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Before I mention anything else, I'll start by saying that I've never even been to the west coast before(yes, I'm afraid this is yet another one of THOSE threads) - but I've always wanted to experience what it'd be like to live there, and I've found that now is the right time in my life to do it. I'll be making the actual move in April, when my lease here ends, and am trying to figure out the best possible option(s) to give my job for places to transfer me to. I can give them up to five potential locations - virtually no place is off-limits, because my job is almost guaranteed to be within a 30-45 minute drive of anyplace, anywhere.
I really hope that some of you can help me with suggestions - I'd hate to base my entire decision off of cold research and statistics, or else advice from people I know who have also never actually been to WA.
Here are my "new place criteria":
1.) I'm planning to go back to school within the next few months(where won't matter; I'll probably be taking online classes), so rent should be as cheap as possible without me having to sacrifice essentials like safety and well-being.
2.) Now that I've mentioned I want something cheap, I'm going to complicate matters by saying I'd also like to be as close to the ocean as possible - having it in my backyard would be ideal, but being an hour or so away would be fine.
3.) I don't want to live "in the city", or feel like I'm stuck in a big concrete maze. I want trees, nature, and fresh air - but I also want to be close enough to hospitals, potential new jobs, etc.
4.) I REALLY don't want to go to an area where there is a lot of racial/religious discrimination, and/or a prevailing attitude of, "You're not from here, so you don't matter."
5.) As an artist, I'd love to be near an "art community" I could find creative opportunities in - maybe there could be some galleries, or community festivals, or even the possibility of obtaining a vendor's permit and setting up an easel somewhere.
6.) I have difficulty with hot, overly sunny weather - even if it only happens in summer, and even if it "barely lasts two weeks".
I'm also going to put up a list of some places I've looked into so far, along with what I've been able to find out(good and bad). I hope I won't offend anyone with what I'm about to write about any of these places - none of it represents MY opinion; it just summarizes what I've heard/read. Mostly, I hope I can get some more information on each place(with your help).
The places:
1.) Westport/Ocean Shores.
The good: They both look like such cute(if touristy) towns, and the ocean is right there. I've found some cheap apartment listings very close to the marina in Westport, and even an art gallery or two.
The bad: I've actually heard nothing bad at all about either place - but, people get literal tears in their eyes when talking about Aberdeen, and they describe what is basically a nightmare city. This is relevant because, if I moved to either place, I'd be working in Aberdeen - and it looks like I'd be commuting there for everything else, too. Every place is going to have some less-than-desirable qualities, but what I can't tell from where I am is whether or not the good outweighs the bad in this case.
2.) Centralia/Chehalis/etc.
The good: Centralia especially has the cheapest(average) rent I've seen so far in the entire state. I'm truly amazed by some of these rates. And that entire general area seems very small-town, yet it seems to be "revitalizing" itself at the same time. It's also a bit closer to Oregon than some other areas, which to me is a plus(no sales tax, etc.).
The bad: I'm not sure why, given how the few posts on that area are all talking about how rural and peaceful it is, but THE CRIME STATS are insane. Is there a theft problem, a drug problem, a something else problem? I feel like I'm missing something - or maybe the problem is only in a certain tiny area and is skewing the data? Hmm.
3.) Sequim/Port Angeles.
The good: It's pretty close to Seattle, geographically speaking at least, and I consider that a plus as well. The rent isn't all that high, and, though local business seems to be concentrated around Port Angeles especially, that doesn't seem to crowd the area. My naive outsider opinion is that it looks like a relatively quiet place that combines the "art thing" and the "nature thing" nicely.
The bad: Oh, I've heard it all: There's poverty, people injecting themselves with needles in the streets, season after season of crippling allergies in store for anyone who has ever sneezed more than twice in a row, and all the beaches are private and nobody's allowed on them. Oh, and since it's vaguely near Forks, crazed Twilight fans might jump out of the bushes and sparkle at me. It CAN'T be as bad as all this - could someone please give me a local's point of view?
4.) Oak Harbor.
The good: Rent is cheap compared to the rest of the area it's in(so much so that I see other threads where people are asking why), and I've heard that it's a very laid-back area full of tolerant people.
The bad: I saw a few comments on this site about dilapidated houses, trailer parks, and kids hawking prescription drugs. But I also saw comments on another site that were turning small amounts of data into large amounts of racism/classism, so I'm not sure what to think.
5.) Bellingham(and its nearby smaller towns).
The good: It's close to Canada and seems to have a very strong "art presence". Some rentals are pretty reasonably-priced. When I told people I wanted to move to WA, this was the first suggestion I got for where I'd "fit in" the best.
