Reviews & Comments
Oak Harbor, WA
Too Expensive To Stay, Poor Schools, Drugs and Bum -
12/20/2019For a military town, I am not sure how civilians can afford to live here. "But it's so gorgeous around here" is not justification for my family to stay. I have lived in Oak Harbor for eight years, and in hind-sight, we should have bought a house when we first moved here, as the housing market is insanely high priced for what you get here. We have the largest west coast refinery one town over, and gas prices are over a dollar more than most places east of the Mississippi, largely thanks to the taxes that this state has place on gas. Expect your grocery bill to be higher than most other places as well, though it is probably that way for the whole west coast.
The school district leaves a lot to be desired. The good news is your child can be a Forrest Gump with regards to smarts, and still graduate high school since they push kids that are failing through regardless of their grades and aptitude.
The locals seem friendly on the surface but they are all judgmental, and their posturing regarding any topic that may be controversial will always lean towards the extreme liberal mindset, a cornerstone of PNW thinking.
You'll see some of the worst driver that you have ever seen going up and down SR-20. Where the speed limit is 50 mph, they drive 35 mph. Don't bother with the times that Google Maps says it will take, nor Waves, expect it to be longer due to idiots driving like blue hairs, but it's more than likely a stoned teenager.
The are good points that are worth mentioning. The summers are some of the nicest I ever experienced, as most of the summer it does not rain, and you will have many blue sky days where "the mountain is out". Winters are cold but due to being on the water, snow is rather rare. The worse part are the wind storms from September through May, you will likely be woken up in the middle of the night from the sounds of your neighbors trash cans careening down the streets.
Oak Harbor is experiencing a crisis where many vagrants are moving from Seattle and other parts due to the free homeless services in Oak Harbor. There are places that give out free tents, blankets, clothing, food, etc., and there is no incentive for these folks to get on their feet with all these handouts. Drug usage is on the rise, there is an opioid crisis on the south end of Whidbey.
Sure, you are surrounded by water and mountain views all over, that that justification for the prices of houses, rude and arrogant people. While I will miss some things about t