Seattle Bound Permanently....in 1 yr !

[BobbyBlue]

In approx. 12 mths. Yoko and i will be moving to the Seattle area...Tacoma probably....i was stationed here( Whitby isle) in '79, but i only remember being extremely hung over on Olympia beer....this will be a BIG change for us, but we simply cannot handle the heat anymore...also will enjoy the much more varied cultural scene.....i cant ride for 6 months out of the year here anymore...my defib comes dangerously close to nailing me and it will throw me from the bike without warning....ride with that...lol....Yoko's family is there but i'll be without any riding mates or friends...besides the bike, i'm into photography, i play blues guitar alot and build and repair amps on the side, and as an engineer i love reading..i am 100% disabled so time is on my side....not sure how we shall cope with rent yet...its almost double to here....but you have fresh food that one doesnt need to tilt a head to eat or surround with a tortilla...i am a liberal phuck and a vet, pesca vegan and i like to laugh and dont take life too seriously....i can also ride a 2nd gear wheelie for a 1/2 mile on the bike on a good day ! i make friends easily, but am generally untrusting due to my own gullibility...bad marriage scar...its healing....i know some of you from the EZBoard days and i look forward to meeting you ! of course this is all hubris if i croak....as Gilda said....Nevermind....Thanks.

 

[Dodahdude]

Good for you. I just left there a year ago..... My home is in Kansas. I was there for two years for Boeing. We are neighbor in a since I can relate to you're southern culture. As far as riding motorcycles you'll be in heaven. I know, I know. Heaven is in Texas but you will be happy you made the move. I sure miss Washington and all that it has to offer.

We lived north of Seattle in Everett. Great people. It will be a large adjustment for you. But i'm sure you will fit in. Lots of clubs there. Auto and motorcycle. There has been may changes since you were the before. The weather sucks some times and that depends on where you're at. I don't think Tacoma has as much crappy weather as further north. I have notice a lot of western Washington resident here on this site. Make friends here and good luck. I would love to join you for a beautiful Washington tour.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I'm not certain you can find anyone up there who likes to ride, or take pictures. But good luck!

Oh yea, I'm super jealous. I can't wait to escape the heat and flatness of Texas. I love Texas for all that it has, but my heart desires snow and mountains like where I grew up.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Lots of FJRs in the metro area Bobby. We've also got the best darn Tech Day in the country...you'll see when you get out here. Beautiful scenery, year around riding (if you don't mind a little wet) and some very nice roads.

I live in the NE foothills, most excellent roads right out my front door but definitely on the wet side.

--G

 

[ahchiu]

Lots of FJRs in the metro area Bobby. We've also got the best darn Tech Day in the country...you'll see when you get out here. Beautiful scenery, year around riding (if you don't mind a little wet) and some very nice roads.
I live in the NE foothills, most excellent roads right out my front door but definitely on the wet side.

--G

+1

 

[Hudson]

Lots of FJRs in the metro area Bobby. We've also got the best darn Tech Day in the country...you'll see when you get out here. Beautiful scenery, year around riding (if you don't mind a little wet) and some very nice roads.
I live in the NE foothills, most excellent roads right out my front door but definitely on the wet side.

--G

very hard to beat the PNW crew when it comes to hospitality and riding fun. the roads won't disappoint either.

 

[Fontanaman]

Come on up next month. The 9 month rain festival starts in October. Do yourself a favor and don't move anywhere between Airlington and North Seattle because you don't want to have the Puget Sound Convergence Zone as your neighbor. Escapefjrtist lives near Monroe, the home of the dreaded Convergence Zone. It rains at his house when there is blue sky in Tacoma.

 

[Bounce]

Went to college in Kirkland back in the 70s. My brother moved up there with his SO around 95 when he thought she and he would also be there forever. He's making plans to move back into the Texas area somewhere before long... solo. Part of it is the cost of living and part is the aloofness and passive-aggressive nature of the locals (Seattle).

Here's to your experiences being all positive.

 

[BobbyBlue]

Thanks for the words, and to Fontanaman and Bounce i tried to "like" your responses but reached my niceness quota apparently. I agree it'll be a cultural change for sure and i've been told to look for lodgings in the southern part...Yoko's job will be in Issaquah...as an old sailor i'll be happy to be near the water and i actually enjoy riding in rain....the great equalizer....i may even consider Avons' again as i loved 'em in the wet...but i know surfaces will be much different...i was thinkin' of your passive/aggressive comment bounce,.... and it might be aggravated by all the sarcastic, witless, ignorant but tech savvy X/Y millineals...Austins kinda like that compared to the old days...but i'm a gi brat and spent most of my youth in foreign countries like Turkey, Scotland, and Louisiana...and i'm an airplane nut and i hear there's a few of those around up there...my 2-stroke Yamaha, DT100, of my childhood could be laid down at the end of certain military runways thus avoiding detection and t38 trainers would streak by 20 feet up....i dont know if ALL our experiences will be positive...Yoko's korean mom....but at least it'll be different...and rarely 104 in the shade....42 times here this summer....and tech days??? really ? lots of lone wolfs here so i don know no steenkin tech days...wow...bonus !!!

 

[juniorfjr]

Go east from Issaquah to CleElum. A little longer commute but usually faster. Many are doing it now. Housing dollars go a lot farther. Best part is you get over the mountains to the dry side of the state. Bad part is snow, not rain.

