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I'm a Brit and I relocated from the UK to the USA almost 9 years ago. During which time I have lived in Denver, Los Angeles and now live in the West Valley just outside of Yakima. It seems a funny thing but when I tell folks that I live in Washington State they naturally assume it must be Seattle or somewhere to the West side of the Cascades as if I somehow genetically need the same kind of weather that afflicts the UK. I spent 42 of my years getting dumped on by rain, wind and grey depressing weather back in the UK and I had quite enough of it. I love it here overall, Washington State is a great place (especially East of the Cascades where the sun shines about 300 days a year). Employment is a bit slim most anywhere over here right now and you don't say what kind of employment you have in mind. I run my own business in a niche field, it doesn't matter too much where I live but I can tell you my years in the USA have been no bed of roses. Have you visited Washington State? Have you looked carefully at the pros and cons of living in the USA vs the UK (there are quite a few of them I can tell you from first hand experience)?
I'm a Brit and I relocated from the UK to the USA almost 9 years ago. During which time I have lived in Denver, Los Angeles and now live in the West Valley just outside of Yakima. It seems a funny thing but when I tell folks that I live in Washington State they naturally assume it must be Seattle or somewhere to the West side of the Cascades as if I somehow genetically need the same kind of weather that afflicts the UK. I spent 42 of my years getting dumped on by rain, wind and grey depressing weather back in the UK and I had quite enough of it. I love it here overall, Washington State is a great place (especially East of the Cascades where the sun shines about 300 days a year). Employment is a bit slim most anywhere over here right now and you don't say what kind of employment you have in mind. I run my own business in a niche field, it doesn't matter too much where I live but I can tell you my years in the USA have been no bed of roses. Have you visited Washington State? Have you looked carefully at the pros and cons of living in the USA vs the UK (there are quite a few of them I can tell you from first hand experience)?
Hi there, no I haven't been yet so I think a trip is definitely in order first before I do anything so that I can see if a move would be best or to stay put. Job wise I think that I'd be probably looking at something in the finacial/sales industry. I did find a couple of jobs in the Port Angeles area. One was working for an Insurance company as I have experience in that field and the other was
working for a bank.
Lots to think about by the sound of it then.
There are a number of threads on the Washington forum concerning Forks (do a search for 'Forks'). There is a lot of good information contained therein, which in sum would say that Forks is a small, remote, former logging town without many prospects. The immediate area is indifferent, much of it having been ravaged by ill-advised logging practices. The town itself will not win any awards, but if smaller appears more prosperous than Aberdeen well to the south. Seattle is more or less in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, but Forks northwest of them catches every storm off the Pacific Ocean, with something like 144 inches of rain per year. So one had better like overcast skies throughout the winter, and a LOT of rain. Port Angles is an appreciably larger town, the largest on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, and at an hour distant the closest offering a good level of services, save for whatever one can find in Forks. It is the type of place some will love, others know nothing other than, and many in Washington State, upon learning of such plans, would consider akin to moving to Tajikistan, or farther removed.
One might consider distances. At about 71,000 sq. miles Washington State is not much smaller than the entire UK, that being roughly 95,000 sq. miles, or 243,610 sq. km. Put another way, Washington State has nearly 7,000,000 citizens, but in an only slightly larger size the UK contains just over 62,000,000. In other words, there is a lot more open space, without the interval of services one might usually expect. Especially in a place as removed as Forks.
The Seattle metro are may seem more comforting in that regard as it is all one large town and connecting suburbs. There are shops and services everywhere. If in one of the outlying suburbs one will still have ready access to practically everything, but since there are so many large trees in western Washington State one can often easily have the illusion of being somewhat out in the country.
The Cascade Mountain range, running north and south through the state, are generally a major divide between rural and urban, wet and dry, overcast or sun. Most of the population of the state resides west of these mountains, primarily in a narrow band north and south of Seattle, and just east, then also in major towns such as Bellingham, or for that matter Spokane well of by itself in the east.
The Olympic Peninsula is another world altogether. While sharing the climate of western Washington State, and a good deal of that, it is distinctly removed and apart. A very beautiful place, particularly within the wild island of Olympic National Park. But largely rural, without much industry, and a far smaller market than on the mainland. It could be a delight, and also challenge to live there.
