Emily Chaitha has found her new neighbors friendly and welcoming. The whole Northwest is pretty open-armed. We really like it, even the rain. Marysville is a study of contrasts, where old-timers meet newcomers. And there are a lot of newcomers, many of them attracted to affordable homes near the epicenter of the Puget Sound's roaring hot economy.
People find they can get a lot more house for their money.
According to some estimates, about 25 percent of Marysville paychecks come from Boeing or Boeing-related businesses. One can scarcely turn a corner without seeing some evidence of the city's stretching to handle growth. Roads are being widened, new traffic lights are popping up, and gaping holes stand ready for new water and sewer mains. A new supermarket-neighborhood business complex is now under construction. Newness marches through older parts of the city, too.