Life is Good in Kitsap
Helping People Buy and Sell Homes
Karen "KJ" Lange, Realtor:: :: Direct Line 360.649.5413:: :: www.lifeisgoodinkitsap.com
Create an Account
Creating an Account allows you greater access to additional home search features. Click Login below to begin.
Click Here to Log In
Connect with the Local Business Community in Kitsap County
If you're new the the Kitsap area, you may want to learn as much as you can about your new business surroundings. Since Silverdale doesn't have a 'city hall', the Chamber office at 3100 Bucklin Hill Road is a great place to stop in to gather information. One of the places you can gather good local information is the Silverdale Chamber . The staff there is friendly and helpful. The chamber is a vibrant cross-section of an active business community. The business community knits a town together with activities, shared goals and generally helping make it a good place to live.
There is also a business group which I've had the pleasure of linking to the Westsound area and t
hat is Kiros. Kiros Westsound is a Christian business group which meets once a month to Connect, Encourage and Equip one another through gathering together and hearing a speaker with a specially prepared message about how our faith intersects with our business. You can find their next meeting date at www.kiros.org or you can contact me personally for further information. Another organization that has groups meeting around the county is BNI, Business Networking International. You can learn alot about business networking just from that website alone, but nothing beats face to face relationship building. BNI of Western Washington will show you a list of meeting groups all over the Puget Sound area and more specifically to the town you are in here locally. I'm part of a group which meets on Thursday mornings at 7:30 AM at the Silverdale Beach Hotel in Silverdale. We are called the Olympic Business Exchange and we are a vibrant group that has fun while building business for each other.
The Kitsap County government website is a very informative site which will tell you a lot about the community. A lot of times people want to know about Codes and Regulations, Taxes, etc etc.
On the North end of the Kitsap Peninsula is Kingston. It's a seaside town with a view of Mt Baker and Seattle and in some places, Mt. Rainier. You can catch a ferry to Edmonds there or enjoy the beautiful marina and yacht club in the cove. Downtown Kingston is a fun little walk with some great food, good ice cream and some beautiful sites. To learn more about the Kingston business community, go to www.kingstonchamber.com.
Poulsbo, or "Little Norway," as it is most affectionately called is between Kingston and Silverdale. It, too, has a waterfront like every other town in Kitsap County. It's one of the things that makes us special and a great destination for weekenders. Often those weekenders, like myself, end up living here. Downtown Poulsbo vibrates on weekend with activity in new restaurants and co-op art galleries and home grown coffee shops, like Hot Shots, across from the big red clock downtown Poulsbo. Owners Leanne and David Musgrove have been doing the daily grind for over 5 years downtown. It's one of my favorite places whether it's to meet a client, a colleague or after a nice long walk along the waterfront from the boardwalk to the yacht club.Seabe
ck is a great fishing town on the Hood Canal. It's a beauty on a sunny day when you can see the sun glisten on the water or on mornings when the cloudy marine layer persists past your second cup of coffee. A lot of locals gather there for breakfast throughout the week at Barbie's Seabeck Bay Cafe, the best place for apple pie and on Tuesdays for 2-for-1 cheeseburgers. Lots of business gets talked about over cups of coffee there. The marina which private investors want to rebuild is on hold until the economy gets better. Lots of local fisherman, and those coming from afar, are hopeful. Those fisherman are part of our economy in Seabeck.
ck is a great fishing town on the Hood Canal. It's a beauty on a sunny day when you can see the sun glisten on the water or on mornings when the cloudy marine layer persists past your second cup of coffee. A lot of locals gather there for breakfast throughout the week at Barbie's Seabeck Bay Cafe, the best place for apple pie and on Tuesdays for 2-for-1 cheeseburgers. Lots of business gets talked about over cups of coffee there. The marina which private investors want to rebuild is on hold until the economy gets better. Lots of local fisherman, and those coming from afar, are hopeful. Those fisherman are part of our economy in Seabeck. Other than driving around the southern tip of the Hood Canal, the way across is on the brand new Hood Canal Bridge on the north end of Kitsap County. Route 3 will lead you there to areas where you can further explore Hood Canal.
Bremerton is a city undergoing a change for the better. New infrastructure, new hotels and restaurants, waterfron condos,
all are changing the face of Bremerton.
The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard continues very strong employment with no end in sight. The ferry traffic is now being diverted through a tunnel to better manage traffic downtown Bremerton. It's all good for Bremerton. Now if only Trader Joe's would become part of the neighborhood, we'd have a good walking downtown to build around even more!
Bremerton is a city undergoing a change for the better. New infrastructure, new hotels and restaurants, waterfron condos,
all are changing the face of Bremerton. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard continues very strong employment with no end in sight. The ferry traffic is now being diverted through a tunnel to better manage traffic downtown Bremerton. It's all good for Bremerton. Now if only Trader Joe's would become part of the neighborhood, we'd have a good walking downtown to build around even more!
Port Orchard is a place on the go, on the rise, growing despite the economy. A new Lowe's opened there last year right off of Hwy 16, new developments have popped up all over and there are all kinds of new plans for downtown Port Orchard which is, you guessed it, on the waterfront. It's also our county seat. The area is more broadly known as was is their high school. The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge has opened a gateway for South Kitsap, breaking up the hourlong gridlock that used to plague the South Sound. Get your Good To Go windshield sticker and life IS good. South Kitsap has a growing reputation for a good businesss climate.
Between Port Orchard and the Tacoma Narrows, however, you can't miss the maritime city of Gig Harbor. A beautiful waterfront with a very walkable shopping district, places to just dawdle by the water or restaurants which provide nice outdoor seating offer great views of Mt. Rainer at just the right time. Gig Harbor has a new shopping area just south of the Olympic Drive exit, called "Uptown". Borders bookstore is one of the anchors there as well as Coldwater Creek and Uptown Galaxy Theaters.
