Reviews & Comments
Washington, WA
re: Pacific NW - 10/18/2013 -
11/7/2013You need to do some research and decide what you want or what you mean! WA is called "The Evergreen State". Hint: rain! But if you come into WA from the south/southeast you would wonder where they get that name! The Cascade Mountains divide WA into Eastern and Western WA are quite different climates. Populations, cultures, jobs, political norms, etc are very different. I could show you a place that is very dry within a few miles of the wettest spot in America near Sequim, WA. But dry doesn't mean sunny. Or warm. If you want dry and sunny and some heat, you need to be East of the Cascades....West of the Cascades many homes do not even have air conditioning...it is not needed. You may like Yakima or Kennewick in south/central areas of WA. VERY warm in summer, especially, with triple digit temps. Walla Walla is sunny and dry (relatively), but cooler. Walla Walla has noteriety as a wine region. The city has a couple of colleges and they have some summer festivals people enjoy. Looking for a college town? You might like Ellensberg. Close to the Cascades, a big state university, cowboys, yet close enough to Seattle some people commute over the pass to jobs on the West side. These Eastern sections of WA are warmer and sunny, but realize that in winter it can drop into the mid 20's (Jan/Dec) daily lows. If you are looking for California type coastal weather, well, you need to drive south several hundred miles. It is dry July/Aug/Sept, west of the Cascades (Seattle, Bellingham, etc but bring your jacket! My sister in-law visiting from the Midwest was shocked to see her breath on July 4th! The rest of the year it is rainy or grey west of the Cascades. North America's rain forest is located here! (However, rain west of the Cascades is often just grey skies with a constant sort of mist/drizzle/sprinkle kind of wet from mid Oct through June. The city with the least amount of sun in the United States is Bellingham, WA. Actually, I think the top 15 cities with populations over 50,000 in the U.S. with the fewest days of sunshine are ALL in the state of WA! So, you probably won't like Seattle! Check out Spokane, but it gets colder, too; it backs up on the mountains on that side of the state. One more suggestion; check out Pullman, south of Spokane. It is also a university town. Good luck with your quest!
Blaine, WA
Blaine; secret! -
11/7/2013Sitting on the border just before you cross into British Columbia, Canada is the small town of Blaine. Just to the south is Bellingham (pop about 75,000). The area "feels bigger" than it really is with good medical care facilities, good education including a state university, theater and cultural enticements. Part of this is due to a combination of tourism and thousands of Canadians that shop here because it is cheaper. However, be under no illusion that what makes this area great is the cost of living (it is high), or jobs (not a hot spot by any stretch of the imagination), or weather (it has the least amount of sunny days of anywhere in the continental U.S.! But we also have the snow board capital of America (Mount Baker), national parks, eagles, whales, lots of islands, fishing, crabs, rocky wind-swept beaches, and two major cities (Vancouver, BC and Seattle WA) within an hour. What makes Blaine excellent in all this is that cost of living is lower here than in Lynden, Ferndale, or Bellingham. Housing is much cheaper. People are wonderful and summers (July-Sept) are spectacular. Check it out!