Considering moving to Port Angeles or possibly Seattle (Port Townsend: apartment, to rent)

[Mr. Fuzzums]

Hey everyone. I'm new here. I'm from New York and looking to have a change of scenery. I'm a 31 year old artist and sound engineer for live events and would be moving with my friend to rent a 2-bedroom apartment.

Anyway, I've done quite a bit of research on Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Seattle and have been to all three several years back. I'm leaning towards the idea of living in Port Angeles simply based on the weather and that it's located in the rain shadow. Plus it seems to have more access to national parks and forests which is important to me.

I'm not sure if I would do well with the Seattle weather but I'm open to try. It has to be better than NYC weather I figure. I've also gotten the impression that I would be able to find a job in Port Angeles far easier than Port Townsend (although I remember really enjoying Port Townsend and would move there if I thought I had a chance of obtaining a job). Seattle I'd think would be okay with jobs too but correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not talking about anything fancy here just to be clear, I'll take a minimum wage job. The job I have in NYC right now, as decent as the pay is, amounts to LESS than minimum wage when you break down our cost of living.

My main concern and reason for writing is that I hope to eventually meet other people my age range and make friends, be part of the art scene, etc. I'm not a big party person necessarily, I'm not into clubbing or whatever, but I do enjoy a somewhat lively culture. Obviously this would be far easier in Seattle, being a major city, but based on your experiences, is this likely to happen in Port Angeles? Or should I just stop being a baby about the cloudy weather and just move to Seattle =)? Sorry if these questions have been asked already and sorry for the rambling post. I appreciate any help you can give!

[TrueTimbers]

The Olympic peninsula is very rural. If you never lived in a rural area you would be in for quite a shock.

Most young people leave, to seek opportunity elsewhere. That is a fact of rural living. Young folks who stick around already have their social groups established. "New blood" is in the form of older retired people. They are networking, looking for friends and things fun to do.

Art scene? Lively culture? That is for older retired people in their 60's... Look at the age statistics for towns on the Olympic peninsula.
Median Age for U.S. Counties Map, Statistics

Clallam county only has 19% of the population in your age group.. Jefferson county only 16%! (That's 30,000x.16=4800 people in the county your age) (4800/2100sq miles= about 2 people in your age bracket per square mile!!!)

Younger people are in the minority, red necks laboring hard to make ends meet or young couples busy raising a family, and a few bar fly's drunk or drugged out that never grew up/gave up.

No where west of the cascades is it really warm or sunny. The "olympic rainshadow" only means less rain, not that much less cloud cover, heck summer might even have more fog in summer.

Really work through the weather thing if you think it is important. But I would suggest not having it be a deciding factor, look for what fits your need for work fist, then your social art needs.

[folkguitarist555]

Port Angeles is pretty, but an odd little place imo. Very cliquish as well, and isolated. Beautiful for sure though. I would not live there, I did for 4 months some years ago, and hi-tailed it back to Seattle.

[Mr. Fuzzums]

Right so no real chance of meeting other people my age there basically, right? Maybe I'll do a month to month and see how I like it and probably end up ultimately in Seattle for the social factor like you said. Yea Seattle seems like the place I guess. I could always live a bit outside the main city for the sake of saving money if I need to.