Like many of the contributors to this thread, the general population of people who comment negatively about Shelton and similar communities are simply repulsed by poor people, some apparently to the extent that they will drive 100+ miles out of their way just to not have to look at them through a car window for 15 seconds.

Is Shelton more economically depressed than, say, Olympia and Seattle? Yes. Is it more conservative than those communities? Yes. Do some residents have problems with drugs? Yes. Are there other places you might prefer to live? Absolutely. But is it somehow too scary or depressing to drive through? If you think it is, you might want to reflect on the real reasons you feel that way.

Ironically there's a pretty strong theory that Shelbyville from The Simpsons is Shelton.

Matt Groening based the Simpsons and Springfield on his life. He lived in Olympia and attended The Evergreen State College.

The failed Satsop nuclear power plant isn't too far down the road and Simpsons lumber in Shelton. Several side characters (I think including mole man) apparently were most likely based on Olympians.

So, yeah, if you want to move to Shelbyville. >.>

I moved to Shelton about a year ago and I honestly don't mind it here at all, but I'm used to the small town vibes here. I admit I do not live in town, so I don't know how it is "downtown", but I've never had any issues here.

I captured this a few weeks ago during a photoshoot for a trail-review. The vibrantly colored and moody forest views on the way up to the lookout were just as stunning. See you on the trails.

I am tweaked

I would if I could. Unfortunately I can’t for a variety of reasons.

Awesome, thank you!!

It's on-par with the (spokane) valley, just less population dense and less things to do.

I’d just take the train if you live in SW.

If you're asking about employer-provided sick leave, that will depend on the employer. If you're asking about FMLA, I found this: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpaidleave.wa.gov%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F08%2FPatient-and-Family-guide-V.8-FINAL.pdf

>A definition of a “serious health condition” is provided by law (RCW 50A.05.010), and it is at the discretion of a healthcare provider to make an initial decision about whether your or your family member’s condition meets that definition.
>
>• A serious health condition could include an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; continuing treatment by a health care provider; incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care; incapacity for some chronic serious health conditions, and more.
>
>• Things that would not be included are the common cold, routine dental work, headaches that are not migraines and earaches.
>
>• More information can be found at paidleave.wa.gov/healthcare-providers.

So it sounds like if a healthcare provider can confirm that your family member has a 'serious health condition' that requires you to care for them, it would qualify.

The law (RCW 50A.05.010) defining 'serious health condition' isn't super easy to parse but this seems like the relevant section:

>A serious health condition involving continuing treatment by a health care provider includes any one or more of the following:
>
>(A) A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:
>
>(I) Treatment two or more times, within thirty days of the first day of incapacity, unless extenuating circumstances exist, by a health care provider, by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider, or by a provider of health care services, such as a physical therapist, under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or
>
>(II) Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider;
>
>(B) Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care;
>
>(C) Any period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due to a chronic serious health condition. A chronic serious health condition is one which:
>
>(I) Requires periodic visits, defined as at least twice a year, for treatment by a health care provider, or by a nurse under direct supervision of a health care provider;
>
>(II) Continues over an extended period of time, including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition; and
>
>(III) May cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity, including asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy;
>
>(D) A period of incapacity which is permanent or long term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a health care provider, including Alzheimer's, a severe stroke, or the terminal stages of a disease; or
>
>(E) Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments, including any period of recovery from the treatments, by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider, either for: (I) Restorative surgery after an accident or other injury; or (II) a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such as cancer, severe arthritis, or kidney disease.

I found those links here: https://paidleave.wa.gov/help-center/ Good luck!

I5 NB from Tacoma to Seattle is 100% dry and clear. Just drove it this morning. Not sure about south of Tacoma though.

Every county in the PNW has tweaked problems.

I agree it feels so oppressive driving through

Never felt unsafe in Shelton, but I never left the doors unlocked either.

High crime rate, dying town, and main roads often slammed with out of towners heading to the peninsula. You can always cherry pick the comments in here to make it sound really magical though, good luck!

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My husband's daughter grew up there. Her mother is a tweaker and shit. I only ever heard bad things. She only spoke poorly of it.

Meth heads are everywhere, though.

Sounds like a bad place if you're already struggling.

Meth meth meth meet the meth heads. Did I mention all the meth? And the meth heads? There’s lots of both.

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tweakers are an issue in Thurston, Pierce and Lewis counties too.

I haven’t lived there, but I worked there for several years. The area around Shelton can be pretty nice and Shelton itself has decent shopping and a few alright places to eat. Living in Shelton would be fine, but not great in my opinion. I would rather live in the outskirts or some of the nicer (and often very nice) rural areas that surround it. There’s quite a bit of poverty and most of the neighborhoods aren’t great. It’s hard for me to believe it’s more dangerous than parts or LA or Chicago in terms of violent crime but there sure is a lot of petty crime and drugs.

Other than that, it’s just a really small town. It’s not too far to Olympia which is also small but notably much nicer. It’s also not far to the bremerton area which has a ferry to Seattle. Great access to the Olympics.

Its local-ish to me and its still confusing, haha.

This

Sounds just like where I’m living now. So I’m used to that 😅

That’s totally untrue, Shelton has a higher rate of crime than Olympia