Olympia, WA

[theatokos]

Don't tell me what you know, tell me your experiences if you've ever been there. What did you like about it? What did you not like? Thoughts? Feelings?

Comments

[chiv.livejournal.com]

*looks at a map*

I'm trying to remember if I ever went there on one of the few trips I made to Port Angeles, WA, looking at the map I doubt I did.

That said, of my limited impressions of Washington state, Port Angeles and Seattle in particular are friendly, laid back and beautiful places to be.

[imp-of-satan.livejournal.com]

I think you should move there.

Not just cuz it's closer to me. really!!

OK, so here's what I know about Olympia: it's full of hippies and young people that think outside the box, it's a very creative place, it rains A LOT and it's not far from the gorgeous Washington Coast.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Well, my sister would like to move out of Anchorage and I want to leave CA. Sis has been researching places and she tried to sell me Olympia. I've never been, only through. However, I know it's SUPER queer friendly, was the home of the riot grrl movement, loads of indie rock and diy - all of which sounds great to me!

Do you think it would be a good place to grow up in? Do I have to be a hipster?

[imp-of-satan.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think you have to be a hipster. Oddly enough I just found out that a high school friend of mine from Anchorage is raising two kids in Olympia now.

I think you'd find kindred spirits in Olympia. As for it being a good place to raise kids, I just don't know. I think it might be a challenge finding non-college related work there, but I'm certainly no expert.

If you want to make a trip up to check it out, we'll offer you a place to stay. We live about an hour and a half from Oly.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

Home of Evergreen State College, right? I visited there once, like 14? years ago. It was beautiful in the usual Northwest foresty mountainy way. There was a downtown that didn't feel too big-cityish. That's all I remember.

[inkprincess.livejournal.com]

I'm less than an hour away from Olympia. The few times i've been there, i've loved it. Big city, yet still a small town feel to it! Drive 10 minutes and you're almost in the boonies.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Sounds peeerrrffect!

[inkprincess.livejournal.com]

It is. The pumpkin patches we went to this year were in Olympia. Out in the country part. Very pretty.

[miss-swamp.livejournal.com]

I like Olympia a lot. It's very walkable and relatively affordable to live in (especially if you're used to Bay Area prices). Lots of used bookstores and little hippie havens. Since it's the state capitol, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved in local/state politics. I feel frumpy on Broadway in Seattle, but comfortable anywhere in Olympia. Evergreen brings in great speakers and music that the public can attend (I was in the front row last year to hear Maya Angelou).

Also? The Pride festival in Olympia is adorable. The parade goes about 8 blocks, the little park is full of booths and happy queers/allies. I like it way better than Seattle Pride, which is too big for my taste. (We used to perform there, back when we didn't have babies and had time/energy to be in a chorus.)

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

It's sounding better and better. Because the housing is SO affordable I wonder what the job market is like. Any sense of it?

[ginger-root.livejournal.com]

Well, I went to school in Olympiaaaa ya ya ya ya and everyone was the same. They looked the SAME, they talked the same, yeah yeah yeah yeah they even fucked the same. Well, I went to SCHOOL in Olympiaaaaaaa ya ya ya yaaaaa...

I've never been there, but Courtney Love had some thoughts she wanted to share with you. Through me.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

I'm just gonna go out on a limb and guess that Ms Courtney and I don't see eye to eye on much.

But YOU! How are YOU? And where the hell have ya been lady? I miss your bursts of gorgeousness and gratitudinous beauty!

eh

[pwilk.livejournal.com]

Many of my friends lived there, as well as my sister, so I've been there often. Its home to the Evergreen state college, which gives it a lot of hippy cred. You will be able to find a drum circle no problem. Its also the state capital, so a lot of the downtown caters to that crowd. It used to be quite a great punk city - but I think that is not so true now. The downside is that its not a big city and its proximity to Seattle means that the culture is usually found farther up north. To be honest I would never ever live there. I think you would be much happier in Seattle - even a burb.

Re: eh

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

"The downside is that its not a big city " No! That's the UPside!

I was hoping you'd weigh in. I don't know about Seattle.... I've spent a lot of time there and lived there for a couple of years before coming here. I'm a small town girl. And culture being only an hour in each direction is completely doable.

Re: eh

[pwilk.livejournal.com]

Good point. The small town feel of it kind of bugged me. A friend of mine was able to rent a house in city for a reasonable amount of month. Don't forget that the I-5 drive is now hell. If you want to drive to Seattle for a show after work in Oly, it would be a lot more than an hour. There is no rail option, actually public transit there in general is lacking. As you can tell, I am no fan of Oly - but I suppose it works for some.