Port Angeles vs Sequim? (Seattle, Tacoma: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[sean98125]

My mom moved there ten years ago. She made offers on several houses in PA and Sequim that fell through because of mold issues.

I actually like downtown PA better than downtown Sequim. There are still more real stores than boutiques and you get the feeling that you could do all of your shopping, furnish your house, and buy a wardrobe without leaving town and without hitting the chain stores. Sequim's "downtown" is quickly changing to a more suburban feel with big box stores and the associated traffic problems around them. (Why on earth would you install traffic rotaries in a town filled with retired people?)

Port Angeles does have some more rough edges than Sequim, but due to the geography of the city it almost seems like every house has a view.

[Idunn]

I found a better map once but don't know where it is. However this map will provide an idea of approximate weather patterns:
http://www.ocs.orst.edu/pub/maps/Precipitation/Total/States/WA/wa.gif (broken link)

My understanding that Sequim fairly unique in enjoying a somewhat moderate climate in an otherwise very wet peninsula. And that this doesn't extend very far out. While falling within this rain shadow to an extent, Port Angeles sees more rain. I read somewhere that one could calculate rainfall amounts by the mile moved farther west.

Have yet to visit Sequim. Port Angles seemed to me a lovely location that deserved a prettier town. But okay, I suppose, and certainly lovely in certain residential areas.

Sequim isn't that far away, but one big advantage of Port Angeles is being literally at the front door of Olympic National Park. The Park headquarters is just a few blocks removed to the south from central downtown. Given the remote nature of the Park other access points are a long drive from anywhere, even Port Angeles, but access to Hurricane Ridge is right at your doorstep. To me, in any event, that would be the reason to live there.

[mrainwater]

This thread has been helpfull. Anybody have any info on Port Angels as far as things that teen's might like? I might be moving there with my 16 and 18 year old daughters. We would be comming from San Diego. A small town is something that I love, but my youngest girl knows only big towns. Any info would be nice.

[acwhite96]

Originally Posted by mrainwater

This thread has been helpfull. Anybody have any info on Port Angels as far as things that teen's might like? I might be moving there with my 16 and 18 year old daughters. We would be comming from San Diego. A small town is something that I love, but my youngest girl knows only big towns. Any info would be nice.

There really isn't much here as far as shopping. My daughter would rather ride the ferry over to Lynwood and hang out at the mall there. Silverdale which is about an hour and half away has an ok mall. There really isn't a "main" attraction in Sequim or PA. I have heard there is some pretty good surfing just West of PA. You should visit to get a feel of what is here. We have lived here almost a year and still trying to get used to things.

Sequim seems to be friendlier. Guess since it is more the retirees here, life just seems good. Passed a lady from Auburn in Walmart and she was shocked that her stuff wasn't check when she was walking out the door. She just couldn't believe how nice this area really is. It is and I wish we didn't have to leave, but we are needing to be back in the drier climate.

[citydatauser]

Originally Posted by madicarus2000

There is a joke about Sequim, it’s filled with old retired people and their parents.

Originally Posted by swsha4

I think that is an unfair assessment of Sequim.

Haha thats just a joke that many people in this area share. it may be unfair.. but thats that.

[citydatauser]

Originally Posted by barnacle9

I grew up in Port Townsend.

When I was younger, Sequim was a cute little retirement/farming community in the middle of nowhere.

Recently, I went through Sequim on my way to PA. Sequim is full of retired people living in ugly tract projects these days. I barely recognized it.

PA has not changed much - large small town, but not a bad place to be.

Good luck

Originally Posted by swsha4

Isn't it funny how different people have different reactions. Mine was exactly opposite. I found PA to be one big box store and fast food place after another, just another McTown, a bastion for corporate America to sell it's crap. Whereas Sequim had a lovely old section with lots of small shops owned by locals. There were some nice restaurants and coffee shops too. The old town area was lovely and so were all the areas along the Bay and the Strait.

