Pls recommend a great city in WA - no commute necessary

[509]

Originally Posted by poopskooper

If you want gray and wet instead of cold and snowy, stay on the west side of the Cascades.
~amanda

The arc from Wenatchee through Yakima and Tri-Cities and over into Lewiston-Clarkston is pretty much snow free most years. Every four years or so we do get a snow year in Wenatchee. You can play golf all winter somewhere in the Wenatchee area.

Much less snow in Yakima and Tri-Cities. Highway 2 north is snow country in eastern Washington. South of Saddle Mountain is pretty much a winter bananna belt.

The weather, however, is just as awful as western Washington from Thanksgiving to President's Day. I did not believe but actually looked at cloud cover data over that period of time. We do get less rain, but it is just as dark and dreary during that period of time.

Once the sun angle is high enough to burn off the winter fogs, the weather improves quickly and dramatically so that springs are primarily sunny, but windy.

[StealthRabbit]

Another Nice thing about Western Columbia Gorge... (West of Lyle, Wa) No / very rare fog. But... Often windy! It really is dramatically less windy than 20 yrs ago. snow is rare, big snow about every 5 yrs. (as in big drifts... 3-10 ft.) it can be bare on one side of house, and 10 ft deep on other side.

Oil trains. I will guess, very short lived many curves and transporting heavy and hazardous liquids in high center of gravity railcars is not a good combination. Recent derailment was caused by fatigued bolts in rail mounts. So... They are replacing the bolts with 200 yr old technology of spikes. Spikes come loose, so they don't break

While living in Columbia Gorge NSA comes with many restrictions.... It is pretty sure to remain very nice.

Tough to beat rural, remote, beautiful, no neighbors, and still be 20 min to Costco or international airport. Only one stoplight 20 colleges within 30 minutes and unlimited food trucks to fill your cultural and palate needs. Having ez and abundant access to rare antique parts and supplies is very handy for me. For many others...Sales tax free shopping. Others... One hour to coast or mtns (wilderness areas near volcano or developed skiing areas)

https://www.google.com/search?q=colu...w=1024&bih=672

[bartonizer]

No place is going to hit exactly 100% of what you're looking for, but some cities are closer than others.

Even if there's no sales tax, I personally don't think it's worth paying an additional 9% of your income to live in OR, even though I like the state. And the other options are suburb/exurbs- and in the case of Issaquah and Snoqualmie- very expensive ones. Since you work from home, I'm not sure why you'd want to pay a premium for that. Vancouver is IMHO run down and blah- probably not what you're looking for- but east of town- Camas, Washougal may be more to your liking. The Gorge option is an interesting one- as Stealth mentioned you could have beauty and isolation within an hour or so of Vancouver....

But I would throw Bellingham in the mix. Like a smaller Eugene and unlike Olympia, it is definitely it's own self-contained metro area- it's clearly not a suburb or part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Although I don't have any children, it's very kid friendly, has many family friendly events, and relatively speaking very little traffic.

It's arguably more scenic than the other towns, close to the San Juans, the Chuckanut Mountains, and the magnificent North Cascades. So for access to nature, both mountains and especially water, it's tough to beat. The trail system in town and just outside is great, and we have a very renowned mountain bike destination in town-Galbraith Mountain (side note: this is a big biking town- Kona, for example, is headquartered here). Oh, and did I mention little traffic? You can get to trailheads in minutes and find parking spaces (although that may end if I keep mentioning Bellingham to people)!

As far as man made scenery, Bellingham has several commercial districts, including a very independent feeling downtown and the ultra cute and quaint village of Fairhaven. Transportation wise, Bellingham is the southern terminus for the Alaskan Ferry, we have several trains (and buses) daily to Vancouver, BC and Seattle, and an airport that serves a lot of west coast destinations. We're about 1.5-2 hours to Sea-Tac, but there are many daily shuttles from town, as well as to Vancouver, which is distance-wise actually much closer.

Socially, the city of Bellingham is very progressive, somewhat of a university town, well educated, cause driven, and making itself known as a craft beer and outside adventure destination town, along the lines of Bend or Missoula.

