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No,no no. Aberdeen & Hoquiam are famously depressing and get huge amounts of rainfall. There is even talk about high suicide rates there. N of that area is nothing but corporate tree farms. S of that area is depressing too. Head east towards either Olympia, or south to the Long Beach Peninsula, where you have the Ocean Beach Hospital and Ocean Beach Medical Clinic, the new Womens' Clinic, and the Columbia Memorial Hospital 15 min away over the bridge in Astoria, OR. This SW Wa area is high in retirees and vacationers, and will bring you more satisfaction as far as beach access/social life/community involvement/medical-networking/drop dead scenery. The Oly Wa area is full of gov employees and a neat downtown area. Your thoughts?
Anyone else have any opinions on the Aberdeen area? I have been doing some more research and it seems there are 5 hospitals around the Aberdeen area and all 5 are hiring Nurses like C-R-A-Z-E-E!!!!
I just wonder if anyone else would like to tell me truthfully how it's going in the area. Would like to know how decent the schools are from grade 5 and up? How is the drug situation? Gangs to worry about? Violent crimes? Etc.
Appreciate any help we can get, looking at a June 2012 move there.
Anyone else have any opinions on the Aberdeen area? I have been doing some more research and it seems there are 5 hospitals around the Aberdeen area and all 5 are hiring Nurses like C-R-A-Z-E-E!!!!
I just wonder if anyone else would like to tell me truthfully how it's going in the area. Would like to know how decent the schools are from grade 5 and up? How is the drug situation? Gangs to worry about? Violent crimes? Etc.
Appreciate any help we can get, looking at a June 2012 move there.
Five hospitals in the Aberdeen area? I guess if you count Veterinarians offices.
Yes they are hiring nurses and most likely it will be working with really uplifting patients like long term care elderly. IF she manages to get on at Community Hospital she will see first hand much of Aberdeen and Grays Harbors wildlife that gives it a bad name (get ready for lots of toothless, no hygiene, or grossly obese many of them are drunks or druggies)
Also be ready for a strong anti Community Hospital feeling from residents here. It is the bottom of the barrel place and people are routinely flown to better hospitals simply because of its inability to treat them.
The schools suck. The realtors and other cheer leaders (all of whom have a personal stake in you moving here) will tell you they are great but the schools bite. I went back to school a few years ago in my 30s and was amazed how many kids from the local schools could barely read or write.
Drugs - pretty much everywhere and as the economy goes deeper in the toilet it will only get worse
Gangs - Mostly hispanic (Surenos) with a few smaller Crip allied gangs. So far an occasional tagging incident or boxing contest with no gunfire. There are also a few 1%ers but they tend to keep a low profile and not bother anyone.
The disparity between the haves and have nots is really obvious here. Don't be shocked when you talk to someone who has been working hard at the same job for 15 years and has yet to make 12 bucks an hour or have any benefits. Try not to be angry when talking to a lazoid 18 or 19 year old kid just out of high school lands a 35-40 dollar an hour job with the county or city with simply because they share the same last name as a mayor or county commissioner.
Its a very depressing place that contrary to what the cheerleaders claim hasn't gotten any better, and won't get any better until the old timber power structure assumes room temperature and new blood takes over
Hospital/medical center in Aberdeen:
GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (915 ANDERSON DRIVE)
Other hospitals/medical centers near Aberdeen:
MARK REED HOSPITAL (about 27 miles; MCCLEARY, WA)
WILLAPA HARBOR HOSPITAL (about 29 miles; SOUTH BEND, WA)
MASON GENERAL HOSPITAL (about 38 miles; SHELTON, WA)
All we really care about is staying near a good Medical area for the wife's occupation, decent priced apartments and homes for rent (not looking to buy anytime soon in this economy) and when I say decent priced I mean around 600-800 a month for 3 bdrm 2 bath, we currently pay 650.00 now for a 3 bdrm, 1 bath house with a detached 1 car garage in a great neighborhood in Indiana, but we are sick of the allergy problems, humidity and crime around central Indiana.
We have a daughter who will be going into the 6th grade when we get there, we would like decent schools where the kids can at least read & write worth a crap, around Indiana I see 12th graders who still can't spell words like "really, decide, terminal"...it is terrible.
As I said before wanting a low crime area and would like to stay away from high sex offender areas, seen Shelton alone had 106 sex offenders, my mouth dropped when I seen that, per population that is a LOT.
