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This is probably a long shot but I`m looking for a small town in the west that is "green," not desert. More sunny days than cloudy. I don`t mind cool temps and a little snow, but not tons of it and not single digits.
I think you'll find your requirements only met in Hollywood ... but not in "the West".
Just about any place out West that has enough water to be "green" is also going to be in a snow belt and have cool temps in season. Even the mountain areas of New Mexico and Arizona close to the lower elevation deserts (and hence, warmer climes) ... will still have serious winters.
Added: Forgot to also say its green with less single digit winters BUT, more cloudy days than sunny.
You'd be hard pressed to find an area of the USA that is "less sunny" than the Olympic Peninsula area, or Western WA state.
In my view, it's a pretty dreary climate for many months of the year, with virtually no sunshine at all for days on end. Endless drizzle, overcast, interrupted by heavy rain and squalls.
Just inland from the WA coast, it's not uncommon for the snow line to be starting somewhere around 2,500' elevation .... and the snow pretty much stays all winter as it builds up.
About the only way this area fits the OP's wish list is that it's got a bunch of "little towns" ... and not many, at that. It's a fairly sparsely populated region of the country.
"Green" out west can be kind of relative as well. When I was in high school I went to Walla Walla, WA and thought that was a hot, dry, brown town.
BUT, a little life experience, a little living in real deserts and years later ended up spending a lot of time in Walla Walla. It looked really green and nice to me then.
So, that may be a possibility...it's drier than some places, wetter than others, in a pretty valley, next to the Blue Mountains, more sunny days than cloudy (most of the couldy days in the winter), and when you get snow it is generally of the "little" variety. Generally doesn't get too cold too often.
This is probably a long shot but I`m looking for a small town in the west that is "green," not desert. More sunny days than cloudy. I don`t mind cool temps and a little snow, but not tons of it and not single digits.
I'd say Hood River, OR. While its sunny/cloudy days are at about 50/50 all year, it is on the cool side, does get some snow--about 12-15 in annually, and is still on the "green" end of the Columbia Gorge area, before you get to the dryer, hotter and more "desert" eastern areas like just 20 miles away in The Dalles, OR and going eastward.
Hood River is also about 45 min away from Portland, and has a lot of recreation around it too including windsurfing, hiking, mountain climbing, etc for a town that has about 8k people and being so close to an area containing 2.3 million people. Hood River is also more of a "small town" feel than other towns within an hour of Portland.
Well, it's not really a small town since the population is about 100,000, but St. George Utah is really a gem. Not to mention that it has a pretty nice climate as well.
If evergreen trees are green enough for you, small towns around Spokane might work. It's *fairly* green and sunny in summer, can be pretty snowy in winter though.
Likewise mountain towns like Levenworth.
But if you want the full-on green lushness of a rain forest, that's only found in an area with a very rainy climate, which does not preclude some sun breaks, but it won't be a Mediterranian type climate either.
If evergreen trees are green enough for you, small towns around Spokane might work. It's *fairly* green and sunny in summer, can be pretty snowy in winter though.
Likewise mountain towns like Levenworth.
But if you want the full-on green lushness of a rain forest, that's only found in an area with a very rainy climate, which does not preclude some sun breaks, but it won't be a Mediterranian type climate either.
Correct--I think Spokane falls on a "continental" climate. I haven't been to Levenworth though--that would be fun in the winter time.
Even as green as parts of eastern WA and eastern OR are in a couple of places, if you want it green year-round, you'll have to head west on the western side of either state. Just be prepared for a lot less snow and a lot more drizzly days.
OP: If you are, western WA and western OR have literally hundreds of year-round "green" small towns, just pick a spot west of the Cascade Mountain range.
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