Reviews & Comments
Rochester, MN
Bad for progressive thinkers and diversity -
10/30/2020Rochester is very vanilla. As a progressive, this place is not good. The area leans conservative and you'll see Trump signs everywhere... so that tells you the type of mentality that dominates here. The drivers are the worst I've seen since living in Georgia/ Florida. I'm going to invest in a dash cam and make a YouTube channel about it. Not only will you get mowed down in a crosswalk or have someone constantly riding your bumper in icy conditions or honking at you if you go the speed limit, but at least three times a week people, I get stuck behind a driver that stops in the middle of the road or blocks traffic for no visible reason. Folks are very inconsiderate and it's maddening. They're most often old, white people in expensive cars or country bunkins in oversized trucks. I don't mind the cold winters, but it's frequently -15F or below December through March. Then you get hit with hot, humid summers that are unbearable if you don't have forced air conditioning. Because of the two extremes, utilities can be pretty pricey. We didn't get a spring or fall transition this year. We just went from cold to hot and back to cold again. Other folks have already mentioned the high cost of living. A semi-decent apartment from the 1980s will run you about $1,400 a month for a two bedroom. The lower end apartments on the bad side of town go for around $1,000 a month. Most people from Rochester have been born and raised locally so you don't get a lot of worldliness or outside views unless you're a doctor at the Mayo Clinic hired from afar. The water quality is also very, very bad due to insecticide runoff from the Mississippi River. We've had to live off bottled water since we got here. Lucky for us, we're not here for the long haul.
Washington, WA
Washington killed my faith in humanity -
11/13/2019I'm a transplant/outsider to Washington. I've lived in various counties across Washington, working for social services, so I have a unique insider/outsider point-of-view.
THE GOOD: Washington has beautiful scenery, with most of it being in Clallam County, the most northwestern part of the state. That's the #1 compliment I hear or read from people visiting or living in Washington. It's very green and a great place to see nature.
I also stopped taking the sunshine for granted. When the sun finally comes out, the streets are crowded with house-dwellers trying to get things done before the clouds and rain come back.
Finally, compared to other places I've lived around the country, utility costs have been much lower (although Washingtonians think their bills are high). There's also no income tax.
THE BAD: The political bickering here is EXHAUSTING and never-ending. Washington has an out-dated reputation for being "granola". I'm vegetarian and in 8 years, I've only met one other vegan here outside of Seattle. Most people (outside of the Seattle area) have spent their entire lives here so there's definitely sectarian attitudes abound. Racism, sexism, and ableism are Washington's dirty little secrets. If you speak up about it, you're going to find yourself on the outside of social circles and potentially jobless. Again, the jokes and remarks I've heard about people with disabilities or people from South America are truly sickening. These are comments made by other state workers, too. The general excuse is: "They just come from a different generation. Try to ignore it."
I've been a witness to a LOT of domestic violence, child abuse, and I was even a victim of road rage. It doesn't surprise me at all that so many serial killers hail from the Pacific NW. If I had to describe Washingtonians in a few words, they would be: Angry, entitled, and provincial.
Social and mental health services are lacking, possibly because there's no income tax so the tax dollars just aren't there to cover costs. Yet, the state signs up as many people as possible for Medicaid because it gets federal funding. It's so bad that lots of doctors have year-long wait lists for Medicaid patients or don't take Medicaid at all. In places outside of King county, there's little to no help for evictions, utilities, or other needed services like shelters.
Washington is hostage to corporations like Amazon, Boeing, and Microsoft. Gentrification is everywhere. Rent is an average of $1,200 - $2,500 per month on the western side of Washington, drug abuse is high, and so is the homeless count. Don't just take my word for it. Google it. Washington has one of the worst homeless rates in the nation. There are pan-handlers at almost every store and freeway entrance on sunny days. With enough time, you shut down your conscience and learn to ignore them. It's awful but it's also brutally true.
**OUTSIDE OF HIKING, THERE IS NOTHING TO DO HERE. ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS.** Hiking, camping, and kayaking are fun; however, it rains in Western Washington almost nine months out of the year. For a place with so much rain, it's surprising there aren't more indoor activities. There's a staggering amount of bars and pubs, though, so it would appear people drink their sorrows away while their kids do drugs and/or become serial killers.
Finally, the schools (ugh).... Washington was recently sued and then held in contempt for not fully funding schools (see the McCleary ruling). The ACLU has filed more lawsuits against various districts.
Washington is most suited for techie hipsters and "mountain men" types. If you're a caring person with a big heart, use your good elsewhere. After a few years, this place will destroy your kindness.
**UPDATE: According to Big7 Travel, for 2019, Washington was ranked the 5th unfriendliest state out of all 50 states.
Minneapolis, MN
re: Honest Opinion from an Outsider
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11/13/2019Thank you for an outsider's POV!