At a glance much of western Washington State may appear the same, wet and soggy and green in the lowlands that contain most of the population, far more wild in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains which receive so much snow. But a closer examination will reveal that there are a lot of local variances: some areas richer than others, safer, quieter, etc. Or that for someone with little familiarity that several weeks exploring would not be amiss, as much to see, and learned in all the nuances.
There are a number of threads on the Washington forum concerning Forks (do a search for 'Forks'). There is a lot of good information contained therein, which in sum would say that Forks is a small, remote, former logging town without many prospects. The immediate area is indifferent, much of it having been ravaged by ill-advised logging practices. The town itself will not win any awards, but if smaller appears more prosperous than Aberdeen well to the south. Seattle is more or less in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, but Forks northwest of them catches every storm off the Pacific Ocean, with something like 144 inches of rain per year. So one had better like overcast skies throughout the winter, and a LOT of rain. Port Angles is an appreciably larger town, the largest on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, and at an hour distant the closest offering a good level of services, save for whatever one can find in Forks. It is the type of place some will love, others know nothing other than, and many in Washington State, upon learning of such plans, would consider akin to moving to Tajikistan, or farther removed.
One might consider distances. At about 71,000 sq. miles Washington State is not much smaller than the entire UK, that being roughly 95,000 sq. miles, or 243,610 sq. km. Put another way, Washington State has nearly 7,000,000 citizens, but in an only slightly larger size the UK contains just over 62,000,000. In other words, there is a lot more open space, without the interval of services one might usually expect. Especially in a place as removed as Forks.
The Seattle metro are may seem more comforting in that regard as it is all one large town and connecting suburbs. There are shops and services everywhere. If in one of the outlying suburbs one will still have ready access to practically everything, but since there are so many large trees in western Washington State one can often easily have the illusion of being somewhat out in the country.
The Cascade Mountain range, running north and south through the state, are generally a major divide between rural and urban, wet and dry, overcast or sun. Most of the population of the state resides west of these mountains, primarily in a narrow band north and south of Seattle, and just east, then also in major towns such as Bellingham, or for that matter Spokane well of by itself in the east.
The Olympic Peninsula is another world altogether. While sharing the climate of western Washington State, and a good deal of that, it is distinctly removed and apart. A very beautiful place, particularly within the wild island of Olympic National Park. But largely rural, without much industry, and a far smaller market than on the mainland. It could be a delight, and also challenge to live there.
At a glance much of western Washington State may appear the same, wet and soggy and green in the lowlands that contain most of the population, far more wild in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains which receive so much snow. But a closer examination will reveal that there are a lot of local variances: some areas richer than others, safer, quieter, etc. Or that for someone with little familiarity that several weeks exploring would not be amiss, as much to see, and learned in all the nuances.
Or that Forks is something else altogether.
Thanks for the info and filling me in on the area itself, I'm hoping to plan a trip later on in the year so I can see which area appeal to me. The bad weather doesn't faze me as its always raining here
You should look into Sequim. It is a very nice area to raise kids, the community is growing in a unique way.. while there are alot of people of retirement age, there is also a large family population, as well as a huge farmers market movement. Organic farming is quite popular there, the landscape is beautiful- and only about3 hours from Forks.. better prospects for employment too. Good luck!
that part of the woods is depressing. nothing to do there and especially not kid friendly. Last time I was there, seems like the only thing for local kids to do was congregate at the playground and smoke and drink alcohol.
Hi, sounds like you're getting some good advice here already. I was recently in Forks. Honestly? there is just nothing there. There is no real economy, and the unemployment rate on the coast is astronomical. I'm not really crazy about Port Angeles, but others may know more about it that I haven't seen.
I would suggest Anacortes, Bellingham, Port Townsend is lovely but without knowing what type or work you seek, I'd say it's not a viable choice. The Kitsap Peninsula is nice: Poulsbo, Kingston, Bainbridge Island, and Gig Harbor. I've listed smaller towns with reasonable chance of employment regionally with a bit of a commute. All of them would be nice for raising a family. Anything on the coast is going to have the most intense weather, and job issues.
If you post more info about what you're seeking and what type of work, where you plan to live, etc. that would help. Also, I wonder how you'd be able to move from England and get jobs and live here long term. Not sure of the immigration status, etc.
