What are people like on the Olympic Peninsula?

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CosmickGold

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I'm wanting to move 2,200 miles from central Texas to the Northwest corner of Washington State, which is the upper half of the Olympic Peninsula near Forks, Nea Bay, Beaver, Port Angeles, etc. Can you tell me what it's like there now? (if you've been there recently.)

For example, are there still lots of good people up there to get to know? Or has it become a haven for crime and scary people. Do people seem focused on joy? Or focused on fear? Can I leave my van out of sight without worrying it will be broken into?

You get the idea. If you've recently been there and gotten to know what it's like now days. Please let me know. If I do go as planned, I want it to be a really good thing, not a big mistake.
 
I was up there years ago, and my first recollection is “rainy and wet”. 😅

So, I don’t know current conditions, nor do I recall the mindset and attitudes of the people who live there.

I would suggest that you plan a good long visit before relocating anywhere on a voluntary basis, as what you are asking for is so subjective that others assessments may not give you what you need to make a decision.

It is a beautiful and unique part of the country.

Good luck.
 
Years ago was driving and camping the OP. Stopped in Forks and talked with a local. Said there were drug issues with associated theft crime. Said one young man got disappeared as he kept breaking into the wrong same business. The people at the local stores and restaurants are always nice. Forks is long way from anything else. In winter that road seems to just get longer. The dirty little OP secret is some areas are in tidal wave zones. 20, 40 feet are historical. There are maps you can check before you buy.
 
I have lived in 12 US states/territories and three other countries and visited a number of others and I would say, categorically, that there is no such thing as "the people in X place are like XYZ" -- that people in every place I know of are far too complex and varied to be summed up that way -- that who you meet, and what /your/ personality brings out in them, can vary drastically from who the next person meets and what their personality brings out in them -- that nobody I have ever met has been purely focused on joy /or/ fear -- that "havens for crime and scary people" are also full of brave, good, and joy-focused people (you have a right to avoid high-crime areas if you can and want to, but no right to make assumptions about the quality of people who live there) -- that aside from differences in survival aspects like jobs, prices, and crime and disease rates, you're pretty much going to have to make the environment you want wherever you go -- and that if you want to know the auto theft statistics there are places you can look that up.

Agree with Rose that it's very rainy and beautiful and that there's no substitute for visiting first and making your own impressions.
 
People are people no matter where they are. There will always be jerks and there will always be good folks. The weather is wet and cool and soggy. There are, like anywhere, rules and regulations that are involved in any kind of building and living situation.
It is in an area that is pretty depressed. The logging is still there, but at only a fraction of what it once was. And only a small fraction of that is processed there. Economics are down due to that. It does have a growing tourist thing going, but.....
Just remember it is a loooonnnngggg way away from just about anything else.
We live on Whidbey Island about 2-3 hours away from Forks and enjoy a few times a year going out to the OP. But not in the rainy season. Yea, it has a lot more rain than anywhere else. There are some places over there that are in rain shadows. We are in one and I don't want to live out of it up here. We get about 1/2 the rain Seattle does.
All that said. Try visiting first. You may be the one who really loves the super green dense woods and love the wild rugged mountains and lifestyle. There are folks there that would never ever want to live anywhere else.
We spent a week end last fall watching the sprint boat races in Port Angeles and it was great fun. We missed out on Camping at Cresant Lake because it was already closed down for the year. It is very much a 'seasonal' area.
This will be VERY different from anything in Texas. My brother came to visit one winter and just about freaked out at the winter darkness and my cousin visited in mid-June and said the same about the sun never going down. It does. She had just never been this far north in summer before. How will you feel when the sun doesn't come up until close to 8 in the morning and goes down at 4:30 in the evening. It made me grumpy my first year up here. I also love dark summer nights and had to get used to the sun staying up until close to 10 at night....
 
. . . . You may be the one who really loves the super green dense woods and love the wild rugged mountains and lifestyle. There are folks there that would never ever want to live anywhere else. . . .
I am one of them, loving the rain, the lush green, and all of it. This stems from an experience I had when three years old. My mother threw open the window letting the wind and rain pour in as she shouted "Make it lightning, God!" Almost instantly there was a bright triple flash. Then she said, "Now make the thunder roar!" and it did, right after she said it. She kept this up for a while, keeping me close to her where I could feel the rain blowing in through the window like a warm summer shower on my skin. I thought I was being caressed by God, convinced God was right outside the window, listening to my mother's every word and doing exactly what she said. As a result, I have always felt the happiest, most peaceful, and close to nature/God/spirit when I smell/hear/see/feel the rain coming down. That experience is my ecstasy. I still feel the touch of rain is God caressing me.