In the last few years a lot of big box stores going in sequim. Now, there are more there than there are in Port Angeles. PA has a bunch of nice local shops Downtown. Sequim also has an area of shops but the big box stores are running many of them out of business. swsha4, you probably just didnt travel down the road far enough where they are building the box stores and strip malls.

[citydatauser]

Originally Posted by mrainwater

This thread has been helpfull. Anybody have any info on Port Angels as far as things that teen's might like? I might be moving there with my 16 and 18 year old daughters. We would be comming from San Diego. A small town is something that I love, but my youngest girl knows only big towns. Any info would be nice.

Some good things about port angeles is, as Idunn said, Port angeles has the Olympic National Park at its back door with miles and miles of trails. Port Angeles is a short drive to Hurricane Ridge and Lake Crescent. In fact, Lake Crescent is one of my favorite places to go in the summer. Also, Port Angeles is right across the water from Victory, BC, Canada. All you gotta do is hop on a ferry in downtown PA and you are on your way there!

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by mrainwater

This thread has been helpfull. Anybody have any info on Port Angels as far as things that teen's might like? I might be moving there with my 16 and 18 year old daughters. We would be comming from San Diego. A small town is something that I love, but my youngest girl knows only big towns. Any info would be nice.

I've lived in both Port Angeles and Sequim. Sequim is a former farming community; PA a former mill town. Sequim makes me think of a bit of Kansas plunked down in a flat place between the mountains and sea. Port Angeles has the waterfront and the college, but overall has a seedy feel to it.

Since you're moving to the area with teens, I'd recommend Sequim over Port Angeles. I'm familiar with both school systems, and Sequim is head and shoulders above PA in terms of quality and program diversity. Neither town has a hopping night life, but both offer local theater, restaurants and symphony. Port Angeles has a few nightclubs; Sequim has a casino that offers a lot of social and musical events. There are two theaters in Port Angeles; the newest one is on the eastern edge of town and is only 10 minutes from Sequim.

Sequim is 15 miles from Port Angeles, and most times of the day you can go between the two in 15-20 minutes. At "heavy" traffic times, it might take 35 minutes. So commuting is very doable, and the local bus system makes it easy.

As far as the "strip malls" go, we don't really have them. We've got a WalMart, Costco and Home Depot on the west end of town, along with some smaller businesses, but it's not miles of strip malls. If you drive north on the main road for 2 miles, or west for 1 mile, you're in the country, passing lavender and dairy farms. I live on the edge of the town and pass cows and goats on my way to work every morning. There is a lot of new building, some of it not terribly great, but it's a far cry from the urban sprawl of most cities.

As far as mold is concerned, I had a lot more in Port Angeles than in Sequim. Sequim is much drier, and there are often times when it will be raining in PA and clear in Sequim. There are trade-offs, but overall I think Sequim has more to offer.

[vanbao]

Originally Posted by smith0624

It looks like we will be relocating to this area next summer for approximately 4 years. We are trying to decided what community would be a better fit for us-Port Angeles or Sequim. My husband will be working in Port Angeles and I will probably go to the college there. We are in our early thirties, no kids. We're probably going to rent a house. We enjoy the outdoors, and we also have an active social life where we live now which is warm, sunny Florida! However we are looking forward to change and want to embrace the area during our limited time there. I'd love to hear any advice or thoughts you may have. Thanks!

If you want to raise a family, I would pick Squim. My wife grew up there and she loved it. There is not much there in term of fun for the little kids but if you have kids, you don't want them to go hang out at places anyway. Plus, it is only a few minutes away from Port Angeles.

Plus now with the redirection of the freeway, Squim is growing very fast.

I love the Dungenous Spit there (spelling).

[citydatauser]

Originally Posted by MerryKate

I'm familiar with both school systems, and Sequim is head and shoulders above PA in terms of quality and program diversity.

PA offers more (and atleast i think, better) programs than sequim. One of my cousins just transfered to Sequim and he said they dont offer as many classes. However, due to declining enrollment in PA, they are having to cut many classes. but, there are plans being drawn up for a proposal to build a new high school in PA. i am currently taking classes a Peninsula College and North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center in PA. it is really nice to have all these education opportunities right at our fingertips.