If anyone has any suggestions please let us know, been looking at Tumwater area today, but it seems anything you want to rent there apartment wise is 1000+ for 3bdrm and all the 2 bdrms are real tiny
Hospital/medical center in Aberdeen:
GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (915 ANDERSON DRIVE)
Other hospitals/medical centers near Aberdeen:
MARK REED HOSPITAL (about 27 miles; MCCLEARY, WA)
WILLAPA HARBOR HOSPITAL (about 29 miles; SOUTH BEND, WA)
MASON GENERAL HOSPITAL (about 38 miles; SHELTON, WA)
All we really care about is staying near a good Medical area for the wife's occupation, decent priced apartments and homes for rent (not looking to buy anytime soon in this economy) and when I say decent priced I mean around 600-800 a month for 3 bdrm 2 bath, we currently pay 650.00 now for a 3 bdrm, 1 bath house with a detached 1 car garage in a great neighborhood in Indiana, but we are sick of the allergy problems, humidity and crime around central Indiana.
We have a daughter who will be going into the 6th grade when we get there, we would like decent schools where the kids can at least read & write worth a crap, around Indiana I see 12th graders who still can't spell words like "really, decide, terminal"...it is terrible.
As I said before wanting a low crime area and would like to stay away from high sex offender areas, seen Shelton alone had 106 sex offenders, my mouth dropped when I seen that, per population that is a LOT.
If anyone has any suggestions please let us know, been looking at Tumwater area today, but it seems anything you want to rent there apartment wise is 1000+ for 3bdrm and all the 2 bdrms are real tiny
Thanks to all for their input, it's appreciated.
Try Oly. Your close enough to both Mark Reed and Mason General to commute and its 100x better than Aberdeen
Hi Brent,
I just read your post, and after 3 years of living in Aberdeen, I moved to Israel in 2009. I am also a Computer Hardware Technician and I had my own business going to people's homes in Aberdeen and throughout Grays Harbor County and repairing people's machine. The best advice I can give you is there weren't hardly any honest Computer techs there, and I made a real following of loyal customers who not only liked my work and liked my prices and how I did business, and didn't cheat them. So my advice is keep your prices really low and expect to extend credit to some people. These people don't have a lot of money to spend so you can't charge what you did when you lived in the city. Also if you're really honest and good with the people and keep your prices low, expect to be really busy fixing computers, and be willing to travel to peoples homes to repair machines. But one thing for certain there is if you cheat one person or do work that doesn't need to be done, word spreads really fast there, and you'll never work there again. But if you treat the people nice and you're honest and honorable and don't cheat them or charge too much, expect word to spread as well, and you will be really busy. Also again if you do move there and fix computers there, those are my people there, and I love them all! So treat them well and feel free to mention my name. Most people know me there for fixing computers
We want to move to the Aberdeen area... can anyone tell us the pros and cons... and what cities in the area or parts of Aberdeen do not flood?
Thanks!
Pros: Aberdeen is cheap and a short drive from the coast.
Cons: It's a sh*thole meth-haven with a lot of crime (mostly property crime, thefts, etc), dilapidated buildings downtown, poverty, etc. It's about as "third-world" as Washington gets. Oh, and the traffic whenever they close the Simpson bridge (bridges Aberdeen and Hoquiam). It was once known as "the hell-hole of the pacific" in the late 19th and early 20th century. It lives up to it to this day.
I am thinking about relocating, I am not looking for all the hype of the big cities after living in the big cities with all the crime and the shootings I am willing to travel 30 min for my job not a huge issue.
Thank you for the information and if my job goes through I will be looking in Westport Aberdeen area information was helpful a lot
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmsea
Quick summary:
Pro's: small town feel, close to the most beautiful parts of Washington (South Beach/Tokeland/Westport, Quinault Rainforest), affordable housing, good schools for K-8, insignificant crime when compared to major cities, friendly people (if you are a friendly person), no traffic (except when a bridge is up)
Cons: small towns lack resources, weak academics for secondary education, economy is still struggling to find itself after decline of mill/fishing industries
The long version:
Hi! I live in Westport, which is a beach community about 20 minutes from Aberdeen/Hoquiam. Westport is a small beach town. It's a small community, and if you like your peace and quiet, and you like the ocean, this is the place for you. Westport is home to a world class marina, a small grocery store (the Red Apple), an active Senior Center, a decent small school district for k-12, a post office, and a small library. The town comes to life during fishing season, starting in April with the Crab Festival/Crab Races, and going all summer long with various seasons for fishing and various festivals. Even on the busiest, hottest summer day, you can walk out on the beach and be only one of handful of people out there. There are some really great restaurants in town and some fun shopping down on the Marina.
