[Tolleyy]

After taking my wife and kids to visit my dad in Olympia a couple weeks ago, we're now thinking about moving there. I've lived in Sacramento most my life and have liked it, but after seeing Olympia, Sacramento now seems like a total s***hole.

So my question is what is it like to work and live there? How's the economy and job situation there( it's really bad here)? How's the schools( I have a 4th grader and an 8th grader)?

The big kicker is my Dad owns 2 houses, and offered free rent for a year in one right by the Lacey/Olympia boundry. Down here my wife was laid off last september, I loose 20 hours a paycheck since it's slow at my work ( ford auto tech), and our house is going into forclosure, so not really much to look forward to here. Thanks in advance for replies.

 

[grnTitan04]

... offered free rent for a year... my wife was laid off... it's slow at my work... and our house is going into forclosure

Sounds like the decision has been made.


Sorry to hear about your situation. FWIW, I have traveled to the Olympia area a few times for work and find it beautiful.

 

[Tolleyy]

Sounds like the decision has been made.

Ya, pretty much unless things change here. I guess I should say not in forclosure yet... still in renegotioations with the lender.

 

[Steamguy]

It's a very pretty area; one thing you'll notice over Sacramento is the amount of green everywhere. It gets that way because of all the rain... So be ready for that. Our area here has had rain nonstop for 2 1/2 months and FINALLY we're getting some sun. Seasons are: Summer - Somewhere around mid-June to the first part of September. Fall - Mid-September to late October. Rains start somewhere first part of October. Winter is mid to late December through late February. Not a lot of snow, just a lot of gray days. Spring rains start sometime late February and run through May. We will get a day or a week's break from gray skies and rains from time to time, so it doesn't get too oppressive. Some winter-spring cycles are worse than others, some are better and will show off the true jewel-like nature of the area. In Oly, you're about 3 hours from beaches or mountains. If you want real big-Northwest-City feel, Seattle is a couple hours away.

Folks are generally friendly, and will warm up if given time. Sometimes Northwesterners can seem cold, it's just the local culture of not being friendly unless the person speaking to you is being nice to you. Schools tend to be pretty good, they turn out some good kids there. The Daily Olympian is online if you want to read up on local happenings.

That should sketch it out fairly well for you.

 

[NorCal Scot]

Do it...Sacto is worlds beneath Olympia.

 

[Tolleyy]

It's a very pretty area; one thing you'll notice over Sacramento is the amount of green everywhere. It gets that way because of all the rain... So be ready for that. Our area here has had rain nonstop for 2 1/2 months and FINALLY we're getting some sun. Seasons are: Summer - Somewhere around mid-June to the first part of September. Fall - Mid-September to late October. Rains start somewhere first part of October. Winter is mid to late December through late February. Not a lot of snow, just a lot of gray days. Spring rains start sometime late February and run through May. We will get a day or a week's break from gray skies and rains from time to time, so it doesn't get too oppressive. Some winter-spring cycles are worse than others, some are better and will show off the true jewel-like nature of the area. In Oly, you're about 3 hours from beaches or mountains. If you want real big-Northwest-City feel, Seattle is a couple hours away.

Folks are generally friendly, and will warm up if given time. Sometimes Northwesterners can seem cold, it's just the local culture of not being friendly unless the person speaking to you is being nice to you. Schools tend to be pretty good, they turn out some good kids there. The Daily Olympian is online if you want to read up on local happenings.

That should sketch it out fairly well for you.

Cool, thanks for that. My Dad has lived there for 5 years now and lets me know about the weather all the time... especially when it's 100+ here and in the 70's there. I've made 4 trips up there in the past year and have loved the weather each time... I actually don't mind the rain. I'll check out the daily olympian.

Do it...Sacto is worlds beneath Olympia.

You know, I used to love sacto, but the more trips I make up to oly, the more I see the bad in the sacto area. Guess it's time for a change:eyebrow:

 

[Shiggy]

I live in Olympia.

 

[prq921]

I live in Lacey, it's a beautiful area, quiet, conveniently located, well maintained, low crime (police response is quick), great place to raise your kids(parks everywhere, good schools) and from my experience most of the people around here are pleasant. Everything is close by (Costco, Home Depot, Best Buy, Safeway and a bunch of other places in the same complex, also a Cabelas and Walmart nearby).

It's about a 25 minute drive to Tacoma, 45 minutes to an hour to Seattle (depending on how fast you drive/traffic), and then you have easy access to Mt. Rainier and the Olympic forest if you like the outdoors.

Traffic on I-5 around here is almost never an issue except when you head north around the Fort Lewis area, depending on what time it is. If you love roundabouts, you'll love Lacey (I pass through three going from the freeway to my house), I hate them.

