Where do Seattleites go when they NEED sun? (White Salmon: ticket, drive)

[Kayela]

Wenatchee or Yakima would both be generally sunny. There's also Cle Elum and Ellenburg. I often ski or snowshoe up near Steven's pass and as long as it's not snowing, there's a reasonably decent chance of seeing the sun. Leavenworth might workfrom time to time, and now there's train service between there and Seattle.

Otherwise I fly to CO - nice winters, but almost always sunny, a < 3 hr flight, and it's a central place for the relatives to meet. I can often talk my far-away family members into going there when they would have a hard time making the longer trip to the PNW (or west coast in general). I didn't start going there for sun, but I did notice that during the shortest, darkest Seattle days - a week in CO is kinda nice.

[Inkpoe]

Yes, those who are suggesting East of the Cascades aren't kidding. You can see and feel it as you progress east on i90, I'd say it starts around the Cle Elum area. DH and I took a trip to Tri-Cities not too long ago and egads, basically it was cloudy and in the low 50s in the Western portion then it was really nice and sunny (high 70s, very dry) in the Eastern portion. It was almost depressing to come back to Seattle where it definitely felt chilly.

[Quantum]

In the Winter you will leave for work in the dark, and arrive home in the dark. We are pretty far north here. I can almost tell when it turns around the Winter Solstice.

[Dport7674]

You could always fly to Vegas. Not always super warm, but usually warm enough and almost always sunny.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by katabeau

We are looking at relocating to Seattle but I am concerned with the number of overcast days...Is there such a place (sunny, not necessarily warm) near Seattle?

Near is relative. My wife would fly to Seattle on business frequently... She was always happy she went for a few days, but glad to get back to Albuquerque... We have nice "sunny, not necessarily warm" days in Albuquerque, this month has been nice. Walked the dogs every day in shorts (and light sweater).

[VeronikaW]

I lucked out. My mom lives in Southern CA, and my dad lives in Phoenix. We try to visit Phoenix in January or February and then Southern CA in May or November.

V. =)

[gwix98]

Best bet:Hawaii

Less costly IMHO): Tucson in February

[cjg5]

Eastern Washington!!!

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by Quantum

When we want Sun we take vitamin D!

And chase it down with a tall glass of denial.

[lovelegos]

I've lived in Yakima for way too many decades. I also lived in Seattle for fifteen years. I desperately want out of this Yakima. My life has come to a grinding halt here. Don't move to Yakima! Lake Chelan would be very nice. But just remember. Anything east of the Cascades is going to be small.

You will never find the culture, sheer fun, restaurants, art galleries, eclectic people, intellectually stimulating conversations, health care, etc that you will find on the west side. Seattle is a University town. It has very interesting people as a result. It has great medical, etc... You don't have to live in Seattle proper. But you can commute there if you live in an outlying area.

Unless your need for sunshine is acute and you do not mind small towns without the conveniences I would stay on the west side. If living in a smaller town is okay with you then consider the east side. But I would stay out of Yakima. It's stuffy and boring and there is a lot of crime. There is a lot of sunshine but I tell you. It's not worth the trade off for me. Ellensburg is much better than Yakima. At least they have Central Washington University. Plus a great view. And they are accessible to Seattle.

My second choice would be Spokane. I haven't lived there but they do get the sunshine.

Good luck.