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chillychillybitchboy t1_j38jzdn wrote

Try the kitsap peninsula! It’s just a ferry ride away from Seattle. Highly recommend Indianola, v small town vibes, great tight nit community, def progressive from what I’ve seen. Bainbridge too but you gotta be rich rich or know someone personally to luck out with an affordable spot. Indianola and Bainbridge can be pricey so Poulsbo is another great option.

Maybe not bremerton def not port orchard, not progressive towns in my opinion.

I never would have considered kitsap if I hadn’t met my navy fiancé and moved here with him.

Silverdale can be ok but it’s gonna be a nightmare here soon, just overpopulated.

Kingston is also great! Maybe not super progressive in comparison but def more progressive than a lot of the country. And port gamble! Home to the second largest sea shell museum in the world.

Further out, whidbey island (can’t speak to progressiveness personally but my gut says they’d be on that spectrum,) San Juan islands. And Bellingham (not small, though.)

If you’d prefer to stay closer to Seattle DEFINITELY look into white center!!! I loved living there. Very diverse, don’t believe the “it’s not safe” hype, Georgetown in Seattle is way more dangerous (but oh, so adorable.) Living just south of the city made it way easier to get into the city, living north (shoreline) it gets impossible to fight through I-5 traffic. Also South Park is an awesome spot closer to the city.

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taco_cravr OP t1_j38pa7s wrote

I've learned to just disregard the "not safe" thing. Most of the time it just means POC live in the area, and the white people who fill up these kinds of subreddits consider that "dangerous". Otherwise, thanks for the recommendations, being able to take the ferry to Seattle would be awesome!

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chillychillybitchboy t1_j38xoqd wrote

Coming from Baltimore as my home city I laugh at the “not safe” idea. That’s why I moved to Seattle to get my city living time in!

The ferry system out here is so cool. Me and fiancé love hopping a ferry and walking/skating/biking around the city. Yes they can be a bit kurfunkled sometimes, but there’s nothing better than a ferry adventure.

Best of luck to you on your quest!

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apis_cerana t1_j3d4q6g wrote

Bremerton is cool. It's not super duper liberal like Seattle because it's a mix of navy folk, working class, but also transplants from liberal cities like us. It's a lot more diverse outside of major cities. I prefer it here to Seattle because I don't want to live in a liberal bubble where everyone thinks the same way. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Even if you might not agree with some folks, overall people are polite and kind.

There's enough minorities and visibly LGBT folks for it to feel safe, and lots of openly progressive businesses too. Port Townsend is beautiful and a hippie town but it's sooooooo homogenous imo. Lots of older white people.

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AlarmingAttention151 t1_j39u3j2 wrote

Seconding north Kitsap! I moved out here this summer and am completely in love with it. I’m in a walkable small town with incredible access to the outdoors and the big city, what more could you ask for? I’m queer and no one has made me feel anything but welcomed so far.

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chillychillybitchboy t1_j3ayznu wrote

I used to think kitsap was soooo lame 😂 and for no reason. It’s nice being over here, with a backyard that hasn’t been replaced with condos, access to the Olympics not the overrun cascades, and like you said very welcoming people.

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Norwester77 t1_j39z5q5 wrote

Oak Harbor is relatively conservative, but the southern part of Whidbey Island is more liberal like the other islands. Camano is quite conservative.

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