pros and cons
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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 moldy or rusty. Even stuff in my basement here is getting rusty.
It's getting expensive here, (food, rent, houses, utilities, etc.)
Lots of druggies, alcoholics, punk kids, and homeless people downtown now. They've taken over.
Downtown has gotten really dilapidated in some ares. Broken windows, and graffiti are more prevalent now.
4th Ave and the downtown bus station are where most of the riff raff hang out.
There are some nice people here, but a lot of people are fake, stuck up, grouchy, snobs. Most of the time when you say hi to people while walking on the sidewalk or on a trail, they give you a dirty look instead of a smile, as if you have the audacity to be nice. Even a lot of the so called hippies are stuck up here. Open minded, spiritually enlightened my a**. I don't care what anyone says, this town isn't a friendly town. It is more so when the weather's nice, but even then, not so much.
I'm sure people are going to be pissed that I think this, but I've lived here for 20 years and that's what I've experienced the most. Some days you can run into friendly people all day, but most days, you don't. If you have your own car, it's a lot better, because a lot of the rude, classless, people take the city bus. Not taking the bus alone, will make your experience here a lot more enjoyable.
Traffic's getting pretty bad.
I think the huge influx of people from all over is what drove the prices up, made the traffic bad, and brought in a lot of shady characters.
If you're from a higher crime, bigger city, then this town will probably feel a lot better to you. Growing up in this town though, I don't like how it's changed.
Of course it depends on where you go, who you meet, etc., that will determine your viewpoint. Some people love this place. I used to.
I like the beauty and nature of this place the most.
I dislike the people and the weather the most.
Abhd | Olympia, WA