Gardening in WA, choosing a new hometown (Seattle, Tacoma: for sale, real estate)

[Dreams2Plans]

As a spin-off from another Alaskan's thread, wonder if I could get some pointers for myself here, seeing as how our goals with that other poster are quite different!

Looking to move in about 2 years (possibly buy something sooner and rent it out until then).

• Main importance is gardening-friendly climate, for which I've been combing City-Data statistics thoroughly and making a handy list/cheat sheet with lots of towns and their respective temperature ranges, length of growing season, CL index, population and other relative information for a quick reference when house-shopping.

• Second is relative affordability (so that I can buy a place with at least one acre)

• Preferably within an hour drive or less from a large/r city like Seattle, Everett, Auburn, Kent, Tacoma, Vancouver, Redmond, Renton, etc. Easy connection/roads/airport proximity is a fairly big factor.

The "perfect" place will be a balancing combination of the three. Nice but not necessary is a body of water nearby. Schools I am not very concerned about, as well as shopping and nightlife or dating scene. Having friendly neighbors would be nice, however!

So far, Port Orchard had came up a lot in my trial Zillow searches, but mostly it's "all over the place", depending a lot more on the actual listings available at the time. Like I mentioned, I am compiling basic info on towns that are within that climate radius - everything I can find online, but would love some input from a personal standpoint!

[texasdiver]

Ridgefield WA just north of Vancouver. You are less than 1/2 hour from PDX airport and downtown Portland for that matter during the off-commute hours. Getting into Portland during the rush hour could be more like 1 hour. The area was formerly a big dairy farming area but most of the big dairies are long gone and its more smaller hobby farms and subdivisions. Lots of nursery stock operations, some vinyards, horse farms, that sort of thing mixed among the subdivisions. So obviously the soils are fertile as it is along the Columbia floodplains and the climate is amenable to agriculture. Or push a bit further north to Woodland WA if you don't care about being so close to Portland and don't care about having so many nearby amenities.

Another place I would look is Whidbey Island. You'll be farther from airports. But Alaska Airlines is starting to fly out of Everett so that would become a much closer and easier option than driving all the way through Seattle to get to the big airport. Say the Langley Area: https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific...den-at-a-time/ and Master Gardeners | WSU Extension, Island County | Washington State University

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by HappyNewMe

Main importance is gardening-friendly climate

Hi Happy:

It will help to know what you're interested in growing in your garden. WA is basically two climates rolled in to one state (cool, wet and hot, dry). Sure this is a generalization but the key word for gardening often times will come down to heat index. IOW, does it get hot enough to ripen whatever I'm trying to grow. Important if you're wanting to have such things as tomatoes or peaches in your garden.

If you look at the AHS map ( AHS Plant Heat Zone Map | American Horticultural Society ) you'll see lots of blue and purple (cool, wet) on the map over western WA and lots of green and some yellow (hot, dry) on the map over central and eastern WA.

The places you mentioned in your OP are all wetside cities, so that would limit you mostly to cool climate garden crops. Your second criteria was affordability and that can be a tough one currently in western WA due to our out of control real estate prices.

You came up with Port Orchard. If you're OK with a small out of the way town in our wetside climate, also check out Port Townsend and Quilcene. We know several people in those areas that have amazing large organic gardens (cool climate crops).

[Dreams2Plans]

Originally Posted by Dendrite

It will help to know what you're interested in growing in your garden. WA is basically two climates rolled in to one state (cool, wet and hot, dry). Sure this is a generalization but the key word for gardening often times will come down to heat index.

Definitely prefer wet and cool!
Also, most likely with at least a short period of barely below-freezing temps (for those plants that need that).

Originally Posted by Dendrite

Hi Happy:
If you look at the AHS map ( AHS Plant Heat Zone Map | American Horticultural Society ) you'll see lots of blue and purple (cool, wet) on the map over western WA and lots of green and some yellow (hot, dry) on the map over central and eastern WA.

