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Washington and Oregon west of the Cascades are very beautiful. However, they also consist of a relatively liberal populace. That may fly in the face of what you're looking for.
However, let me put it like this:
Oregon west of the Cascades is more conservative IF you stay out of the Portland and Eugene areas. Salem is relatively conservative for the region, but it has problems with illegal immigration due to it being in the agricultural area of the Wylamette Valley. Portland has some moderate suburbs, but you'd have to speak with someone from that area or research the area yourself. I think that Gresham and surrounding area is a bit more conservative.
Washington west of the cascades is more liberal, but they do have some rural counties which are more conservative, though not at the number that you find in Oregon. However, the developed areas of Washington are a bit more conservative on the whole. This doesn't mean that they're conservative, only more conservative than a city such as Eugene. The southeastern suburbs of Seattle, as well as the suburbs of Tacoma are a bit moderate, ideologically speaking. The city of Seattle is very liberal, as is the area along the sound due north of Seattle south of Everett, as well as areas along Lake Washington. Issaquah in the far eastern suburbs of Seattle or the foothills of the Cascades might be a bit more moderate.
I personally prefer Oregon, but objectively Washington is wealthier and more developed and has more economic opportunities. Only in the Seattle area though, the rest of the state seems sort of hick to me.
I personally prefer Oregon, but objectively Washington is wealthier and more developed and has more economic opportunities. Only in the Seattle area though, the rest of the state seems sort of hick to me.
I recently took a day trip outside of the Seattle area. It doesn't take long after you leave Seattle to be in the boondocks.
I recently took a day trip outside of the Seattle area. It doesn't take long after you leave Seattle to be in the boondocks.
Ever seen Black Sheep? It's not one of Chris Farley's better comedies (has NOTHING on Tommy Boy), but it pretty clearly illustrates the difference between Seattle and downstate Washington state.
I recently took a day trip outside of the Seattle area. It doesn't take long after you leave Seattle to be in the boondocks.
Come to think of it, Oregon definitely has nicer small towns than Washington. I'd easily take Corvallis, Bend, Eugene and even Albany over Longview, Centralia, Yakima, etc...
Come to think of it, Oregon definitely has nicer small towns than Washington. I'd easily take Corvallis, Bend, Eugene and even Albany over Longview, Centralia, Yakima, etc...
Driving up from California, I spent a day in Salem because of how charming I thought the city was. I know it's not necessarily a "small town," but charming nonetheless.
Comparing that positive experience to my experience driving through Raymond, WA on my way to Long Beach, WA... where, no joke, while waiting in line at a gas station I overheard a couple of old white men standing in the store loudly exclaim, "Hey, look over there! Look how freaky those girls are dressed! They don't look like they're from Raymond, I reckon!" They were referring to this couple of "hipster" girls standing not 6 feet away from them with shaved haircuts, masculine clothes, and some piercings and tattoos. I was utterly shocked at how rude and ignorant these hillbillys were, but I figure that this is the general level of sophistication that you'll find in rural Washington.
Suffice it to say, there's a huge drop off once you leave the Seattle metro area. Can anyone testify to there being any culture in Washington outside of Seattle? What's the feel of Spokane like?
Driving up from California, I spent a day in Salem because of how charming I thought the city was. I know it's not necessarily a "small town," but charming nonetheless.
Comparing that positive experience to my experience driving through Raymond, WA on my way to Long Beach, WA... where, no joke, while waiting in line at a gas station I overheard a couple of old white men standing in the store loudly exclaim, "Hey, look over there! Look how freaky those girls are dressed! They don't look like they're from Raymond, I reckon!" They were referring to this couple of "hipster" girls standing not 6 feet away from them with shaved haircuts, masculine clothes, and some piercings and tattoos. I was utterly shocked at how rude and ignorant these hillbillys were, but I figure that this is the general level of sophistication that you'll find in rural Washington.
Suffice it to say, there's a huge drop off once you leave the Seattle metro area. Can anyone testify to there being any culture in Washington outside of Seattle? What's the feel of Spokane like?
I disagree with the simplistic generalization of rural Washingtonians. I mean, there are some backwoods little places, but your experience in Raymond is unusual and could have easily happened in any state. Further, it's kind of weird to use that isolated event as the main comparison of cities between the two states. My suggestions would be to get out of Seattle more....
My wife and I recently moved to WA from CO and we have been pleasantly surprised by the many small, charming towns we've encountered. As a hobby, we love nothing more than to explore wineries, breweries, restaurants, markets, and scenery around the region. We haven't been let down at all. From the many cute towns connected to Puget Sound/Salish Sea and the many island towns in between on Fidalgo/Whidbey & San Juans, all the way up to the mountain towns on either side of the Cascades, there are a ton of cute places to check out. And many of the residents in these towns really like where they live!
When considering where to move in the NW (caveat: job availability wasn't a factor, I work from home for an organization in NYC) we narrowed our contenders down to non-Seattle, non-Portland cities of roughly 50-100,000 person cities in both states, and our short list included Bend, Corvallis/Eugene, Olympia, and Bellingham. Ultimately, the lack of income tax won out, so we chose Bellingham and then found a place in the historic Fairhaven neighborhood. We're glad we did- it's easily the most scenic of our choices, and a great little city that tends to get overlooked. If you've never been, IMHO it compares very favorably to other similarly sized OR Willamette Valley cities.....
Come to think of it, Oregon definitely has nicer small towns than Washington. I'd easily take Corvallis, Bend, Eugene and even Albany over Longview, Centralia, Yakima, etc...
Seems a bit like cherry-picking. One could easily flip that around and said they'd take Walla Walla/Olympia/Bellingham over Ontario/Burns/Klamath Falls. Hands down.
Nitpicking, Eugene (160k) isn't anything close to a small town anyway. Bellingham isn't either, but it's half the size of Eugene.
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