"The senior population has a stable income base that is recession proof." Seriously? Fixed-income retirees are not experiencing a loss of buying power? So that's the reason many of these retirees have cut back on dining out, shopping locally for all but necessities, doing regular maintenance on their homes, etc. Talk about out of touch ...
To give credit to one business, the locksmith, they closed because the owner passed away. I used his services twice and he was wonderful. I wish someone would buy the building and carry on his legacy, he was a great asset to Sequim.
Thanks for sharing that, Kathy! I wasn’t sure of the circumstances; the website showed that someone else will be starting a locksmith business but it didn’t say if it will be in that building. It’s a great location.
The current 2026 senior population is struggling. It is not recession proof when the local gov't uses that segment of the population as its piggy bank. I used to encourage friends and family to retire here. People with solid retirements and could contribute positively to our local economy. I stopped 3 years ago because I don't want my loved ones to struggle and feel unsafe in their golden years. Reviously advertised as one of the top places in the country to retire, Sequim can now brag as being one of the worst.
I would never assume that that retirees have stable incomes that are recession proof; I’m gobsmacked that they state that in their economic development section. It’s like you say, the city treats retirees as a piggy bank. And here’s the thing about retirees — they aren’t starting businesses, understandably. So, to make retirees a target demographic means they are targeting people who aren’t starting businesses here and that’s what Sequim needs for economic development, not just houses and retired people living in them.
Great write up. I would ask you to compare it to Port Angeles. We don't even have a weblink stating our economic development goals! Relative to Port Angeles, Sequim's economy looks awesome. Higher wages, less decline in school enrollment, more sales taxes collected per capita, faster housing growth contributing to faster property tax collections, population growth rate that is 2-3x faster than Port Angeles, less urban blight, less vacant homes and commercial real estate, etc. No City will be utopia, so the relative comparisons matter most. I sincerely worry that Port Angeles will lose its tag line "Where the Mountains Meet the Sea" and become "The Ghetto of Sequim". For those of you that want to complain, please move to Port Angeles and help us create a more vibrant economy.
I actually think PA has the potential to surpass Sequim in all areas you just mentioned. It has a positive lining underneath all the negative. But in order to do that PA will need to pushback hard on Harm Reduction. As long as the money is flowing from HHS, you have lost the opportunity.
A few points to ponder... PA is structurally disadvantaged compared to Sequim. This is mostly due to the landlocked nature and limited room for both residential and commercial/industrial expansion (we really need to annex the UGAs ASAP). Port Angeles also has a significantly older housing stock (much of it is also vacant, blighted or too costly to bring up to code). 30% of the downtown waterfront district is empty! Sequim has Home Depot/Costco/Walmart all within City limits so the sales tax revenue per capital is massively higher. Port Angeles has seen school enrollment decline 30% over the last 20 years, compared to only a 10% decline in Sequim. Despite the perception that Sequim is mostly a retired community, the relative growth in families children suggest Sequim is outperforming. Sequim/Carlsborg have already identified the next 1000-1500 homes to be built while Port Angeles is averaging about 50 new dwelling unit building permits per year. Sequim is also building lodging capacity while Port Angeles is taking it offline (furthermore, much of PA lodging is 1-2 star rated). The JST is also more entrepreneurial compared to LET. Finally, Port Angeles lost several hundreds of jobs in the last year and I suspect OMC will shrink by a couple hundred more in the next year. These will hopefully be replace by some of the economic activity happening on Port properties (airport with Citizen Air and Honda Jet, Amazon, BRIX and Marine Trade Center). Did you know that PA doesn't even have an economic development strategy? They send $30,000 to the EDC and hope for the best. Sequim doesn't contribute to the EDC, but clearly is more effective. Did you ever see my presentation from a year or so ago? Link: https://youtu.be/lRHz9qEJmuQ
"The senior population has a stable income base that is recession proof." Seriously? Fixed-income retirees are not experiencing a loss of buying power? So that's the reason many of these retirees have cut back on dining out, shopping locally for all but necessities, doing regular maintenance on their homes, etc. Talk about out of touch ...
