Getting used to the rain...

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by nwcountrygal

However I have seen 115 days with no sun and don't ever count on a sunny 4 of july it is a bonus

If you mean 115 consecutive days that's not possible and it will never happen

[nwcountrygal]

1997 I believe or 1998 Keep in mind we have over 6 ways to discribe rain - mist, drizzle, showers, downpour, Thunder storms, freezing rain, hmm I think there is another..... grey clouds and one of these types of rain -- I almost moved to the south that year. Now that was once in last 30 yrs... not all the time.

[seattlerain]

I think that both sides in the endless Great Seattle Weather Debate tend to exaggerate.

Do we have constant cloud cover from mid September to mid June, no, but it is cloudy much of the time. Did we have 115 straight days of cloud cover… no, in all my 55 years, I don't ever remember it being cloudy for 115 days straight, but I do remember a year in the mid to late 90s when it was cloudier than normal...

[cabocurtis]

Here we are nearing the end of October and year to date rain is about 19" about 4" less than average. Compare that to east coast, florida and most midwest cities. This week mostly sunny and in the high 50's. As a climate this year has been pretty ideal, very little freezing at night,virtually no snow and mild winter spring summer and fall. Is it an abberation or a trend due to the warming of our planet. If we truly are on our way to a warmer global climate I will take our chances up here with our water source, hydroelectric power, mild climate and trees and proximity to the puget sound which makes the climate milder. Compare that to places that have single digit raincounts and 300 plus days of sunshine a year with lack of water, high power prices and increasing temperatures. Where would you rather be 10 years from now? The cure for winter sadd is to go up to the mountains on a glorius sunny day(it happens), plan all your winter vacation time to go to CA or AZ which can be pretty inexpensive to fly if you plan ahead or what I do inside watch the golf and travel channel. Always a sunny place on TV. Late spring to early fall this area is ideal.
Im a lifelong washingtonian who in the past have dreamed of leaving the
state for a sunnier climate thinking the grass is greener but with my business not realistic. My plan now is to embrace our location and use traveltime in offseason to find sun in the winter.

[CityGirl72]

They call them "Sun Vacations" and it makes me mad now to hear the term. Why O jave to use my vacation time to go find sun, and spend money - crazy. When I lived in California, no one takes a sun vacation...

And with kids - just go to the mountains?Just go? it would takea week of planning, then findng a free weekend and then packing up the WHOLE car.

[jayhawkfan96]

Originally Posted by nwcountrygal

LOL Jhawk - at first glance of your post I took offense... but yes it is how you look at it. I won't rule out allergies possibility - but don't think so........ However my Grandfather from the Mid-west or as some of my friends call it "The Big Empty" couldn't even come over here. Mold allergies would make him dreadfully sick.

AS far as supplements - this area has many stores selling - sold them myself at times - Vitamn D E and take at least 10,000 milgrams of C at this time of year. All needing a mineral supplement to activate....

As for me I could never live in the Mid- west flat - it would kill me - I get so turned around without hills for landmarks. And the wind -- Wow every time I go back I come home needing therapy for wind (not really but Gosh I hate it) ....

so yes you do make the best where ever you are at. The question of this thread is getting used to the rain. Plain truth is many people can't. I don't sit in my house.

I lived on Mt Rainier Heli skiied owned horse rental strings on ocean and Mt - Hunting camps - picking mushrooms (no the kind you can sell on the real market), just spent the night at the ocean this weekend for the cranberry feastivle (yes such a thing) Kayak, river raft, worked in the woods logging, running equipement, making trails in National Park plus more..... so not a video game homebody watching TV..... love the area on a pretty sunny day there is no place like home.

I still dread the long wet drizzle - my power being knocked out - last year 43 days no power... so you get a generator. Still dread it though.... fact.

Yeah that came out quite a bit harsher than I intended. Sorry. I've been out of work for several month's and hearing people whine about little things kind of sets me off. Like my sister-in-law, knowing the situation we're in constantly complaining that she can only pay $500.00 EXTRA a month on her mortgage. That and for some reason a lot of people in this country swear that the world is out to get them and everybody should drop everything and help them.

