[Joey]

My wife and I are in our 60s and do not really need a 5 acre horse place just outside of Redmond. After all, the horses we had are now buried on the place. And although we love our large garden it would not break our hearts to have less property to keep looking nice. No, we are not planning to sell and move this year so please no contacts from realtors! And we may very well decide not to move at all. But in order to give the idea of relocating fair consideration we are starting to do some homework to find out more about the Anacortes area. In particular, the semi-rural area on the south side of Anacortes looks intriguing to us. If anyone has thoughts to share, pro or con, we would certainly enjoy hearing them. Joseph

[mike]

It rains half as much as Redmond...

[boot up]

Lots of people have retired happily there. I have known one or two and not heard any complaints. My wife and I are definitely bailing out of the core Seattle area for our retirement, but heading a bit south of there. We are just tired of it taking 20 minutes to drive a mile.....

[DIYSteve]

10+ years ago I had a biz dealing with guy who retired from Seattle to a place bit S of Anacortes. We met there a couple times. He and his wife loved it and were very happy with their decision to move. I liked the vibe.

[Schroder]

We looked around the area early in the year but didn't find a house that suited us. The ferry traffic on Hiway 20 through town can be pretty heavy. Grocery shopping is pretty limited but Burlington's only 20 minutes away. We ended up on Whidbey Island.

[Bird in Hand]

Left the Seattle malestrom for Ellensburg. It's cold, I have about a foot of snow in the yard but I have yet to encounter anyone remotely rude or hostile. I don't have gunfire three nights out of seven and only one large regret.

[captain jack]

I have been spending alot of time in this area for 20 years now, and retiring there is a dream of mine. The good 》 Rainshadow climate. Low crime. Great places for dayhiking, and very dog friendly. Cheapest Chevron in the state next to the casino, so cheap gas. Quiet, peaceful atmosphere in town. Lots of kitschy places locally to take out of town guests. The bad 》 Houses are expensive, and availability is low. The two local markets in town are expensive, in order to shop at places with better value, you need to make the 20 mile pilgrimage to Mount Vernon with all the other bluehairs. Traffic can get bad in the summer, with all the tourons heading to the islands, also flyboy top gun Tom Cruise type idiots drive like knuckleheads on 20 going to Oak Harbor . Also jets doing carrier landing training fly around the area very slowly, and can be EXTREMELY LOUD. Dining options in town are mostly subpar and overpriced, the Island Cafe being the exception. The ugly 》 You dont want a house too close to the refinery, its an eyesore. Still, overall, there are few places in this fine country that rival it. A sunset from the Skyline area, Burrows Island on the left.

[Joey]

Thanks everyone for the info. Keep 'em coming. Years back my wife used to visit the Anacortes hospital for work and has always liked the town. One of these fine days I expect we will cruise up that way and poke around. Likely have lunch at the Island Cafe.

[JPH]

Ferry traffic probably won't be as bad as it has been historically with the new reservation system. At least being someone taking the ferry it seemed like traffic was 1/5 of other years on the 4th of July weekend.

[Alpendave]

Might be worth checking out the northern Kitsap Peninsula. Point No Point is hard to be for a casual beach stroll and the Olympics are very convenient so long as there are now subs coming through. Our first summer here we got to watch a pod of humpbacks from Point No Point👍.

[gray matter]

My wife and I were married on Guemes Island about four years ago, and we had similar aspirations of moving to Anacortes for retirement. A series of very fortunate events landed us here four months ago, about 25 years ahead of schedule. We do not regret our choice for one moment! I will add that the community has been incredibly welcoming to me and my family. The friendly, laid back vibe of the community is wonderful. There are so many community events for kids and adults alike. As a guy who was born and raised on the east side of the state, I was interested in less rain. My wife still wanted water and greenery. Of course, I also wanted mountains. We have the best of all worlds. As for the traffic, I takes about a week to figure out the ferry schedule so you can avoid the rushes. And, if I do get caught in ferry traffic, my commute is usually disrupted by about 2 minutes. There are plenty of ways to get through town that can avoid the majority of traffic. Personally, I have not been bothered by the sounds of jets here so far. I've heard a few, but it is not disruptive to me. Perhaps, that is because we used to live in the approach path for JBLM. I agree on the housing assessment. We are renting right now, and it was difficult to find even a rental that was nice. There's a limited amount of additional space to build on the island, so you will pay more. But, your property should also hold its value. If you meander up this way, shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to show you what we've discovered. And, get a sandwich at Gere-a-deli for lunch. Best in town. Good luck with your decision, Matt Gray

[Joey]

Thanks Matt. Good info.

[meandering Wa]

I too have Anacortes on my list. Unfortunately it is far from Olympia and I would hate to give up my NLT activities. I think Washington Park is the gem of Puget Sound. Lovely rambling and unique ecology makes this a wild flower lovers paradise. In the spring I go up almost every week to watch the calypsos and fawn lily welcome Spring

[Schroder]

Also there are many miles of good trails in the Anacortes Community Forestland

[mike]

Best to nip this thread in the bud before it gets legs.... ...the people are jerks, kids are below average, weather sucks, traffic jams, lock your doors, high home prices, entertainment is a 6-pak and bug zapper, jello for dessert...Anacortes sucks. Don't move there.