Charming towns for a creative person (Seattle, Olympia: living in, young professionals, moving)

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OMG, don't inflict Leavenworth on the poor woman! It's the most HORRIBLY touristy town I've ever seen! And who wants to live with anemic oompah bands taking over downtown every weekend, all summer and into Oktoberfest? Ugh!

Not all art is high-brow art.

[dtuba]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OMG, don't inflict Leavenworth on the poor woman! It's the most HORRIBLY touristy town I've ever seen! And who wants to live with anemic oompah bands taking over downtown every weekend, all summer and into Oktoberfest? Ugh!

Hey! Those oompah bands are creating jobs for out-of-work tuba players.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I see crap holes and shacks, sure... but I don't live in a crap hole or a shack. The good people I know don't live in crap holes or shacks, and neither do you. You have to go way out of your way to see junky places around your place, you actually live in a pretty nice area surrounded by nice properties. If you go down some side roads and dead ends look for them, you can find a few junky places... but... Welcome to America. Some people are messy. I don't think that's a uniquely Washington problem, and I don't let it consume me what other people do on their property far out of my view.

I have helped dozens of people move here and the vast majority love it here. *Almost* without exception. There's a lot to love about this area and I choose to focus on that. I am truly sorry you don't like it... I am sorry for you, but I'm still going to stay here and continue to be happy. I do mean the good wishes. All the best to you.

That’s the problem, you see this as a “pretty nice area”. In reality, it stinks. The entire street over in front of this house has nothing but shacks, literally. This is a sketchy area even beyond that street. We don’t have to go down side roads to hunt for them either. This is your idea of corporate. My spouse couldn’t be further away from your views and I hear about it constantly.

We will move on next year, but it’s been two years of my life fixing up a house to sell. Not a lot of fun. I’m sure people you help are fine as long as you’re all on the same page, which we clearly are not. There is no need to go on about this place, it’s done.

[Diana Holbrook]

I tried. OK - Good luck to you.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I tried. OK - Good luck to you.

And you as well.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by Taz22

I don’t find your post overly judgmental, because only you know what you want to live around. My thinking is that if you’re paying a mortgage, and you care what kind of area you live in, it’s better to speak up now, rather than buy and suffer buyers remorse.

I’ve never been to Port Angeles or Port Townsend so I don’t know if they are rundown or not. I loved Edmunds when I first saw it, it’s such a pretty village beside the ocean. Politics are fine if you want to discuss them, personally, I don’t want to know how people vote, it might turn me off from an otherwise nice person.

I understand your issue with the military, makes me think of packs of rowdy young guys, you can’t get too ritzy in a neighborhood for resale value, techs are great neighbors to have (there are much worse up here). I’d add that neighbors who fly conference flags are a huge turnoff. This kind of thing is part of much of rural Washington, which I didn’t understand before choosing a house. Many people in rural Washington must live a dreary existence and the popularity of meth and other drugs is proof. The towns around Centralia are some of the ugliest and most depressing I’ve seen and they have a reputation for being meth towns. This area has some of the surliest people I’ve ever met.

I like diversity and a bunch of white people who pile sh*t all over their yards isn’t it. If you want a better crowd of people, you can get it at a price. Vashon seems like a cool area for artsy types although it’s on the high side, I’d recommend you look there and stay away from towns around Olympia. The uniform for men here is beards and flannel shirts, the women around here have often wagged their tails at my husband while completely ignoring me. Now, if these women are dumb and stuck in a low paying job in a backward area, they should be motivated to get off their butts and get themselves elsewhere.

I really dislike this area and hope you do your due diligence and understand that unless you’re willing to pay more, something like my situation is likely what you’ll get. My house wasn’t cheap, but with crowds of people moving here, finding a suitable place is only going to become more difficult. If you’re going to buy, some trendy artsy towns in Oregon or north of Seattle would probably work well for you.

So are you saying... when traveling through Washington, don't stop between Vancouver and Olympia?

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by NW4me

So are you saying... when traveling through Washington, don't stop between Vancouver and Olympia?

In the OP’s case, it might not be a bad idea. I’m in the middle of cleaning and painting the garage and was moving a box of sales trophies and plaques when a thought occurred to me. You can enthusiastically talk, talk, talk about a product to present to the client, but if they don’t like it and aren’t interested, why bother? I’m in sales, so I get that. In the OP’s case, she already knew what she wanted and didn’t want. Putting her in the middle of a town full of lumberjacks with monster trucks, because you like it and they had better like it as well, is foolish.

Trying to sell her on a product isn’t about who is right. Simple answer, the client is right. You aren’t there to change her mind on her worldview, but to help her narrow down her choices on her needs, likes and wants. I live in the area around Olympia and can see that these places with rough and often rude people, are no match for the OP. She’d hate it. If you know of a cute, artsy village somewhere in this vicinity, then please share. Vashon or Ashland, if she could change Seattle for Portland, would be my suggestions.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by Taz22

In the OP’s case, she already knew what she wanted and didn’t want. Putting her in the middle of a town full of lumberjacks with monster trucks, because you like it and they had better like it as well, is foolish.

Good point. Most every small town in rural W. Washington has some logger culture, drug issues, lifted trucks etc. as well as properties with junk and tarps somewhere in the neighborhood (not to mention Fourth of July War Zones). It comes with the territory and some people don't mind it or overlook it for the beautiful nature, or family ties or affordable cost. For others, it's a deal breaker. Being near commuter towns or vacation/tourist towns might give more of a quaint feeling. Otherwise...it could be culture shock.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by Taz22

Putting her in the middle of a town full of lumberjacks with monster trucks, because you like it and they had better like it as well, is foolish.

On this we agree, Taz! and is the punch line of my first response on this thread, where I said if that list is important, then most of Washington may be unsuitable for one disqualifying reason or another.

I'll also say perceptions and perspectives vary widely and are difficult to measure from a distance. Taste and perspective is personal. My perspective about this area obviously differs from yours, and I daresay both of us actually differ from what most of Olympia would say Olympia is like. I would recommend people come in person and look. Particularly on the definition of terms like artsy and quaint, I would NOT count on the opinion of someone else, matching our own.


OP - Come look - decide for yourself what areas suit you. You might be surprised and have opinions we can only guess at.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by mayfair

Good point. Most every small town in rural W. Washington has some logger culture, drug issues, lifted trucks etc. as well as properties with junk and tarps somewhere in the neighborhood (not to mention Fourth of July War Zones). It comes with the territory and some people don't mind it or overlook it for the beautiful nature, or family ties or affordable cost. For others, it's a deal breaker. Being near commuter towns or vacation/tourist towns might give more of a quaint feeling. Otherwise...it could be culture shock.

You nailed it, Mayfair. In rural Washington, people aren’t across the board friendly or enlightened. There is a mindset of living in shacks, throwing mattresses in the front yard, drugs, driving trucks with wheels several feet high and confederate flags flying off the sides, shooting off fireworks long past the Fourth, and while locals may not notice or care, it could be a major culture shock for someone new and just moving in.

Yes, I think the OP should stick to what she is comfortable with and not try to branch out into the hills of rural Washington. Beautiful country to be sure, but populated by some crazy people. If you don’t like this kind of thing, living here awhile won’t make it any better. Vashon has a much more civilized demeanor and I’d bet the OP would love it.