Retiring to the PNW?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by jyl

Portland is overpriced, the natives are all on meth, homeless camps almost everywhere, thoughtless hipsters everywhere else, traffic terrible, rains all the time, no good Mexican food. Don't move here. Please.

You left out the gang shootings...

[zakthor]

It does rain here a lot in the northwest. I would have sworn a few years ago that we had 100 days of rain but looked it up and record for days of consecutive rain in seattle is only 33.

But what makes it all much more depressing is how little daylight there is in the winter. Some days it gets light just before 8am, gets dark again just after 4pm.

Go to work in the dark and rain, drive home in the dark and rain.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by zakthor

It does rain here a lot in the northwest. I would have sworn a few years ago that we had 100 days of rain but looked it up and record for days of consecutive rain in seattle is only 33.

But what makes it all much more depressing is how little daylight there is in the winter. Some days it gets light just before 8am, gets dark again just after 4pm.

Go to work in the dark and rain, drive home in the dark and rain.

I think that happened in 98-99 and it was 180 days of rain...

[Tobra]

Sisters near Bend is also cool, but I don't know how the medical care would be out there.

Why would anyone retire in California? Climate is nice, but cost of living and taxes are out of hand.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Porsche-poor

Sequim Washington.

From wikki

"Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and receives on average less than 16 inches (410 mm) of rain per year—about the same as Los Angeles, California—and has given itself the nickname of Sunny Sequim."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequim,_Washington

But those 16 inches come as drizzle, and drizzle, and more drizzle.
I spent 2 months in the fall of 2010 in Sequim (pronounced Skwim) looking for property which was outrageously (over) priced.
A retirement community, mostly and tons of Real Estate offices.
.
Portland area - Spent two years in Gresham from 2008 - 2010 and one year it rained or drizzled 32 days straight.
.
Here's the "Blue Hole" over Sequim which accounts for nominal annual rainfall >>>
.

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by zakthor

But what makes it all much more depressing is how little daylight there is in the winter. Some days it gets light just before 8am, gets dark again just after 4pm.

Go to work in the dark and rain, drive home in the dark and rain.

This is the hardest part. You lose a lot of good hours to darkness. Though night skiing is a ton of fun and easily done after work since the ski areas are so close.

[tevake]

Timely thread for me. I loved my time in the PNW last year. And have been watching R E listings since. Have found a few very interesting places and am considering heading that way shortly to have a look at those properties. And to get a taste of the other season there.

Bob, I hope that I was clear in letting you know how much your guidance and generous invatation to visit were appreciated during my visit last year.

One of the properties of interest is near Pacific Beach
Gray Hbr area. This property offers some vacation rental potential and is close to a beach that is open to land sailing, another possible fun income stream possibility, Blowcarts rentals. And easy access to great coastal areas to the south. But much more rain there on the windward side of the mountains.

The Port Angeles property is less costly but offers little income potential, and being at the end of the peninsula seems a bit isolated but much drier.
I'm realy drawn to Port Townsend , and wonder about the Hood Canal area.
Hence the need to get back up there and get to know the area better.

I have little interest in the interior as the moderate coastal weather is what makes the area possible for me.
Most folks leaving the PNW site the gloom and drizzle as a reason. This makes the northern peninsula area seem like a good choice. But does cause me to wonder what the changes Bob mentioned are about? Is it growth? Where hasn't grown in fifty years? Or other problems in that area?

Resent weather checks here in Prescott Az and in the areas of interest to me there, temps are about the same. Last winter there were plenty of periods of colder temps here in Az. But bright blue cooler days.

I think this is all adding up to an extended vist in the near future. Nothing like being there to sus out the feel of the place at this time of year.

I really appreciate insight from those familure with the areas I'm considering. And promises to start talking it down if I do relocate there. ��

Cheers Richard

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by gatotom

I live in Leavenworth, west of Wenatchee by 25 miles. We are considered in the mountains, more snow and slightly colder but not much more rain than Wenatchee.

