Moving to WA...Gig Harbor or Olympia

[jlud]

Bought a place between Port Orchard and GH. Have been very impressed with the area and people as well. Really looking forward to getting out there!

Thanks for all the help and opinions.

[Diana Holbrook]

Congratulations!

[Angry-Koala]

Originally Posted by jlud

Bought a place between Port Orchard and GH. Have been very impressed with the area and people as well. Really looking forward to getting out there!

Thanks for all the help and opinions.

Nice area. I think you'll like it.

[therese marie]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

There are also some very large development projects in the planning stage for the greater Shelton area... stay tuned.

ohhhhh please tell ♥ I love living in Shelton.. ( Lake Limerick)

[NorthernFog]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Hi, good morning!

On the subject of RV camping first... I think you should be able to find great places to camp... from the beach, to the mountains, with or without hookups for the RV. You'll find both kinds, with the more rustic campgrounds being without hookups and a little quieter. There are state parks, and state forests, like Capital Forest outside Olympia, with a lot of nice camping right close by. For a longer drive, you can camp right on the ocean, or go to the mountains. I think you could spend a few years before you explored all the campgrounds within an easy drive.

Gig Harbor.... Gig Harbor is has a very cute old town right in the harbor.... lined with touristy shops, restaurants and galleries, it has the quaint fishing village feel, and is a favorite destination for boaters because it's easily walkable along the waterfront.

Up the hill away from the harbor, you'll find the more recent growth and all the modern stores.... Gig Harbor now has all the big box stores, Costco, Home Depot, Walmart not too far, strip malls, theaters, services, even a hospital now... everything a nice high end community should have. And all pretty spanky new. Gig Harbor has grown quickly in recent years.

There is a toll on the bridge headed East bound into Tacoma. It's $6 now, $5 with the GoodToGo Pass that bills to your account automatically and doesn't require a stop. They charge by the axle so if your RV is a double axle trailer? It'll be $10 or $12. If you're a daily commuter, the tolls can be a major consideration. If it's just occasional, it may not break the bank... just an added expense... until I think 2030.

There has been a lot of new sprawl around Gig Harbor, but it doesn't take a LONG time to get out of town were you could have a small acreage.... affordably. We could talk more about that if you want, but prices in Gig Harbor will have a few tiers based on waterfront views and proximity to certain parts of town. None *bad*, but waterfront and water views are expensive, and tend to affect the averages quite a bit. Out on the peninsula, it gets quite rural pretty quickly, with a few tiny towns, and a lot of 5 acre properties surrounded by timber lands.







In the Olympia area.... in your searching I would consider Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey fairly equivalent, especially once you head out of town a few minutes. You might say there's more country properties in the areas outside Olympia than Gig Harbor, mostly because we are not constrained by water out here In general, anything within a 10 minute or so commute to I-5 feels like it's not far to anywhere. That seems to be the measure for most folk in how long it takes to get anywhere, how far is it to I-5? - there's a sweet spot for everyone in that answer. Some need an easy commute, some want to get far from it.

As far as the amenities in 'town'.... You will find all the big chain stores in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater... Olympia has the "old town"... the downtown touristy shops and restaurants that visitors and boaters come for... and a nice walkable boardwalk. Tumwater grew up having the Olympia brewery that was the center of employment and pride, but that's closed down now. It's now where much of the new state government building has expanded to. Lots of state offices in Tumwater now. Not a bad thing, but more people! Tumwater did a nice job in setting up a design review process for new growth and there is a nice coordinated feel to the buildings, with brick and green roofs and sidewalks and public art. Lacey missed that boat, and the early sprawl in Lacey left Lacey without a cohesive feel or a plan. It kindof just sprawls on and on in places, lots of strip malls... But a lot of housing too.... and there is a lot of new home development out there at all levels. Rural Tumwater area heads south and west out of town where a lot of the woodsy small acreages are.

I don't know what your budget or your tastes are yet, or what kind of acreage and four legged critters you have and I don't want to make this post too much longer, but maybe we can talk about that in follow up conversations. Outside of Olympia, you can still find 5 acre parcels with a home starting around $250K for basic necessities... on up to the moon for fancier digs, with the median being about $300-350 for a place with some acres and outbuildings? Depends on distance from town, again, and prices are steadily going up. Gig Harbor might be a little more to start if close to town, with the same full range of options above that.

It just depends!

Is there a town or an area outside Olympia that is any less rainy? Olympia is supposed to be about 50"/year.

[Diana Holbrook]

Rainy in winter is our climate… If there are Doug Fir trees, it probably rains a lot.

[fluffydelusions]

Originally Posted by NorthernFog

Is there a town or an area outside Olympia that is any less rainy? Olympia is supposed to be about 50"/year.

If you go a bit further north into the rain shadow it will be less rainy. For instance Tacoma gets 39". That said don't concentrate too much on the actual amount of rain. Look at the number of days it rains and you will realize you won't notice too much a difference. Tacoma - 149 rainy days while Olympia gets 162. The whole of western Washington is grey and rainy for a good bit of the year...no way around that. If you want less you really have to look at the eastern part of the state.

[jlud]

OP checking in....all is good here yet. I am 99% sure I was responsible from bringing two things from the Midwest with me last year...a tornado in Port Orchard and 16” of snow....one a never and the other once in 20 years....

Anyways, wife absolutely loves it here and tons for kids to do. Nice people, feel like we are in a quiet area with everything we need close by without having to go into heavy traffic.

Thanks again for helping us pick....From what we have seen so far, if wife could change we would be by San Juan Islands. I might pick the Skagit valley area or outside Anacortes, so many nice places but alas work locations and airport access

[dav51lin]

gig harbor very very expensive

[dav51lin]

Originally Posted by fluffydelusions

If you go a bit further north into the rain shadow it will be less rainy. For instance Tacoma gets 39". That said don't concentrate too much on the actual amount of rain. Look at the number of days it rains and you will realize you won't notice too much a difference. Tacoma - 149 rainy days while Olympia gets 162. The whole of western Washington is grey and rainy for a good bit of the year...no way around that. If you want less you really have to look at the eastern part of the state.

exactly