Where to Live in the Pacific Northwest?

[hamellr]

Portland is your only real choice as far as Oregon goes, possibly Eugene or Bend. Up north you can look at Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma, and pretty much anywhere along the I-5 corridor between those three cities, along with the Tri-Cities on the East Side of the state.

If you suffer from SAD or even think you're going to have issues with the rain and gloom, you must visit here before moving, hopefully for a couple of weeks as it's been known to have some nice days sprinkled here and there.

I believe the weather is worth living here, but I don't suffer from the gloom either although I will admit the cold gets to me every once in a while these days. But that still doesn't stop me from hiking and camping all year long.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by thaistarkovich

Lately I have also become interested in living somewhere in the PNW and have been doing research (thus stumbling upon this thread!)

A little background - I grew up in Los Angeles County, left when I was 18 to join the Army and spent 14 years being stationed in Germany, Utah, Central Texas and Tennessee. I am 33 years old, married with 5 kids, love the outdoors and seasonal change (If it's winter, I want to see snow; Springtime hiking and Summer BBQs). I think I would enjoy the outdoor activities the PNW has to offer and like living somewhere family-friendly, cultural, and relatively peaceful, but I would also like to be within 15-20 minutes of a major city (Whole Foods, REI, shopping districts, culture etc.).

The only catch to all of this is that I get a bit of the blues in the Winter from lack of sunshine, and I am not a fan of the rain. How do you mitigate this factor? And is it worth dealing with the rain to live in a great city in the PNW? Which cities would you recommend? I don't need to live in the most affluent areas, but I would like to move my family to a nicer area that is priced right. Thanks, I appreciate any and all feedback.

Have you considered Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, or Boise? All of these cities will give you more of what you're looking for, especially less gloom in the winter. After having lived in Bend for the last 3.5 years, all but this year has been pretty gloomy in the winter. The only places in the PNW that are close to major cities are Portland and Seattle, both of which get mostly rain in the winter and are extremely gloomy.

[StealthRabbit]

5 kids, love the outdoors and seasonal change (If it's winter, I want to see snow; Springtime hiking and Summer BBQs).

Originally Posted by delta07

Have you considered Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, or Boise? ...

take a serious look at Ft Collins, / Loveland CO Good sunshine, relatively mild winters, close to all services, decent schools. 1 hr to Denver or Cheyenne.

For well funded public schools, consider WY. Sheridan, Laramie, and Powell / Cody are good choices (Laramie has the worst of the weather of these (wind, lots'o-wind' and horizontal snow)). Laramie = Pretty 'prairie-ish' but nice mtns nearby (Snowy Range). Sheridan is very nice and much better weather.

Missoula or Bozeman are good.

For PNW, also look to Sandpoint / CDL / Post Falls, ID. Moscow, ID is also nice, but further from a big city ~ 1 hr to Spokane. (gray in winter, but not rainy)

29 yrs in PNW has been very hard on me (weather / culture)(I'm a 'prairie' / colorado / wy 'farm' kid). . I do like the PNW access to direct international travel, as well as the 80 straight days of summer / yr. Winter can seem to be an eternity long (not this yr, fortunately). I can only deal w /PNW by working night shift under high lighting condition. Thus I'm out all day. You MUST have a house with LOTS of south facing windows. Not dark, damp, sheltered in the trees. I would NOT consider PNW with 5 kids and a 'SAD' tendency (trapped indoors YIKES !!)

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by thaistarkovich

Lately I have also become interested in living somewhere in the PNW and have been doing research (thus stumbling upon this thread!)

A little background - I grew up in Los Angeles County, left when I was 18 to join the Army and spent 14 years being stationed in Germany, Utah, Central Texas and Tennessee. I am 33 years old, married with 5 kids, love the outdoors and seasonal change (If it's winter, I want to see snow; Springtime hiking and Summer BBQs). I think I would enjoy the outdoor activities the PNW has to offer and like living somewhere family-friendly, cultural, and relatively peaceful, but I would also like to be within 15-20 minutes of a major city (Whole Foods, REI, shopping districts, culture etc.).

The only catch to all of this is that I get a bit of the blues in the Winter from lack of sunshine, and I am not a fan of the rain. How do you mitigate this factor? And is it worth dealing with the rain to live in a great city in the PNW? Which cities would you recommend? I don't need to live in the most affluent areas, but I would like to move my family to a nicer area that is priced right. Thanks, I appreciate any and all feedback.

Mitigating SAD depends upon how severly it affects you. Some people feel better with box lights, some by taking certain vitamins and some by whatever medical attention works. It can be a serious illness and force the person who has it to move to a less overcast area if all remedies are tried but are not successful. It is overcast much of the time. A few months in the summer are the exception.

