Country Living around Olympia, WA (open to other locations too) (Yelm: crime, home)

[anneogg]

I went on zillow and I drew the area around PA and further east since it looks more in line to what we want. I found some nice places in these areas:
Bremerton, Gig Harbor, Silverdale, Indianola, Belfast, Oak Harbor, Port Townsend, Camano Island, Allyn, Olalla, Port Orchard, Port Ludlow, Kingston, Sequim, Lake Bay, Coupville, Kingston, Quilcene, Langley and a few others that I can't recall.
Anything particular to know about those areas?
Thank you in advance!

[prosin]

Hi, Diana! Welcome to the forum.

I have to ask the tough question--any family plans (that is, raising children) in the future? That will also affect our answers, as there are some areas with better school districts to recommend (forgive me if I didn't see that in your original post).

If you do set your sights on North Kitsap County (Poulsbo, Kingston, Suquamish, Hansville, Indianola), I'll be glad to help where I can.

Heads up--housing prices are expected to rise quickly here over the next few years as a new fast ferry is expected to start service next year between Kingston and Seattle (and it may be more successful than previous ventures). Until the impact of the fast ferry is known, it is difficult to determine if our current quality of life will stay unchanged or will suffer due to an unknown influx of population.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, more and more people are moving into small towns on the Olympic Peninsula, like Port Townsend and Sequim, and also the Kitsap Peninsula, so that those areas are in need of an additional medical practice. Pt. T. has one MD for the whole town (primary care doc, that is), and that one guy is now stretched very thin. The hospital in the area has been talking about hiring a primary care doc. Bellingham may be in a similar situation, as there's been a tremendous influx of retirees, CA drought refugees, and harsh-winter refugees from the NE and Upper Midwest moving in, the last few years.

Something to keep in mind. Also, there's an Indian tribe situated in-between Pt Townsend and Sequim, that operates a public clinic. You could look there for an opening for an MD, or stop by and talk with them, if you tour the general area, which you should, to acquaint yourself with the beautiful scenery, the towns, the vibe, etc.

[CrazyDonkey]

Historically, the Olympic Peninsula has had a resource-dependent economy (logging, mills, fishing, etc.). Tourism is becoming a bigger part of the economy, although it is a short season. Retirees have been moving to Port Townsend, Sequim, and increasingly Port Angeles. Rural areas in western Washington generally have meth and opiate addiction problems, and higher property crime rates - PA is no different, although not as bad as Aberdeen/Hoquiam or Shelton, for instance. Just figure putting in an effective security system as part of your housing costs.

[anneogg]

Originally Posted by prosin

Hi, Diana! Welcome to the forum.

I have to ask the tough question--any family plans (that is, raising children) in the future? That will also affect our answers, as there are some areas with better school districts to recommend (forgive me if I didn't see that in your original post).

If you do set your sights on North Kitsap County (Poulsbo, Kingston, Suquamish, Hansville, Indianola), I'll be glad to help where I can.

Heads up--housing prices are expected to rise quickly here over the next few years as a new fast ferry is expected to start service next year between Kingston and Seattle (and it may be more successful than previous ventures). Until the impact of the fast ferry is known, it is difficult to determine if our current quality of life will stay unchanged or will suffer due to an unknown influx of population.

Hello, our move is not dependent on the school system as i homeschool my son, and will probably continue to do so if we have more children in the future. We still have plenty of time to decide on a location as i have to wait for my husband to finish school in 2020 and that might stretch to 2022 if he decides to specialize. We'd like to broaden our options for relocation places early on. Thank you for your willingness to help!

[anneogg]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, more and more people are moving into small towns on the Olympic Peninsula, like Port Townsend and Sequim, and also the Kitsap Peninsula, so that those areas are in need of an additional medical practice. Pt. T. has one MD for the whole town (primary care doc, that is), and that one guy is now stretched very thin. The hospital in the area has been talking about hiring a primary care doc. Bellingham may be in a similar situation, as there's been a tremendous influx of retirees, CA drought refugees, and harsh-winter refugees from the NE and Upper Midwest moving in, the last few years.

