Looking for sunnier days in seattle area? (Tacoma, Yakima: rent, houses)

[decogecko]

We are considering a move to the Seattle area but have a number of questions about the region. We want to own rather than rent and would like a home up to $400,000 or so, preferably over 2,000 square feet in size with a large lot for gardening. We don’t have to live in Seattle but would want a nice town or neighborhood where we could get to Sea Tac airport in about 30 minutes or less if possible.

We have heard a lot about Seattle’s weather and how gloomy it can be during the winter months. We are presently in NJ but did live in Walnut Creek in the East Bay area of San Francisco. When we lived there, we found that the weather in Walnut Creek was warmer and sunnier than in San Francisco. Are there any towns in the Seattle-Tacoma region which are sunnier, safe, good neighborhoods with shopping and without the marine layers during the winter or at least fewer days with them?

Thanks a lot – we appreciate any tips or help.

[tobester]

No such towns/cities within 30 minutes of SeaTac. Some cities on the peninsula (eg, Sequim) are in the rain shadow and get a bit more sunshine. But the gray skies only last from mid-October till early-July with occasional sunbreaks. For example, today (Nov 1) is absolutely gorgeous.

[xboxmas]

Sequim, Camano, or Whidbey Island.

[seattlenextyear]

Originally Posted by xboxmas

Sequim, Camano, or Whidbey Island.

Not within 30 minutes of Sea-Tac though.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Thirty minutes to the airport and sunny most days?

Ain't gonna happen. Point blank.

You've got to decide: if weather is that important to you, why would you move to Western Washington? The closest you could live to the airport with that kind of weather would be maybe Yakima or Sequim, and those places are an hour or more from the airport, easily.

[AzDreamer]

The farther you get from Puget Sound the more sun you'll get. Many winter days the fog burns off everywhere but right along the sound. You'll still get more clouds and fog up here than most people enjoy.

Using redfin.com you can see there are some houses in Normandy Park that might work.

I don't know the flight path of the new third runway but the neighborhoods north and south of the airport get more than their fair share of noise.

[Ira500]

While I don't think it's like the SF Bay area in that there will be somewhat dramatically different weather half an hour away, there are parts of the Seattle area that maybe seem brighter?
Parts of West Seattle, for whatever reason, seem brighter to me, like the Admiral District, or The Alaska Junction neighborhood, or Alki. Alki is Seattle's version of the Jersey shore ('cept it's Puget Sound, not the ocean, and you can't smell sausage sandwiches being grilled on the boardwalk, which Alki doesn't have)....In fact, maybe there's something about afternoon sun or whatever, because Normandy Park and Burien also seem to have that "brighter" feel..
My backyard in Renton is sunnier and hotter during the summer. I get red tomatoes in the garden before anybody else, but I haven't done any scientific research to prove it...
Downtown Burien and downtown Renton both have become increasingly fun places to hang out , and both have water nearby. Burien has Puget Sound, Renton has lake Washington and the Cedar River. It's nice to have bodies of water nearby. It helps, even on a rainy day.

[CityGirl72]

Nope.

And it's not the winter dark months that get to you. If you are used to sun - it's actually the Spring time that was the worst. (except for the crazy 2009) May is still usually dark and wet too...no steady sun til the end of June.

[MaikeerinWA]

The Bay Area's microclimates are remarkably diverse. Alas, there is nothing comparable in the Seattle area, really, although you can find differences as noted above.

Originally Posted by decogecko

We are presently in NJ but did live in Walnut Creek in the East Bay area of San Francisco. When we lived there, we found that the weather in Walnut Creek was warmer and sunnier than in San Francisco.