I was pretty surprised by that section when I read it; I’m glad you noticed it and I hope others do too.
To give credit to one business, the locksmith, they closed because the owner passed away. I used his services twice and he was wonderful. I wish someone would buy the building and carry on his legacy, he was a great asset to Sequim.
Thanks for sharing that, Kathy! I wasn’t sure of the circumstances; the website showed that someone else will be starting a locksmith business but it didn’t say if it will be in that building. It’s a great location.
The current 2026 senior population is struggling. It is not recession proof when the local gov't uses that segment of the population as its piggy bank. I used to encourage friends and family to retire here. People with solid retirements and could contribute positively to our local economy. I stopped 3 years ago because I don't want my loved ones to struggle and feel unsafe in their golden years. Reviously advertised as one of the top places in the country to retire, Sequim can now brag as being one of the worst.
Sad and true...
I would never assume that that retirees have stable incomes that are recession proof; I’m gobsmacked that they state that in their economic development section. It’s like you say, the city treats retirees as a piggy bank. And here’s the thing about retirees — they aren’t starting businesses, understandably. So, to make retirees a target demographic means they are targeting people who aren’t starting businesses here and that’s what Sequim needs for economic development, not just houses and retired people living in them.
Jen, Thanks for the great in-depth dive into SEQUIM and its innards. Now I know where to find information about the town of Sequim.
You’re welcome!
Great write up. I would ask you to compare it to Port Angeles. We don't even have a weblink stating our economic development goals! Relative to Port Angeles, Sequim's economy looks awesome. Higher wages, less decline in school enrollment, more sales taxes collected per capita, faster housing growth contributing to faster property tax collections, population growth rate that is 2-3x faster than Port Angeles, less urban blight, less vacant homes and commercial real estate, etc. No City will be utopia, so the relative comparisons matter most. I sincerely worry that Port Angeles will lose its tag line "Where the Mountains Meet the Sea" and become "The Ghetto of Sequim". For those of you that want to complain, please move to Port Angeles and help us create a more vibrant economy.
I actually think PA has the potential to surpass Sequim in all areas you just mentioned. It has a positive lining underneath all the negative. But in order to do that PA will need to pushback hard on Harm Reduction. As long as the money is flowing from HHS, you have lost the opportunity.
A few points to ponder... PA is structurally disadvantaged compared to Sequim. This is mostly due to the landlocked nature and limited room for both residential and commercial/industrial expansion (we really need to annex the UGAs ASAP). Port Angeles also has a significantly older housing stock (much of it is also vacant, blighted or too costly to bring up to code). 30% of the downtown waterfront district is empty! Sequim has Home Depot/Costco/Walmart all within City limits so the sales tax revenue per capital is massively higher. Port Angeles has seen school enrollment decline 30% over the last 20 years, compared to only a 10% decline in Sequim. Despite the perception that Sequim is mostly a retired community, the relative growth in families children suggest Sequim is outperforming. Sequim/Carlsborg have already identified the next 1000-1500 homes to be built while Port Angeles is averaging about 50 new dwelling unit building permits per year. Sequim is also building lodging capacity while Port Angeles is taking it offline (furthermore, much of PA lodging is 1-2 star rated). The JST is also more entrepreneurial compared to LET. Finally, Port Angeles lost several hundreds of jobs in the last year and I suspect OMC will shrink by a couple hundred more in the next year. These will hopefully be replace by some of the economic activity happening on Port properties (airport with Citizen Air and Honda Jet, Amazon, BRIX and Marine Trade Center). Did you know that PA doesn't even have an economic development strategy? They send $30,000 to the EDC and hope for the best. Sequim doesn't contribute to the EDC, but clearly is more effective. Did you ever see my presentation from a year or so ago? Link: https://youtu.be/lRHz9qEJmuQ