Lynden, WA
One of the better places if you're trapped in WA -
11/12/2019I've lived all over the country and Washington has some of the unfriendliest and angriest people I've met. I was told to avoid Lynden and move to Bellingham because Bellingham is supposed to be more "progressive"; however, my first impression of Bellingham was watching two people scream at each other in a Fred Meyer over their place in line and having some road rager chase me through a round-about. That was just my first day here and it never got better so we chose to move to Lynden. Lynden has been the nicest thing about living here. I'm an atheist progressive and Lynden is a god-fearing town. It can be a little backwards. You'll see anti-abortion signs every few miles, but I've never been discriminated against here because of my beliefs. THE GOOD: Lynden has some of the nicest people you'll find along the I-5 corridor in Washington. They're not Minnesota nice or Southern nice, but they're as friendly as it gets in Washington. Lynden is a slice of Americana with quite a few Canadians living here. It's very safe and quiet. Locals are honest and trustworthy. If you hear a siren, you know something really bad has happened. It's only about 10 minutes to the Canadian border. New houses are popping up everywhere. Lynden actually still has trick-or-treaters (and lots of them!) that go house to house, and Lynden is full of lights during the holidays. It's a great place to be at Christmas. THE BAD: There are only two large grocery stores here so you'll have to drive 30 minutes for any major shopping... and because it's an agricultural area, there are lots of funky smells.
To any kind, considerate person thinking about moving to Washington, if you can find a job near either town, I'd only recommend living in two places: Sequim or Lynden. The rest of this state will eat you alive.
West Bountiful, UT
What? West Bountiful a "best green city"? Um, no. -
3/24/2018If you mean green as in "green sludge," then maybe, but there are a few oil refineries in/around West Bountiful and Woods Cross so I'm not sure how this qualifies as a "green city." I grew up here. My family still lives here. I've known several people who spent most of their lives here and ended up with allergies, asthma, and/or cancer. There have been chemical spills, storage tank explosions, and oil fires as far back as I can remember. I even did a report on Davis County Superfund sites in college. Toxic waste and pollution aside, West Bountiful is (like most of Utah) very conservative. It has a high population of LDS church members. The schools in the area are average for Utah - neither good nor bad. Being a conservative area, it's very exclusive to outsiders and when I lived there, there was almost no diversity (it's very, very vanilla). If you're liberal and a supporter of equality, this isn't a good area to thrive. It's not too different from other northern Utah towns. It's a smaller, older town that doesn't have a lot of room to grow. There's a Costco and a few apparel stores on the main street that borders Bountiful, along with lots and lots of fast food places. Traffic near the business sector is often horribly congested (except on Sundays). In 2017, housing prices (2-3 bedrooms) were about $250-$300K on average. Most decent paying jobs are in the Salt Lake area. The climate is hot (90F-100F) and super dry in the summer, which is followed by long, depressing winters. Public transportation is EXTREMELY limited and requires going to the train station in Woods Cross or one of the bus stops near Main Street in Centerville or Bountiful. I highly recommend you have a reliable car if moving to the area. THE GOOD: The airport is only about a 20-minute drive and there's not much crime in the residential areas.
Olympia, WA
It's decent, not great -
3/24/2018Housing and rental prices made a dramatic jump in the past two years. Average rent for a 2-bedroom in 2018 is about $1200. 2-3 bedroom houses are priced around $300-$350K and sell fast. If you're not paying cash, be prepared for a bidding war. Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater are small so it's easy to get used to the area and know where everything is. There's a Trader Joes, a couple of Fred Meyers and Targets, Westfield (Capital) Mall, and lots of coffee shops. SeaTac airport is about a 60-90 minute drive. If you're headed north, driving around lunch and rush-hour is a pain and going near the Army/Air Base really jams up traffic starting at 7 a.m. and again at 4 p.m., and pretty much all day Sunday when military are coming home from the weekend. Basically, don't go north on Sundays if possible. Road rage is an issue. Decent hiking trails are further north - at least an hour's drive. There are a few flat trails around Olympia but it can be a bit dangerous to go alone or even in pairs because that's where people go to shoot up (drugs). Pretty much all of Washington has a panhandling problem. Panhandlers are at nearly every store and freeway entrance, especially when the weather gets warm. If you're a transplant (not from Olympia), you may find it hard to meet people or make close friends. The "Seattle Freeze" extends to this area. There's a clique-esk mentality and two primary groups: Christian families that are super involved in church and sports, and party-going booze hounds that hang out at downtown bars on weekends. There's not much gray area or in-between. It's also very white here. The schools are average for Western Washington. The transit system is pretty epic, though. This is from the perspective of a nature-loving, introverted fan-girl who prefers quiet contemplation, video games and hanging with her awesome teens and who has lived in Olympia for five years. If you're like me, Bellevue is a better, but much more expensive, area. The northern Peninsula (Clallam county) is also a wonderful place for introverts who love the outdoors.