Just how gloomy is gloomy? (Portland, Green: apartment, hotel, houses)

[nancy thereader]

Dark as night is not what it's like...I think the issue is that it will be gray (i.e. light but no sun) for periods and during a few months of winter it's dark by 4:30. If you work an inside 9-5 job you may feel like you never see anything but darkness during that period.


That is when we start to get dark on Long Island during those few weeks around December 21st, but doesn't it get dark earlier in San Diego even in the winter ?

[oldtintype]

I think the difference is the sun starts to set around 5pm in So. CA but here it's literally DARK by 4:30 for a few months.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

I think the difference is the sun starts to set around 5pm in So. CA but here it's literally DARK by 4:30 for a few months.

For me the problem was always October (when the rains start in earnest) and January and February. In November and December there was always so much to do that it didn't matter. But after New Years, when the holidays and parties and vacations and out-of-town guests tapered off, it was still cool, rainy and dark and it'd be months before that really changed. On the other hand, starting in mid/late-March, the storms start rolling through instead of just hanging there misting on you, and you get dramatic weather and skies, with rain, the occasional snow, often clearing skies (known locally as "sucker holes" because they sucker you out without your rain coat, only to close up in an hour or two and rain on you). The bulbs and trees start flowering in late March as well, and that's always such a hopeful sign. April and May also have the very mixed spring weather, and May is a more reliably sunny and beautiful month than June.

Even though I no longer live in town, a friend and I are making plans to spend a good bit of April in a rented condo in Portland, simply because both of us are now from dry sunny places and the break will be nice.

[dldavis]

Hi There

I lived in Eugene for 2 years and the area is fantastic, the people are way cool but oh my the gloom and rain. Be prepared and I mean be prepared it is gloomy 9 months out of the year plus rain. You learn to do everything in the rain. I love gloom but not 9 months of it. I installed big street lites in my garage and set up a fake kinda beach area to not get depressed. I am a super out doors person and it kicked my butt.

di

[roneb]

oldtintype,my apologies if my little jab was taken as offensive or an attack. We certainly differ in how we believe the Portland climate should be presented to outsiders, but the truth is I usually can agree with or admire much of your posts on other topics!

[Ogopogo]

The Pacific Northwest is beautiful, rain or shine. And, a lot of people up there like the grey and rain (which you sound like you do, too). It is a lot like an England climate. Now, that climate isn't for everyone, though. And, when somebody says "it isn't that bad" about the grey/rain up there, it is the same as somebody in Duluth saying "it isn't that bad" about the winter. So, I can say that, personally, the rain and grey and dampness got to me up there. When I drove out of Western Oregon, I could not wait to see the sun shining and feel it's warmth. However, that is just me. Again, some people love the rain. And, if you really can't take it, you don't have to drive that far from Portland (cross over the mountains) to see the sun, and be in a much drier, sunnier climate.

[nancy thereader]

But after New Years, when the holidays and parties and vacations and out-of-town guests tapered off, it was still cool, rainy and dark

But that is true of most places, certainly most of Europe and Canada as well as the Northeastern United States. Who likes January ? At least February always had Valentine's Day right in its (short) middle.

[B_Lam]

its a great read...have had the book for probably a decade now.

[B_Lam]

Response to the "Rains All the Time" book endorsement

[Think!]

Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies - I think I'm going to have to come up there during the winter before I commit to a move.