Hi, sounds like you're getting some good advice here already. I was recently in Forks. Honestly? there is just nothing there. There is no real economy, and the unemployment rate on the coast is astronomical. I'm not really crazy about Port Angeles, but others may know more about it that I haven't seen.
I would suggest Anacortes, Bellingham, Port Townsend is lovely but without knowing what type or work you seek, I'd say it's not a viable choice. The Kitsap Peninsula is nice: Poulsbo, Kingston, Bainbridge Island, and Gig Harbor. I've listed smaller towns with reasonable chance of employment regionally with a bit of a commute. All of them would be nice for raising a family. Anything on the coast is going to have the most intense weather, and job issues.
If you post more info about what you're seeking and what type of work, where you plan to live, etc. that would help. Also, I wonder how you'd be able to move from England and get jobs and live here long term. Not sure of the immigration status, etc.
Hi there, were looking for a small town to raise our children somewhere with a real sense of community spirit, we live in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere so we're used to being cut off and having to travel, the weather doesn't bother us as I'm sure you can imagine the weather is never good here. My partner is an engineer for a telecoms company and also is a community support police officer part-time, previously to that he was a painter and decorator. I work in sales at the moment but both of us have transferable skills so we are prepared to go for whatever jobs we could get. As for immigration, that shouldn't be too much of a problem just lots and lots of paperwork. We LOVE the outdoors and sports. We just want a better life for the children and are completely fed up with the uk and its way of life. We've got quite a few areas to check out so its just finding somewhere we feel would suit our family and if its feasible to get jobs etc. We are planning a trip later on in the year to travel around the area and see some of the places we have been told about
I grew up there and yes it does rain a lot more than places like Seattle or Tacoma, but it also has more sunny days than those places too. When it is not raining it usually clears up beautifully, in fact there is not place I would rather be than in Forks on a nice sunny day, Seattle and the rest of Western Washington tend to have way more non-precipitous overcast days than Forks.
The economy is quite suppressed, but this has to do with the decline in the timber industry due to stricter environmental regs and also Canada's government subsidized lumber under-cuts american prices any day. Jobs out there revolve around the two state prisons Clallam Bay and Clearwater Corrections, health care (for the size of Forks it has a really accommodating hospital that has partnered with larger hospitals from Seattle and Bremerton for there expertise), tourism (Twilight, fishing, hunting, Olympic National Park visitors), and all the service related industry (retail, restaurant, hotel, etc...)
@[URL="//www.city-data.com/forum/members/idunn-137940.html"]Idunn[/URL] why would you interject opinionated and false statements such as
Quote:
former logging town without many prospects. The immediate area is indifferent, much of it having been ravaged by ill-advised logging practices. The town itself will not win any awards
. What do you know about logging? Other than the apparent dislike for anything to do with logging. What do you know about living in small remote towns? The majority of people like the fact that you can drive down main street with out being acosted by large corporate signs and franchises that scream cheap Chinese manufactured sh*t. This is the real america, the one that used to be, the one that is slowly being swollowed by suburban sprawl and commercialization. This is a town where you can go into a business or restaurant and receive first class service at a nominal price and they even might know your name. For your quote that it does not have many prospects, maybe that's what has kept it the way it is, just because it does not have a shopping mall or a movie theater does not mean its a third class town. It has many highly valued attributes to it which some would not consider. You are just a stones throw from any outdoor activity you may want to partake in (with exception of winter snow sports, but those are a reasonable distance depending on your budget and interests). There is not many people, therefore traffic is non-existent, zero pollution, the rivers and lakes are pristine, the land is not over run with subdivisions of cookie cutter homes. People are friendly, hard working blue collars who still value the cost of a dollar, while there is still an active arts and intellectual community.
I realize that this post is more than a year old, but I felt like I had to set the record straight, and clarify some misconceptions. Also, the ideal place and attributes associated with said ideal place is different from person to person, and can even change over time. When I graduated high school I could not wait to leave and experience something else, but 10 years later I dream of moving back there one day and in the mean time I still visit my folks and other family members there.
Hit me up if you would like additional info on Forks, or the West End of the Olympic Peninsula...from someone who actually lived there and visits regularly.
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Forks, etc.
