moving to Whidbey Island.... (Seattle, Oak Harbor: apartments, to rent, houses)

[CBSunny]

Hi everyone! My husband is in the Navy and we are being transferred to Whidbey come February. I am very excited--I've been on fishing expeditions in British Columbia (Farewell Harbour) and to Seattle in the summertime and they are fantastic places---but I am little concerned...having grown up in Florida, I love, and am quite accustomed to, constant sunshine and perfect swimming weather. Just how cold are the winters, and does it really drizzle constantly for most of the year? How pet-friendly is it up there on Whidbey? We have three dogs and must find a place to rent! I have heard of Coupeville, Anacortes, Oak Harbour...how far are they from each other, and where would be a good place to live if my husband needed to commute to the Navy base??
Also, I love killer whales and have always wanted to do some sort of work or something with them. Do killer whale pods frequent that area, or do you have to go further out past Whidbey for whale watching expeditions, whale research, etc?
We are very outdoorsy people and I know there are lots of good places to hike and sightsee! What do you recommend? Does the water get warm enough in the summertime to swim in?

Any advice and information woudl be greatly appreciated!! I am really thrilled to be moving up there but would love to know more about it so I am better prepared.

[AzDreamer]

Here's a link showing the doppler radar of Western Washington. Right now it's sunny and 37 degrees.

http://www.king5.com/weather/doppler

It does rain a lot here, but it's not constant. Even on rainy days there are usually times when the rain quits long enough for you to get out with your dogs. Your dogs will need to be toweled off before coming back into the house so make sure your place has what we call a "mud room". On rainy days I use the doppler link to pick a good time to get out.

If you need info on the towns nearby check out google maps. Search on "oak harbor, wa". You can check out an area and search for businesses to give you a good idea of what an area has to offer.

[swsha4]

It got cold last night in Seattle. The pool in my back yard has ice on it, so CBSunny, I think you won't be doing much swimming in the winter here!

[Kathleenh54]

Not sure there's much swimming in the summer, either. The PNW water is pretty cold.

[AzDreamer]

Some lakes and rivers are ok to swim in during the Summer. There are a few Puget Sound beaches where people swim but you need a sunny day and have to wait for an incoming tide.

[CBSunny]

Hi Ya'll, thank you for the responses. I have one yellow Lab, Ruger who refuses to go outside when its raining, so he is going to be in for a reality check in Whidbey Island. I think we can handle thirty degrees in the wintertime, that's really not bad at all, considering single digit daily temps are normal for other areas of the other country this time of year). Is there anything else you can share about the area around the Navy base? Any advice as to where to rent, etc? (And yes, I will make sure we have a mud room, good advice on that!)

[allforcats]

I visited Oak Harbor this past summer. Don't know it in any depth but what I saw of it was kind of quaint and sweet, a little old in the ages of the houses, and lots of tall (old) trees. The residents I encountered were friendly and outgoing.

For apartments, you should find current info in the Whidbey newspaper
http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/

Washington is very companion animal-friendly -- cats, dogs, llamas, horses, ostriches, and so on :-)