Something to keep in mind. Also, there's an Indian tribe situated in-between Pt Townsend and Sequim, that operates a public clinic. You could look there for an opening for an MD, or stop by and talk with them, if you tour the general area, which you should, to acquaint yourself with the beautiful scenery, the towns, the vibe, etc.

Hello, thank you for that information. I should probably mention that my husband will become a dentist, not an MD. If he decides to specialize (which he's strongly thinking about) we might have to wait another 2 years after 2020 to make our move. I'm sure many things will change until then, but since i'm a "planner" i like to keep things in perspective and know more about the areas that might become our home. We've even ventured into thinking about the east coast, in states such as New Hampshire and Maine. But the more i researched, the more i thought we belong here on the west coast. If possibility presents itself to find something in Northern California (Sierra foothills/Humboldt County) we will take it, at least for the first few years.

Any thoughts on the area around Oregon/Washington border, near Vancouver?

[anneogg]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Historically, the Olympic Peninsula has had a resource-dependent economy (logging, mills, fishing, etc.). Tourism is becoming a bigger part of the economy, although it is a short season. Retirees have been moving to Port Townsend, Sequim, and increasingly Port Angeles. Rural areas in western Washington generally have meth and opiate addiction problems, and higher property crime rates - PA is no different, although not as bad as Aberdeen/Hoquiam or Shelton, for instance. Just figure putting in an effective security system as part of your housing costs.

Thank you so much for this informative post. Hopefully, we'll make a trip up there to get a feel for the area.
Should i inquire about the traffic in that area?! I cannot imagine it is anywhere near to what we have to deal with here in SoCal.

[CrazyDonkey]

Other than some jams on 101 through Sequim, which is where most of the population growth has occurred, traffic shouldn't be a major concern. Traffic increases during the tourist season (June-September), of course, including back-ups for crossing the Hood Canal Floating Bridge or for the ferries.

Income in the Port Angeles area will be lower, but so will costs of living and doing business.

[Eriol]

Hi Anneogg, I'm Bo, just joined city-data and read your post and it is exactly what I'm looking for, except that I'm retiring in 2021 and not starting careers as you and your family are doing. I also live inSoCal so I know exactly what you mean about neighbors' proximity and lack of trees and the general pace of life and vibe. I just sent you a befriend request. If you are willing, I would like to keep contact with you as the living environment we are both looking for is so similar. In fact, I just came back from a trip to the southwest of France as I think I might be better able to find what i want in Europe. But for the language problem, I would say yes without hesitation. So I am planning a trip next year to Oregon/Washington to see if i can find something similar here in the US. Hope to hear from you.

[Sandy Nelson]

Anneogg,

I, too, am from Europe. I married a NJ boy, and due to his work, had to move quite a bit and travelled in our free time. Our desire to retire in a place we can love and feel comfortable in has landed us in Olympia, WA. The geography and climate reminds me of my home country. I also feel more comfortable with the Washington political climate than I did living in Texas and Oklahoma. Olympia became our choice location for several reasons, some of which were that we're less than 1 hour from an international airport (we still love to travel and receive overseas guests and family), the location directly on the south sound (water views just going into town, kayaking, waterfront restaurants, board walk etc.), close proximity to the mountain and to ocean beaches, easy drive time to Seattle and Portland for daytrips, a robust economy due to plenty of state jobs and federal jobs, great variety of cultural venues and events (3 local colleges and arts-minded populace), plentiful availability of amenities such as shopping, good restaurants and recreation. The best bonus for me is that Olympia has an authentic downtown with local shops and restaurants and a fantastic farmers market to boost. We've not regretted our choice of where we planted ourselves. I work as a Realtor and can tell you that you will have a hard time finding stucco homes, like the ones you've posted as "favorites". The dominant building style in this neck of the woods is craftsman style. I'm very bored with that look and wish we had more modern architecture. I'm currently building a modern, more European looking home in Olympia. The good news for you are the much lower prices for property than in California. Finding an affordable country home on acreage with beautiful views of hills and trees won't be hard, especially if you go a bit to the west and south of town.
Keep us posted where you end up settling.
Best of luck.

Sandy