Olympia, WA Reviews

Green City - 5/18/2013
Moved to Olympia about three months ago and it is not what I expected some of that is a good thing and bad thing. It's green, with tall trees and plenty of rain which I enjoy coming from phoenix, arizona. The public education system is not that great, my son has plenty of health conditions and we were told the two local hospitals cannot treat him so he will have to be airlifted to Seattle Childrens if a problems comes up, jobs are scarce, plenty of tourist and traffic. Olympia has potential but refuses to grow up and be the diverse capital city it's suppose to be. I love the state and if it were not for my son's health conditions would stay here but we are looking at moving closer to Read More

Nice Community but oh the weather! - 7/18/2012
It's true - Olympia is an interesting community with educated people, cultural tastes and social tolerance and I like all of that. The cost of living isn't really bad either. But the weather is not so good. The truth is that we would plan to retire here been here 20 years and domestic partner is 5th generation Washingtonian) but for the weather.

The winters are milder than back east, but very wet. I mean there are many days that you don't see the sun and partly cloudy here means its dark enough in the middle of the day to have your house lights on.

My 5th generation washingtonian love says we really have two months of summer here and ten months of fall/spring with rain. Yes we have 50 inches of rain a year, but unlike other places, it takes its time to rain here - often it may rain one tenth of an inch a day with the day being darkish and cloudy all day. That gets depressing.

At first it didn't bother me but after all these years - too Read More

Drugs - 3/4/2012
I have read numerous reviews saying how wonderful Olympia is and how it is such a great place and all. Well My wife and I are both nurses at the local hospital and I can tell you that by and large the greatest number of patients we see are either addicted to heroin, or meth. The addiction problem is rampant but either the government is hiding the stats from us or the enforcement is so lax that nothing is done about it. Additionally Pierce county, just north of us is the number one meth county in the state and Thurston county is rated 4th in the state. I moved here 2 years ago from and within the first 6 months my wallet and cell phone were stolen from a picnic table while palying catch with my kids not 20 feet away. Then my car was broken into in my driveway, in broad daylight, on a nice quiet cul-de-sac full of brand new homes. Then again some kids went up and down the street shooting out car windows. Thankfully nobody was hit by any stray bullets.
It is a nice city and all Read More

Cost of Living - 3/12/2011
This place is expensive and does not have adequate shopping. Must go to Seattle to find Read More

pros and cons - 11/21/2010
I've lived in Olympia most of my life. I'm moving. I'm tired of it here.

Pros: Beautiful area. Lots of parks, trails, and nature. Laid back. Not that hectic.
Some places to get healthy food, (mostly the food co-ops, and Trader Joes).
It is relatively safe. I think crime is and will rise though thanks to shady people, or parents with delinquent kids, moving here and transferring their previous problems to our town. That's just the evolution of cities though. You have a nice, peaceful town, it gets popular, so all the riff raff come pouring in and the town goes to crap. It's sad but true.

Cons: Weather sucks. Cloudy and rainy most of the year. Cold. Not too cold though. You get about a month to two months of nice, warm, sunny, dry weather a year. The rest of the year is cold and wet. Even if it's not raining, the air is really cold and damp. Even at nights during the summer. If you don't live in a house, it's hard to keep anything from getting Read More

Olympia, WA has a Great Quality of Life! - 5/20/2010
Having lived in Olympia for over 28 years, I can truly say I love it here. Being the State Capitol, there are always folks with divergent views expressing themselves.

The mountains, Puget Sound, fresh air........relaxed lifestyle and proximity to Seattle, Portland, the Pacific Ocean, skiing.........all appeal to me.

As a Realtor, I really enjoy helping folks move to our wonderful town/city, and sharing with them all the special things to do, places to eat etc. Read More

Absolutely Gorgeous - 5/2/2010
The City of Olympia must be one of the most beautiful cities in the country. The flowering plum trees start off spring in February/March, followed by pink or white dogwood trees (sometimes both on one tree as a result of creative grafting), and all manner of flowering cherry trees. People grow every kind of flower in their yards you can think of. As the capital city of Washington, aesthetics are emphasized by government and individuals. Spring here is wonderful! And the rest of the year ain't bad Read More

Olympia is stimulating and comfortable - 4/5/2010
With a wide range of political views and eclectic cultural happenings, both influenced by the presence of the state government and the Evergreen State College, Olympia is a great place to be stimulated and also a great place to relax and enjoy life. Rural areas to live are within easy reach of the more urban areas. People are Read More

Great City to Visit - 7/31/2009
Downtown Olympia's waterfront is very picturesque and is located on Puget Sound. The city is quaint and enjoys a small town atmosphere. Olympia is definitely worth a visit from July through October. However,during the remaining eight months of the year, the climate is mild, cloudy and rainy.The politics in western Washington is very liberal, and you'll frequently see groups picketing for their cause throughout downtown and the Read More

Unemployment Info on this site - 6/21/2009
Keep in mind that giant lay-offs in government are in process and will most likely be completed by the end of June/July 2009. Because we are the capitol, most living wage jobs are government. We are bracing for a loss of 8000 state jobs total with a large bulk of them to happen here. Employment is not looking quite so Read More