Originally Posted by RetiredFTS

I live in Anacortes and love it. Small town, ferry terminal to San Juan Islands and Victoria. No kids but friends have no complaints about schools. If military, 20 minutes to NAS Whidbey. 20 min drive to big brand stores (Best Buy, Home Depot, Costco, etc.) Same drive time to either Seattle or Vancouver BC. Downside is drive can range from 1:35 to 3:00 to employee parking, avg 2:00. There's also an airport shuttle that runs down to SEATAC all day long if you don't want to deal with the drive.