The weather here is perfect, at least I think it is. It is not exceptionally cold or hot, and even our extremes aren't that bad, 85-90 degrees on a good summer day. The rain isn't really an issue for me, but it might be for you, definitely need to take that into consideration.

As far as the job outlook in Lacey, I'm not too sure about it since I've never really researched it, but I'm sure that's something that could easily be looked up.

Hopefully this helps

 

[Shiggy]

I don't mean to be contradictory, but I've lived here for a while and the consensus seems to be that Lacey sucks, as does the rain.

A few years ago, I drove through Sacramento when it seemed like the entire northern section of California was on fire. I did not enjoy myself.

To answer your previous questions:

Olympia high school and Timberline high school (North Thurston School Disctict, Lacey) are both nationally rated schools. My mom was a teacher for the Olympia School District and I've worked as a substitute for many of the schools in the Thurston County area. If you have any more questions, shoot me a PM.

The job market in Thurston County is relatively similar to other small cities around the country. The main employer is state government (hiring freeze), however, Lacey is home to many military personnel who commute up to Ft. Lewis. If you would like to continue working on cars, I would recommend seeking employment at the Capital/Olympia Auto Mall on the westside of Olympia.

 

[Tolleyy]

prg921 and Shiggy, Thanks for the great info. I remember all those roundabouts last time I went to my dad's townhouse... there is a ton of those. The house I'll be living at is by Sleater kinney road NE and 15th ave NE. Seems like a decent area and right by all the stores like prg921 mentioned, and close to the schools my kids would be going to.

I did notice the goverment is on a hiring freeze since my wife and I are really looking for state jobs. I did check into the ford dealership and it looks like they are looking for techs, but this job just kills my body physically and I'm looking for a career change.

The rain I don't mind... actually I love rainy weather. I'm really sick of the dry, smoggy sacramento valley.

I'm still job hunting before we make a definate move, but looks like we may be moving up there around oct-nov as long as we can find work.

One of the reasons I've stayed in sac for so long is because of the location. My whole family loves the outdoors and always make trips to the mountains and ocean... looks like we can still do that up there too

 

[Shiggy]

For an ocean experience, head out to Westport or Ocean Shores. For a mountain experience, try Mt. Si, St. Helens...or...something...else. Or if you're crazy, take a day and drive to Forks. You'll never be the same.

Other potential employers would be the Tumwater, Olympia, and North Thurston School Districts, state legislature, colleges (South Puget Sound CC, Evergreen State College, Saint Martin's University, or you could just look for employment with the City of Olympia, Tumwater, or Lacey...or with Thurston County.

Other than that, there's also Costco and a bunch of other sh*tty places to work...not that Costco is sh*tty place to work. Walmart might be, but not Costco.

I also know just about every decent cheeseburger establishment in Washington and have them categorized and rated.

I almost forgot: Lacey has a sub-sandwich restaurant called Meconi's that you need to try.

 

[Tolleyy]

So I gotta ask, whats up with forks other than the twilight thing. My daughter is a huge twilight fan, so when we were up there last time she wanted to go to forks. I looked at mapquest, saw how far, and told her next time we come up.

One job I'm thinking of applying for is community services officer for Lacy. Pay sucks, but great benny's. I've always wanted to work in law enforcement.

Next time I go up I'll hit you up for some good burger places... I can never pass up a good greasy cheeseburger:eyebrow:

 

[Shiggy]

My sister had a friend who lived in Forks. There is nothing "up" with Forks. It's wet and lame and all the way at the tip of western Washington.

I tried to do the law enforcement thing, so I know a little about the application process.

You can go here for job postings or apply directly to the applicable city or department.

Most Washington state agencies use Public Safety Testing and National Testing Network for recruitment.

 

[12glocks]

California is breaking. I would get the hell out of there if I could just because of what the future may hold.

 

[grnTitan04]

California is broken.

Fixed that for ya.

 

[12glocks]

Fixed that for ya.

A valid point indeed though it will get much worse. I was just reading a story tonight about who will bail out the states when they break.... California being one of the top 3.

 

[ElijahWhite]

If you want to know all there is to know about moving to Olympia check out this all-inclusive guide: Moving to Olympia, WA: The Complete Guide - Olympic Moving & Storage

Hope it all works out for you!!

 

[FishnAlaska]

You realize this post is 5 years old, right? Sure he has already figured it out.....

 

[citron]

Didn't pay attention to the date. Wouldn't have posted if I saw that. A bit of thread resurrection going on.

 

[08XE]

This many Titans in the area and I've never met anyone!! We need to get a meet set up. Or honk if you see the lifted k12 lwb!