Sequim WA is a lot of things, but one of the great attractions for so many retirees to the Sequim WA area is the beauty of the country.  I love the history of the Sequim valley and the surrounding mountains.  Sequim has a rich agricultural and farming history.  In this first photo, an old farmhouse approaching 100 years old still stands proud in the mountains between Sequim and Port Angeles.

Sequim WA Country Homes

Sequim WA Barns

Sequim WA and the surrounding area has several hundred old barns, many of which are falling apart as age catches up with them.  In this photo above, I marveled at the barn in this field as well as the incredible mountains that were the backdrop for this farm.  As I like to say, “If this old barn could talk what stories it would tell.”  I love history, and when you stand in a field looking at one of these old barns, you can’t help but meditate on the family and work history these barns must have seen.  For most farms like this, there have been not just one generation that was raised on the farm and worked it, but two or three generations.

Sequim WA Country Homes

Many newer Sequim WA homes are country style homes or craftsman style homes.  This home is what you might think of as country style architecture that is sturdy looking with large beams and primarily a wooden look.  There are not many contemporary style homes in the area as most people are looking for homes that are considered more consistent with farm country.  Of course, you can buy a small subdivision lot in the city of Sequim and build any home you want if you prefer a low maintenance yard.  Sequim WA is a lot of things, but it surely is a country setting way outside the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan areas.

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Saying that Sequim WA is beautiful is probably not front page news.  Who doesn’t know that Sequim WA is one of the most beautiful and incredible places to live?  I suppose a lot of people, but I am often surprised by how many people around the country talk about Sequim and about retiring here.

Sequim WA Butterfly

Sequim WA Mountains

Sequim WA Flowers

Sequim WA Night Life

Sequim WA is one of the best kept secrets with mountains to the south, the ocean to the north, a rain shadow that shields us with one-third the rainfall of Seattle, pristine old growth forests in the Olympic Mountains, and every conceivable recreational activity you can think of.  Sequim is off the beaten path, has an extremely low crime rate, one of the best school districts in the entire country, and a peaceful country setting of yesteryear.  Many people feel that the clock has been turned back 20 years when they come to Sequim WA.

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Sequim WA is having a gorgeous late summer, and for some it is a lazy summer.  Calves are out playing in the fields as are the little lambs that love to leap and dance as though they were entertaining us.  This pastoral setting in the Sequim valley is one of the reasons Sequim WA appeals to so many.  We are so far removed from the bumper to bumper traffic and pollution of the metropolitan life.  These are photos I took this week of life in Sequim WA.

Sequim WA – a Country Setting

Sequim WA – Fertile Soils

Flowers and plants at the Home Depot are on the front sidewalk on this beautiful sunny day.  Shoppers were all in a good mood, but sunshine tends to do that.

Sequim WA – Fields Everywhere

This is a typical view in Sequim.  Fields everywhere.  I’ll take fields of green grass any day over the concrete jungles of the cities and houses packed into subdivisions like sardines in a can.  Can you tell I love the open country and fresh air?  Below a bicyclist enjoys the afternoon on the Discovery Trail.  I was on my bicycle but couldn’t resist snapping this photo.

It’s another gorgeous Sequim WA summer day.

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Sequim Washington Magazine is a new and exciting publication specifically designed, written and published for retirees from out of state.  Many people know all about Sequim and have been planning to retire for many years in Sequim.  But many others who are near retirement don’t know about the Blue Hole or the Rain Shadow, or they don’t know about the amazing Sequim lifestyle, or the recreation, the fishing, the golfing, the kayaking, or the incredible retiree population here.  Many still do not know what it is like to live on the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula just two hours plus from Seattle or SeaTac.  There are so many reasons Sequim is an incredible place to live, and the climate and the fact that we get one-third the rainfall of Seattle are good reasons, but there are many more.  Sequim Washington Magazine is one way the publisher wants to spread the good news about Sequim.

Sequim Washington Magazine

Sequim Washington Magazine

This is not a typical magazine.  Not at all.  Sequim Washington Magazine is a single publication that will evolve and grow.  Articles and relevant contact, photos, videos, and local stories will be added, but rarely deleted.  It will not be a typical magazine that changes completely with every issue.  This magazine is intended to be the best source of information, photos, and vidoes on Sequim, and that means we will grow, almost like a living and breathing publication.

