I live in Jamaica, but I feel that I can give some input on the Northwest.
Expect rain, or the threat of rain, at least nine months out of the year. If you don't mind mountain biking in the rain/mud, then you will be fine. Annual rainfall in the greater Seattle area is not as great as you might think, it is actually less than a lot of other areas, but the threat seems to always be there, for at least those 9 months. Cost of living in the greater Seattle area is high. From the information you provided, you may be happy in an area near Snoqualamie...close enough to Seattle (20 minutes without traffic), while living in the woods. Nice, twisty roads up there. As stated above, most of July, August, September and early October are petty predicatable and nice. I hope nobody takes offense, but I have heard people refer to this time as our "Indian Summer".
If you go to the cascade side of Washington, Sequim has a pretty constant weather pattern, similiar to parts of California.
Idaho, and Eastern Washington will provide you with white winters.
In and around Portland in nice. Not sure about the twisty roads. I believe Portand acutally receives less annual rainfall than Seattle. I think Doug&Julie can give some great insight on that area.