Conservative religious Centralia/Lewis County?

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by PS90

Don't worry about Seacove, OP. He loves to tell everyone who doesn't think like him that they shouldn't live in Washington.

I'm upping the ante. I'm thinking we're full and no one else can move here unless you want them on your side of the mountains. Guys we have rain, low clouds, short winter days, earthquakes, tsunamis and Bigfoot!

[PS90]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I'm upping the ante. I'm thinking we're full and no one else can move here unless you want them on your side of the mountains. Guys we have rain, low clouds, short winter days, earthquakes, tsunamis and Bigfoot!

Okay. I agree with you there. Washington sucks!

[Doctor Gringo]

I'm a Seattle area native who's lived in Lewis County most of the past two+ decades. It's definitely more conservative here than the vast majority of places on the I-5 corridor between the Canadian border and Eugene; I'd say we're the most solid Red county in that span. Economically it's that way because there simply isn't the money here (although we have county commissioners who are happy to spend as if there was), but that means the house that would cost you $600K in Seattle or $450K in Portland will cost under $200K in Centralia or Chehalis.

Social conservatism is pretty much the order of the day here as well, although it's not so omnipresent as to stifle liberals entirely. There were protests during the Iraq War in Centralia and there's a mural commemorating the IWW across the street from a park where the protests took place. One poster said it's about a 60/40 split in the Twin Cities and I'd concur. Republicans occupy every partisan office in the county, but Democrats don't need to congregate in sleeper cells. I find more genuine diversity of thought here than in Seattle, believe it or not. Never thought I'd hear myself say that but Seattle and Portland are cities where monochromatic thinking is VERY strongly encouraged (to say the least)...here, you'll get genuine debates between both sides, which I think is healthy as long as neither goes overboard. Still, a Trump or Johnson voter will feel more at home here than an HRC or Stein supporter.

FWIW, crime does have a presence here, partly because we're at the midway point between two major cities on a major freeway. Most of it seems to be property crime (no homicides in Chehalis since pre-2000) and Centralia has more of it. I'd advise looking at Chehalis before trying Centralia, ESPECIALLY if you have kids: Better schools, better local government, lower crime rate.

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by jacqueg

Like the rest of Oregon and Washington, smaller cities and rural areas are more conservative than the larger metro areas. I don't think it is especially "churchy" conservative, it's more the no-new-taxes, don't-touch-my-guns kind of conservatism.

This liberal atheist has been comfortable in the PNW for the past 40 years, and has never felt uncomfortable, even though I've spent considerable time in the more conservative hinterlands. Although homosexuality and abortion are big issues for some folks in these areas, there's a pretty strong libertarian streak here - people may disapprove of how you live, and won't be shy about letting you know, but unless you really get in their faces, your chances of being actively harassed are pretty low.

What's your interest?

If its anything like New England or New Hampshire, I'd definitely like it. I see some comparisons in the 2.