Our seasons tend to sort of blend in. They are not as definable as in some places. For some it is worth dealing with the rain to live here for some it is not. I personally love overcast skies and little sun. And it rains in all seasons with the exception of the summer as a rule.

I would recommend a suburb of Portland. I don't know enough about Seattle to elaborate on suburbs there but Portland suburbs have good schools, more affordable houses and major shopping. At the same time they have parks and activities for the kids. With five kids you will more than likely need a large house. And the suburbs are good for that.

In order to see snow you may have to travel to the mountains. In Portland, it doesn't snow every winter and when it does, the snow disappears in a few days.

You will have access to hiking trails and camping. There are lots of outdoor recreation. Summers are definetly warm enough for bar-b-ques and are quite pleasant. Temperatures hover around 70-80 but there will be the occasional 90 degree days.

More specific questions would be helpful if there is something you are looking for in particular.

[Nite Ryder]

Try California as a last resort, then only if you really hate yourself. Personally if I were going to relocate it would be either Nevada or Idaho. Oregon is anti business so if I were looking to relocate, Oregon would be the last place and if it had to be somewhere in Oregon it would be South of Eugene. Portland would be my last choice in Oregon, too many people exist there and I hate the weather.

[stuckinseattle]

You want Portland if you want urban living with public transit. I live in Eugene without a car and it's really barely manageable. Eugene has ridiculous sprawl; the downtown is dead; and the busses are honestly disgusting. I've ridden transit all over the planet and I refuse to get on a Eugene bus again, they just smell too bad.

Don't fall for the nonsense about Seattle transit either; nobody lives in Seattle without a car except people you really don't want to know. People take the bus to and from work and use their car for shopping and to get out of town, and they think that's the same as not having a car.

The kind of life you want is only available in a very small number of cities in the US. On the West Coast, SF and Portland are it.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Nite Ryder

Oregon is anti business so if I were looking to relocate, Oregon would be the last place and if it had to be somewhere in Oregon it would be South of Eugene.

Please stop spouting this, or post proof that it is.

I keep hearing this, yet not a single company has left Oregon because of that last round of tax hikes. There have been rumors of such, but no actual proof.

Not trying to sound grumpy, but these accusations of Oregon being Anti-Business have only been around since that last tax hike and are getting pretty old. If this were true, Portland would not have nearly 800 food carts today, second only to Austin, and TEN times as many as SF and Boston (and as far as I can tell NYC also.) Microsoft would not have just moved a major office down here, Nike would not have more employees now then it did before the restructuring in '06, Intel would not be building a major new Fab, and adding space too their other campuses. Multiple small clothing and footwear designers would not be moving here to piggy back off talent from Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by hamellr

... accusations of Oregon being Anti-Business have only been around since that last tax hike and are getting pretty old. .. Microsoft ... Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear.

Not every business is of the 'cash-flow' class of the above...^^^

Actually... Oregon AND WA are very tough on businesses (I consult with businesses everyday in both OR and WA)).

ID has a tag line; "Oregon and Washington businesses are our BEST friends"

Over-regulation (from 3 populated (we_tside) counties that control the vote / power in EACH state)
Over taxation
Personal Property Taxes
Taxation on GROSS (WA B&O)
High Minimum Wage
VERY EXPENSIVE L&I
Abnormally high UI rates

These are a few of the reasons my clients / employers have to flee OR and WA.

ID Loves them coming !!!

Where to Live in the Pacific Northwest?

If bringing a business, your choice may be simple (depending on your capital assets / revenues / environmental impact). If you are a Dairy Farm Business.... you WILL NOT even consider OR / WA.

[thaistarkovich]

Thank you everyone for the replies and the tremendous amount of insight offered. I definitely would consider SLC and areas around Denver, these locales pop up on my radar frequently as well. I appreciate any and all advice and will keep in mind all that has been offered.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Not every business is of the 'cash-flow' class of the above...^^^

Actually... Oregon AND WA are very tough on businesses (I consult with businesses everyday in both OR and WA)).

ID has a tag line; "Oregon and Washington businesses are our BEST friends"

Over-regulation (from 3 populated (we_tside) counties that control the vote / power in EACH state)
Over taxation
Personal Property Taxes
Taxation on GROSS (WA B&O)
High Minimum Wage
VERY EXPENSIVE L&I
Abnormally high UI rates

These are a few of the reasons my clients / employers have to flee OR and WA.

ID Loves them coming !!! If bringing a business, your choice may be simple (depending on your capital assets / revenues / environmental impact). If you are a Dairy Farm Business.... you WILL NOT even consider OR / WA.

Overtaxation? Really?

Washington ranks in top 10 for business-friendly tax climate | The Columbian