Station/Boat Location~
Station Grays Harbor
Date there~
Oct. 1999 - April 2000
Weather~
It pretty much rains all the time! The only time it didn't rain or was cloudy was the week that we were packing out (it was beautiful!). Supposedly the summers are pretty nice and mild. I wish I could've enjoyed some of that!
Military facilities~
Nothing close by. About 1 - 1 1/2 hr away in Tacoma is the Army & AF base
Medical~
There is a small clinic in town, both active duty and dependents go there. They also have an optical shop in town. I didn't need to go to the dentist while I was there, but I don't think there was one there. I got pregnant while I was there and you have to go into Aberdeen for that. It was a really nice OB clinic and the staff was friendly. I don't know about the hospital there because I moved before I gave birth.
Housing~
There is housing available (only if you have kids), but we never got into it before we left. We arrived in Oct., left in mid April, and we were still 2nd on the list. The housing there is pretty nice though. They have nice yards, a garage, nice size living room. Kitchen's were a little small, but they had replaced some of the appliances. I didn't look at the bedrooms, but the ladies there said they were pretty nice. Apartment rentals are hard to find that are clean and decent. We rented a nice, 2 bedroom. They only allowed kids on the bottom floor, but they were nice and reasonable. Heating is a little high in the winter when it's cold. We didn't look at houses because most of them were in Aberdeen and we didn't want to deal with the commute during the winter.
Shopping~
Not much around close by. Greys Harbor has small grocery store, but it's limited. There is a Safeway in Aberdeen (20-25 minute) drive away. The local mall can be walked in 5 minutes, it's really small. They had Sears and JCPenney, but no furniture (only through the catalog). There was a movie theater at the mall too. In Tacoma they have tons of shopping and a really nice mall. It's about 1 1/2 hr away so you wouldn't want to do it all the time.
Child Care/Schools~
There was a child care center fairly close by that one of my friends worked at. You can't watch other families kids (on a regular basis) in housing, it's against the rules. Our ombudsman said if she caught you she would turn you in. I didn't hear anything bad about the local schools while I was there. But you need to be careful as a woman out there and with your kids. The had a lot of problems with pedophiles when we were out there. The local bowling alley was a kid hang out and come to find out he was a convicted child molester (they closed it down, but still . . . .)
Adult Schools~
Greys Harbor Community College is pretty nice. It's a nice campus and they have offer a good variety of classes. They also have extension courses through Washington State University.
Fun Activities~
There wasn't a lot do when we were there because it rained so much. On decent days we drive around and explore (we were single so there wasn't anything else to do). We took a drive to Olympic National Park, but it was too wet to do much hiking. It was beautiful scenery and kind of romantic too. There is a lot of that beautiful scenery all along the coast. We spent a day in Seattle. Kind of typical big city hectic, but lots to do there. We went to Port Angeles and checked out the light house that was around there. In Greys Harbor there isn't much to do. In the summer the Coast Guard has campgrounds that you can use right by the beach. The beach is within walking distance of housing and I walked there from apartment.
Additional Info~
Greys Harbor is fine if you don't mind the rain and the fact that you are pretty isolated. Jobs are real hard to find. Although they were finishing up a prison when I left (of course that's when I finally got a call about a job!). It took me 4 months to find a job (part time). My background was in retail, but I could do just about anything. I had to cross 3 bridges (one of them was a draw bridge) and drive 40 minutes (not fun in on the slick wet roads either). I don't think it's a good place for kids unless you can afford it and have the time to go somewhere on the weekends. There isn't a lot do there except in the summer when the beach is a lot more fun.
Homeport WA
Station Grays Harbor
Date there~
Oct. 1999 - April 2000
Weather~
It pretty much rains all the time! The only time it didn't rain or was cloudy was the week that we were packing out (it was beautiful!). Supposedly the summers are pretty nice and mild. I wish I could've enjoyed some of that!
Military facilities~
Nothing close by. About 1 - 1 1/2 hr away in Tacoma is the Army & AF base
Medical~
There is a small clinic in town, both active duty and dependents go there. They also have an optical shop in town. I didn't need to go to the dentist while I was there, but I don't think there was one there. I got pregnant while I was there and you have to go into Aberdeen for that. It was a really nice OB clinic and the staff was friendly. I don't know about the hospital there because I moved before I gave birth.
Housing~
There is housing available (only if you have kids), but we never got into it before we left. We arrived in Oct., left in mid April, and we were still 2nd on the list. The housing there is pretty nice though. They have nice yards, a garage, nice size living room. Kitchen's were a little small, but they had replaced some of the appliances. I didn't look at the bedrooms, but the ladies there said they were pretty nice. Apartment rentals are hard to find that are clean and decent. We rented a nice, 2 bedroom. They only allowed kids on the bottom floor, but they were nice and reasonable. Heating is a little high in the winter when it's cold. We didn't look at houses because most of them were in Aberdeen and we didn't want to deal with the commute during the winter.
Shopping~
Not much around close by. Greys Harbor has small grocery store, but it's limited. There is a Safeway in Aberdeen (20-25 minute) drive away. The local mall can be walked in 5 minutes, it's really small. They had Sears and JCPenney, but no furniture (only through the catalog). There was a movie theater at the mall too. In Tacoma they have tons of shopping and a really nice mall. It's about 1 1/2 hr away so you wouldn't want to do it all the time.
Child Care/Schools~
There was a child care center fairly close by that one of my friends worked at. You can't watch other families kids (on a regular basis) in housing, it's against the rules. Our ombudsman said if she caught you she would turn you in. I didn't hear anything bad about the local schools while I was there. But you need to be careful as a woman out there and with your kids. The had a lot of problems with pedophiles when we were out there. The local bowling alley was a kid hang out and come to find out he was a convicted child molester (they closed it down, but still . . . .)
Adult Schools~
Greys Harbor Community College is pretty nice. It's a nice campus and they have offer a good variety of classes. They also have extension courses through Washington State University.
Fun Activities~
There wasn't a lot do when we were there because it rained so much. On decent days we drive around and explore (we were single so there wasn't anything else to do). We took a drive to Olympic National Park, but it was too wet to do much hiking. It was beautiful scenery and kind of romantic too. There is a lot of that beautiful scenery all along the coast. We spent a day in Seattle. Kind of typical big city hectic, but lots to do there. We went to Port Angeles and checked out the light house that was around there. In Greys Harbor there isn't much to do. In the summer the Coast Guard has campgrounds that you can use right by the beach. The beach is within walking distance of housing and I walked there from apartment.
Additional Info~
Greys Harbor is fine if you don't mind the rain and the fact that you are pretty isolated. Jobs are real hard to find. Although they were finishing up a prison when I left (of course that's when I finally got a call about a job!). It took me 4 months to find a job (part time). My background was in retail, but I could do just about anything. I had to cross 3 bridges (one of them was a draw bridge) and drive 40 minutes (not fun in on the slick wet roads either). I don't think it's a good place for kids unless you can afford it and have the time to go somewhere on the weekends. There isn't a lot do there except in the summer when the beach is a lot more fun.
Homeport WA
