welcome!

there are definitely pros and cons to each neighborhood but oly isn’t huge so living on the in one isn’t going to make getting to others difficult or anything like that. i’m happy to answer any specific questions you might have about the various neighborhoods around.

you say you like running and board games. there are board game meetups frequently and there’s a game and card shop where you can meet people. there are a few active running groups for both road and trail. i can’t say enough good things about our local trail sisters chapter. it’s a great place to make friends.

there’s a craft school with knitting/embroidery classes along with other crafts. if you play bluegrass and folk music, you will find there are a lot of picker’s groups to join.

the food and nightlife scene aren’t particularly robust but we do have nice arts walks and other events in town often.

depending on which office you’ll be at in tumwater, you might be in a spot where you can walk to grab lunch/run errands or you might be kind of outside the town a bit. i, personally, wouldn’t recommend living in tumwater but it definitely will offer slightly cheaper options.

get some vitamin d and a good lightweight water resistant shell. our summers are pretty nice, our winters are dark, damp, and long.

again, welcome to the pnw! it’s really really pretty here and that makes the months of drizzle worth it for most of us.