Port Townsend, Sequim & Port Angeles weather comparison (Seattle, Vancouver: transplants, for sale)
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After exploring Vancouver, WA area and spending many hours researching on a suitable retirement location, we have concluded that the Olympic Peninsula rain shadow area is the most likely spot. We will be in the area the second week of December to experience the 'grey/wet' winter weather and to check out few potential homes.
We have made a list of criteria for our new home and ranked them in the order of must have or desirable features. Being outdoor people with rowing and flying hobbies, location and weather are at the top of our list. The house must be within 30 minutes driving to both an airport and a rowing club. This means either Port Angeles/area between Sequim-PA or Port Townsend.
I have been combing the web for weather information especially on fog/wind conditions to decide whether to focus on Port Angeles/Sequim or Port Townsend. These weather elements are quite critical for both rowing small boats and flying little planes. From what I have gathered, PT is likely to be foggier and windier than PA/Sequim. However, I also read about micro climates and do not know whether this general information applies to a specific location such as Jefferson County International Airport, Sequim Valley Airport and Fairchild International Airport.
I would appreciate very much to get more weather details from the local residents. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hmmm...Well being a resident of Sequim and having lived near PT I guess I can answer those questions. At least from my prospective.
Rain...in today's newspaper total rain fall for the year in PT is 20.4 inches, Sequim just over 14 inches, PA total is 25 1/3 inches...70 miles down the road in Forks is stands for the year at just over 7 feet. Yes you read that right, 7 feet. I threw Forks in just for comparison of Peninsula rainfall.
Fog...remember the Peninsula is a maritime climate. Both PA and Pt set on the water and gets more fog than Sequim, in fact a lot more as Sequim is about 15 miles from the Strait. I would say Sequim gets about 10 bad days of fog a year but is usually gone by early afternoon. In both PA and PT the fog can linger.
Wind...all three get their share of wind but more so in PT as it set out on a point and PA is protected by a jetty. Sequim probably get about 5-10 days of hard wind. For example a couple days ago we had high winds which knock down some trees and some lost power west of PA. Sequim and PT didn't lose any power that I know of.
Today in Sequim has been sunny and about 50 and has been that way for about 3-4 days. But unseasonal cold at night for this time of the year.
Boating...Because Sequim is inland the boating thing is limited. PT has a lot of boating and kayaking in the summer as winter is a little rough weather wise. Same goes for PA, although PA harbor is behind a jetty so the water is usually claimer. In the summer up and down the strait the boating is basically unlimited including all thru the islands. I don't know about PT but I believe there is a rowing club in PA. Don't quote me on that however but I seem to remember reading something about it in the paper.
I am not into flying but all three airports are easy to access and lot of small planes fly in and out...there is also a airport at Diamond point and a few private strips around in the Dungeness Valley.
Fishing...a lot of lakes to fish at, some small and fly fishing only and some large with just about anything goes. Lots of river fly fishing mostly on the West side.Steel head and salmon fishing is especially good (well not as good as in years past but still okay) Some of the lakes prohibited power boats. A lot of the lake are kind of hard to find as they are rather remote but if you search them out they are stocked in the spring and are excellent to fish. When the salmon season is on in the strait it can be great. But be advised that the state fishing regs are...should I say flexible and challenging.
If you any further questions about Sequim and the surround area I will be happy to try to answer.
Last edited by rantiquity; 11-18-2014 at 03:50 PM..
Have you considered the San Juan Islands? There's an airport, Friday Harbor Airport, on San Juan. They are also in the rain shadow, with about 17" precipitation a year (not much different from Sequim, and half what Seattle gets). They couldn't be much more perfect for boating, kayaking, sailing, etc.
Have you considered the San Juan Islands? There's an airport, Friday Harbor Airport, on San Juan. They are also in the rain shadow, with about 17" precipitation a year (not much different from Sequim, and half what Seattle gets). They couldn't be much more perfect for boating, kayaking, sailing, etc.
This is true. Lots of different kinds of boating going on in the San Juans, and the weather's pretty good except for the odd rainy year. There are lakes for fishing and camping on Orcas, and mountains for hiking. Are you retired, OP? I didn't notice any mention of employment concerns.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by rantiquity
Hmmm...Well being a resident of Sequim and having lived near PT I guess I can answer those questions. At least from my prospective.
Rain...in today's newspaper total rain fall for the year in PT is 20.4 inches, Sequim just over 14 inches, PA total is 25 1/3 inches...70 miles down the road in Forks is stands for the year at just over 7 feet. Yes you read that right, 7 feet. I threw Forks in just for comparison of Peninsula rainfall.
Fog...remember the Peninsula is a maritime climate. Both PA and Pt set on the water and gets more fog than Sequim, in fact a lot more as Sequim is about 15 miles from the Strait. I would say Sequim gets about 10 bad days of fog a year but is usually gone by early afternoon. In both PA and PT the fog can linger.
Wind...all three get their share of wind but more so in PT as it set out on a point and PA is protected by a jetty. Sequim probably get about 5-10 days of hard wind. For example a couple days ago we had high winds which knock down some trees and some lost power west of PA. Sequim and PT didn't lose any power that I know of.
Today in Sequim has been sunny and about 50 and has been that way for about 3-4 days. But unseasonal cold at night for this time of the year.
Boating...Because Sequim is inland the boating thing is limited. PT has a lot of boating and kayaking in the summer as winter is a little rough weather wise. Same goes for PA, although PA harbor is behind a jetty so the water is usually claimer. In the summer up and down the strait the boating is basically unlimited including all thru the islands. I don't know about PT but I believe there is a rowing club in PA. Don't quote me on that however but I seem to remember reading something about it in the paper.
I am not into flying but all three airports are easy to access and lot of small planes fly in and out...there is also a airport at Diamond point and a few private strips around in the Dungeness Valley.
Fishing...a lot of lakes to fish at, some small and fly fishing only and some large with just about anything goes. Lots of river fly fishing mostly on the West side.Steel head and salmon fishing is especially good (well not as good as in years past but still okay) Some of the lakes prohibited power boats. A lot of the lake are kind of hard to find as they are rather remote but if you search them out they are stocked in the spring and are excellent to fish. When the salmon season is on in the strait it can be great. But be advised that the state fishing regs are...should I say flexible and challenging.
If you any further questions about Sequim and the surround area I will be happy to try to answer.
Yes, this is a good analysis. My parent live in the Blue Mountain area, between Sequim and PA, and have gotten even less rain than Sequim. They get very little wind or fog, and sun nearly every day if only for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Being at about 500' elevation they also get earlier and later frost, and colder than at sea level. In 12 years there, they have had only one power outage due to wind.
rrantiquity,
Thank you so much for your local weather information and analysis which solidifies our thinking of finding a retirement home in the area between Sequim and Port Angeles.
There are rowing clubs in both Port Angeles and Port Townsend. PA club locates on Ediz Hook Drive and PT club operates mainly from PT Bay and uses Lake Leland for bad weather days. In NY, I row pretty much everyday from early April to mid November on the Hudson River mixing sculling in a single/double or sweep rowing in a 4+ or 8+. It is fun to be part of a group, and it is a great way to make new friends who share the same interest.
Regarding airports, there are several airstrips/airparks in the area, but our best bet of finding an airport with available hangars is with the big, public one like Jefferson County or Fairchild International airports. We have a relatively new plane (which we built at Glasair Aviation in Arlington in 2010) so we would like to keep it in indoor instead of outside on a tie-down spot at places like Sequim Valley Airport. There are one or two houses for sale which appear to belong to the Diamond Point Airpark. The prices are very reasonable and within our price range (250K-400K) but the location would be too far for rowing.
About fishing, I'm looking forward to enjoying locally caught fresh fish, crabs etc but we are not fisherman. I love to be on the water but mainly on small shells, canoes, kayak and sailboats. I was surprise to learn of diving spots near Port Angeles. We have scuba dived in the last 14 years or so but mostly in warm water. I will have to dig up my drysuit (which we bought to dive years ago in Cape Ann, MA and Galapagos Islands) to explore diving in the Olympic Pennisula.
CrazyDonkey,
Yes, I had checked briefly into relocating in San Juan Islands. There are airports and even a rowing club on Orcas Island. The cost of living and housing seems much higher than on the OP. The housing stock is also very limited. My recent quick Zillow search did not yield even a single home fitting our criteria (one story home, 3BRs, 2 baths, 1 A or more land and with a view mountain or water and less than $400K).
Ruth4Truth,
My husband is semi-retired after a career as software engineer. He is now a sub teacher but mostly spending his time working on filming/editing documentary films. He loves photography and videography so the scenic OP would be a great place to relocate. I am still working but may need to make the big decision in a very near future to either retire or continue working for few more years. We are not looking for employment but may check into opportunities for volunteer work, part-time local or online work mainly to be active and involved in our retirement.
Dendrite,
Thank you for information about other airstrips in the area. I have no doubt that we will explore them all once we relocate in the Pacific Northwest.
Hemlock140,
I am glad to hear that the Blue Mountain area between Sequim and Port Angeles has nice weather. We lived for many years in Michigan then MA and NY so the weather in OP is definitely milder than what we have experienced. One of my husband main concerns is the lack of sunshine during the long winter months. This is the reason why we focus in the 'blue hole' area. It's good to know that there is a bit of sun nearly everyday even in the winter.
I'm looking forward to our OP visit in 3 weeks. I have booked a 3-days stay at a b-n-b bluff house in PA to experience living near the water then another 3-days stay at another b-n-b with mountain view in Sequim. I hope to get a feel for the towns, micro climates, topography, living conditions etc in our 1-week visit. If we luck out and find the perfect house for the right price, we may consider buying then renting out for a year or so. From what I have read and seen, housing prices in Sequim and PA have been inching up and may go up at a faster rate next spring.
TrueTimbers,
I have read pretty much all the postings at city-data Washington forum about Sequim, Port Angeles and Port Townsend. From these postings and what I gathered from other online sources, there appears some sort of stereotyping and generalization: 1) Sequim has many older, retired people, a bit on the conservative side 2) Port Angeles is a blue collar, close-knit community, not very welcoming of transplants and 3) Port Townsend is more vibrant but there are many 'hipsters' and more liberal than the other two cities. There may be some truths to these reports or observations. Having lived in different types of communities from rural to suburb to small cities and big cities, I think that with some efforts, one can find ways to adapt and adjust to any type of communities.
We are definitely not social animals but far from being hermits. Through the years, we have managed to develop close and lasting friendships with a handful of people from every town or city that we have lived in. It's a matter of finding ways to connect with the people who share some of your life interests. It is a bonus if their political leaning matches your, and a greater bonus if they share similar cultural and educational background, but these factors are quite unimportant. The most important thing is whether they share the same values with you. I think you can find people who are honest, caring, responsible, compassionate, helpful, and friendly in pretty any communities, age and ethnic groups. The very fact that a number of you have taken the time to answer in great details inquiries from a complete stranger online like me affirms my 'optimistic' view of mankind ;-)
Have you looked at Marrowstone island.? That could be a fit.
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