Comments from a former native Bremertonian.
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12/25/2007
Currently I live in Longview, WA, down the road a piece from Bremerton. However, I spent my first 25 years there and visit every 2-3 months on a regular basis. As far as rain and gray goes, as far as I am concerned, and having traveled I-5, it doesn't get any warmer or drier until you cross the border into California. As far as people go, I would say they are about as nice, and in some cases, nicer than the bigger cities. As far as the one comment I saw about trashy people goes - well, I have a few things to say. First, Bremerton is now, after many decades of blocked growth, fast becoming a bedroom destination community to Seattle, catering to mid-level professionals and up as secondary to the military population. Last time I actually lived in Bremerton was in 2004 and I was one of those trashy people that went to DSHS. I am here to say that my car was the worst in the whole parking lot, which was full of brand new, zippy little cars. I have no idea how they could afford it, because I sure could not. In the 70's, the town was full of rust buckets and rent was way cheaper; I remember seeing lots of places go for only a hundred or two. I didn't discover where all the trashy cars went that populated Bremerton in those years (and into the 80's) until I moved into the Longview/Kelso area and saw rusty cars, dented cars, patched cars, cars that barely moved, and above all, cars that looked to be more than 3 years old. You don't see those in Bremerton anymore. So, if there is any perception of trashiness, I would vote that it is a perception of general attitudes rather more than how spendy a person's level of living is. I know I can't afford to live back there at the present time, and I would like to because of family. If it wasn't for that, I would be happy to visit and live somewhere where I could dry out on a seasonal basis from the rain. That and money. So actually - I think Bremerton has improved greatly over the years. But - there still are not a whole lot of exciting things to do at night that I can tell except for hopping the boat to Seattle. Certainly not a lot to do at night for my two preschoolers. So although it is one of the good places in Washington to raise kids, I think it is quickly getting to be quite expensive for what it has to offer overall.
rjcjmom | Longview, WA