Finally, housing..... while inventory is tight and nearly impossible to find below $300k, you should have no problem in your price range finding a multitude of options here- you could likely have your choice between a beautiful old craftsman in town, and house with sea views and walking distance to grocery/shopping/restaurants, a lake house, or a giant house in the hills/mountains/country.

Hope this helps- if you have any additional questions, let me know. It's a great place, though like other cities west of the Cascades it's not everyone's cup of tea.

[poopskooper]

Originally Posted by 509

The arc from Wenatchee through Yakima and Tri-Cities and over into Lewiston-Clarkston is pretty much snow free most years. Every four years or so we do get a snow year in Wenatchee. You can play golf all winter somewhere in the Wenatchee area.

Much less snow in Yakima and Tri-Cities. Highway 2 north is snow country in eastern Washington. South of Saddle Mountain is pretty much a winter bananna belt.

The weather, however, is just as awful as western Washington from Thanksgiving to President's Day. I did not believe but actually looked at cloud cover data over that period of time. We do get less rain, but it is just as dark and dreary during that period of time.

Once the sun angle is high enough to burn off the winter fogs, the weather improves quickly and dramatically so that springs are primarily sunny, but windy.

My apologies, 509. I was focused more on what I thought the OP might be looking for from the description they gave. I wasn't necessarily trying to convince them to only look on the west side of the Cascades but, to me, it sounded more of what they are looking for coming from Texas ...mainly, a more moderate climate and the west side will generally be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. They also said that they'd rather have "a gray, wet not too cold winter."

But yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like it was cold and snowy everywhere east of the mountains in the winter. My experience living in Ellensburg and the Tri-Cities back in the 70s was that it was mostly cold and dry with a slight amount of snow on the ground the majority of the time. However, as mentioned in another thread, the winters have moderated quite a bit since those days all over the state. I remember several instances of below zero temperatures both in Ellensburg and in Richland during the winters I was there. Do you still see below zero anymore? ...I'm not sure as I haven't really been keeping track.
~amanda

[eqttrdr]

Spokane does NOT have a safe downtown imo

[509]

Originally Posted by poopskooper

My apologies, 509. .................. Do you still see below zero anymore? ...I'm not sure as I haven't really been keeping track.
~amanda

No need to apologize.

Honest comments and a willingness to listen AND disagree are what good forums are all about.

I have lived in Coeur d'Alene, Colville and Wenatchee in the Inland Northwest.

First year in Coeur d'Alene it hit minus 25 for a extended period of time and the lake froze solid. Next year it was 59 degrees on Christmas Day.

In Colville, we would get two to three weeks of below zero weather.

We moved to Wenatchee in 1985. NEVER had a day with below zero temperature. Did have a few days that it did hit zero. At our cabin at 3000 feet just outside of Wenatchee and Leavenworth the coldest we have hit is -15.6 degrees. But in Wenatchee it did not fall below zero on that same date.

It has been years since we have seen even zero in Wenatchee, but note we have been gone for a few of those recent winters.

About every four years we would get a snowy winter. An early snow in Wenatchee can get the valley into a positive feedback loop where precipitation keeps falling as snow according the NWS.

The weather is warmer and with less snow these days in winter. Also we are warmer and drier in the fall and cooler and wetter in the spring in my opinion.

[DiggityDawg]

Thanks for the all the great suggestions. Columbia Gorge looks like an interesting option and absolutely beautiful. Bellingham is also high on the list now. I actually have some family up that way which helps. I've also seen Maple Valley recommended in other threads, but that may be more like another suburb. I'll be going up there in a few weeks to do some exploring. Will let you know what I think after I've been in these places. Can't wait!

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by DiggityDawg

Thanks for the all the great suggestions. Columbia Gorge looks like an interesting option and absolutely beautiful. Bellingham is also high on the list now. I actually have some family up that way which helps. I've also seen Maple Valley recommended in other threads, but that may be more like another suburb. I'll be going up there in a few weeks to do some exploring. Will let you know what I think after I've been in these places. Can't wait!

Thanks for checking back- if you would you like any recommendations for things to do/see/eat/drink while you're in Bellingham, let me know!