Olympia, WA

Right off the bat, Olympia hits you with liberal city vibes. There are inclusivity posters, coffee shops, and thrift stores on every block. Although the capital building dominates the skyline, downtown is distinct from the governmental buildings. It rests along the Budd Inlet, yet it doesn't feel like a waterfront town until you are walking along the marina. 

I really liked all of the shops we went into, and I love that there is a year-round farmers market. I was ready for Olympia to feel too urban, but within the city limits there were multiple properties on the peninsula north of downtown with acreage. There was even a smaller village at the top of that peninsula, Boston Harbor, which would be a nice secondary town hub. I was envisioning how nice it would be to take a summer bike ride into town to do my weekly farmers market shopping and grab some pastries. I'm just not sure if the gloomy winters are worth the trade-off.

The Good

• Progressive liberal city vibes…although I’ll admit it might be a little too in-your-face, even for me. 
• Affordable land available that feels relatively rural, despite being within a few miles of the capital building.
• Year round farmers market. 
• Near to our closest social network. I have a college friend who already lives there, plus we're basically neighbors with our Seattle friends. Our family in Port Angeles is less than 3 hours away, and the SeaTac airport is really accessible.

The Bad

• I probably sound like a broken record, but the gloom! I did get a therapy light this week, so maybe it will be a sufficient coping mechanism. 
• It's more of a boat town rather than a ski town, and we're more ski people than boat people. 
• Homelessness is on full display downtown. 
• It's on the I-5 corridor, which is pretty traffic-heavy. It's nowhere near as bad as further north in the Tacoma/Seattle area, but I can't imagine it will get better as time goes on. I've had to work in Olympia for a few weeks, and the commuting traffic would get to me, even just after a few days.

The Verdict

Yes? This was another place that I wanted to dislike, but I just couldn't quite talk myself out of it. I am nixing Gig Harbor and Kirkland from the list, so this is likely our closest-to-Seattle option. That proximity is really great for our jobs and friends, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for everything else. 

Artsy water-loving liberals is the main vibe of Olympia.

Which is not necessarily a bad vibe. I could have done some serious shopping at Ember Goods if I had a house to put things into. 

I’m not entirely sure what the Olympia Center is, but the front desk employees let us wander around and look at the art even though it was technically closed to the public. 

Olympia in a nutshell: the capitol building, pride, boats, and PNW wildlife. Despite being a proper city, Olympia does feel more connected to nature. Maybe because it houses one of the most environmentally-focused colleges out there: Evergreen State College. 

Did I mention that Olympia is artsy? There was a sculpture-heavy walk alongside the waterfront. 

It’s a great place to be a boat person. And a gray-sky person. 

Some of the cutest neighborhoods are near the capitol building, but it’s nice to realize you can distance yourself from that public works section of town. 

That said, the capitol dome is a prevalent part of the skyline. 

Best part of Olympia? It’s year-round farmer’s market. 

I’d be curious to know if it’s always so lively, or if we were seeing it at its best since it was the week before Christmas. 

Another selling point? Santa salmon integrated into the city’s holiday decorations.