A Question About Winter in Western WA (Seattle, Olympia: transfer, gated)

[Zolenna]

Okay I have lived in WA my whole life... and yeah the layering thing... I am with you right there. I hate to layer. My house is always 78 in the winter and my Boyfriend hates it. LOL He is from Georgia so he always complains on how cold it is.

The way I get thru the rain is a fire. I love the fact that when it is cold out I can have a fire to cuddle up to. In Sept. it starts to cool down. Oct. Rain, spiders and Halloween I get to make a fire and make everything all spooky. Nov. is about the same, company and a nice fire... but come DEC. That is when a cup of coffee or Hot Chocolate in front of a fire, a nice blanket on the sofa and a good movie, gets me thru the winter. I am anemic so going to play in the snow is out of the question.... fire again... sit in the window... hear some music and watch it fall.

[Haakon]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I wonder how many people who've been here 10, 20 or 30 years still love the winters? There's a honeymoon phase when you move to a new place that lasts a few years. It seems the people most outspoken about the wonderful WA weather have been here only a few years. The most glowing reviews I've heard from locals about winter is "it isn't too bad."

I thought winters were awesome at first- I got rid of my snow boots and parka and got a Gor-Tex shell and fleece. I wondered why my neighbors spent winter in Arizona when WA winters were so mild. After ten years I wanted to go to Arizona for the winter, too LOL.

I grew up in MN and have lived around Seattle for just over 20 years and have grown to really despise the winters. The months on end of drizzle and gray are just to much. If I could get my wife to go along with it I'd move back to MN for sunny (but cold) winters in a heartbeat.

[brightcopperkettles]

After reading all the comments on this subject, it seems to me that there are an awful lot of us who are "stuck" here because our spouse loves it and won't move. I guess we are all just sweet people who love our spouses more than we hate the weather. Conversely, however, apparently they don't love us more than they love the weather, or maybe that thought just hasn't occurred to them. Maybe our spouses need to think about this a bit then seriously think about putting our needs first for a while....just a thought....

[CityGirl72]

BrightCopper:

When I first started talking to my husband about it - that's exactly how I felt! Like "Is my sanity (I have SAD) not important enough for you to want to leave?"

If he came up to me and said - "I have depression - moving would help" I would do whatever I could in my power to help him

[jwb123]

I have to totally agree with these statements...

I wonder how many people who've been here 10, 20 or 30 years still love the winters? There's a honeymoon phase when you move to a new place that lasts a few years

we just wear a gortex jacket and go outside anyways, right? but day after day starts to grate on a person.

You rationalize it, as someone who has lived there for almost 10 years, as "not that bad" but the above comment is dead on. It starts to grate on you, eat away at you. It's hard to pick up and move your life elsewhere - that's why people "stick it out" and rationalize it... when you do pick up and move, after you just can't take another day.... at least for us, it's so refreshing and an eye opener to what we have been putting up with for so long.

[LordBalfor]

Have to agree with Jenbar and other folks here about the chilliness - it really gets old.

I'm actually of the opinion that if you have to wear ANY clothes for any reason other than modesty (ie because of the temp) - then it's too cold. Tee shirt, shorts, and flip-flops are the maximum you should ever have to wear.

Can you tell I love the tropics?

Ken

[chris]

It definitely eats at you over time. It was after 5 years of living here when I realized the weather had become an issue. I love rainy weather, but not overcast and cloudy for 9 months straight. This summer also didn't help.

It also was the first winter that I had not had a chance to go somewhere warm with sunshine - probably a big part of it. I'd bet many who live here long term would agree that you have to go somewhere sunny in the winter in order to maintain your sanity.

Like many who've posted above, I'm committed to a family who's not really interested in moving (and honestly, I'm wouldn't be psyched about moving either with all the associated headaches of doing so).

I'm definitely not at the point that I need to be medicated, but I have already planned on spending some time in Arizona this winter to see how it goes. Not sure that is the solution though, as many neighbors here have "been-there, done-that" and moved back or sold their secondary residences.

I think sirrocco has a nice setup, but in my case, those darn kids - they have to go to school!

Also looking at tri-cities as a possibility. Still relatively close to family, but more sun.

Ok, I'm done.

[cobolt]

Yes, those mid winter sun trips help get you back in the right frame of mind, and you certainly leave the blahs up here while you're gone. My problem is returning to find the same cold, clammy, gray blanket of clouds! Many people here say "Oh the rain is what keeps it green or not looking like California" or "At least it isn't humid/we don't have snow/ (insert whatever)." I would rather have a few months of humidity in the summer than this constant depressing state of weather. I grew up in the midwest and I don't remember it being that bad. I was stationed in the South Pacific for 3 years where it is humid year round.

Sometimes great PNW summers can prolong your tolerance for the winter, but not the case with the rip-off summer we had this year. I found myself dreading the onset of fall and that has never been the case with me before. In fact, we've had little transition from summer to fall this year. We just went right into fall. It's here. I went walking after work with a co-worker in the drizzle yesterday, which is deceiving in itself. He said "Oh it's just a little drizzle---we won't get wet." That constant little drizzle had us wet indeed. The lack of light, sun, and the light drizzle are very deceiving: seemingly whimpy yet have a good impact on one's morale.

Cobolt

[LordBalfor]

Cobolt -

Yes indeed, I agree 100%. Most of the time I tell my self I don't mind the winters tooooooo much because they are generally not that cold - but they are still very, very dark and very, very wet. Still, there's always summer to look forward to. But, every few years we get a year like this one where summer for the most part really fails to materialize (a couple of brief stretches of glorious weather, but mostly long periods of cool cloudy crap). Those years are REALLY hard to take and I know I tend to feel "cheated". This is particularly true this year because of the extremely hard (for us) winter we had. It was cold, wet and seemed really long - then summer hardly made an appearance before the winter is coming back. Hardly seems fair.

Thank God I've got a trip to Kauai in December.

Ken

[CityGirl72]

We went to Mexico this year - and it really didn't help. The traveling was not worth it. Sounds crazy huh? All the stress of the kids, and visiting family in between (and my fear of flying doesn't help)

If there was a more close and drivable SUNNY change of season - maybe I should do Spokane this Winter