Sequim, WA
by In Net We Trust on Friday, September 26th, 2008 | No Comments
Sequim, WA
Pros: Water, mountains, culture and a small town all at once.
Cons: The Pacific is a tad nippy for a swim.
Located two hours north of Seattle, Sequim (pronounced skwim) offers a lower cost of living and an easier pace than its burgeoning neighbor to the south. For about $300,000, you can get a three-bedroom house there.
Seafarers can head to the marina, a jumping-off point to explore the Puget Sound and the nearby San Juan Islands. Those who don’t own a boat can ride the 30-minute ferry to Canada’s historic city of Victoria or explore the coast by car, bike or foot. The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, a few minutes from downtown Sequim, boasts the longest natural sand spit in the U.S., a historic lighthouse, hiking trails and hundreds of species of birds. And the snow-capped Olympic Mountains loom just to the south – meaning Sequim residents can have lunch on the beach and dinner on the slopes in the same day.
What about that less appealing kind of H2O – the kind that falls from the sky?
Sequim is an anomaly in the Pacific Northwest: The town averages just 16 inches of precipitation a year, thanks to its location in the “rain shadow” of the Olympics. Sequim also has a whole lot of culture nearby, from plays at Olympic Theatre Arts to rotating exhibits at the Museum and Arts Center to live music at the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra.
Don and Lois Smaltz, 71 and 66
Moved to: Sequim, WA, from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, in 2007.
Their jobs: She was a judge; he was a lawyer.
Their house: A $900,000 three-bedroom house with views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which leads to the Pacific.
The water: They frequently dine by the marina and watch sunsets over the ocean.
After they raised six kids in the Los Angeles area, the Smaltzes began to tire of the frenetic pace and crowds of the big city. “We knew if we didn’t move away, we’d never quit working,” says Lois.
Last year, when she became eligible for full retirement benefits from her employer, the couple finally pulled the plug both on their jobs and on L.A. From colleagues, they’d heard about a small town two hours north of Seattle where “the cost of living was less and the pace of living was better,” says Don. That would be Sequim. The Smaltzes bought a 3,200-square-foot, $900,000 house there with gorgeous views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which leads to the Pacific.
Sequim also has a whole lot of culture nearby, from plays at Olympic Theatre Arts to rotating exhibits at the Museum and Arts Center to live music at the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra. Don, who paid his way through college and law school working as a musician, plays jazz trombone in local bands four or five times a week.
“There’s an intelligent culture here, whether you want live music or a decent restaurant or ingredients for an exotic meal,” says Lois. “We’re living in a place where we both can do all the things we love.”
SEQUIM, WASH.
For starters, it’s pronounced “squim.” And for weather, it cannot be beat. Sequim is directly in the middle of a topographical anomaly, a so-called rain shadow produced by the nearby Olympic Mountains. The town gets a mere 16 inches of precipitation annually, about the same as L.A. So residents enjoy a moderate climate here (average: 71 degrees in July, 46 degrees in January) without the Northwest’s typical dampness.
Sequim is also a recreational wonderland. Nearby Olympic National Park features 600 miles of hiking trails, some through lush rain forests. John Wayne loved boating in the region and willed a tract of land to Sequim that has been developed into a marina. Dungeness Bay, just five minutes from town, offers a popular pastime: gathering world-famous Dungeness crabs. “When the tide is out, the table is set,” goes a saying of the local S’Kallam Indians. If you don’t want to work that hard, just grab a fresh-caught meal at the renowned 3 Crabs Restaurant.
There’s plenty to do indoors as well. Several area halls owned by local agricultural cooperatives offer up space to be used for everything from square dances to painting classes to flea markets. Sequim is also one of the most club-crazed places on earth, with a computer club, gemology club, and a quilting club, just to name a few. The reason: Sequim has long been known regionally as a retirement haven, particularly for workers from Boeing and other Seattle companies. About half the 24,000 people in the town and surrounding area are retirees.
There are still, however, plenty of deals to be had. The average price for a three-bedroom is $150,000. With 50 square miles of developable land surrounding Sequim, an abundance of lots is also available, typically for about $40,000 an acre. Building a new home is the way many retirees choose to go here.
Of course, the area’s natural beauty also means it is somewhat isolated. Getting to Victoria, B.C., the nearest big city, requires a 10-minute drive, followed by a 45-minute ferry ride. Making it all manageable, however, is the fact that the town of Port Angeles, just 15 miles from Sequim, has a full-service hospital and a tiny “international” airport. From there, it’s possible to board a puddle-jumper for a quick flight to Seattle’s airport and points beyond.