Sequim Air Quality (Seattle, Port Angeles, Port Townsend: living, statistics, retirement)

[TruBlu12345]

We are excitedly planning a trip to Sequim in June. However, I read on Sperling's best places that Sequim's air quality rates 48 on a scale of 100 (higher is better.) Can anyone tell me why the air quality there rates so low? Are there places on the dry side of the Olympic pennisula where the air is better?

[eponabri]

I live in Sequim but I wasn't aware of this site your mentioned so I went to check it out.

I live by the water, so our air quality is better than what you'll find in town which is a bit more inland. We tend to get more wind here, which is why our air is a little better and you'll find that to be true anywhere near the water.

Also since we get less rain that most places, the air doesn't get cleaned as much as it would north of Seattle (where I lived before living here), but it's much better than what you'll find in downtown Seattle.

But I don't think our air quality is nearly as bad as what the Sterlings webpage says, except for in August when it gets warmer and drier and we end up with burn bans.

Basically anywhere on the water (along the Strait, such as Dungeness) or on the bays (Sequim and Discovery) the air will be clearer, but also windier and cooler.

We are also dealing with more rain this year than we have in the past.

But I would hope you are coming to Sequim for more than just the air quality.

[TruBlu12345]

Thanks eponabri for the info. We have heard the area is fantastically beautiful, so hope to come for a visit. Since we will stay a few weeks, we do want to enjoy clean air. We also are scouting out possible retirement areas. I've read that there is a paper mill in Port Angeles--I am curious just how far reaching the pollution is from that mill.

[allforcats]

I'm not an expert on the statistics about Sequim, just a fairly frequent visitor to the area. Yes, pretty much the entire Olympic Peninsula is "fantastically beautiful", especially, for me, the magical experience of the Quinault Rain Forest. Have you checked City-Data.com's long, all-inclusive statistics page on Sequim?
http://www.city-data.com/city/Sequim-Washington.html

I've never found the air in Sequim unpleasant, or even noticeable, for that matter. There's so much wind in and through Sequim that it seems to me that it keeps the air clean.

Many people from Washington and Oregon and elsewhere have chosen the northern shore area of the Oly Pen for their retirement location. Seems attractive, eh?

I've never experienced a paper mill "presence" in Port Angeles, but then I've never lived there. The only recurring identity I always feel in Port Angeles is the luxurious, seductive fragrance of newly-cut wood. There is a paper mill in Port Townsend which makes a presence that many consider unpleasant known in some areas of that town.