Olympic Peninsula

[yvonne]

Hello...
We're looking to prepare for retirement from the rat race in a busy CA area to somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. We'd like to find land, probably 2-3 acres, and are looking for suggestions on an area. So far the Oregon coast (Coos Bay) and Washington's Olympic Peninsula (after reading this post) appeal to us. Basically we want a place that's fairly rural but within driving range of a larger city. A place with a friendly atmosphere, available services and good weather, etc.
Any feedback on these areas, or suggestions for elsewhere, would be greatly appreciated

[Westernskies]

My sincere thanks to all who replied to this thread. We are flying up to Seattle this weekend to look things over. We have a dozen homes lined out from our internet searches, and will be visiting most of them. This trip will be concentrated in the area between Port Orchard and Silverdale, that is about as far away from Sea Tac Airport as we want to be until we pull the plug for good in a few years. The local real estate market seems to have hit bottom (I hope!) and there are some seemingly incredible buys to be had on waterfront property right now. Prices are higher than here in PHX, but not really that much higher. (and it it was 114 on the car thermometer at 8:00 here last night...)
Look forward to posting the results when we get back.
Thanks again.

[Brat]

Sorry to miss you, DH & I will be out of town.

Look hard at Port Orchard, I think it is a cute town. Silverdale's property taxes are low because of the mall (sales tax receipts).

Play a round of golf at Gold Mountian. There are at least four other courses in the area.

Most of those properties will be on septic systems. Better to be on a community water system than a well.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Dammit!

And here am I, a member of the James G. Blaine Society, but irrationally promoting the beautiful Pacific Northwest and I can't even afford to live in my own house!

Grxx and RRRR!

May you all have moss and morning glories and jellyfish in your nets. If you don't have moss between your toes, you will hate it. If you are as native as Ivar Haglund or Stan Borison, you will love it as much as I love the smell of diesel on a tideflat.

Ed the Geoduc,
still taking a job away from a Canadian

[2B]

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy

Dammit!

And here am I, a member of the James G. Blaine Society, but irrationally promoting the beautiful Pacific Northwest and I can't even afford to live in my own house!

Grxx and RRRR!

May you all have moss and morning glories and jellyfish in your nets. If you don't have moss between your toes, you will hate it. If you are as native as Ivar Haglund or Stan Borison, you will love it as much as I love the smell of diesel on a tideflat.

Ed the Geoduc,
still taking a job away from a Canadian

I tell people about digging for geoducs and they think I'm making it all up. It's probably illegal now so it's just as well.

I used to work for Ivar (if that's the same hash slinger).

I'm not taking a job away from anyone. We are still frantically hiring. They're still talking about doing Canadian jobs but we don't have enough people. Maybe if I started working lots of OT? Nah! I''ll let the price of gas go to $5 first.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

2B,

Same Ivar.

Still busy, I see. Same here.

[Buckeye]

bigwonderfulwyoming - Don't forget to take your long pants and a jacket!

My aunt and uncle have lived in Silverdale for 40 years and seem to like it.

[2B]

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy

2B,

Same Ivar.

Still busy, I see. Same here.

I didn't work downtown but it was one of his relatives that was screwing up our restuarant while pretending to be the manager while banging the waitresses (that I didn't get around to and some of those I did). He taught me not to "x" the help.

[Brat]

BWWyo, how was your trip? If you are still in the 'hood let me know.

[Westernskies]

Originally Posted by Brat

BWWyo, how was your trip? If you are still in the 'hood let me know.

The visit was great- we liked the OP,but waterfront inventory in Silverdale/Bremerton was pretty dated, overpriced, a lot of estate sales- kids in Seattle, trying to get Seattle $ for Bremerton properties. Some of them were tear-downs on nice lots, on the market for over a year, overpriced by at least 200K...We found a few nice newer waterfront properties between Silverdale and Keyport that looked interesting- will be going back in a couple of weeks to look around some more- we are flying into Spokane for a wedding, then driving over the North Cascades Hwy, spending a few days on the OP, then working our way back to Spokane for the return flight

[Brat]

Price wise there is a lot of 'it isn't happening here' out there. If you find a sound older home in a location you like I wouldn't prefer it to a newer one. With an older home you can see the defects, newer construction hasn't proved itself, IMHO. Realtor schlemieltor, a very good local home inspector can be your best friend.

[kevink]

We lived in Port Angeles a few years ago when my wife's parents were there (they're now in Anacortes). Earlier poster's descriptions of the town ring true: working person's place with real character, some decent restaurants, a nice bookstore, couple of coffeehouses. It is very remote and trips to Seattle will be an occasional thing unless you can afford to fly.

We moved there from Colorado and while there is not a ton of rain it is very grey most of the time and quite windy as well (and I am talking about summer). I remember reading in "Retirement Places Rated" that Anacortes, statistically, is the cloudiest place in the lower 48; PA would not be far behind, and Sequim though sunnier is cool as well.

The forests nearby are gorgeous but as most are national parks you can't bring your dog, if that's and issue. And there are very nasty ground-dwelling wasps in all the nearby areas. For us, that plus the weather and remoteness made us beat a hasty retreat, but it is a very beautiful area if you love the sea and don't need warmth.