spllbnd2

From Edmonds here and part of the Corvette Marque Club of Seattle. Bought my first Corvette in March 2018, a 2004 Commemorative Edition Coupe.

Cheers,
Alex

fuggles

I may be moving to the Seattle area in a few months. Anyone care to share their thoughts on the Shelton area? The good, the bad and the ugly. Any insights would be appreciated. Sorry to hijack the thread.

Kent

ExRedRacer

They have a great racetrack, called "The Ridge" and sponsor the SCCA Track Night in America" HPDE events in the Spring, Summer and Fall. Sorry I can't be of much more help. Google is your friend!

spllbnd2

Shelton is approximately 1-1/2 hours south of Seattle and about an hour south of Tacoma. More of a rural area with not much going on. Had a friend that lived down there for about a year and he said it was just to far from everything. Like the person above mentioned, Google search is your friend.

Cheers,
Alex

fuggles

Their schedule looks kind of light. I guess that is to be expected given the location. I'd go 4 to 5 times a year.

I got the internet thing covered. Web sites, google search, google maps, zillow. All done. I probably should've said that first. I'm more interested in the boots on the ground experience. As you say it's small town, rural, far away, so it will be a challenge to find anyone with real world experience. Although a friend living their once is not bad.

I will be flying out to drive around and check it out for myself. Sorting out any obvious problem areas first will save me some time. Large plots and low cost of living are high on the list of wants. Also 5 minutes from an awesome track helps too!

Thanks,
Kent

CamarosRus

Kent, Are you retired and not commuting anywhere to work ???? Traffic is a HUGE factor once you cross the Narrows (Toll) Bridge
and come into Pierce County and north of that into King County (Seattle).

I'm a lifelong King County resident (born in Seattle) who currently lives 30 miles SE of Seattle within earshot of Pacific Raceways
which is off of Hwy 18 (connects to I-5 at Federal Way)

Contact me if I can be of any specific King County/Seattle help ??

Chuck Sharin Auburn,WA CamarosRus@gmail.com

Fiberbundle

You will be in a rural area that has seen the local logging community fall on hard times but there are some advantages. As mentioned earlier as long as you are not commuting to anywhere across the sound for work you will be OK. Not bad driving to Olympia from there but Seattle and Tacoma would be a pain. Olympia as the capital city has all the shopping, restaurants, etc. you would want.
If you like hiking, hunting, fishing, boating or anything outdoors it would be a great place since the Olympic National Park is in the back yard along with many lakes, rivers and Puget Sound access. Also there seems to be more interest in having a "place on the other side of the sound" for vacationing recently but just outside of Shelton which could be good for the area.
Also NWACC (Northwest Association of Corvette Clubs) run autocross on the old Shelton airport once a month during the summer. They sometimes run it in conjunction with the Viper Club with one using Saturday and the other doing Sundays.

fuggles

Yes retiring so no commute. Pretty much driving for fun and groceries. My wife wants rural. She grew up in Brooklyn. Go figure. I want a big shop and proximity to a track. Our modest nest egg must last for a long time, so cost is a big factor. Definitely hiking, backpacking, camping and general exploring are high on the list of things we like to do. But some reasonable proximity to civilization is also required, ie restaurants, bars, college...

Thanks for your offer,
Kent

C6 Snowboarder

Dunno if you noticed in your research about Shelton -- but Shelton gets about 65 inches of rain every year -- 170 days are rain. So if you can handle cloudy drizzly days... it is a great place.

CamarosRus

Kent, As I said earlier, Im a life long KING COUNTY ( Seattle area) resident. Washington state has many different parts/areas/regions.

Do your home work, research, research research before making decisions. King/Pierce/Snohomish counties are too expensive now
and being retired you might as well stay "rural" but where rural is the question

fuggles

Yes we noticed. Its a moderate concern coming from an area that never rains. lol. Today we think its not a problem. 5 years from now, who knows. I'll get knobby tires for the vette.

Agree. Where is the big question. We spent 10 days driving around Oregon. Awesome experience. But the cost of living there is too high. We've done only virtual touring of Washington. Most of the eastern part we rejected for various reasons. No offence to those living out there. Although the Richmond area is intriguing. We are gravitating toward the Olympic peninsula. My wife prefers Port Angeles or Aberdeen. Close to the ocean. Both seem really remote to me. So we'll have to reconcile. Definitely we'll fly up and cruise around looking.

Kent

NSFW

This! Lapping days at The Ridge are honestly the main reason I bought a C5 a few months ago. Fun track, tons of run-off so it's relatively safe, and lots of events. I was there with a Mustang a couple weeks ago. Will be taking my Corvette there for the first time in 3-4 weeks depending on when my clutch gets here. I have been going to events hosted by Turn 2, but I've heard good things about the SCCA events.

ExRedRacer

AaronZ51

Fuggles - one website I really like when exploring a new town/city is http://www.city-data.com - it gives tons of details on just about every town/city/village in the U.S. including crime stats, weather, temperatures, days of sun/cloudy/rain/snow, local schools, hospitals, ethnicity, etc.

Good luck with your explorations on finding your retirement home!

Aaron

Sox-Fan

<<---- that picture was taken on that very ride.

How are you? I'm in South Carolina now. Glad to see you and Mr Peabody are still around. I made the drive following Mixer Mike in his red C5. Is he still around?

Skatduder

I have been looking at the Ridge events and Track night. Have never been on a track and would like to give it a try in the slow lane. Lol.. Guess I'll have to buy a helmet.

spllbnd2

ExRedRacer

Hey Sox-Fan...! As I recall, that was the first cruise the group made from the JC Penny parking lot that Sunday morning. We had to use an alternate route to get to I-5 because they were just starting to work on the state route 16/I-5 interchange. That was 13 years ago. They are still working on it. Still got that Vette? We kept in touch with Mixer Mike for a couple of years after that...he helped my lower my C5 in his garage...haven't seen him for ~10 years or so...

Sox-Fan

That one is gone. Had three since then. This is the current one. I see that you are in a C7 now. Pretty blue.

(wow the forums just kill the picture quality.)

ExRedRacer

Great hearing from you!