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Old 03-01-2007, 10:14 PM
 
43 posts, read 325,816 times
Reputation: 31

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I really want to move to the coast in about 2 years. We currently live in Lake Stevens, and this I-5 corridor around here is just getting too crowded. I'd like to find a nice quiet town with decent schools, and the beach. As close to the beach as possible.

My husband will have his teaching degree by then, so he'll be looking to work in or near whatever town we decide to move to.

So I'm wondering, what are the best cities on the coast for families to live, and what are the housing costs in those cities?

Thanks in advance to anyone with advice!
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Old 03-01-2007, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
13 posts, read 102,500 times
Reputation: 20
Well, I feel qualified to answer this question since I've lived in the Evergreen State since 1966, and have been darn near everywhere in Washington. (lol)

Washington coast cities have personalities. Some have little new employment. Your question was open-ended, so we'll try the pluses and minuses for the major towns on the coast...

Ocean Shores. This is basically a retirement/tourist/casino city now, with inflated property values and high taxes. My parents lived there and moved away. Not recommended.

Forks: Logging town. No work to speak of. If you are not a local, you haven't got a chance of finding decent work.

Aberdeen/Hoquiam: The biggest city on the coast is actually two cities connected. Home prices are cheap and real estate is plentiful. The work situation is average, but getting better. Hometown of Curt Cobain. (lol)

Port Angeles: Nice place. Weather is a little dicey sometimes. The shopping is decent and the homes priced in the reasonable range. Get a house up in the hill neighborhoods and you can see Vancouver Island. Shopping here is excellent.

Sequim: Retirement community with as much rainfall as San Diego, due to a split in the Olympic mountains just outside of town. Weather systems split in two and pass around the city. Nice place to live, shopping is decent. Port Angeles is a few miles away. Home prices are slightly higher here than other places on the coast, but there are bargains. Small town feel, not much crime.

Raymond: Logging and fishing. Economy is always struggling. Nice place, though. You can buy houses for a song there. Jobs are few.

Long Beach: Visit before you move there. Best place in Washington to live on the coast. Work situation no better than average. Home prices slightly lower than Ocean Shores. Tourists are more 'normal' there, most are from Oregon and Washington. I go there every year for a few days.
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Old 03-03-2007, 11:46 AM
 
43 posts, read 325,816 times
Reputation: 31
So I've researched a little bit now, thanks to your suggestions, and I'm thinking that Port Angeles or Long Beach might be my best bets.

What about Port Townsend? I've never been there, but I imagine it to have a really nice down home community feel to it. I really want to live somewhere with a strong community.
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Old 03-03-2007, 11:31 PM
 
Location: Summerville, SC
559 posts, read 2,116,373 times
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Port Townsend is a lovely, lovely place. It tends towards the artsy crowd a bit, but I still think it's very nice.
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Old 03-04-2007, 03:28 PM
 
43 posts, read 325,816 times
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How about Grays Harbor? It looks really pretty. I'm planning a summer trip to the coast this year so we can visit a few places that we think might work. I'd like to narrow it down to 3 or 4 for this trip.

Thanks so much for all the advice!
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Old 03-05-2007, 11:12 AM
 
Location: Tri-Cities
148 posts, read 1,228,890 times
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I live on the coast. Search back on some of my older posts re: Aberdeen etc.; I've got a ton of info about Gray's Harbor posted here.

Short and sweet:

Port Townsend is beautiful, but you flat out won't find any work near there. Better chances with a commute to Port Angeles; maybe Sequim, but much less likely.

Your best buy on the Olympic Peninsula is in Gray's Harbor. The best places to live in Grays Harbor are in the Aberdeen/Hoquiam/Cosmopolis/Montesano hills, Grayland, and Montesano. Aberdeen is the best buy in Gray's Harbor. The best beaches for the money are in Grayland, which is a 30 min. drive from Aberdeen.

Check my older posts for more info.
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Old 03-09-2007, 12:05 PM
 
6 posts, read 37,063 times
Reputation: 10
Nice synopsis, Robert Blevins! I am looking for a retirement home along the coast. Reading the summaries of the areas really helped. As an independent woman or retirement means, and concerned about the beach erosion/ice cap melt, maybe Raymond and Aberdeen would be the places to consider for a long term home... any other details out there? I know Ryan is a big advocate for Aberdeen, how about Raymond? Any other recommendations?
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Old 03-18-2007, 09:04 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
13 posts, read 102,500 times
Reputation: 20
If I were moving to a city on the coast and definitely had to find work within a reasonable time...I would go to Grays Harbor (Aberdeen-Hoquiam area).

Everything along the coast starts and ends there. Long Beach is a very nice place to live, but the work situation is a little shaky, and the closest major town is in Oregon. (Astoria) Tourism is the main source of income in Long Beach, because they have a ten-mile beach you can drive on, and a lot of tourists show up. It's too bad they stopped the overnight camping and the beach fires, though...

Real estate is cheap in Grays Harbor, compared to other areas of Washington. You can actually buy a fairly nice house there for UNDER 150k, and even less than 100k sometimes.

First chance you get, book yourself a hotel room in Long Beach and spend a few days there. Most of the motels are reasonably priced and have private trails to the beach.
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Old 03-19-2007, 04:57 AM
 
Location: Summerville, SC
559 posts, read 2,116,373 times
Reputation: 299
Gray's Harbor is lovely. Port Townsend is lovely as well. The best thing would be to visit both places and see which place "speaks" to you. Good luck!
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Old 03-19-2007, 07:09 PM
 
64 posts, read 360,789 times
Reputation: 60
I heard Port Townsend is really nice. Out on the peninsula... never been there, but my friend grew up there, saw photos, very beautiful.
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