I am not from the PNW but have spent quite a bit of time there in the past few years.

Leavenworth is a fantastic town. I usually rent a Jeep and have explored the Forest Service roads past Plain and Lake Wenatchee many times.

Cle Elum area (where Bob lives) is great as well. I plan on getting a place somewhere along the eastern slope of the Cascades in the next few years as a summer place.

[scottmandue]

Wife and I are shooting emails back and forth.
I have created a spreadsheet with columns for days with sun, days with rain, crime rate, inches rain/snow, etc.

She is looking at zillow at 1AM and picking out houses that looks nice.

I have stayed in Eureka and LOVE it... I think it is a good balance of big enough to have food and entertainment and a nice mild weather.

Wife sent me a zillow link to a house in Sandy, OR. with a backyard that edges on a nature preserve... that would be pretty awesome.

But,

Sandy = 80" rain, 182 rainy days, 141 sunny days.
Eureka = 40" rain, 120 day rain, 179 days sun.

I don't mind rain but as island said it is the gray days that worry me.
Don't ski (bad knees) and at 60 don't think I will take up the hobby.
Not enough $$ to do two houses... matter of fact (not to sound morbid) but this is my last move and plan on taking a dirt nap wherever we end up.

Thanks for the replies!

[tevake]

I'm with you Scott on Eureka. I stayed a week just south of there in Ferndale.
The Victorian town. Very nice area. Like Morro Bay, Santa Cruz, great areas, But still in the high tax state.
Fuel is 75cents to a dollar more per gal than neighboring states as an example.

A modest retirement makes these differences significant.

Cheers Richard

[jyl]

Originally Posted by tevake

Timely thread for me. I loved my time in the PNW last year. And have been watching R E listings since
I'm realy drawn to Port Townsend , and wonder about the Hood Canal area.
I have little interest in the interior as the moderate coastal weather is what makes the area possible for me
Most folks leaving the PNW site the gloom and drizzle as a reason. This makes the northern peninsula area seem like a good choice.
Resent weather checks here in Prescott Az and in the areas of interest to me there, temps are about the same.
I think this is all adding up to an extended vist in the near future. Nothing like being there to sus out the feel

Port Townsend is a small, artsy, very scenic, kinda hippie, rather isolated, and I repeat, small town that is a popular retirement and weekend place for Seattlelites. I have friends who have lived there for a long time and I've been there a lot. Great place to visit. Cool wooden boat facilities. Cute main street by the water, about six blocks long, also a bitty commercial area uptown. Weather sucks in the winter, cold, windy, rainy.. (Not sure where people get the idea that area has better weather than the rest of western PNW?) People are either well off older retirees and weekenders, or locals barely scraping by on seasonal service jobs. Young people get the hell out as soon as they can . . . but they might come back. There are all of the bssic stores and services you need (food, hardware, auto parts, one movie theatre, a good bookstore, etc) but maybe not what you want (flyshop, RC hobby, ballet, german car mechanic, etc . . . not gonna be one, at least not any good). No hospital nearby. The above is pretty much descriptive of any small touristy town.

I also know the Yakima area well enough. Wife is from there, I've been a lot. Really hot in summer, cold and some snow in winter, not rainy. Mix of rural white low income, Mexican farmworkers or their descendants, small town white low income, and the local successfuls who are mostly small business owners. Not a lot of the higher income employee type, there isn't much of that kind of work in the city. General education level is low. The politics are conservative. Has lots of big box retail and strip malls, the interesting quirky retail is possibly smaller in number than Port Townsend. No good bookstore, really not much art or culture of any sort. Downtown Yakima is a ghost town, killed by the huge downtown indoor mall. That mall is a ghost town, killed by the owner being a total ******* and driving business after business out. So the real retail activity has moved to Union Gap. Some really beautiful country outside of town - the Gorge, Lake Chelan, etc. Several small towns around, Moses Lake and Tieton and so on, if you want really cheap property. There are hospitals but the medical care is bad, everyone with money goes to Seattle for any major procedure. Not a thriving economy.