 

[Chiefblueman]

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the great Northwest in an aloof and passive agressive manner. You'll like it here, I'm sure!!

 

[BobbyBlue]

Thanks Junior x 3 ! Chief, your tag lines tell me we are gonna get along great ! Thanks for the welcome...aloof as a cat....trying to balance on a new tv.

I'm getting exited by a couple other afterthoughts....i wear a JR Phoenix jacket 10 months a year...i can buy a leather one and actually wear it...without chaps, naval fuzz on mt beerbelly, or loud annoying exhaust without a helmet....i laugh at 'em...when they're not pointing weapons at me...i got knocked on my ass by a bandito who took serious offense to my real avatar photo...fortunately my...ahhh...horticultural expertise dissuaded him from harming me further...pinche vato....so i'm kinda exited that my mouth will probably get me popped by a lumberjack serial killer mountain man..... but rides an silver'06 auto w a mismatched givi tail box.....so theres' that....and i do bonsai...well, i kill alot of trees in pretty pots and some actually live sorta...the emerald city should provide...and the water...i suppose living in a drought since '01 has made me very appreciative of it...gold of the future ! its about perspective....

 

[Bounce]

When I was in Kirkland, it rained all the time yet they always claimed there was a "drought" every summer. Confused the hell out of me. You won't be in Seattle so you won't have to deal with "the great migration" that pulled all the tech people from CA into WA and drove prices so high locals had a hard time in their own home towns.

 

[juniorfjr]

On the down side the Seattle news recently said that house prices are rising again. And rent is going over the moon..

 

[Dr. Rich]

I think you will enjoy the Pacific Northwest. The people are genuine, friendly, seeking a higher quality of life and exhibit a spirit of adventure. Having worked in management for the largest oil drilling company in the world in Texas, up here you will enjoy the lack of racism, bigotry and small mindedness that those that can only drink out of a long neck bottle exhibit. You will find innovative food, endless possibilities for riding, hiking, water-sports, skiing and the quality of the people will astound you. We have a group of FJR riders here in the PNW that get together, work together, ride together and most of all enjoy each others company. Small mindedness and ignorance are not on the radar up here. We are diverse, highly educated and progressive. This summer has been unbelievable. When the rest of the country was sweltering, temperatures here have been in the 70's. The salmon runs have been impressive and crab season was great. The trees are full of apples and plums and the flowers are everywhere. As for the rain, there is a banana belt that gets about half the rainfall that the convergence zone gets. You can find just about any climate that you want in Washington. Before we retired we looked throughout the entire country and even overseas and elected the PNW. I don't think you will be disappointed. It will be what you elect to make of it and I suspect that if you have a spirit of adventure, you will fit in fine.

 

[Harald]

I left Florida for the Seattle area back in 1989. Meeting my wife here, a great job and the incredible scenery have kept me here. Where else can you have ocean, rain forest, temperate climate, mountains and high desert all within a couple hours ride?

After 24 years here, I'm starting to develop webbed feet like the locals. Yes, there's the rainy reputation but we just perpetuate that in hope of stopping too many people from moving here. It's possible to ride all year here like I do, if you don't mind 9 months of periodic drizzle and cloudiness. There might be a couple days each winter that we get ice or snowfall at low elevations, but it's usually gone in less than a day (unless you live on a heavily shaded private road like I do). And if you do want snow, it's up in the mountains all winter.

Real estate prices (and rent) are lower in the south end, but if your wife is working in Issaquah she might want to try the commute during her normal hours to see if she can tolerate that. Traffic is horrendous during rush hour and contrary to the name, it lasts much longer than an hour. Even by 5am when I'm on the way to work, highway 167 heading north out of Sumner is already FULL of cars but at least they're still moving. Wait too much longer and the stop and go is in full effect for at least a couple hours!

See you when you get here.

 

[beemerdons]

Lots of FJRs in the metro area Bobby. We've also got the best darn Tech Day in the country...you'll see when you get out here. Beautiful scenery, year around riding (if you don't mind a little wet) and some very nice roads.
I live in the NE foothills, most excellent roads right out my front door but definitely on the wet side.

--G

very hard to beat the PNW crew when it comes to hospitality and riding fun. the roads won't disappoint either.

Congratulations on your move to the Pacific Northwest Bobby, I lived in Vancouver, WA for a year and I thought riding the Evergreen State was a real joy! Just one word of advice though Mr. Blue, if Niehart asks you to pull his finger: Just don't do it, trust me!

 

[wingshot]

Look forward to meeting you and welcome. The tech days are awesome and the PNW gang is decent.

You will need to watch out for that California infusion every so often as they tend to cause a ruckus. The Canadians to the north aren't half bad and put together some decent gatherings.

+1 to what everyone else mentioned above.

 

[BobbyBlue]

Thanks Don, Harald, and Dr Rich...Yoko damn near cried in agreement with your awesome description of her home...she has actually used the same words you did....and i saw Auburns' tech meet pages...i'm floored....there is no "we" down here if its not hardley davidslo except some kids with mongrel bikes, tats and the like who ride wheelies on the freeway to scare the old ladies....Yoko works in casualty insurance and pays lots of motorcycle claims...their idiocy keeps my dr and wife paid so i guess its karmic....i cant wait to smell the air there again...instead of refried beans....i do think breakfast tacos would go over well up there though....but i wont miss 'em too much compared with fresh salmon !!!! ...and i'm a sittin at the dock o the bay type guy anyway...i am stoked !!!!