in the late 80's early 90's. I often would walk home to the Westside as I got off of work just after the last bus left. Can't say that I ever felt unsafe back then. It's a bit more populated now and in the early morning hours in the summer, you will see people in sleeping bags in shop entrances, but once the sun comes up it is a pretty vibrant downtown shopping area and fun to explore. I do agree that the city council needs to recognize that there has been an increase in panhandlers in Olympia of the past 5 or 10 years and take action, but that's an a hole different thread.
Harrison Ave. is well within walking distance of downtown. The hill is a bit steep but it won't kill you. There are some nice neighborhoods on both sides of Harrison. I think you'll find some nice clubs and pubs downtown as well. If you head down Westbay Drive (off of Harrison), there is a place you can rent kayaks and take a trip out on the sound. I think you'll enjoy Olympia. I sure did when I was in my 20's (and no, it wasn't a million years ago!).

[Z1994]

Originally Posted by Andy

The biggest difference is that Edmonds is located near Seattle, where there are better jobs, more going on, etc. Olympia is more of its own thing, less job opportunity, less going on, etc. Olympia is more suburban, outdoorsy than Edmonds.

The best place to live with transit, walking around is Seattle. If you have a place to stay in Edmonds, it would give a good starting base for Seattle. I'd look into some of the NW Seattle neighborhoods.

Well the same goes for Olympia, it's located near Seattle too. How can you say there's less job opportunity in Olympia when the population over the last few years has risen about 10K and that it also has 10K more people in Olympia? There's a huge increase amount of population, especially Indians and Arabs. And numerous people coming from other states. Especially Texas and Cali. Plus most people in Olympia are mostly people from other areas that moved here anyways. So there's really little people that's actually from Olympia. And luxury cars like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche Range Rover etc are all over the place. I've seen Ferrari, Audi R8 etc been driven in here, pretty sure you don't see these cars in "suburban" areas. And How is Olympia suburban? It's just like Kent, Renton, Tukwila Kirkland etc. And it has a LOT going on in Olympia, Traffic everyday, rude drivers, numerous new jobs etc. Have you lived in Olympia at all? If you want a place that is like you described, move to a small town. But DON'T mislead people? Olympia is in the Seattle region too. There's also tons people from Seattle coming to work in Olympia everyday, (and vice versa, but that's off topic.) so again HOW can you say Olympia doesn't have a lot of good jobs...? You're a moron to be honest. Or just someone who runs their mouth yet knows nothing... There's even UW Hospital/Clinic in Olympia, pretty sure they don't do that to suburban or places far from Seattle. And Olympia is on the Most increased population city in WA list. And you think that Seattle is a easy place to find job? LOL. Seattle is a beautiful place but it's not a place for easy jobs. California is. That's why Mexicans are flowing into that state.