Port Townsend questions (Sequim, Port Ludlow: low income, rent, houses)

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Everyone says Pt T has a better age mix than Sequim. So, yes. And undoubtedly a better age mix than Pt Hadlock and Ludlow. And yes, I'm considering a move there.

I find your comments interesting...PT has a better age mix then Sequim? Don't think so....Sequim is actually getting younger and younger...hard to believe until you see Sequim is looking to add schools and that is for a reason....more young people are staying in Sequim after graduation from high school. I for one have to scratch my head why any high school grad would stay in PT....PT discourages businesses unless it has to do with the so-called arts or antique businesses that pays minimum wages. Which I guess is fine if you plan to spend all your time fondling old stuff.
Most younger people in PT have other things to do than shopping at hobby owned businesses that pays those minimum wages and has the strangest hours..The fact is most of the younger kids flee PT after High school. And that is a fact.

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by MarciaMarshaMarcia

If you need a specialist for medical care & you live on the Olympic Peninsula, you have to go to Seattle...if you want decent care...

Not true in a lot of cases...Sequim has a very good Cancer center and most specialist are available just not 5 days a week as a lot of specialist come to the area from Seattle one or two times a month/week.
The only problem is if you need major surgery you will have to go to the Seattle area hospitals. But how often does that happen?

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Don't think so....Sequim is actually getting younger and younger

Not from what I've seen. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it seems like a retirement community. Maybe upgrading the schools will help. A poster a while back said Sequim's schools were in terrible disrepair so maybe they have no choice.

[pikabike]

Jumpindogs, I can barely get the info I need to avoid being surprised by a big medical bill, let alone solve hospitals' problems. I would not even presume to try the latter.

MY job is to make sure I shop around whenever possible. Even non-poor people would have a hard time just absorbing an extra few thousand dollars of fees that have nothing to do with the procedure done.

Of course insurers cost shift. That is what insurance does. MY job is to try to sort out how to avoid getting ripped off. I do think an extra $2000-$2100 tacked onto a $500-600 bill is getting ripped off.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

Not true in a lot of cases...Sequim has a very good Cancer center and most specialist are available just not 5 days a week as a lot of specialist come to the area from Seattle one or two times a month/week.
The only problem is if you need major surgery you will have to go to the Seattle area hospitals. But how often does that happen?

That has not been my experience, or that of several other people I know in the area. YMMV.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Jumpindogs, I can barely get the info I need to avoid being surprised by a big medical bill, let alone solve hospitals' problems. I would not even presume to try the latter.

MY job is to make sure I shop around whenever possible. Even non-poor people would have a hard time just absorbing an extra few thousand dollars of fees that have nothing to do with the procedure done.

Of course insurers cost shift. That is what insurance does. MY job is to try to sort out how to avoid getting ripped off. I do think an extra $2000-$2100 tacked onto a $500-600 bill is getting ripped off.

That was rhetorical. Designed to emphasize the enormity of the problem hospitals face.

Not necessarily when you consider that, as an in-network provider, this amount would likely be substantially discounted after it was submitted to your insurance company. The hospital has little way of knowing the discounted amount until after it is submitted to and reviewed by your specific insurance company...since these discounts differ by the agreements the hospital has with different insurance companies...so when called by consumers for information regarding procedure costs the hospital must provide the cost without any discounts applied. If you were not using insurance but instead paying as an uninsured customer, the hospital has established guidelines to help reduce the cost for you after the amount is billed.

Your insurance company has different discount arrangements with different providers so the same procedure at two different in-network providers may have different discounts. The actual cost to your insurance company...actually the cost to you since you hadn't yet met your deductible...may have been very similar at both providers.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Not from what I've seen. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it seems like a retirement community. Maybe upgrading the schools will help. A poster a while back said Sequim's schools were in terrible disrepair so maybe they have no choice.

Sequim schools are not terrible. Compared to other public schools, they are luxurious. The people who send their kids Sequim public schools just want more...that's understandable, everybody wants more for their kids. But a huge number of them are not property owners...therefore, do not pay property tax...therefore, do not fund public schools, yet want the very best. There are many people in the area who do private or home school...viable options in small communities.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by MarciaMarshaMarcia

Sequim schools are not terrible. Compared to other public schools, they are luxurious. The people who send their kids Sequim public schools just want more...that's understandable, everybody wants more for their kids. But a huge number of them are not property owners...therefore, do not pay property tax...therefore, do not fund public schools, yet want the very best. There are many people in the area who do private or home school...viable options in small communities.

This comment intrigues me. I have not visited any Sequim schools but I plan to next time I am out there since the school bond issue is obviously a big deal. I read the Sequim Gazette weekly and attempt to absorb/consider what those both pro and con are trying to express. Based on the descriptions of the physical conditions of the schools...few restrooms, temporary structures, ancient kitchens, etc...I gotta say that Sequim schools do not seem "luxurious" at all. What are the other public schools in WA like? Trailer parks?

What happens to these kids when an earthquake hits? As I understand, new construction in some parts of WA (like Sequim) requires compliance with earthquake related structural guidelines. What about your schools?

Our public schools in WI are well funded by our relatively high property taxes so we are prolly somewhat spoiled. Again, I have not personally observed the Sequim public school facilities (nor other public schools in WA) but from what I've read (both pro and con the school bond issue) they sure seem in a shabby state of disrepair compared to ours in WI. If what you write is true, MMM, and thus other public schools in WA are in much worse shape then WA has a big problem.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

I worked in the Sequim schools for awhile, they are much better than many public schools in this country. Perhaps public schools in Wisconsin are in much better shape than a lot of states... I don't believe that Wisconsin has a steadily increasing population like the western states do...it puts a strain on the infrastructure, obviously. There is a large & ever-increasing student population in the western states...not so in Wisconsin. Your state is not growing in leaps & bounds. You are not yet a resident of Washington, Jumpindogs...perhaps your perspective will change when you are.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

I find your comments interesting...PT has a better age mix then Sequim? Don't think so....Sequim is actually getting younger and younger...hard to believe until you see Sequim is looking to add schools and that is for a reason....more young people are staying in Sequim after graduation from high school. I for one have to scratch my head why any high school grad would stay in PT....PT discourages businesses unless it has to do with the so-called arts or antique businesses that pays minimum wages. Which I guess is fine if you plan to spend all your time fondling old stuff.
Most younger people in PT have other things to do than shopping at hobby owned businesses that pays those minimum wages and has the strangest hours..The fact is most of the younger kids flee PT after High school. And that is a fact.

Well, right, that's the general perception--that there are no jobs in Pt T, so young people leave, but it turns out that quite a few young people have been moving TO Port Townsend. Maybe they don't last long, I don't know, but people on this forum have said Pt T has a better age mix than Sequim, too. Maybe that general region is in a state of demographic flux, breaking out of past patterns.