The bad: It looks to me like Seattle sucks away the economy of that entire area. It also looks like a college town, and that makes me think most local entertainment and culture will be for the under-25 crowd. I don't want to feel like an old bat!
Okay, I think I'm done now...what does everybody think? Are any of these places good places? Are there potentially better places that I should take into consideration? I'm open to all suggestions and opinions(except, of course, 'No! Don't come here! You terrible person, how dare you move cross country?!').
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Ocean Shores seems the most likely choice to me, though if you are trying to sell art you will be limited to the summer tourist season, it's pretty deserted the rest of the year. Centralia/Chehalis is one of the few politically conservative areas of the western state, and not close to the ocean.
Sequim/PA has little crime compared to cities with real crime, just the same few crackheads that are everywhere. My parents are there and have had no problems. Sequim has many retirees, mostly from CA, and they have a lot of street fairs including a weekly market but people do not spend much at them. They buy produce, plants, and very cheap items, the good stuff they can't afford. In summer the vendors do better with tourists coming through on the way to Victoria by Ferry or to Hurricane Ridge.
Ocean Shores seems the most likely choice to me, though if you are trying to sell art you will be limited to the summer tourist season, it's pretty deserted the rest of the year. Centralia/Chehalis is one of the few politically conservative areas of the western state, and not close to the ocean.
Sequim/PA has little crime compared to cities with real crime, just the same few crackheads that are everywhere. My parents are there and have had no problems. Sequim has many retirees, mostly from CA, and they have a lot of street fairs including a weekly market but people do not spend much at them. They buy produce, plants, and very cheap items, the good stuff they can't afford. In summer the vendors do better with tourists coming through on the way to Victoria by Ferry or to Hurricane Ridge.
Hmm. Politically speaking, at least, Centralia/Chehalis may not be the best choice - I look like a conservative when it comes to a couple of issues, but I'm pretty liberal overall. And I of course don't want to be too far from the ocean...so...
I'll have to find out more about it, but other places may very well end up being "more for me" in the end.
As for crackheads in PA/Sequim, I agree, there are crackheads everywhere else, too - and it's hard to believe that people would willingly choose to retire to a dangerous druggie haven, especially if most of them are coming up from CA. I just wish I knew what all the "bad hype" was about for the area. Centralia had a far higher crime rate than Sequim when I looked(and for most years it was higher than PA's, too), but people have said some very nice things about it there...
Internet forums can be very baffling places.
In any case, no matter where I move in the end, it was good to have someone point out some potential places to take my art - after seeing some websites, I'm thinking Ocean Shores is more for fine art, and Sequim is more for handmade/crafty art? Either way, thank you for all your information.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slan490
Seabrook.
Seabrook looks like a really gorgeous small community...but, unfortunately, what I'm seeing seems to place it strictly in the "Places I Wish I Could Afford" category for now.
Whidbey is out because of your #4 criterium concerning being considered an outsider. "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." and "We wish we could blow up the Deception Pass bridge so that you FORIEGNERS would stay out" was common. And, if you are not NAVY, you are just gravy.
If you relax that particular criterium, I think you could get something rural on Whidbey and be okay there.
What about near Olympia? Still near the "ocean" (the very southern part of the Sound).
I can speak only about the Centralia/Chehalis area.
As for proximity to the ocean, while it isn't as close (obviously) as your other options, it is still an easy day trip.
Rents are reasonable; my son and daughter-in-law pay (I think) $550.00 for a decent one bedroom apartment. They are close to I-5, at the north end of Centralia, and they don't think twice about shooting up the freeway to Olympia to eat and/or shop or go to a movie.
Crime, mostly drug-related, does seem to be an issue (I live out in the boonies in east Lewis County so I don't live with it on a daily basis), but I know when my other son and his girlfriend rented a small house in Centralia, they couldn't leave anything out - garden hose, a chair, barbecue utensils; about the only thing that didn't get ripped off was their heavy barbecue.
We're supposed to have a very high unemployment rate (which could also contribute to the crime problem), but I don't get that, really, because two of my sons say their jobs are begging for people. My one son is part of the interview committee for his job and he said they recently interviewed eight people for a variety of openings and potential openings, and out of those eight, only four were considered "employable" (and a couple of those were debatable). My other son says the same thing about his job - they have a huge turnover where he works and his job has started recruiting out of the area for employees because they can't keep or get enough workers.
Lewis County is very conservative, although I seem to have encountered more and more people in the last couple of years who are "like me." But, yeah, I felt like I was putting my life on the line when I put my Obama/Biden bumper sticker on my truck in '08. As it was, someone stole my "I Support Gay Marriage" bumper sticker while I was parked at a restaurant in Chehalis. Again, though, I'm not terribly affected by the political differences; I mind my own business and expect others to do the same.