As far as the allergies that is a likely thing. I'm just the opposite. When we go to Washington I can breathe much easier because of the cool damp air.

The mold problem is actually much worse here and farther south than in Washington State because we get so much warmer.

Above all else. Life's too short. Concentrate on the positives.

[cabocurtis]

In a hours drive you can go up to snoqualmie pass and the trails with a parking permit for less the cost of a movie. Most people do not plan they just do it and the hiking and sledding is free. And what I meant about taking a winter "sun" vacation is strictly an option if you take vacations anyway. It can be done pretty cheaply. As gas prices are going down substantially a western washingtonian can find sunny days in eastern WA in a two hour drive during the winter to get their vitamin D, albeit a cool sunny day.

[BryanK]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

When I lived in California, no one takes a sun vacation...

And with kids - just go to the mountains?Just go? it would takea week of planning, then findng a free weekend and then packing up the WHOLE car.

Why did you leave California then??

If it takes you a week of planning to take a ride in the country, then how do you ever get anything done??

Why don't you just pack 1/2 the car?

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by Vykki04

Hello. We are in the progress of moving from California to Gig Harbor, Washington. I have, personally, never lived outside of sunny ol' California. The heat is killing me! Haha. Anyways, I was wondering if someone who moved from a "dry State" to Washington could tell me how they dealt with all the rain. Are you used to it now? If so, how long did it take? With all the beauty that Washington has to offer, it's something that I hope to learn to appreciate. But ... nine months, really?

My husband asked me to ask about the fleas. That's the only other thing (besides all the green) that we haven't yet dealt with. We have two indoor cats, will it be a problem?

Thank you all in advance!
*Vykki*

Oh boy! Don't mean to "rain on your parade" , and obviously everyone has a different tolerance for these things, but careful what you wish for! Yes, you'll no longer have to deal with the "heat" and water rationing, especially in Gig Harbor. But with all due respect for those who claim that "Much of WA rain is more like drizzle and overcast anyways", don't underestimate the impact of continually struggling with the "wet stuff".

Until recently "burning out" on that climate and moving (back to Cali!), I lived in the Puget Sound area since '81 and yes, that was a time when the weather there was mostly about "drizzle and overcast", which didn't bother me too much. But since then, the NW weather has become much more extreme, along with the rest of the country. So now it's more common there to experience days, and even weeks on end of serious downpours, often including flooding in many low-lying river areas.

Basic flea collars or the usual Vet flea treatments should work fine. Also racoons are very common there and aggressive, so hopefully when outside, your cats aren't inclined to pick a fight with them, and besides, you won't want to keep any cat food outside (which also attracts the slugs... wait 'til you see them!). In addition, you may experience more allergy issues there, even in the winter time due to molds.

Besides dividing their year into "indoor" and "outdoor" seasons, what long-time Washington folks often do is try to escape for a few days to somewhere dry and sunny, usually around January, when things are usually the bleakest. Or you can even take occasional day trips up to the so-called "banana belt", the "micro-climate" area north of the Olympics, that receives half the typical rainfall of Puget Sound and twice the sunshine.

But it is a beautiful place, and with fabulous boating opportunities, especially if you'll be in Gig Harbor.

[bobbilly79]

Vicky,
I am from AZ and have lived in Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Montana (east), so lots of sunshine in my life. My lovely wife is from the Puget Sound region, and afer we met and married in AZ we moved to Olympia. Talk about weather shock I started to get used to it, and then moved to Ellensburg, which is drier, but still fairly overcast in the winters what with the inversions. To make a long story short, we did another year on the west side after 4 in E-burg, and then moved back to AZ (Flagstaff). I am very conflicted becuase while I should be enjoying the sunshine and abnormally warm weather my body and mind is telling me it should be cold and cloudy, that the sun should be setting at 4:30pm. I got acclimated, and I didn't even realize it Needless to say we're thinking about heading back for Washington, not jsut because of weather, but that is some of it. Hope your adjustment goes well, and remember if you ever need a break the eastside of WA & OR aren't too far off.