What to expect living in Ocean Shores, Washington
If you’re thinking about buying property in Ocean Shores, or maybe you are new to the area and don’t really know what to expect, we’re here to help you out. In this video we’ll go over the top 5 things to expect when living in Ocean Shores.
#1 – You won’t find any big corporations or chains here. There is one, but that’s it. The community prides itself in supporting small locally owned businesses. There are so many small businesses here in Ocean Shores that provide everything the town needs. Be sure to check out our Instagram Highlights where we feature some of the local businesses here in the area and we haven’t even scratched the surface. There are still so many businesses we’d love to highlight. If you know of a local business you think we should highlight, drop a comment down below!
That’s right. And if there is something that you need that isn’t local, Aberdeen is 45 minutes away and you’ll find many big chains out there like Marshalls, Walmart, Safeway and Home Depot to name a few. And if you need to go further out, Olympia is an hour and a half drive away and they have just about everything there. Because of our work and family, we travel to Seattle and back all the time, and we like to stop off at Olympia for the Costco.
Yes, Costco! I have a family of 5 and we drive over an hour for Costco every other week or so. #2 on our list is expect lots of wildlife! We love the deer here. They are just so cute and in the spring and summer seasons, the little babies are running around with their mom’s and it’s just the most adorable thing! However, if you’re a gardener, you may not like them as much as we do.
Right! They eat up almost everything! I learned that the hard way my first year here. I planted an entire veggie garden with a small fence around it, but that didn’t stop the deer from eating every last bit. That doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favorite hobby though. Many residents build tall fences all the way around their property to keep the deer out and If you don’t want to do that, you can build a fence around your garden or plant things they don’t want to eat. Do your research before planting anything. Also, remember to drive slow and watch out for deer crossing the street. They can jump out and surprise you if you’re not paying attention.
Also, you might want to either keep your garbage cans in the garage or shed. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we do get bears coming through at night looking for a snack. We caught this one on our security camera with her two babies. So another tip, keep your small animals inside! By the way, if you’re liking our video help us out by giving us a thumbs up and subscribe so you don’t miss out on any future videos.
The third thing you need to know about Ocean Shores is it’s quiet, calm, and slower paced. Living in the city vs. living in Ocean Shores even though they’re 3 hours apart, is a world of difference. Our main street going through town has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour. People aren’t rushing around, cutting you off, in a rush to go somewhere all day every day. Here, you can take in the quiet calmness and just relax. In the summer season, though it does get a little busier.
Yes, which leads us to #4 We live where other people vacation, so there are lots of tourists in the summer, especially 4th of July weekend. People love it here because, #1 it’s the beach, and #2 it’s legal to light fireworks on the beach and the party just goes on all weekend long. We’ve been known to have over 150,000 people come through here 4th of July weekend, so plan accordingly. If you need to go to Aberdeen for any reason, do it during the week, because traffic on 4th of July weekend gets pretty bad. However inconvenient it might seem, tourists are essential to the economy, and we welcome their presence here and just hope that they’re cleaning up after themselves when they leave.
Other than that, 4th of July is epic in Ocean Shores. You’ll have so much fun. This is when our friends and family come out from Seattle and we just have the best time on the beach, grilling, eating, kite flying, kids playing in the sand and at night we light a bonfire and watch fireworks. And the lots that you see vacant all the time, their owners are here camping out. Sometimes that’s the only time we see the owners of these lots! So, if you haven’t done 4th of July in Ocean Shores, then you’ve got to come here and experience it for yourself. Just a heads up, though, hotels book out many months out in advance so plan your trip early.
Last but not least #5 is the weather. The summers are warm, but never really that hot because we always have that constant breeze and the winters are cool, but never too cold. If there’s a heat wave in Seattle, it’s probably in the 80’s. If it’s snowing in Seattle, it’s most likely just going to get frosty here. But last year, when Seattle had all that snow, we did experience a lot of ice for a short period of time and everything was covered in it. It was the most majestic thing I’ve ever seen. We drove around taking photos of everything covered in ice, and yes, the road was still drivable believe it or not. Plus it’s flat here so we were able to get around just fine.
Yes, and in the winter season, storm watching is what it’s all about. People come here from inland just to watch the waves crash over the shore. It really is surreal! If you’re thinking about moving to Ocean Shores, we hope this video was helpful. It truly is like living in our own little bubble. If you have any questions, let us know. We would love to be your real estate resource.
