more than 300 days of sunshine???? (Medford, Bend: home, live, gardening)

[LISA IN LONGVIEW]

Does anyone know of somewhere east of the Mts that has more than 300 days of sunshine, I am so sick of the west side of the mts weather. We will be retiring in about 5 years, This place does not have to be in Washington, we are considering Idaho & Oregon, Nevada, Possibly Arizona also. We want a small town atmosphere, I love to garden, hubby wants to fly fish, we want somewhere close to recreational area's so when the future grandkids come to visit, there will be lots to do, snow is alright just as long as we get away from the doom and gloom. Any suggestions? Thank you for any help You can give.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by LISA IN LONGVIEW

Does anyone know of somewhere east of the Mts that has more than 300 days of sunshine, I am so sick of the west side of the mts weather. We will be retiring in about 5 years, This place does not have to be in Washington, we are considering Idaho & Oregon, Nevada, Possibly Arizona also. We want a small town atmosphere, I love to garden, hubby wants to fly fish, we want somewhere close to recreational area's so when the future grandkids come to visit, there will be lots to do, snow is alright just as long as we get away from the doom and gloom. Any suggestions? Thank you for any help You can give.

Klamath Falls Chamber of Commerce claims 300 days of sun. I'm thinking, based on reviewing weather data, that it's really more in the mid-200s, but I guess it's how you define "sunny"

In my own search for a similar climate, you either have to go far west (out at least to Boise) to get that winter sun or you have to go far south and a little west. Going out to Pendleton or Tri-Cities still doesn't quite get the winter sun, and neither does Bend. Medford's also got somewhere near 200 sunny days.

The only problem with gardening is that once you cross the Cascades you start getting a limited number of frost-free days - the growing season drops from "just about all year" to 100-180 days.

[Larry Caldwell]

In Washington, Winthrop looked pretty dry the last time I was there. In Oregon, anything in the SE section of the state, from Baker City south will probably suit you. Burns is on the north edge of the Black Rock Desert, one of the most arid deserts in North America.

[PNW-type-gal]

"Dry" and "sunny" are not always the same thing in winter, oddly enough. The City Data pages have a great little graph of "% sun."

Here's Winthrop:


Here's Bend:


Medford:


Klamath Falls:


As always, you have to take the interpretations with a grain of salt - there's another graph on the same page which doesn't always agree with this one.

[Waterlily]

You'd have a choice of cities in eastern or southern Oregon. Nobody can say for sure they'll have 300 days of bright sun.

Here is another city with lots of sun, Ontario. You'd have the snake river going by town for fishing too.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Ontario-Oregon.html

[karlsch]

You should look at Baker City. Sometimes cloudy in December and January but otherwise usually sunny.

A lot of people garden. My neighbor goes fishing every morning and usually catches trout.

Plenty of outdoor recreation in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; the headquarters is in Baker City:
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest - Welcome!

City is has a great infrastructure and is well maintained. Downtown looks great:
Historic Baker City, Oregon

Housing is very reasonable compared to Western Oregon.

Very low stress level.

[Squidlo]

I can vouch for Baker City. Great little town. It does get cold there. I lived east of there for a while as a kid. I don't recall much in the way of gloomy weather. I do remember freezing my butt off doing outdoor work. 4 degrees is damn cold but with some sun and no wind it was tolerable as long as I stayed busy with the work. The Snake river is wonderful country. Hells Canyon is a favorite spot of mine. Lots of places to fish near Baker City. Its on my list as a possible summer home when I retire. I will be wintering in the south somewhere .



Squidlo