Sequim is home sweet home. There’s nothing like traveling to another city in the country to remind me that Sequim is a great place to live. I visited my son, Bristol, who lives in Las Vegas. When he was young I was stationed at Nellis AFB as a Captain and JAG. Nellis is in north Vegas. The last time I was there was 1994. As you might expect, there have been a few changes, like another half million homes. Neighborhoods have changed. Some have become gang and drug infested. And of course there are entirely new developments–lot’s of them.
Sequim doesn’t have gangs or major drug problems. Sequim doesn’t have the traffic nightmares. In Vegas, like Phoenix and Los Angeles, if you want to drive anywhere, it’s at least 45 minutes one way. In Sequim, make that five minutes to any business or any friend’s home. Give or take a few minutes. Sequim has a few annoying billboards, but not like Vegas. Vegas has got to be the billboard capital of the west, and guess what they are advertising in your face? Let’s just say they aren’t pushing healthy lifestyles and whole wheat goodness.
Sequim is green. Vegas is not. Sequim is a low crime city for sure. In Vegas you need a security system, and you really ought to live inside a gated community. Vegas has had a serious real estate crash. Homes are down 30% to 70%. Sequim prices are down, of course, but more like 10%, give or take. Vegas is flooded with foreclosures. Sequim is not.
I will admit that the sun shines more in Vegas than in Sequim, even Rain Shadow Sequim. And I’ll admit that we don’t have those incredible buffet lunches and dinners the Casinos sponsor. They are good.
Overall, I vote Sequim the winner–the best place to live, the best place to raise a family, and the best place to retire. I enjoy visiting my son in Vegas and jogging in the desert, but I love living in Sequim.
Last Updated on July 27, 2012 by Chuck Marunde
Sounds great I sure would like to take a trip up.