Anyway, it is nice that you have so many options and I hope you find the perfect fit that works for you. Welcome to the state!
Port Townsend is small, artsy, and closer to Seattle than Sequim or Port Angeles. We don't have all the big box stores that Sequim has, which is my preference, but some people like having them nearby. There are some cheap rents here, too, if you look around. I live alone here in a wooded area and feel extremely safe.
Whidbey is out because of your #4 criterium concerning being considered an outsider. "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." and "We wish we could blow up the Deception Pass bridge so that you FORIEGNERS would stay out" was common. And, if you are not NAVY, you are just gravy.
If you relax that particular criterium, I think you could get something rural on Whidbey and be okay there.
What about near Olympia? Still near the "ocean" (the very southern part of the Sound).
Hmm. Well, hopefully, that's just some of the people, and not all of them. It can be hard to tell - the worst people seem to always be the loudest. When I was growing up, I thought I was in the most prejudiced place imaginable, but I later realized it was just one particular neighborhood(and, of course, it was the one I was living in - yippee).
Of course, if what you describe really is the overall sentiment of the area, they probably wouldn't even let me move there in the first place! They'd close down the entire island on the day I arrived - or pretend to be celebrating a local holiday, every day, until I left.
(I hope nobody reading this gets any ideas! )
The Olympia area is definitely worth considering.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinebar
I can speak only about the Centralia/Chehalis area.
As for proximity to the ocean, while it isn't as close (obviously) as your other options, it is still an easy day trip.
Rents are reasonable; my son and daughter-in-law pay (I think) $550.00 for a decent one bedroom apartment. They are close to I-5, at the north end of Centralia, and they don't think twice about shooting up the freeway to Olympia to eat and/or shop or go to a movie.
Crime, mostly drug-related, does seem to be an issue (I live out in the boonies in east Lewis County so I don't live with it on a daily basis), but I know when my other son and his girlfriend rented a small house in Centralia, they couldn't leave anything out - garden hose, a chair, barbecue utensils; about the only thing that didn't get ripped off was their heavy barbecue.
We're supposed to have a very high unemployment rate (which could also contribute to the crime problem), but I don't get that, really, because two of my sons say their jobs are begging for people. My one son is part of the interview committee for his job and he said they recently interviewed eight people for a variety of openings and potential openings, and out of those eight, only four were considered "employable" (and a couple of those were debatable). My other son says the same thing about his job - they have a huge turnover where he works and his job has started recruiting out of the area for employees because they can't keep or get enough workers.
Lewis County is very conservative, although I seem to have encountered more and more people in the last couple of years who are "like me." But, yeah, I felt like I was putting my life on the line when I put my Obama/Biden bumper sticker on my truck in '08. As it was, someone stole my "I Support Gay Marriage" bumper sticker while I was parked at a restaurant in Chehalis. Again, though, I'm not terribly affected by the political differences; I mind my own business and expect others to do the same.
Anyway, it is nice that you have so many options and I hope you find the perfect fit that works for you. Welcome to the state!
Thank you for giving me so much information - both good and not so good - to work with. That's my main goal in this, to find out as much as I can and get some "eyewitness accounts" of what every area is like.
Thank you also for the early welcome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ukiyo-e
Port Townsend is small, artsy, and closer to Seattle than Sequim or Port Angeles. We don't have all the big box stores that Sequim has, which is my preference, but some people like having them nearby. There are some cheap rents here, too, if you look around. I live alone here in a wooded area and feel extremely safe.
That sounds like what I'm looking for - a small, artsy town where it's possible to live by yourself "away from the crowd" without needing to worry about what's going to happen to you.
It's a(slightly) longer drive, compared to some of others, to the place where my job would be - but, if it were to turn out to be a better "match" than the rest in terms of where I should move, I wouldn't mind.
Do you know if they let you bring your car on the ferry up there?
The ferry is a car/passenger from Port Townsend to Whidbey. I know a few people that make the commute and also there is a commuter van on the other side that goes to Coupeville, Whidbey. It is more expensive to take an auto back and forth so many choose to walk on and share rides.
If bringing a car on a ferry would be more expensive, it'd probably be better not to do it. I was just curious.
I also wanted to say thanks again to everyone, for the replies. I do still have two entire months to consider options, but the first comment is right so far - Ocean Shores really does seem like the most likely choice.
I'm definitely still open to more information, though...whether it's about a place on my list or another place I haven't looked at or thought of yet. If you're reading and you live somewhere you really love(or hate, or feel indifferent toward), let me know what you think about it.
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Again, though, I'm not terribly affected by the political differences; I mind my own business and expect others to do the same.
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