Olympia--All I want to know (Seattle, Tacoma: sales, house, neighborhood)

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by afinebalance

I must say that I have never heard of a city where all the inhabitants (that I have come across) have nice things to say about the place. I don't think I have heard one complaint about Olympia. That is either terrifying, or really cool
If Olympia is really this awesome (which I am inclined to believe) I'm going to start telling people how much it sucks so that people don't start to flock there. Me excepted

About the only negative that hits the national news is when protester converge and become violent.

This was the case when the Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade was coming home and met by protesters that became violent breaking windows and trashing cars...

[Pilgrim21784]

I'm a big fan of Olympia. We visited (we're Marylanders) when my stepson was doing his law clerkship there last year and fell in love with the city. Incidentally, earlier comments about the east end being less desirable for housing shouldn't put you off from checking it out. He rented a beautifully charming older home for very reasonable money in a well kept little nook just up the hill from downtown. Olympia is a very charming, walkable town with great character and the restaurants are excellent. We're planning to be regular visitors to enjoy the city. Best of luck.

[GSherman]

Pros: Downtown: A few good places to eat, couple of fun theaters and shops.
Pretty areas, nice parks, friendly people, good libaries

Cons: Downtown: Crapped out-bums/homeless hanging around. Sucky weather, slow pace, boring.

Seattle is much better.

[jertheber]

Olympia is a town that has a relatively small population, it is the state capitol city, that state presence is what sets it apart from other towns of similar size. Jobs from the state's business create a better balance than you'd find elsewhere. Most of the surrounding area is depressed economically due to the fact that timber harvesting is the big employer in the numerous small towns west and south of Oly. Evergreen College is just minutes from the downtown core, it has a reputation of being left leaning, but nonetheless a good school. Oly is a neat little burg in the way it is layed out, like most of our nation the housing of the late seventies and eighties are built outside of the city limits, suburban Olympia is quite large and heavily populated. It is the downtown that deserves kudos for it's imaginative architecture, quaint cafe fronts, and a host of good art and music venues. I live twenty five miles to the west of town and still drive there often for the good food and ambiance. Education is such a subjective topic any more that you'll have to define your needs in that area on your own, in general, we tend to make our schools in the mirror image of our own values anyway. That said, I'd imagine the overall school scene as one of average quality. The waterfront area of town is on the Budd Inlet, a harbor section of Puget Sound, it is as lively a market place as you could possibly want, the vendors are of every stripe and the area speaks volumes about the nature of Oly. in general. As real estate is in a downward slide at present you might be better off than you would have been years ago. Homes are still not cheap, in the main the NW has not been subjected to the scale of realty crashing we saw in Cali or Nevada. Finding property in the town itself will be difficult as with most cities the real estate boom occured in the burbs, west Oly is very nice and close to shopping and schools. The east side has the spector of strip malls stretching out from the town and proceeding on to Yelm and South Tacoma, this is where the housing boom really went nuts, it's not a very well planned layout at all, heavy traffic is a constant concern as is the crime that's associated with these types of big housing developments. Come downtown on a Saturday and see for your self what Oly is all about, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[West coast at heart]

Hmmm. Olympia. My wife and I are relocating to the PNW next summer. Perhaps we should spend a day in Olympia. Thanks to all.

wc@h

[Ira500]

Hmmm. Olympia. My wife and I are relocating to the PNW next summer. Perhaps we should spend a day in Olympia. Thanks to all.


Olympia's got a good farmer's market, and a downtown that's vibrant and quirky.

[Chris1955]

When I decided to retire, and having lived in diverse parts of the state, as well as being born and raised in Washington, I chose Olympia. And I have the ability to likely live anywhere on the planet I like save for some place like Monaco.

If you need a big city Seattle is an hour up the road. The place has nice people and everything you need locally, no traffic problems to mention, and is relatively cosmopolitan for its size. I can go sailing one day and hunting the next, and be up shopping in Seattle the third.

The place almost has it all and has what it is missing is within an hour's drive.

This eastside/westside nitpicking is meaningless, there is every kind of little neighborhood in both areas. I happen to live on the waterfront on the west side. Before purchasing my abode, I liveed on the Eastside.

There are actually several Olympia's, the working class one, the colloge one, and the state employee one all are different but do interact.

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Hmmm. Olympia. My wife and I are relocating to the PNW next summer. Perhaps we should spend a day in Olympia. Thanks to all.


Olympia's got a good farmer's market, and a downtown that's vibrant and quirky.

Good to know! I am very interested in visiting. Thanks IRA!

[Prple]

Originally Posted by West coast at heart

Good to know! I am very interested in visiting. Thanks IRA!

Here are some links that you might enjoy:

Olympia Farmers Market local Washington organic farmers, handmade arts & crafts, locally grown plants

https://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...n-olympia.html

https://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...d-olympia.html

[afinebalance]

Ahhhh, I can't wait to move back to WA!!!!!!!!