We loved Victoria, BC... similar in Washington? (Seattle, Vancouver: low crime, good schools)

[jsurb]

My husband and I have been to Victoria, Bc twice and we loved it. We are from western Ohio. We are looking to move to somewhere more prosperous because we now have to worry about a future for our 10 month old baby.

Is there anywhere across the water from Victoria in Washington that has a vibrant community with a good economy? We have researched Sequim, Wa and surrounding areas. We wouldn't really know how the towns are until we go and visit them.***** We just recently got back from Roswell, Ga and also liked it but we would prefer to be closer to the water.

Important things to know about potential town:

1. Sunshine ( Victoria is one of the sunniest places in Canada. It is super important that I move to a place that has sunshine. Ohio does not have very many sunny days. Temperature isn't as important as sunshine. I don't mind cold if it is sunny and not gloomy.)

2. Vibrant Economy ( My husband is in IT )

3. Low Crime

4. Great Schools ( We aren't looking for a school to be good for the area, we are looking for a GREAT school! Education is super important to us.)

5. Sense of Community

Please let me know if any of these things are possible in northern Washington!

[cocaseco]

#1 rules out WA. Try Colorado, maybe Fort Collins, bvut lots of small towns fit your bill. Lots of sun, not too cold, 4 seasons, good economies depending on industry, low crime for sure, great schools and community.

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by jsurb

My husband and I have been to Victoria, Bc twice and we loved it. We are from western Ohio. We are looking to move to somewhere more prosperous because we now have to worry about a future for our 10 month old baby.
Is there anywhere across the water from Victoria in Washington that has a vibrant community with a good economy? We have researched Sequim, Wa and surrounding areas. We wouldn't really know how the towns are until we go and visit them.***** We just recently got back from Roswell, Ga and also liked it but we would prefer to be closer to the water.
Important things to know about potential town:
1. Sunshine ( Victoria is one of the sunniest places in Canada. It is super important that I move to a place that has sunshine. Ohio does not have very many sunny days. Temperature isn't as important as sunshine. I don't mind cold if it is sunny and not gloomy.)
2. Vibrant Economy ( My husband is in IT )
3. Low Crime
4. Great Schools ( We aren't looking for a school to be good for the area, we are looking for a GREAT school! Education is super important to us.)
5. Sense of Community
Please let me know if any of these things are possible in northern Washington!

In a word, no.Sure, you will findcities that have your #2,3,4,and 5 priorities, but since "sunshine" is number one, then you are out of luck.
Washington divides into western and eastern.
Western WA (you mention "across the water from Victoria") is drizzly and cloudy most of the year. Many of us like this type of weather, but it is NOT for folks who pick "sunshine" as their top requirement!
BTW, Victoria's climate is very similar. Gorgeous sunny summers, grey the rest of the year.

If you want "sunshine" and "Washington", then you are talking about eastern WA, which has four seasons, is noticeably drier, but lacks the trees, lakes, and the Sound of the western part.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by jsurb

1. Sunshine ( Victoria is one of the sunniest places in Canada. It is super important that I move to a place that has sunshine. Ohio does not have very many sunny days. Temperature isn't as important as sunshine. I don't mind cold if it is sunny and not gloomy.)

Originally Posted by cocaseco

#1 rules out WA.

No, actually while Victoria has a sunnier climate than most of the rest of coastal BC or parts of the coastal Pacific Northwest, but it's not like it's always sunny and dry all year. It can still be cloudy for much of the winter(and rainy)--it's weather is more famous for Canadians as being the mildest place in all of Canada year-round in terms of weather. But Canada's banana belt is basically the same Pacific Northwest weather that everyone in the US complains about.

Victoria shares it's weather in many ways with places in Washington State in the Olympic rain shadow. So basically places like Sequim or Port Townsend or Port Angeles or the San Juans are basically close to Victoria in terms of weather. Which means they're better than Vancouver or Seattle(and much better than somewhere like Forks, but they still have a lot of grey(though fairly mild) days and are drier and occasionally a little sunnier than areas to the west or east along Puget Sound or the Pacific.

