MaidenFae t1_j9vks4f wrote on February 24, 2023 at 9:37 PM

We are in Shelton. You may not find anything in your home price range but it might be close if you have flexibility. It’s close to Olympia, which is nice. I have a queer teen and it’s really homophobic here. There seems to be quite a few LGBT kids but the outward and internalized homophobia/transphobia in rampant.

moobiscuits t1_j9w4i00 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 11:54 PM

Yeah, my family is all from there and we’re no longer on a speaking basis. Ultimately that’s not representative of everyone, but it is worth noting and thinking about.

PaigeTurner2 t1_j9x2xhb wrote on February 25, 2023 at 4:30 AM

I’ve lived in Shelton for decades. It gets a bad rap. My kids, now in their mid 30’s had several LGBTQ friends growing up here, including one of ours. Mostly, people keep to themselves, don’t advertise (or debate) their politics and love the landscape around them. Frankly, we love we have the bad rep, because it keeps the judgmental elites out.

MaidenFae t1_ja08918 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 9:34 PM

My queer kiddo has been yelled slurs while walking on the sidewalk by cars of adults driving past. They have been attacked several times by high schoolers resulting in police reports.

By the number of “let’s go Brandon” flag in the area I have to disagree that people don’t advertise their politics here.

I’m glad that your kids felt safe in Shelton decades ago, but it isn’t the case now.

PaigeTurner2 t1_ja0l46t wrote on February 25, 2023 at 11:07 PM

I still live here. I just don’t see the rampant homophobic behavior, but maybe that’s because we surround ourselves with a lot of diverse people. If that happened to my kid, I’d be raging at the school administration and board. I hope they are responding appropriately because it shouldn’t be tolerated.

There are rednecks here, that’s for certain, but there’s also a lot of professionals who love the beauty of the surrounding area.

As for affordability, not so much anymore at least in the nicer areas.