Thinking of moving to Olympia, or somewhere with the same weather. (Seattle: employment, high school)

[josh5254]

Hello forum,
I have recently been thinking about moving into the Olympia area. I'm from Arizona, just outside of the Phoenix area, it's dry and very hot. I'm looking for an area that rains quite a bit and is fairly cold year round, and I heard that Olympia was the place to look. I like smaller cities, that's why I'm interested in Olympia. I was also wondering what the employment was like in the area, and how difficult it would be to get a job with a high school degree and some college. I also love going on hikes, it doesn't have to be sunny, cloudy hikes are also just as good. Are they a lot of trails, or good hikes in Olympia? Unless Olympia is not the place I described, I would appreciate recommendations to cities that are closer to my likeliness. I would not want to live in a city with over 100,000 people. Thank you for your time.

[rockyinyourradio]

I've only been to Olympia once back in 2011, loved it and can't wait to go back. As far as the weather, you say you like cloudy, grey weather.. you may just get too much of a good thing.. Olympia averages around 220 days a year with cloudy skies. Yet, from around the first of July through September, you have a lot of sun as that's the dry season. Olympia can get fairly warm in the summer, warmer than Seattle, but close to the sound, you cool off a few degrees. Typically, you'll see about 5-10 days a summer where temperatures close in on 90 degrees, about 93 or so would be the average warmest day of the summer. Nights cool off to the 50's to near 60 and humidity levels are relatively low when it gets that warm. There are still lots of days where temps. will stay in the 70's, even lower sometimes when the marine layer pushes inland enough. The rest of the year, it is one wet place, considerably more rain than Seattle, but not as much as the coast or the Olympic Mountains which can be over twice as much as Olympia.

As far as places to hike, you have many parks and recreation areas near Olympia, but you need to travel a little further for the really nice places than if you were closer to Seattle. Olympia is actually quite flat, relatively speaking in comparison to Seattle. What I love about Olympia, is your very centrally located to all things nature. Mount Rainier, about 2 hours. The coast about 2 hours, if that.. The Oregon Coast from Astoria to Seaside/Cannon Beach, also about 2 hour drive. Portland is also about an hour and a half away. Then you have the Olympic Peninsula, which you can reach places up on it's north end like Port Angeles in about 2.5 hours. So as far as location is concerned.. you can't do better.

Other's can chime in on your questions.. I think you'll love Olympia. Best of luck.

[CrazyDonkey]

Close to Hood Canal/Lake Cushman (40-50 miles), Mt. St. Helens (60 miles), Mt. Rainier Nat. Park (65-85 miles), Westport/Ocean Shores (70-75 miles), Copalis Beach/Moclips (75-80 miles), Lake Quinault (95 miles), Long Beach/Ilwaco (110 miles), Kalaloch (120 miles), Hurricane Ridge (140 miles), Hoh Rain Forest (160 miles).

Cities: Tacoma (30 miles), Seattle (60 miles), Portland (115 miles).