I would live in Port Townsend, ideally for only part of the year. I would not live in Yakima.

If you want PNW but sunny i.e. East of the Cascades, then check out Boise or Spokane.

I would also look at Eugene, it is partly a college town, and growing. Still laidback. Enough culture and medical. Probably some investment potential. Any house within 1/2 mile of UO can be rented for $600/bedroom, and plenty of them are 4 bedrooms. As Portland gets expensive, folks are looking at Eugene.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I moved from Seattle to Spokane 3 years ago. I love it here. Big city amenities in a relatively small town. 4 true seasons. It will be in the 70's up to 80 the coming week with nothing but sun. Great park system, two major hospitals and a medical school coming. 4 universities if you want to take college classes or ogle coeds while retired. Outstanding recreational activities with parks, hiking, rivers, lakes, road course race track, active Porsche club. Great restaurant, beer/wine scene here. Good local music, national acts come through regularly. I've seen Neil Young, Govt. Mule, Tedeschi Trucks and Band of Horses in outstanding venues within the last year.

I bought a house in an established close in neighborhood, double lot, 3 bedroom/2 bath, new kitchen and interior resto, brand new 30 by 40 shop, etc. I'm in it a little over $300k. A similar house in Seattle would be double or more and there is no way I could have built the pole building shop I have here. You can have acreage and a more rural setting 15 minutes outside of town.

Major airport 10 minutes outside of town, Seattle is a 4 1/2 drive away, no traffic to speak of, great back roads and smaller towns to explore, lakes and rivers if you miss water. I think overall it's a great balance between true small town living and having bigger city amenities available to you.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by tevake

Bob, I hope that I was clear in letting you know how much your guidance and generous invatation to visit were appreciated during my visit last year.

Richard, wasn't referring to you for sure. We PM'd a lot last summer and I would have come over had you had better wi-fi at RV parks to get in touch. Sorry if I sounded cranky, wasn't having a good day (rained here for the 2nd time since May, ha)

Glad for your interest in the area. I was born in Port Angles, grew up in Port Townsend and then my parents retired to Sequim. As the crow flies, both PA and PT are about a 10 mile radius of Sequim, so, very similar weather that enjoys being in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mts. For having never lived there, jyl really nailed both Port Townsend and Yakima, he's a smart guy.

Weather in Sequiim/PT area was great, but as jyl indicates, I left town 2 days after high school to work a fishing boat and then college in Seattle area. At retirement time in Seattle area, I had a nice home on 1.5 acre; but saw no need to stay in the rain, grey and congestion. As jyl sez, some of my classmates that did leave PT have returned to retire.

Scottmandue is doing his homework right by start a chart of weather and housing prices. I hope he adds columns for Prop. Tax, income tax, utilities, distance to hospitals/airports; etc.

Like motorcycle choices, what works me may not be to your liking and that is fine. After much research and traveling, I ended up just east of the Cascade Mtn, but where there are still trees and green (Just south of Leavenworth, so, similar terrian/weather) Only an hour and 10 to great medical service on the east side of Seattle. 1.5 hour to Sea-Tac Airport. I like the 4 seasons where I am and don't mind having snow on the ground for up to 3 months/yr. I have a lot more sunshine and less rain/grey now......

The one thing I don't like and it applies to Sequim/PT/PA also: Those from the urban areas flock here for weekends/holidays bringing the traffic/congestion I was trying to escape.....Good luck Scott.......I show any Pelican around that wants the local view....

[Ayles]

You should cross Port Angeles and Yakima off the list due to disproportionate crime rates. Yakima is rife with hispanic gangs and Port Angeles is struggling with heroin and meth problems that are off the charts.

