Olympia's and Bellingham's Culture, Music, and Art Scenes (Seattle, Vancouver: theatre, schools)

[backdrifter]

What are Olympia and Bellingham like in comparison to Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon? In general, and particularly in regard to the size and liveliness of their music and art scenes, the general culture/vibe of the communities, and how these communities interact with the their respective colleges?

These are two WA cities that I am really not familiar with and two OR cities that I am very familiar with. And, seeing as they're all Northwest college towns of roughly similar metro area sizes, I thought comparing and contrasting the four would be easy enough.

The reason I am asking is because I am considering going to school at Evergreen or Western (in addition to considering UW and Portland State) and I am also a musician needing an outlet to perform, and want some sort of decent culture to entertain me outside of school. I really enjoy the vibe and vibrancy of Eugene, but for various reasons, I just can't live there at this point in my life. And more importantly, U of O just doesn't feel right for me anyway.

So basically I really want to explore all of my options for schools. UW is, in theory, my dream school. I'm also taking a hard look at Evergreen too as the unique structure of its academics is very appealing to me. After that, I have Portland State which feels like a glorified community college, but has the benefits of having in-state tuition rates and being in the center of Portland's music scene, so it may win out of convenience. Western is trailing a distant third, but still in the race.

I'll be heading up next month to look at the schools (which will be the second biggest factor in the decision, the biggest factor being getting accepted ) and explore the towns. You can't always tell, however, from a quick one or two day visit how vibrant a smaller town is, so I thought I'd ask all you lovely people for some insider views on Bellingham and Olympia.

Thank you in advance!

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

What are Olympia and Bellingham like in comparison to Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon? In general, and particularly in regard to the size and liveliness of their music and art scenes, the general culture/vibe of the communities, and how these communities interact with the their respective colleges?

These are two WA cities that I am really not familiar with and two OR cities that I am very familiar with. And, seeing as they're all Northwest college towns of roughly similar metro area sizes, I thought comparing and contrasting the four would be easy enough.

The reason I am asking is because I am considering going to school at Evergreen or Western (in addition to considering UW and Portland State) and I am also a musician needing an outlet to perform, and want some sort of decent culture to entertain me outside of school. I really enjoy the vibe and vibrancy of Eugene, but for various reasons, I just can't live there at this point in my life. And more importantly, U of O just doesn't feel right for me anyway.

So basically I really want to explore all of my options for schools. UW is, in theory, my dream school. I'm also taking a hard look at Evergreen too as the unique structure of its academics is very appealing to me. After that, I have Portland State which feels like a glorified community college, but has the benefits of having in-state tuition rates and being in the center of Portland's music scene, so it may win out of convenience. Western is trailing a distant third, but still in the race.

I'll be heading up next month to look at the schools (which will be the second biggest factor in the decision, the biggest factor being getting accepted ) and explore the towns. You can't always tell, however, from a quick one or two day visit how vibrant a smaller town is, so I thought I'd ask all you lovely people for some insider views on Bellingham and Olympia.

Thank you in advance!

I actually have a degree in Music from Evergreen College (Olympia) ... (that was about 100 years ago when Evergreen first opened). I also have additional undergrad and grad. degrees from UW in Seattle. And, I happen to now live in the Bellingham area ... And my wife just received her Masters in Theatre from Western a few years back. Further, I have old friends in Eugene who teach music at U.O.

Now then, Eugene is really Eugene / Springfield ... a MUCH larger metro area than either Bellingham or Olympia -- so either of those Wash. communities will feel smaller and a bit more limited really (a good thing, imho) than Eugene.

Western has a satellite college called Fairhaven ... if you like the more "open" architecture approach to learning and experimenting, you can design your own program at Fairhaven, take advantage of all of Western's facilities and benefits, and graduate under the support umbrella of Western Wash. State.

Evergreen is also an "open" architecture college, as you apparently already know. It is a fun place.

As for the two communities, I like them both, but that is subjective. I believe you would find Western more integrated with Bellingham town life, as it is located right in town -- smack-dab in the little burg. Evergreen is nicely tucked outside of Olympia in the trees and such -- always a drive to town. Western is definitely more integrated with Bellingham than Evergreen is with Olympia.

Western IS substantially and intimately part of Bellingham's character.

Olympia IS substantially the State Capitol, more than anything else ... there is even a wee-bit of an anti-Evergreen attitude in Olympia that you would might become aware of occasionally ... nothing bad enough to really bug you, though .

There are certainly some arts and venues in both burgs. I'd say a bit more in Bellingham (but that may be splitting hairs somewhat). That said, neither town is bursting with an arts scene -- outside of the colleges. But the colleges have plenty going on themselves in the arts.

Olympia is, of course, only an hour south of Seattle -- not too tough a trek.

Bellingham is an hour and a half north of Seattle -- but also only one hour south of Vancouver, B.C. (fun!)

Olympia is wetter than Bellingham. Bellingham tends to get a bit more of the worst of the winter storms -- but that IS splitting hairs.

Cost of living in the two areas is close enough that I'm not sure there is any advantage, one over the other.

I encourage you to explore Fairhaven College at Western very thoroughly ... and definitely give Bellingham equal consideration ... take it out of "last place" and put it on at least an equal footing. If I were young and going at it all again, I would personally be all over Fairhaven/Western above your other mentioned choices -- and especially so over UW ... UW is not much for being "open", creative, free-wheeling, or friendly ... it is a grind.

Have fun making your choice and enjoy your education