Possible move to Olympia area....need advice

[OnionPatch]

Hello all you DUers from Washington.

I currently live in southern California but my husband has a chance to possibly transfer to his company's office in Olympia. I am already leaping for joy at this development. Even though I have never been to the Olympia area, I figure anywhere in Washington HAS to be better than anywhere in the "Inland Empire" (southern Cal, inland area) at least in my opinion. So I'm psyched.

I want to start looking at real estate online in the area but since I have never been to Olympia or the surrounding area, I don't have a clue. So once again, I turn to my fellow DUers for help.

We are farm-y type of people who grow huge gardens, have lots of animals and pets and really enjoy living in the country. My question is this: In what areas should I look for property that would satisfy those interests but still be within a commute to Olympia? (Hybrid car of course :)) A half-hour to 45 minute drive would be ok. Oh, and I wouldn't mind knowing which areas may be full of freeper types that we might want to avoid. ;)

Thanks for any help!

[Generic Other]

1. darn near any direction will get you in the country in minutes

DuPont is a newer planned community. Near Evergreen state college is along the water
along the road leading out town are the ocean beaches in one direction and hood's canal up the other.

Very rural either direction and a waterfront too. Nisqually area, Tumwater and Lacey all good choices.

[OnionPatch]

2. Really? Wow!

That makes me very, very happy!! :D Thank you!

I'll google the areas you mention. I think an exploratory trip is in order.

So, what is the climate like? Does it really rain all the time, like they say? Can you escape that at all by living further inland, away from the coast?

[maxsolomon]

3. freepers are everywhere down there. they were driven out of seattle by us anarchists.

ft. lewis is just north along 1-5. it looks like crap for miles around.

lacey is exploding with uncontrolled crap suburban sprawl.

jz knight (ramtha) lives in yelm.

any of the peninsulas sticking up into puget sound would be best, but $$$$, of course.

west towards shelton in mason county is going to be rainy-er.

but if you want land, head south, east or west. tenino, rainier, rochester.

[OnionPatch]

4. Can there be that many freepers there?

I was looking at the 2006 "Purple America" map and I didn't see a county in the area that's as red as Riverside County, California, where I live now, so maybe the freepiness is relative.

And what about the city of Olympia? It can't be as progressive as Seattle, but what's it like otherwise?

We're still not sure whether this transfer will even go through, but a girl can dream.....

[maxsolomon]

5. olympia has a seriously liberal core

beyond government workers, there are the greeners @ evergreen. no grades, birthplace of K records & Kill Rock Stars records. similar to reed college, or antioch in yellow springs ohio. if bellingham is our santa cruz, evergreen is our humboldt state.

its not smug self-satisfied suburban christians, but they do like guns, logging, hunting & jesus down there.

go visit.

[OnionPatch]

8. Thanks, we will definitely go there.

But probably not until June, when our daughter is out of school for the summer.

We might fit in well in that area. We are both very liberal and yet my husband, who was raised in the Pennsylvania woods, is a hunter and has quite a collection of hunting guns/rifles (whatever they are). But his belief is that a true outdoorsman protects the environment. Jesus....well, that depends....I love the peace-loving, forgiving, tolerant Jesus. You know, the one who hung around with the prostitutes and beggars. The one who said "Love thy enemy as thyself" :) He may not be the same one they love down that way. :shrug:

Thanks for your input. I can't wait to check it all out.

[progressivebydesign]

11. There are many freepers.. outside of Olympia.

MOst of that area outside of Oly is really conservative. Olympia itself is liberal. Tacoma has some liberal areas, Seattle, obviously, but pretty much it leans toward conservative in Thurston COunty, Pierce County, etc.

[UCLA Dem]

6. Hey Onion Patch--we're from the IE originally and considering a WA move too.

I'm finishing grad school in LA right now and we'll be up next week to check things out in the Puget Sound area.

[opiate69]

7. We live in the Nisqually area, and love it...

We're almost literally a stone's throw from some of the best river salmon fishing in the state, lots of farms nearby (nothing like fresh produce in the summer... ), peace and quiet (although, Ft Lewis is nearby, and you can hear their artillery drills from time to time), and a short 10 minute drive to the uber-liberal and fairly vibrant downtown area.

[OnionPatch]

9. Best Salmon fishing?

My husband will be drooling!

[opiate69]

10. Yep yep.. here's a picture of my friend's catch from last summer.

and another pic I found online of some guy with a monster King Salmon

[progressivebydesign]

13. Nisqually is breathtaking!! Lucky you!! n/t

[progressivebydesign]

12. Been here 4 years, coming from Central Coast Calif.

Here's what I'll tell ya:

It's beautiful. Unbelievably, picture postcard beautiful. It's so refreshing to see so much green, after living in droughty California all my life. So many wonderful, natural, places to go in all directions. Many adventures to be had.

People are... well... nice. They're nice. They're very friendly, but it's harder to make friends up here. I've never had a problem making friends though I had moved to various parts of California before. Here, while they're quite friendly, unless you have children in school with them, or go to their church, it's hard to connect. I think it's the weather, actually. BEcause it's often cold and wet or just gloomy, people tend to stay in more. Less chances to mingle.

Olympia and Seattle, some parts of Tacoma, and a few towns like , Edmonds, Bainbridge Island, are wonderful areas for arts and being a liberal. If you get involved in some groups, I'm sure you'll make some friends. It's just harder here, for some reason.

The weather. Let's not kid ourselves. Olympia gets nearly 50 inches of rain a year. Where I am we get around 38". It's different than California rain. While we get a rare, soaking, storm from the South Pacific, our rain comes down over a period of 9 months, rather than 3. It's gray A LOT. It's not the rain that gets you, it's the gray. You will never know if this is an issue with you until you live here through a few fall/winter/springs, when it's mostly cloudy. Some people move up here and enjoy the cold cloudiness, some put up with it because of all the wonderful things available make it all worthwhile, and others can't take it and move back. You will not see your sandals or shorts for 8 months out of the year. Fleeece will be your new best friend.

In return.. you get gorgeous summers, snow on the mountains, great fishing, blue waters, and a Bald Eagle or two flying over your house.

Be aware that most people gain around 20 pounds in the first few years of living here if they come from a warmer climate. If you know that ahead of time, and watch out for it, you'll be fine. When you come from a warmer place, where you are more active throughout the year, you don't realize that you're scaling back because of the weather. Because it gets dark much earlier in the fall/winter, you are inside much earlier. The successful people at counteracting that are the ones that realize they have to be active, even if they dont' feel like it. If you wait for a perfect, sunny, day to get outside, that'll be a problem.

Being able to leave the inland empire, as someone here just posted, should be reason enough to love it up here. It's not perfect here. No place is. After the honeymoon period of a few years, you'll see that there are good things and bad things, just like where you come from. BUT.. you may find, as many people do, that it's perfect for you!