Pacific Northwest

[rickysnickers]

My wife and I just got back from visiting this area for 10 days. Coming from SoCal it was amazing that everything was so green. I know one of you guys was asking about this location. I obviously don't live here, but I can offer some insight as a visitor only.

The place is beautiful. We went up to Mt. Rainier. There seemed to be lots of nice riding there. If you are into cycling at all, this is a great place to ride as well. It didn't take long to get out of the city.

The traffic wasn't too bad, again by SoCal standards. The people/drivers were very polite, except duing rush hour. They go the speed limit! Don't plan on going much faster than 60mph. The WA troppers drive all kinds of unmarked car, as well as marked units. We saw the marked ones all over the place. I was quite impressed with the amount of traffic enforcement you guys have up there. Of course this depends on your point of view... .

We stayed in Bellevue. That is one nice city. It was a little expensive, housing wise. We drove around and looked at some houses for sale in the area. We pulled out the flyers on the for sale signs just to get a comparsion of those houses to our place. It was pretty comparable.

About the only thing I really didn't care for were what I refer to as the freaks. These were all the tattooed and pierced folks that were walking around all over downtown Seattle. I'm not trashng anyone, but I don't care for that look. Outside the city, it didn't seem as though there were that many of those types of folks.

My wife is a total Californian, but after visiting here, she is going to put in a resume' with Phillips, and Microsoft. She liked Bainbridge Island. If anyone in that are can comment on that part of WA it would be greatly appreciated.

All in all it was a nice trip and even though it may rain a lot up there, you guys have a nice area of the country to live in. Who knows maybe I 'll be moving up there soon.

Rick

 

[ponyfool]

You saw it in the summer. Go there in February and see what you think.

The Pacific NW is hard to beat in the summer. Great temperatures, little to no rain, clean air. Good stuff.

Winter comes and it isn't uncommon to go 30 days without seeing the sun. It's different, that's for sure!

 

[Auburn]

You saw it in the summer. Go there in February and see what you think.
The Pacific NW is hard to beat in the summer. Great temperatures, little to no rain, clean air. Good stuff.

Winter comes and it isn't uncommon to go 30 days without seeing the sun. It's different, that's for sure!

This Summer has been one of the wettest and coldest in many years. Only 2 days where it hit 90 degrees, and a handful in the 80's. Rickysnickers is right it is beautiful area, with many great riding oppertunities in the outlying areas. My brother always comments on how green all the ltrees and grass are when he visits. To get green you have to have lots of rain year round and we do have about 50 different names for rain. Winters are usually pretty mild with only about 10-15 days where it freezes in Seattle. Which also means alot of cloud cover and rain, did I say it rains alot here....

On the negative side, it is the land of indecision and debate everything 10 times over, because the politicians wouldn't want to offend any groups. So basically there is no leadership or direction that is consistant over time. Schools are pretty good, real estate is very expensive in King County and wages for skilled crafts and professionals are pretty high. Since the politicians can't make decisions, the taxes are also pretty high too because they want to fund everything.

 

[juniorfjr]

And when you get tired of the rain and cold, you slip over the cascades to the dry side. Not 130 miles from downtown seattle, we get 300 days of sunshine and temps in the 100's in the summer. Snow in the winter, but not anything like any place east of Montana. But don't tell any more of the West siders, they have already ruined the housing market here.

 

[rickysnickers]

You saw it in the summer. Go there in February and see what you think.
The Pacific NW is hard to beat in the summer. Great temperatures, little to no rain, clean air. Good stuff.

Winter comes and it isn't uncommon to go 30 days without seeing the sun. It's different, that's for sure!

Kind of funny you say that. They had rain while we were there on vacation. They had a record rainfall one of the days. It was pretty funny. My wife didn't think so though..

Believe it or not, I really like the Rogue River area. I'd love to move there. However, there's really no industry for my wife. Eugene would be good. I have a friend that moved up there some years back and joined the department. I went up to see him a while back. He couldn't say enough about it.

However, as bbailey said about King County, there was a PD sergeant on Eugene PD that said essentially the same thing. In fact he said, at the time, there was a confessed communist on the city council.

Rick

 

[Orient_Express]

little to no rain, clean air. Good stuff.

I have family in Seattle / Port Orchard WA. areas - It rains ALL the time there. The East side of the mountains is quite differnt - really nice.

It always amazes me how people adapt. My family goes around during a downpour like it's nothing. If it gets 80 degrees, everybody is sweating and wearing shorts!

Quite differnent in my neck-o- the-woods.

 

[Jetmaker737]

If you think it's nice now you shoulda seen it 30 years ago before everybody and their friggin uncle moved here! :angry:

 

[DucatiSSsp]

If you think it's nice now you shoulda seen it 30 years ago before everybody and their friggin uncle moved here! :angry:

It seems like it was just yesterday when Dad and I would drive into Seattle to the Washington Athletic Club and get haircuts. Best part of the trip for me was heading back to the freeway as we passed a club with go-go dancers in the window. :clapping: :yahoo: :dribble: :yahoo: :dribble:

Needless to say that was 30+ years ago......yes, times have changed! :blink: :angry2:

 

[rickysnickers]

If you think it's nice now you shoulda seen it 30 years ago before everybody and their friggin uncle moved here! :angry:

It's not even close to SoCal. Talk about a population explosion.....

Rick

 

[UFO]

I've lived on both sides of WA state. I much prefer the west side, even with its damp disposition. There's not other place I'd rather live in the country. Plenty of space (just stay away from Seattle, I hate driving up there), Pacific ocean out one door, Canada out the other, and lots of great riding. Rarely snows on this side of the mountains. Never too hot or too cold. My wife and I actually don't mind the damp winters. It's the only time we get any reading done. Just have a nice rainsuit and you're good to go.