Looks like it will be raining for the first half of June (Seattle: waterparks, restaurant)

[toughguy]

Well I just got back from my lunch break, walked up to Westlake and through Pike Place, and it is gorgeous outside. Not real hot yet, but this is a start. About time!

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

It was a snarky comment regarding when my choice of semantics were scrutinized prior in this thread - though we were saying the same things.

OK I have no idea what you are referring to and I am too lazy to pore over pages of text to discover it, so I will just take your word for it.

[5chevin5]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

Actually, it isn't that I CAN'T handle it. After all, I've lived here 35 years so I think I've proven that I CAN handle it.

I just don't want to anymore. I'm tired of it. The weather shouldn't be something that you have to "get through" - certainly not when that period that you have to "get through" is more than half the year.

Time for us to move on.

Unfortunately, financial considerations will keep us here for a few more years, but believe me, I am counting the days (so to speak).

Ken

I would have to agree with you LordBalfor..
"Getting through" is not a way to live or look forward very well..
However when I left Seattle (the first time) I moved to Phoenix, after 3 years I was "Getting through" the brutal summers that last 6 months...Its a hot one. I remember the first years being excited about sunshine and palm trees. That wore off fast for me.

I guess the point of my humble post is that everyone has their own barometer for " extreme" Seattle is extremely X Phoenix is extremely Y Minnesota is way W and Florida is a sticky mess of Z....

Heres to finding your own equation!!
Mine is the Pacific Northwest for a third time....

5

[LordBalfor]

5chevin5 -

Yeah, I understand.

Of course I wouldn't want to live in Phoenix either - just too much of a blast furnace in the summer. However, I think we should be all right in our location (SE Arizona, just west of Benson). Climate was our primary consideration and we wanted a place that was very mild in the winter but not too hot in the summer - and unlike SW Arizona (which is very low in altitude and thus high in temperature) SE Arizona is higher in altitude and cooler in climate. Our land sits at 4,200 feet and average highs in the area top out at 92 in June, 91 in July and 88 in August - pleasantly mild for the SouthWest. January average high is 59/60, with average overnight lows around 37/38.

All in all, a pretty pleasant climate. We even get more rainfall than many other areas - averaging between 16-20 inches of rain a year (similar to Sequim in quantity, but in a very different rainfall pattern) so we're relatively green - certainly compared to areas of Southern Arizona such as Yuma or Phoenix. See attached photo taken from our property.

Ken

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

See attached photo taken from our property.

very cloudy there

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

so this means Seattle doesn't gets only 60 sunny days a year and partly cloudy days are nice. As you see the sky on the pictures has very few clouds. Probably that's why these days are not considered clear (sunny) days. Miami averages only 75 clear days a year and 175 partly cloudy. But everybody knows it is always sunny in Miami .

The National Weather Service has specific definitions for clear, partly cloudy, cloudy. I beleive clear is 0-30% cloud cover, pc is 30-60%, and cloudy is >60%.

[Botev1912]

Somebody tried to say that partly cloudy days are crappy, depressing, gloomy

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

very cloudy there

Yes indeed. The difference is, it's not cloudy for 6 to 9 months of the year - instead it's completely sunny for 80-90 percent of the time. It's also much warmer - even when it cloudy and when it does rain it doesn't drag on for hours and hours or days and days - instead it comes down hard and 20 minutes later it's over.

Down there, the clouds are a blessing and pretty much everyone LOVES the monsoon season as it cools things off, greens things up, and provides nice refreshing rains. During July and August in the late afternoon the clouds begin to form over the mountains, then pancake out around the surrounding area often bringing thunderstorms and impressive lightning displays.

Compare the sunshine chart here:

Seattle, Washington (WA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

to the one here:

Benson, Arizona (AZ) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

and it become REAL clear why I don't mind the few times there are clouds down there.

Ken

[jwb123]

Somebody tried to say that partly cloudy days are crappy, depressing, gloomy

They did? Or is that your spin?

[jenlion]

My goodness, no posts on this thread for several hours! Don't tell me it's dying?!

Ken, looks like gorgeous land. :-)