Aberdeen/Hoquiam are the two cities that comprise the Grays Harbor Metro area. This area used to be home to booming fishing and timber industries, and then kind of deteriorated along the 80's and 90's.
Before I came here, I had a pretty negative view of the place, so be prepared for that, especially from the Seattle forum. But its actually a great place to live.
Housing prices are very affordable. You can rent a small home for around $500. For a little more you can actually live in Westport and live walking distance to the beach. If you are looking to buy, there are lots of large lots available - the closer to the beach, the more expensive. I have also seen some great acreage-properties along the many local rivers that are very reasonable.
Weather is slightly milder than Seattle, (with the exception of the 2 - 3 severe winter storms a year - like the big wind storm that just blew 80 MPH winds ). It doesn't get quite as hot as Seattle in July and August, and it doesn't get quite as cold as Seattle in January and February. It might snow once or twice a year, but more often than not, it will not snow at all.
Shopping is a little bit of a chore. There is a Safeway and Top Foods in Aberdeen, and the local chain, Swansons is okay, but the local mall is kind of depressing. (Except for the new theaters, which are nice). If you want anything other than groceries, walmart or building supplies, you are about 45 minutes away from the nearest Costco, Target or Macy's.
However, the pluses is that you are in a nice small community, no commute, relatively low crime (compared to the city), and you are within 30 minutes to some of the most pristine rain forests, and just a hop skip and a jump from Westport, which has 18 miles of sandy beaches. It is the most popular surf beach north of California, great for fishing, clamming and crabbing, and just a great place to spend your off days.
Other communities you might consider near here are Grayland and Tokeland (south of Westport), Ocosta (on the Bay), and Cosmopolis (outside of South Aberdeen). Elma and Montesano are the inland communities of Grays Harbor
If you want more info on Grays Harbor, let me know, I'm happy to share. Check out the local newspaper (google The Daily World Aberdeen) to look at classifieds for rentals, and local news.
Like I said, be prepared for the negative comments from people that didn't like it here... there seem to be a lot of them. I have found the community to be welcoming and the surroundings to be a joy. If you take advantage of what the area has to offer, stay out and about, get involved in things like the Elks or Lions or Chamber or your church, you'll like it. If you need to be coddled with modern amenities, a fancy mall with a gap and a costco, you'll probably hate it.
I am thinking about relocating, I am not looking for all the hype of the big cities after living in the big cities with all the crime and the shootings I am willing to travel 30 min for my job not a huge issue.
Thank you for the information and if my job goes through I will be looking in Westport Aberdeen area information was helpful a lot
We just moved up here last month from Western Idaho, so this is coming from a major outsiders perspective. We relocated for my husband's job. I would not move up here unless you have a job lined up, the place is still in an economy crisis and it clearly shows. The people are nice and friendly if you are.
Aberdeen is ok. There are parts of it I love and parts I hate. We live on the south side, and we were lucky enough to find a place to rent in a very quiet, safe place but there are areas I would avoid completely. Rent is cheaper then the big city, we pay 750 for a nice 3/1 with a fenced yard.
Like someone else said, you see a huge difference in the people who work and have money and those that don't. There are a large homeless/transit community, lots of addicts, and lots of crime related to that, but I personally haven't seen it.
Shopping is limited if you are used to Seattle, but there are all the necessities; walmart, bimart (which opens this month), ross, staples, safeway, grocery outlet, a handful of local grocery chains, and a few more places I can't think of right now. Plus just about all the basic fast food joints. We came from a town of 5000 so we have been content with the shopping, plus Olympia is a short drive away.
I think it just depends on what you are looking for. If you have a job, can find a good place, and don't mind a smaller town close to the ocean and can live with the constant gray weather it isn't bad. I think a lot of the drugs, crime, politics and dislikes all depend on who you spend time with and where you are located.
If I had a kid in high school I'd look into Montesano for schools, but since we don't I am ok being in Aberdeen.
That is just my two cents. It is all about perspective. And lets face it there is no such thing as a perfect town, and no matter where you live there will be someone to complain. When we told people we were having to transfer up here everyone would say that it was a horrible place to live, but we have yet to feel that way!
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Hi Brent
