Moving From SF Bay Area to WA State (Seattle, Spokane: for sale, home)

[Celtic Tiger]

Really like the Puget sound area..but the rain is a deterant. Can anyone suggest towns within an hour from Seattle, wilth mountains, maybe semi-coastal, and less than 35 inches of rain a year?

Most grateful

[night owl]

You might look into Bellingham. It doesn't get less than 35 inches of rain, but it's not as rainy as Seattle. The weather is more like Vancouver BC. It is more than an hour away, but not too much. And there may be areas just south of Bellingham that would suit you.

[compltlyme]

I don't think the rain will bug you as much as you think. It does "rain" here but more times than not it is that light rain. Like a drizzle. It actually rains more in HI and NY than here. I am about a 25 min drive from down town Seattle on the east side and it is a great area. I love living so close to the cities of Redmond. Bellevue and Seattle and yet feel like we are out in a forest far from everything.

[Celtic Tiger]

Moving From SF Bay Area to WA State:

Thanks for your ideas..will check these locations out on city-data and keep looking.

[Judy Jones]

You also might try Kitsap County or parts of Island County. They are in the rain shadow of the Olympics and receive significantly less measureable rain than Seattle. Easy commute into the city by ferry, too!

[compltlyme]

Originally Posted by Judy Jones

You also might try Kitsap County or parts of Island County. They are in the rain shadow of the Olympics and receive significantly less measureable rain than Seattle. Easy commute into the city by ferry, too!

Don't you find those ferry fees quite high?

[richkat]

Originally Posted by compltlyme

I don't think the rain will bug you as much as you think. It does "rain" here but more times than not it is that light rain. Like a drizzle. It actually rains more in HI and NY than here. I am about a 25 min drive from down town Seattle on the east side and it is a great area. I love living so close to the cities of Redmond. Bellevue and Seattle and yet feel like we are out in a forest far from everything.

I had moved from SF to Portland (now in Florida) and, believe me, it's not about the rain. We get a lot more inches of rain here. But it's the grey days that are depressing. Here in Florida, we get more rain but in-between there's a lot of sunshine. I also hear that Seattle isn't as grey as Portland because it's coastal, rather than inland.

[Maureen]

You may be interested in Spokane area in Eastern Washington. Not a lot of rain, no ocean, but lots of beautiful lakes and ski areas close by. Active Irish population in Spokane. Charming home for sale very reasonable 40 miles from Spokane.

[Asti]

Like previously said, the rain isn't as bad as it may seem. The only thing I don't like, precipitation-wise, is the total lack of snow here.

Have no fears about moving to Seattle -- it's a great city.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Celtic Tiger

Really like the Puget sound area..but the rain is a deterant. Can anyone suggest towns within an hour from Seattle, wilth mountains, maybe semi-coastal, and less than 35 inches of rain a year?

It may be slightly over an hour away but Whidbey Island has the lowest rainfall close in to Seattle unless you are willing to trek across the Cascade Mountains to the Cle Elum area, where it snows and you have to commute across a snowy mountain pass in winter. The downfall with Whidbey Island is that you have to take a ferry to get there and then drive through traffic hell to get to Seattle. If you can commute in off peak times, a little over an hour commute is possible.

The driest place in Western Washington is Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula, which gets around 15 inches of rain a year. The Olympic Mountains cast a rainshadow making certain areas, like Sequim, Whidbey Island, Victoria, BC drier than other local areas.