But about Texas: To me, Texas seems mostly hot, dry, and flat, none of which I have ever liked. Plus I've had an irrational phobia of scorpions my entire life.

Long ago, I went to Washington by myself and lived not far from Forks for two years, which were the happiest two years of my life. I had been lured there by a book of colored nature photos shown to me by friends of my parents who had just returned. They were pictures of the Hoh Valley Park - Rain Forest showing mountains, rivers, lakes, huge trees, hanging moss, falling rain, things I'd only seen in my dreams. These photos instantly started my heart craving to go there and never return. But after those two years, I felt obligated to Texas to be supportive to relatives now old and needing me.

It's now been 40 years since I returned from Washington, and am now alone and free to do whatever I want. Never having been back to the Northwest even for a visit, I felt I better ask you about the people and conditions there. Forty years is a long time and I don't want to go into shock over seeing how things have changed in four decades. What if it's become an endless sea of homeless tents, with so much trash blown up against the trees you can't even see them!

Happily, your description sounds like it's about the same as when i left 40 years ago. (I truly am relieved.) There were a few "jerks" along with a lot of really fine people back then too. And I really am glad "it is a loooonnnngggg way away from just about anything else" as you said. That's just the way I like it. I did then. I will now. . . . . Many thanks, vanbrat. :p
 
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Well in that case welcome back.... Of course it has grown and changed everything has but like most things it is basically the same. More hipster hikers and more drugs (like everywhere) but basically the same. I hope you are not dissapointed
 
When I was traveling around the peninsula almost 30 years ago, I was surprised to find nearly every single table in nearly every campground had had toilets emptied on them. I had traveled from SoCal to Maine to the peninsula. Maybe things have changed for the better.
 
We have rv'd through there last two yrs. Son is stationed in Oak Harbor. Population along Hwy 101 from Pt Townsnd to Pt Angeles has grown. Costco exists in Sequim. Forks is still a spot in the road - except for some Twilight attraction.
 
When I was traveling around the peninsula almost 30 years ago, I was surprised to find nearly every single table in nearly every campground had had toilets emptied on them. I had traveled from SoCal to Maine to the peninsula. Maybe things have changed for the better.
That being so sick and anti-social -- as well as difficult to accomplish -- it's hard to even believe. At least that was 30 years ago, meaning the perpetrators are too old now for such disgusting pranks. I'm sure such things have changed a lot for the better by now.

We have rv'd through there last two yrs. Son is stationed in Oak Harbor. Population along Hwy 101 from Pt Townsnd to Pt Angeles has grown. Costco exists in Sequim. Forks is still a spot in the road - except for some Twilight attraction.
Thanks for the update. I look forward to seeing exactly what you are talking about along highway 101.

I guess your son is involved with the Naval Air Base just north of town? I tried to see where he works from "Google Street View" but it seems that kind of photography must not be allowed on the roads inside the base. (I should have guessed that would be the case.)

You may be aware that there is serious opposition to flying training exercises over the Olympic National Park due to those extremely noisy jets destroying the natural quiet of the wilderness. Several YouTube videos about it ask for donations to help fight such exercises legally, "write your congressman", etc. I wonder how your son feels about it, the jets and the wilderness? When the military already has several alternative areas set aside for such exercises, it makes sense to me that they should let the wilderness remain wilderness in every way.
 
I deleted a series of political posts. Please avoid posting your opinions on the beliefs of members of any political party. Thanks!
 
I deleted a series of political posts. Please avoid posting your opinions on the beliefs of members of any political party. Thanks!
I wondered if these posts would last. I hoped no one claiming one group to be right and another wrong would be enough to give censorship a pass.

Anyway, I'm very glad I got to see the posts sent to me here before they were deleted, because they were truly helpful, relieving my worries and building my hopes for positive experiences when I drive my van home up there next month. :)
 
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I wondered if these posts would last. I hoped no one claiming one group to be right and another wrong would be enough to give censorship a pass.

