Health & Fitness
#1 Bay for Coastal Living
Gene Lee said about Gig Harbor on Facebook, "My town's better than your town." I think Gig Harbor's current top-rated harbor status is no accident.
By now, unless you live in isolation or have no friends on Facebook, you’ve heard that Gig Harbor Bay was selected by the national magazine Coastal Living as the number one bay in the United States. What for? For living…on a coast. There are a lot of scenic, appealing places on the top ten list from Maine to Florida to California to Alaska.
But, Gig Harbor Bay is the best.
In the early 1990s, Gig Harbor hadn’t seen a new road in 40 years. The only sidewalk was the 4 ½ foot wide sidewalk, with larger sections downtown, from to . The city dock at was 60’ long. There was no , , or .
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There were no modern sidewalks, streetlights, first-rate hotels or bed-and-breakfasts, or high quality restaurants. (There was a grocery store downtown…) Moreover, there was no , , or , unless you count the museum in the basement of old . It was moldy down there. And, there never had been any decent shopping choices, especially for clothes.
One thing is certain, Gig Harbor Bay never made such a list in those fairly recent days. So why is it actually at the top of the list now? It was always “a great little bay.”
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I think the reason is twofold. One, since the mid-eighties, people in this place have taken reasonable risks to build high quality institutions, amenities and infrastructure. Two, the markets itself with pride and strategic thoughtfulness. (See my previous blogs and .)
So, let’s pat ourselves on the back and celebrate our good fortune to live in a place where people care. It seems, in 2012, that everyone everywhere knows we live on “a great little bay.” Of course, this area will carry double its current population according to twenty-year comprehensive planning and the economy will change for the better.
Before you know it, we will need even better institutions, amenities and infrastructure. I’m sure such things are possible. Right now, we should pass the upcoming school levy because our high quality of life is sustained in part by capable schools.
Click here for the top 10 harbors in the U.S. (According to Costal Living, the magazine first published the top five list in April 2007.)
