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Old 08-25-2010, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,201 posts, read 16,633,767 times
Reputation: 9437

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Quote:
Originally Posted by topgear View Post
I had a friend that moved to Seattle, told me she loved the rain. Three months later, she is itching to get back.
Why? Did she say? It would be strange if the reason was simply the weather because it is gorgeous in Seattle this time of the year and the the Fall as well. And if she loves rain it would be hard to blame the desire to return on the obvious.

Some people just miss what is common to them after leaving. There could be a whole host of reasons why it does work for some and not others just like moving to SJ, SF, LA, Sac, etc... Yet most ppl assume its always the weather.

I think I could really enjoy living in the PNW and don't mind the clouds and rain. There are some interesting threads on the Seattle forum from ppl who moved there when comparing stories of those who ended up really liking it and those who didn't. It seems like the one's who are the most active and learn to enjoy their activities (kayaking, biking, sailing, windsurfing, skiing, hiking, exploring, photography, etc...) rain or shine are the ones who thrive in the PNW the most. One thing is for sure, water sports are huge in and around the Sound. I don't think I've ever seen so many boats and endless opportunities to use them. It's taken to another level there. And I've lived near large bodies of water my entire life, except for a few years while in Colorado.





And if you enjoy mountains the Cascades and Olympics are incredible.



Derek

Last edited by MtnSurfer; 08-25-2010 at 10:41 PM..
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Old 09-05-2010, 08:47 PM
 
Location: South Bay
327 posts, read 961,769 times
Reputation: 192
Thanks everyone. Sounds like we have some things to think about. I personally love Seattle. The summers are incredible, the job market is good, and the cost of living is doable for 2 working professionals. The reason we really want to move is the weather. My wife grew up in L.A. and I'm used to more balanced seasons. Seattle gets very difficult for most people who are used to sunshine. After living here for 3 years it really starts to get to you. The key to living here is to have a nice, comfortable home to come home to, and to take advantage of the environment here. If you don't take advantage of the hiking, skiing, the water, or other outdoor activities you start questioning why you're living here. After year 5, you're going crazy with the long stretches of rain and gray weather. I've never seen CA transplants last very long in Seattle.

Other places we're considering is San Diego, Orange County, and Colorado. From the sounds of it, it looks like the career opportunities in SV do not necessarily equate to median housing purchasing power. We'll check out the Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
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Old 09-05-2010, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,201 posts, read 16,633,767 times
Reputation: 9437
Depending on your experience in software you may want to consider the Monterey Bay area. There is a surprising amount of SW work here with the military presence. I moved here from Colorado with two SW job offers.

While housing isn't cheap by any means you may find more for your money depending on the neighborhoods you look. Check out this Monterey Penninsula website which allows you to search the MLS by map. There are some decent homes in the hills of Monterey for under 700K right now for example. Some friends of our just sold their home in a great neighhood there for a fairly decent price.

See my post on the Monterey economy here: //www.city-data.com/forum/calif...y-history.html

We've also lived in SoCal and prefer the Central Coast weather, not to mention the natural beauty of the place over drier SoCal. If you are going to consider Orange County and San Diego you may as well consider the the nicer parts of CA as well. This is especially true if you enjoy the green and wide open spaces of the PNW. See this recent thread //www.city-data.com/forum/calif...u-live-if.html

We left SoCal to get away from many of the negatives in living there (overcrowding, over developed, smog/pollution, traffic, lack of green, further from natural beauty, etc...). I'm from LA and my wife went to HS in SD. But after living in Colorado for a number of years we missed the coast. So we were going to move to the PNW. But my wife wanted to closer to family in SD. So Monterey was our first choice as we love the Big Sur area as well being close to Santa Cruz. Plus SF and SJ aren't too far away either. Just far enough to be removed from the crowds and traffic. However we still take day trips into SF for example to hang out at Golden Gate Park. We just took our kids the Academy of Sciences last week in fact.

Derek

Last edited by MtnSurfer; 09-05-2010 at 10:19 PM..
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Old 09-06-2010, 02:10 PM
 
Location: South Bay
327 posts, read 961,769 times
Reputation: 192
Derek,

Great tip. Thanks. I wasn't aware Monterey Bay had a SW industry. I think missing the coast will be the biggest problem with moving to Colorado, which is it's fading as an option for us. No place is perfect. Trying to find the right balance between climate, career, and family seems to be the holy grail.
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Old 09-07-2010, 02:10 PM
 
19 posts, read 59,616 times
Reputation: 28
Why don't you check out Pleasanton? Google tells me it is a flat 45 minutes to Mountain View. Top Notch Schools and a generally acknowledged awesome area to raise kids. You'll be able to have few options in the 700 range. If you consider a good school area in Dublin, your home options will increase quite a bit. Check Pleasanton out. It is NE of Mountain View along 680.
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Old 09-09-2010, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Madison, WI
1,044 posts, read 2,762,173 times
Reputation: 984
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashguy77 View Post
Why don't you check out Pleasanton? Google tells me it is a flat 45 minutes to Mountain View.
Maybe at 3 in the morning.
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Old 09-13-2010, 02:51 PM
 
Location: California
42 posts, read 103,216 times
Reputation: 30
We moved from San Diego to SV. We actually find NoCal to be much more interesting than San Diego. Also oddly enough we find the traffic to be better here than in San Diego. If you have to commute from North County to Sorrento Valley each day it would be a night mare.

Housing is dirt cheap in San Diego at the moment, however you sense when you are there how depressed things are there. The GFC has hit much harder there than it has in NoCal.
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