Anyway, I'm very glad I got to see the posts sent to me here before they were deleted, because they were truly helpful, relieving my worries and building my hopes for positive experiences when I drive my van home up there next month. :)
I truly didn't intend to paint any one "political side" as if they were all baddies, and I really did mean it when I said political extremes of any sort aren't something I feel comfortable around.

But to ignore the fact that we are a very politically divided country doesn't do anyone a service. If I were considering moving to another part of the country that I didn't know well, I'd appreciated someone letting me know what I was about to get myself in to. Isn't there some way we can help folks like the OP with descriptive information on that w/o being considered as "demeaning any person or groups of people" ?
 
I too am puzzled. All I did was point out that there a lot of military folk living on the Olympic Peninsula (presumably because they work on the rather large navy base there), and that military folk are generally more conservative than the stereotypical Seattlite. I don't know why simple demographics count as demeaning other people, I certainly did not intend it that way. I mentioned it because a lot of people are not aware of the significant military presence in western Washington.
 
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Too bad we don’t have a hobo sign code usually carved in a big tree just before you enter a developed area or farm like they did last century to let others that came after them know how they would be treated!
 
I too am puzzled. All I did was point out that there a lot of military folk living on the Olympic Peninsula (presumably because they work on the rather large navy base there), and that military folk are generally more conservative than the stereotypical Seattlite. I don't know why simple demographics count as demeaning other people, I certainly did not intend it that way. I mentioned it because a lot of people are not aware of the significant military presence in western Washington.
I'm really glad you did, Jacqueg. I found the info you shared especially reassuring, adding significantly to my forward momentum.
 
Too bad we don’t have a hobo sign code usually carved in a big tree just before you enter a developed area or farm like they did last century to let others that came after them know how they would be treated!
We would need it to be a bit more specific than a hobo on a tree. We all knew the rules, but the details on exactly where the line lies are blurry. I wish moderators could simply change offending words, lines, or thoughts to stars, *** ****** ** ***** ****. And then suggest a modified version that would "pass inspection".
 
I moved last May from 12 years inside National Forest on Olympic Peninsula to NM. I lived in WA about 26 years.

A little south of where you are mentioning but I will give you my general opinion of life on OP....

Yes Forks etc has a very serious Meth problem... Easily recognized by the PAT signs everywhere (people against tweekers) lol. I don't know any of the idiots and nobody ever bothered me but it was the propane company tech was telling me about all the break ins and people shot that dont seem to make the news.

In WA they call it the Seattle freeze.... Yes there are friendly people but if you are looking for warmth from people... Good luck, the peninsula is loaded with retired people and where I was they are in fancy houses on Lake Cushman and not exactly friendly.

It snows a whole lot more than people think... Maybe within so many miles of the water there is less but at 1000 feet I had up to 39" and 2 feet on Hood Canal is a regular occurrence as are down trees and closed roads for days...

I was camped out for 11 solid months on the same spot on DNR land just above where I sold my 5 acres until an asshat state forester who thinks he owns the place turned me in... Him and I already had history lol after he stopped to harass me one day, not realizing that I was not on Govt Land that was next door to mine and I was the appointed caretaker of to keep the summer idiots from starting camp fires. Guess he didn't like when I told him it's private property and bye bye we have nothing to discuss... You are just a Govt logger get lost 😊

In all its a pretty great place to live if you keep to yourself and are not expecting a group hug...

Washington has a serious homeless problem because a liberal state lots of services to suck on. Finding hiding places to camp are all over but people are watching and lots of places have ordinances... After 1 year camped out I left because I really saw no future and don't like cops in my business.. The DNR cop treated me OK but I still had to leave in a few days..

I miss it there but 5 acres selling for 5x what I paid in 2011 so that ended the story..

Good Luck 😊
 
Perhaps the greatest description of PNW rain-forest dwellers is in the Tom Robbins novel:
* ANOTHER ROADSIDE ATTRACTION.
.
The word eccentric seems appropriate.
A quote:
* "She thought those thoughts to herself as in her mind's eye, she ran naked through the woods, hugging trees."
And another:
* "Among the Haida Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the verb for 'making poetry' is the same as the verb 'to breathe'."
.
I hope this helps!
 
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