Sequim Washington Magazine

Notice that throughout the magazine there will be links to local sites and information, and if you click on the link, which may be embedded in a photo or within an article, you will be taken to that site.  Sequim Washington Magazine can be opened up into a full screen magazine.

Who writes this magazine and who takes the photos, videos, and who publishes it?  Why of course, it is yours truly–Chuck Marunde.  This is another way I try to share the good news about Sequim with all the potential retirees around the country who are looking at Sequim and want to learn more.  Having lived in Sequim for 18 years now and having raised my own family here, I can personally testify to what an incredible and wonderful place Sequim is.  I often walk outside and say what I said again today, “Another day in paradise!”  I hope you enjoy Sequim Washington Magazine and your suggestions for articles will be welcome.

If you like the magazine, may I suggest and encourage you to email a link to friends or family who might enjoy it?  And anyone who lives in Sequim or is planning to move to Sequim is welcome to submit their own article or testimony.  I’m certain others would love to hear and learn more from recent converts or long-time residents.

Sequim Washington Magazine – brought to you by Chuck Marunde.

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In Sequim WA the sun is out beautifully today after what seems like a long winter of rainy, cloudy and overcast skies.  Some of our locals reflected on what this summer sunshine means.

From a septic inspector:  “I feel like a cave troll coming out of dark places into the light.”

From an appraiser:  “My appraisals should be a little higher now that I can see the houses.”

From a home inspector:  “Thank God it’s drying out.  Now I won’t have to wear hip boots under the houses.”

From a well inspector:  “Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”

From a Realtor:  “Halellujah, the recession is over.”

From a roofer:  “Darn.  I’m probably the only one who prays for cool and cloudy weather.”

From a sheetrock crew:  “Now we won’t have to try to cover the framers crooked walls that got wet and warped.  Oops!  Am I supposed to say that?”

From a local politician:  “Sunshine is like Prosac for my constituents, and they’ll go along with almost anything I do.”

From a pastor:  “Hmm.  When the sun comes out in July, the sheep tend to go off to play, and my congregation shrinks (and so does the tithing).”

From a park ranger in the Olympic National Park:  “Love the sunshine, but it also means we prepare for the hippies from Seattle who get lost in the park when they’re stoned.”

From a home builder:  “Does this mean people will start building houses again?”

Welcome to Sequim WA in July.

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Sequim WA is one of the most peaceful retirement communities on the west coast.  [I love typing "Sequim WA" because so many people write "Sequim WA" when they are emailing or searching the Internet, so I cannot resist typing Sequim WA in this article.]  There’s something special about living in western Washington, and especially on the Olympic Peninsula.  Sequim and Port Angeles are on the Olympic Peninsula in a peaceful setting on the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north and the natural beauty of the Olympic Mountains to the south.

Sequim WA is Farm Country

Sequim WA is Between Sea and Mountains

Sequim WA has a long agricultural and farming history.  I lived on a small farm in Sequim when my children were young.  In fact, my youngest daughter who is now 14, was born in a 100 year old farmhouse with the help of a midwife.  This farm was a cattle grazing farm for over 100 years.  In the beginning Sequim WA was a big source of milk and other dairy products for the Seattle area when Seattle was a thriving new community on the west coast.

Sequim WA Became a Retirement Destination

As retirees discovered the Sequim valley, the demand for homes and land grew slowly over the past several decades, and more rapidly in the 1990s.  In 2006 the real estate market around the country slowed down, but retirees have not stopped moving to Sequim and Port Angeles.  Even as the rest of the country suffers from the devastating high foreclosure rate, which we do not have in Sequim WA, retirees who have been planning to move to Sequim for years are no longer putting their lives on hold while the economy stumbles around.

As in many agricultural rural areas of the country, farms were slowly subdivided and sold to developers and builders who met the demand from California, Arizona, and from retirees all over the country who heard about or read about Sequim WA as one of the 10 best places to retire in America.  Development has slowed as the market has cooled off.  Of course, they don’t make water front and mountain view land any more, and government restrictions have increased to make it much harder and much more expensive to develop land.

Sequim WA is a peaceful country setting with an amazingly low crime rate (almost none), with a famous rain shadow or blue hole in the sky (we get 1/3 the rain of Seattle), with more recreation than you can name from mountain hiking to fishing to kayaking to sailing to surfing to bicycle riding (the Discovery Trail runs for many miles) to golfing, and more volunteer clubs and associations than any town I’ve ever lived in.

Sequim WA is a beautiful and peaceful place to live.

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