Moving From Across The Country (Seattle, Tacoma: apartment, school, living in)

[Miss Deep South]

I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and currently live in Tennessee. But, after three years here, my husband and I have decided to move to the Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula area. It will be about two years, however, as I have to finish school first. We want to avoid Seattle and Tacoma--after Atlanta, I'm done with large cities. The places we are focusing on the most are Olympia, and Port Angeles, but we aren't ruling out any other places (except Seattle and Tacoma). I've done a lot of research, but there's nothing like getting the facts straight from people who live there.

I was wondering about the cost of living in these two cities. I've found a lot of info on Olympia, but can somebody give me a ballpark figure on two-bedroom apartment rates in Port Angeles? Just a rough estimate is all I need.

Also, I get the impression that Port Angeles doesn't get as much rain as the rest of the Peninsula. Is that true? It seems strange.

Can you see the mountains from Olympia?

Is the traffic bad in Olympia (compared to Seattle)? I don't do traffic very well.

Are either of these places pretty? Are they nice to live in?

Any other places in the area you would recommend?