New England to Seattle (WEATHER??)

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by Arushan

Hello. I have lived in Western Maine and in Northern Rhode Island and live in Seattle right now. Most of the year in Seattle is usually cloudy and drizzly but some years are not so much. (Like this year). There are some little sunbreaks on the cloudy/drizzly days and I recommend you take advantage of them. Only around 40 inches of rain a year here, so it's a similar amount believe it or not. Compared to the NE, Seattle is very mild. It doesn't get to freezing here that often and usually a little dusting of snow every other year. Hardly anything. The nearby mountains are a totally different story though. Summers are quite different here: much drier in Seattle. Dry as a crisp. Also, there's none of that sticky humidity here that you feel on the east coast.

The scenery is actually quite a change. Much more mountainous out here. The fall foliage in Seattle can't compare to the northeast. Around here, you'll see many douglas fir trees and western red cedars. Many more evergreens here than the NE.

thanks!

So..... I often feel Living in Maine is claustrophobic.. I would imagine you get the short days like we get but I mean the weather.. I have children and feel like we spend most of the year inside winters we go out only for short periods of time.. and then we STILL get the heavy rains.. Southern Maine just got 9" in just the last couple of days.

Is it a depressing claustrophobic cloudy/drizziness??

[Arushan]

Well, the low-laying clouds here can give one a claustrophobic feeling over time. The times it's cloudy here for many days on end, many people get the feeling that it's weighing on their soul if that makes sense. I spend at least an hour a day outside and take vit D supplements daily now and haven't had any problems since I started that routine. Winters here do seem quite a bit darker than Maine because there's more cloudy days and none of that bright blinding snow. I suggest taking skiing trips up in the mountains and that will fix that.

The drizzle however should not give you any problems. It's light enough that it usually doesn't bother me at all when I'm outside. In fact I like it.

[csl7733]

I lived in NH for four years. Regarding microclimates within two hours, I would say that the differences are minimal. Portland, OR, is three hours away and it is very similar to Seattle; it appears their summers are slightly hotter and their winters are slightly colder but overall very comparable. Olympia, WA, is 1.5 hours south and the weather is very much the same as Seattle. Even Vancouver, BC, which is three hours to the north is very similar to Seattle; probably even more so than Portland. From what I've read, Victoria (Vancouver Island) is sunnier than Vancouver and Seattle. So if you can telecommute, then this may be a great place to you.

If you go eastward two hours, winters will be sunnier but the temps will be colder. I also do not believe that someone from Boston would want to live in Ellensburg or the like : ) It's pretty small town and provincial.

You may want to ask others about the San Juan Islands; I don't know enough about their weather tendencies but perhaps their climate would be more preferable to you.

[csl7733]

I posted without reading more of the conversation. Now that I have, I will add my two cents. Having lived in NH, I will say that what I love about Seattle are the mild winters. Usually temps are in the 40s, and this year we had quite a few days in the upper 40s and low 50s. No complaints about that! I also love the summers which are 80s and low humidity. But sometimes summer does not begin until mid to late July! That was not the case last year when it began in May, but that was so unusual. I have definitely worn wool sweaters in June before! It can be 50s and 60s in June which is such a disappointment when the rest of the nation is experiencing summer. But if you like cooler temps, then you may actually like it.

I definitely get annoyed with the drizzly days, but honestly, there are many days when there is no drizzle. For me, I feel like we are never too far from having a nice day. We may have four to five days of rain, but eventually we get a really nice day which makes up for a lot. Even on cloudy days, we have lots of sun breaks.

I think about moving back to my home state of Ohio, and the thing that makes me hesitate is that overall we have mild weather year-round. It's pretty nice. There are other things that I don't like about Seattle, but I personally can't complain about the weather.

[Inkpoe]

Olympia, WA, is 1.5 hours south and the weather is very much the same as Seattle.


Olympia is actually wetter/rainier than Seattle.


You may want to ask others about the San Juan Islands; I don't know enough about their weather tendencies but perhaps their climate would be more preferable to you.


San Juan tends to be colder than Seattle.

[Botev1912]

I don't agree that summers start in mid or late July. We always get a lot of nice (warm) days in May and June. The significant change is around June 21. You never see highs below 64 after June 21. The hot weather is mid-late July and beginning of August

[flycessna]

I am not too worried about temps between 50-80... its all good. though I can see where consistant 50's in july might be a bit overboard.

I have also been told there are no mosquitos?? that would be incredible! between black flies and mosquitoes that can kill going outside in the woods...especially fro young kids.

[Ira500]

There aren't NO mosquitoes. But I'd say there's only about 10% of what you'd find on the east coast.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by flycessna

I can see where consistant 50's in july might be a bit overboard.

you will never see a high of 50 in July! Who told you that? Even at night it's rarely below 58 and this is only at 4 am. It's warmer than Maine for sure

[mea-oh]

Originally Posted by csl7733

I posted without reading more of the conversation. Now that I have, I will add my two cents. Having lived in NH, I will say that what I love about Seattle are the mild winters. Usually temps are in the 40s, and this year we had quite a few days in the upper 40s and low 50s. No complaints about that! I also love the summers which are 80s and low humidity. But sometimes summer does not begin until mid to late July! That was not the case last year when it began in May, but that was so unusual. I have definitely worn wool sweaters in June before! It can be 50s and 60s in June which is such a disappointment when the rest of the nation is experiencing summer. But if you like cooler temps, then you may actually like it.

I definitely get annoyed with the drizzly days, but honestly, there are many days when there is no drizzle. For me, I feel like we are never too far from having a nice day. We may have four to five days of rain, but eventually we get a really nice day which makes up for a lot. Even on cloudy days, we have lots of sun breaks.

I think about moving back to my home state of Ohio, and the thing that makes me hesitate is that overall we have mild weather year-round. It's pretty nice. There are other things that I don't like about Seattle, but I personally can't complain about the weather.

I live in Ohio, which I don't think is that different from NE weather-wise. I was in Seattle earlier this month and one day I was downtown walking towards Pike Place market. It was raining, in the 40s, and the wind coming off the Sound made it almost unbearable. But we have plenty of days that are much worse here in Ohio.

If you like cold, snowy, bright winters, Seattle is not for you. If you like warmer, more gray winters, you'd probably be just fine. Although that day was awful in Seattle, it was highly atypical for this winter. Everyone was complaining about the weather that day. It got much better the next day.

I'm personally looking forward to moving to Seattle to get away from Ohio in the winter. I absolutely hate it. It makes me depressed to be stuck inside for months on end and to freeze all the time. I get cold easily, so winter in Ohio is atrocious. Oh, and Ohio can be cloudy for days on end as well.