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Old 03-25-2015, 04:56 PM
 
78 posts, read 131,447 times
Reputation: 34

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Hi,

I read most of the threads on both cities and found some great info. My wife and I are thinking of moving to the area. I hope someone can help us out.

1. We don't like a lot of wind. I read that the area gets heavy winds at time. Is the wind weekly or constant occurrence? How far inland do we need to be to get less wind?

2. Would we get more sun at a higher elevation and less fog at certain times of the year?

3. We are looking at homes with wells. I read about restrictions in some areas. Is the water good quality for the most part?

4. Where is the closest airport? Is it expensive to fly out of it?

5. How is the medical in the area? Are there plenty of specialists? Do they accepts a lot of different insurances?

6. Does Sequim and Port Angeles look like middle class areas, more upscale or somewhat low income?

7. How many lanes does the closest bowling alley have. That is my hobby and tennis.
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Old 03-25-2015, 07:38 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,331 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57341
My parents are between the two cities, on Blue Mountain.

1. We don't like a lot of wind. I read that the area gets heavy winds at time. Is the wind weekly or constant occurrence? How far inland do we need to be to get less wind? Yes, Sequim and to a lesser extent PA get wind, but mostly near the water. Get a half-mile or so above 101 and it's not windy.

2. