Moving from Austin Texas to Port Townsend/Olympic Pennisula Area?? (Olympia: summer, cultures)

[freepelican]

Originally Posted by ReDNeQ

Everyone is so quick in telling me about the weather, rain, gloom... I was born and raised on the Texas Gulf Coast south of Houston, and my wife is from the SF/SJ bay area in California. Having said that, she is used to the colder climate and I am used to the rains. When I look at the weather comparisons Houston area gets more annual rain than the pennisula? Am I missing something??

Just looking at rain totals can be really misleading. The rainy season in Houston is the summer. Lots of downpours and thunder/lightening storms. It's often welcome because it cools things off a little. It often starts out sunny, rains (often pours), and immediately goes back to sunny or at least partially sunny to mildly overcast. The rainy season on the Olympic Peninsula is the winter which extends well into the spring and starts in the fall. Plenty of rain in the non-rainy season too. Virtually no thunderstorms. Lots of gentle rain, sprinkles, misty rain, and regular rain. It is not uncommon for the early morning to start off very dark and gloomy, stay this way all day to the point it seems like the sun has already set in the middle of the day, and rain intermittently all day and never clear up.. or only clear up to the point of seriously overcast. This can go on for days, even weeks, to the point people about go crazy. "Sunny" days often mean one to two hours of sun or partial sun with the rest overcast to gloomy.

In other words, it is a completely different feel.

PLUS... and this is very important... the days are MUCH MUCH shorter in the winter in the Pacific Northwest than Houston. When you combine this with the really dark gloomy stuff, it can seem like perpetual twilight for long stretches of time. Some days, the sun is only up for about 7 hours setting shortly after 4pm and not getting light until well after 8am.

Not trying to scare you away but the comparison you are making does not tell the real story.

[TrueTimbers]

I would second that... People who have not lived at a high latitude can underestimate the profound effect of short days and a sun that barely clears the trees in winter. This combined with frequent dense low cloud cover and a predominantly dark blue green conifer forest makes for many days of "perpetual twilight"... Rain or no Rain

[TrueTimbers]

ReDNeQ,
You got the freedom to land just about anywhere you want... Might as well take your time exploring to see what towns fit the family.... Maybe something like Port Ludlow, or Quilcene not far from Port Townsend, but real close to the hood canal bridge, so you can drive to Bremerton or even to Tacoma with little effort.

Sorta the best of both worlds (on the Oly peninsula, but closer to stuff you may need in Kitsap county.

Personally, I think you should go for it...

Why not just Port Townsend and be by your hunting/fishing buddy, the town would be good for your wife and kid,, plenty for them to do as long as shopping is not the center of their world..

Here are VA facilities:
List of Veterans Affairs medical facilities by state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ReDNeQ]

I just want to say Thank you again for all the comments and replies..

Too many of us never think about using this type of technology to really throw yourself out there. I think Truetimbers nailed it. Tonight I came home from my son's baseball tournament. We all are worn out because it hit 97 degrees. I don't know about you guys, but I have lived in alot of areas around our country, and I have to say this heat is wearing on my soul.....

As for being close to my hunting/fishing buddy I do know that is where my heart is right now. 3 kids in college is really hard for momma and me to think about leaving in Texas, but hey we all have to grow up right?

All of you, complete strangers have shared your opinions and I applaud you. Your sharing has inspired me in the minimum to book a flight within the next few weeks and come see it first hand. My bro-in-law has to be there by the middle to end of July so we know we need to do it before then..

On a side note, the wife and I have owned several businesses over our years, and I keep telling her we could start one when we get there. You guys like BBQ? Real Texas BBQ? hehe...... If we end up doing something of that nature, all of you who have commented will have to come thru and at least taste my brisket and beer can chicken...

Thanks again. I will continue to update this thread as we continue our searches.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by TrueTimbers

I would second that... People who have not lived at a high latitude can underestimate the profound effect of short days and a sun that barely clears the trees in winter. This combined with frequent dense low cloud cover and a predominantly dark blue green conifer forest makes for many days of "perpetual twilight"... Rain or no Rain

This. I moved to Port Townsend from northern California, and while the rain (we only get 18" a year here, same as we got in the Central Valley) and overcast are no big deal, the big adjustment for me was how early it gets dark and how late it gets light in the winter. No question about it, several months of that gets trying after awhile. If you can take a vacation to a sunnier, lighter place in January or February, that helps a lot. I've been here 4 years and if I eventually decide to leave, it will be the short days, not the weather, that kicks my behind out of here. Other than that, I find it a delightful area to live.

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by ReDNeQ

I just want to say Thank you again for all the comments and replies..

Too many of us never think about using this type of technology to really throw yourself out there. I think Truetimbers nailed it. Tonight I came home from my son's baseball tournament. We all are worn out because it hit 97 degrees. I don't know about you guys, but I have lived in alot of areas around our country, and I have to say this heat is wearing on my soul.....

As for being close to my hunting/fishing buddy I do know that is where my heart is right now. 3 kids in college is really hard for momma and me to think about leaving in Texas, but hey we all have to grow up right?

All of you, complete strangers have shared your opinions and I applaud you. Your sharing has inspired me in the minimum to book a flight within the next few weeks and come see it first hand. My bro-in-law has to be there by the middle to end of July so we know we need to do it before then..

On a side note, the wife and I have owned several businesses over our years, and I keep telling her we could start one when we get there. You guys like BBQ? Real Texas BBQ? hehe...... If we end up doing something of that nature, all of you who have commented will have to come thru and at least taste my brisket and beer can chicken...

Thanks again. I will continue to update this thread as we continue our searches.

Good luck with your adventure..
Count me in, never turn down good BBQ.... Just be sure to use some locally grown Organic Beef and Chicken....

----------
We came from 46N lattitude so only 2 degrees further north in Port Townsend.. But still that is 15 min LESS daylight at winter solstice than at N46... LESS! Oh well at least we won't have weeks on end of -30 and 120" of snow from October to May..

[ReDNeQ]

[quote=TrueTimbers;34565456]Good luck with your adventure..
Count me in, never turn down good BBQ.... Just be sure to use some locally grown Organic Beef and Chicken....

THAT's exactly our business plan/model.. Here in Texas the words ORGANIC mean squatt! West Coast it's everything. Plus, I don't want to cook anything that hasn't naturally matured and fattened.

[Olympian2]

Originally Posted by ukiyo-e

This. I moved to Port Townsend from northern California, and while the rain (we only get 18" a year here, same as we got in the Central Valley) and overcast are no big deal, the big adjustment for me was how early it gets dark and how late it gets light in the winter. No question about it, several months of that gets trying after awhile. If you can take a vacation to a sunnier, lighter place in January or February, that helps a lot.

Hi ReDNeQ,

I also moved from South Texas to the Olympic Peninsula using the same reasoning as you about always being to put on more clothes to deal with the mild coldness. The comments you are getting about the dark winters are definitely spot on. It starts becoming bad when Daylight Savings Time switches to Standard Time. By January, it's definitely time for a vacation to a some place with sunlight. Hawaii is a popular destination. Or Florida. A trip back to Texas is nice too.

Good luck. I hope that it works out for you.

[freepelican]

Since I started the shorter day sub-thread, I should also mention the effect of the extra long days within a month on either side of the summer solstice. When it's still light outside or just barely dark when you go to bed and is light well before you get up, this can really affect your sleep patterns.

[Olympian2]

Originally Posted by freepelican

Since I started the shorter day sub-thread, I should also mention the effect of the extra long days within a month on either side of the summer solstice. When it's still light outside or just barely dark when you go to bed and is light well before you get up, this can really affect your sleep patterns.

Good point as well! Light blocking window shades combined with window blinds are pretty effective for me. The problem that I have is that it is so beautiful outside in the late spring and summer that I don't want to come inside. I want to stay outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. The miserable short dark winters followed by the beautiful long summer days can cause a bi-polar effect (for some, like) that needs to be dealt with. It's rather the opposite of South Texas (for me) where the relentless heat and sun kept me indoors in the late spring and summer, and I only went outdoors much during the fall and winter. One difference in the inverse analogy is it's not that beautiful to me in South Texas in the fall and winter.

I think that Southern California has the monopoly in CONUS on perfect weather, but there must be something wrong there since they keep showing up around here with umbrellas.