Olympic Rain Shadow Map and Location

Victoria is a beautiful city, though there's no real equivalent in Washington State. Port Townsend is a nice town though and worth checking out, that's got some of what you might be looking for--though no vibrant economy really.

[jsurb]

Thanks for the replies. My husband and I loved the beauty and the culture in Victoria, Bc, but we aren't ready to move to a different country. We have been to Victoria both times in the summer and heard it has the most sunshine in Canada so I assumed it was somewhat sunny in the winter.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by jsurb

Thanks for the replies. My husband and I loved the beauty and the culture in Victoria, Bc, but we aren't ready to move to a different country. We have been to Victoria both times in the summer and heard it has the most sunshine in Canada so I assumed it was somewhat sunny in the winter.

Canadian Sunshine Hours Canada

Pretty much consistent with America's setup. Eastern WA is much closer to the Prairie and does get more noticeable sunlight distribution than its counterpart.


You could look into Bellingham, but with #1... there's not really any places in Western WA that would provide substantially more sunlight hours than where you're from. I agree ultimately with the Colorado (like Denver area)... you could also look into Minnesota/MSP area.

[Hemlock140]

Calgary, Alberta is the sunniest city in Canada followed by 4 other prairie cities before Victoria, which gets about 317 days with some sun. It's still only getting 46% of daytime hours with sun, and except for summer, many of the 317 days it only appears for an hour or two in the afternoon, much like Sequim WA. Other than weather, there is no place in WA like Victoria, with the historic and quaint downtown with the British influence. There are many areas of Western WA with everything else you need except for the sun, for that you need to look east of the Cascades, perhaps the Tri-Cities (Pasco/Kennewick/Richland but the schools are not as good and there is much less high tech employment.

[pw72]

Have to agree with others here, Victoria is NOT that sunny. It may share some rain shadow effects of the U.S. Olympic rain shadow, (See Sequim), but for the most part, Victoria shares the same dreary cloudy weather that Seattle and Vancouver suffer through. Real sunshine occurs on the eastern side of BC, WA, and OR. Keep in mind the trade-off is colder winters and hotter summers in these areas.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by jsurb

1. Sunshine ( Victoria is one of the sunniest places in Canada. It is super important that I move to a place that has sunshine. Ohio does not have very many sunny days. Temperature isn't as important as sunshine. I don't mind cold if it is sunny and not gloomy.)

This is not true. Victoria is not sunny at all. It's definitely gloomier than Ohio, Toronto, Calgary and even Montreal. You have visited in the summer and summer is the only true sunny and dry season in the Northwest (almost everywhere, not just Victoria)

[StealthRabbit]

For Sunny, safe, IT, good schools, Sense of Community, and Vibrant... I would look to Boulder, Colorado or Ft Collins, tho I have lived in both and would today pursue Colorado Springs as well. (I don't do Denver, but most IT is south side, so can be reached from Castle Rock or North Colorado Springs if you MUST work in Denver. (I wouldn't ever want to live there. YMMV)

Flagstaff, AZ, Santa Fe NM, Salt Lake City - all should be considered.

Victoria is very nice and unique. It is VERY rainy in the Winter,. (I lived on an EXCELLENT island nearby one winter, it was very wet). 30 ys of Short winter days @ Northern Latitudes has been tough on THIS sun seeker (a Colorado kid). Now I head to Thailand for Winter and Medi-vacation / tune-up. Then I come back in winter (Christmas) to my TX place (Hill Country... TOO hot for summer, thus my PNW abode (nice a few months / yr).

Sunny and good Schools FRIENDLY and vibrant (&IT) and VERY low CRIME!!!? Consider Singapore, it was an excellent place to live / work / recreate / educate when we had young kids. I would do it again in a heartbeat. International living is TOPS with kids!!! Other countries put far more value on thier children and it is really fun to participate and allow your kids to be exposed to that. We did Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy... (Home schooled and lived for a spell). Colorado Springs has some of the best International exposure for Sunny Colorado. (Military and international church missions)


San Diego isn't too shabby if cost / taxes / people is not an issue. (minor earthquakes, but HUGE wildfires)

South America ? bet there are many GREAT places to educate your kids there!