Olympia, Washington

Olympia, Washington claims awards and titles each year. Washington State's vibrant Capital City ranks #10 on Forbes Magazine's 2007 list of Best Places for Business and Careers. Sperling's rates Olympia as #16 for Best United States Cities, while Men's Journal lists it as #10 for the Top 50 Best Places to Live. Olympia makes it to #27 on Kiplinger's list of 50 Smart Places to Live.  Found on Healthy City and Best Green Cities lists, Time Magazine once referred to Olympia as the “Hippest Town in the West”. 

Olympia, WA incorporated in 1859. As both the state Capital and the seat of Thurston County, much of Olympia’s stable economy is due to the high amount of secure government positions available. Olympia contains a well-educated population of 42,514, (2000 Census data), and provides award-winning primary schools for its children. Also found here are the Evergreen State College, St Martin's University, and the South Puget Sound Community College.

Olympia is a cultural hub for the nearby Olympic Peninsula and the surrounding Puget Sound Region. Olympians celebrate their enviable lifestyles in festivals through the year, such as the Ethnic Celebration honoring Olympia's diversity of cultural heritage. The Boatswap and Chowder Challenge, the Olympian Wooden Boat Fair, and the Capital Lakefair Festival reflect the maritime traditions of Olympia. Art, dance, and music receive the spotlight during weekly music in the park concerts and a host of arts and craft fairs. The unique Procession of the Species is an artistic pageant incorporating dance, music and art, venerating the various Earth species, with all proceeds going toward wildlife protection.

Olympia retains the beauty of its natural landscape with thick stands of towering firs and bright-leafed maple trees throughout the city limits. Trails lead to miles of saltwater beaches where Native Americans once held potlatches. Residents stop to watch the salmon run the ladder under the 5th Avenue Bridge as they return each year to Budd Inlet. Twenty-seven parks and 240 acres of undeveloped space invite residents outside to enjoy their mild Pacific Marine climate. Seventy percent of Olympia’s streets contain bike lanes.

Olympia, WA lies within an easy drive of some of the Pacific Coast's most lush and rugged natural areas. The Olympic Peninsula is a short trip down Interstate 5, containing the nation's only rainforests and the Olympic Mountain Range, whose western slopes which face the Pacific are the wettest places in the country. The mighty Cascade Mountains, towering volcanic glacier peaks, lie in the opposite direction, awaiting rugged hikers and climbers to explore. All the water sports are available in Olympia’s northern border of Puget Sound.

Olympia, Washington claims a solid, steady economy, excellent educational resources, and a rich diversity of cultural heritage surrounded by natural beauty.