Looking for an older home? Centralia was named one of the 12 best places in the nation to find one by the magazine, “This Old House.”

Along with old houses, you’d really have to enjoy small town life to warm up to most places on the list. Among those identified were neighborhoods or towns in just about every region, from South Carolina and Texas to Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan. Albany, Ore., also made the list.

From the magazine: Centralia is located halfway between Portland and Seattle (both are about 90 minutes away) and is close to both Olympia and Tacoma. For those who live in Centralia's Edison District—adjacent to the revitalized historic downtown—movie theaters, antique shops, and the Olympic Club, a brick 1915 tavern, are a block away.

Close to Tacoma? I think of Puyallup or Gig Harbor as close to Tacoma, not a small railroad/logging town about an hour's drive south. Always interesting to see how national publications view our corner of the world.

More on Centralia from the magazine: Most homes date back to the Victorian era, including sturdy Queen Annes and Stick Victorians. Craftsmans, many with full-length columned front porches, are also easy to find. Homes in the Edison District range from $250,000 for an 1,800-square-foot Craftsman to $600,000 for a massive Queen Anne.

If you’re in search of old houses closer to home, there’s also a list of best places to buy in what the magazine considers the Northwest, which turns out to be a pretty broad swath that includes Northern California and Wyoming.

Here are the other Northwest locales on the regional list:
North End, Boise, Idaho
Eureka, Calif.
South Central, Helena, Montana
Rainsford Historic Distric, Cheyene, Wyo.
Casey-Shattuck, Juneau, Ala.