Thanks for that map! I don't think I've seen it before!

I've read that tomatoes need 75 degrees to ripen (and I'd really would love to be able to grow them!), so certain otherwise awesome areas (with only 20-30 degrees variation between winter/summer) were out of question. Port Orchard, for one, promises nearly 2 months of 75-degrees highs... Have looked at Port Townsend, too, but it barely gets to 70-71 during those same months. And a good 2- 2.5 hours away from Seattle airport (my general "measuring stick", LOL)

[Dreams2Plans]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Ridgefield WA just north of Vancouver. You are less than 1/2 hour from PDX airport and downtown Portland for that matter during the off-commute hours.

Hmm, haven't thought of that one, thanks!
Only 30 minutes to the airport, weather seems about right (32-81 winter-summer). Judging by the CL index, might be a little pricey, but otherwise definitely worth considering! (If, for instance, a foreclosed property or a piece of land suddenly came up for sale - there is always that chance!)


P.S.: also, as somebody else mentioned in another thread, this general area has "the best of both worlds" - no income tax in WA and no sales tax in OR nearby!

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Ridgefield WA just north of Vancouver. You are less than 1/2 hour from PDX airport and downtown Portland for that matter during the off-commute hours. Getting into Portland during the rush hour could be more like 1 hour. The area was formerly a big dairy farming area but most of the big dairies are long gone and its more smaller hobby farms and subdivisions. Lots of nursery stock operations, some vinyards, horse farms, that sort of thing mixed among the subdivisions. So obviously the soils are fertile as it is along the Columbia floodplains and the climate is amenable to agriculture. Or push a bit further north to Woodland WA if you don't care about being so close to Portland and don't care about having so many nearby amenities.

Another place I would look is Whidbey Island. You'll be farther from airports. But Alaska Airlines is starting to fly out of Everett so that would become a much closer and easier option than driving all the way through Seattle to get to the big airport. Say the Langley Area: https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific...den-at-a-time/ and Master Gardeners | WSU Extension, Island County | Washington State University

Good place. My Aunt and two of my Cousins with there families live in Ridgefield WA.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by HappyNewMe

Hmm, haven't thought of that one, thanks!
Only 30 minutes to the airport, weather seems about right (32-81 winter-summer). Judging by the CL index, might be a little pricey, but otherwise definitely worth considering! (If, for instance, a foreclosed property or a piece of land suddenly came up for sale - there is always that chance!)


P.S.: also, as somebody else mentioned in another thread, this general area has "the best of both worlds" - no income tax in WA and no sales tax in OR nearby!

Very true. Use to make grocery runs to Portland, or before we crossed the Columbia River driving from Oregon into Washington.

[texasdiver]

Here you go. If you are looking to garden. This is Woodland WA, just north of Ridgefield and probably a lot cheaper as you are farther from the prime Portland commuting zone. But still probably 45 minutes to the airport or downtown Portland when it isn't rush hour.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...23329848_zpid/

[Dreams2Plans]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Here you go. If you are looking to garden. This is Woodland WA, just north of Ridgefield and probably a lot cheaper as you are farther from the prime Portland commuting zone. But still probably 45 minutes to the airport or downtown Portland when it isn't rush hour.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...23329848_zpid/

Looks absolutely awesome!! Too bad I was mostly hoping for about half of that price (apparently, the area around Port Orchard and overall 1-1.5 hours away from Seattle/Olympia is a bit more affordable than this awesome combination of what both states have to offer))

[Diana Holbrook]

Only have a few minutes to post, but if you want affordability and good gardening, check out the areas around Napavine, Onalaska, Ethyl, area, even up as far north as Rochester. I call it our local "big sky" area... it's Western Wa, for climate, but it's not as heavily treed as most of Western Washington is, with large areas of prairie (sometimes in flood plain, so look out for that!) where the soils and the amount of sun per day are not limited by *so many* tall trees. These areas are largely agricultural.