[Charles Freeborn]

Lots of good advice here. Port Townsend is really cute - but I wouldn't want to live there year round... The upper peninsula is cool in that you can jump on a ferry and go all over the place in the sound. The San Juan's are simply one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
Sandy is pretty - we looked there before deciding we wanted to be in closer to culture and services. We frequently take drives in that area when the weather is good (pretty much all summer) It's a small town, so all the basics, but not a lot of smaller (but important) services. Parts of outer Gresham are okay, as is the area around Damascus. Those are all more suburban bordering on rural areas that will grow exponentially as the area expands with development. I'd avoid Yakima for reasons already said. Spokane is really nice - but haven't spent a lot of time there. The weather trade off is when you go east is there's less precipitation, but it's much colder in temps in the winter. The way we survive winter is to have indoor activities at home (my shop is on my property, my wife does photography, etc) and out (theatre, movies, museums). We also get out of town to sun for a week or two minimum. We've got a friend with a condo in Maui, or we go to CA and hang with friends. Also bear in mind that the further east you go it can get very conservative - not sure (not my business) where your politics lie, but unlike CA it's not very diverse in some areas up here.

[jyl]

Check out Forest Grove, Scott. This is a small town about 30 minutes west of Portland by car. Right on the suburban/rural boundary - go 1 mile west from Forest Grove and you're on logging roads in the Coast Range. The town itself is cute, a bit of commercial, a movie theatre, few shops, all the basic services, a community college (to take courses in retirement), during the summer there is a really quite decent concours d'elegance. Next town to the east is Hillsboro, affluent bedroom community with a really good air show every summer, and the MAX light rail starts there, so in Forest Grove you are only 5-10 minutes from MAX. Further to the east is Beaverton, lots of shops and resources, including good Asian food. Then Portland with the "big city" - err, well, "barely medium city" - attractions. Forest Grove to Portland is 30 min by car if no traffic, or about 40 min by car+MAX and traffic doesn't matter. And going the other direction, you are about 45? min drive from the coast. Housing looks in your price range. I'd consider retiring there.

By the way, with housing prices going up, and mortgage rates low, I would consider whether to buy a place now and rent/AirBnB it out for a couple years.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Ayles

You should cross Port Angeles and Yakima off the list due to disproportionate crime rates. Yakima is rife with hispanic gangs and Port Angeles is struggling with heroin and meth problems that are off the charts.

Meth is everywhere in the PNw. Everyone is on meth, the kindergarteners and the squirrels, the trees and the trout, everyone is on meth, I'm on meth 24/7 and as I type this I'm on meth, that is another reason NOT TO MOVE HERE.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Why would anyone retire in California? Climate is nice, but cost of living and taxes are out of hand.

Meh

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by jyl

Meth is everywhere in the PNw. Everyone is on meth, the kindergarteners and the squirrels, the trees and the trout, everyone is on meth, I'm on meth 24/7 and as I type this I'm on meth, that is another reason NOT TO MOVE HERE.

Well, in retirement I will be looking for a part time job and a little additional income so that might be a plus!

I should also mention my wife moved here from Portland (raised in Ashland) so only 50% of this move would be of the dreaded Cali invasion.

As noted I am a native Los Aneleno... Will my gang affiliations easy transfer to to the PNW?


RE: Taxes I have not done all the math but...
Yes Cali gas is way expensive but moving to a small town/retiring we will not be driving all that much.
Prop/sales hi/lo seems to be a wash (what is high in one state is low in the other, they get you coming or going)

[pwd72s]

Where isn't meth a problem? I did see on the Portland liberal views (KOIN..the CBS affiliate) that yet another black lives matter parade blocked traffic on their way to the city hall...with the mayor emerging from his office to say he agrees that black lives matter. Guess it doesn't matter about the lives messed with by traffic being stopped.

I'm happy to live in a semi rural area a few miles north of a town with no tourist attractions, along a road that really goes nowhere. I'm more likely to see farm equipment pass than exotic cars. Hmmm, thinking about it, some of the tractors in this area are more valuable than a new Cayman...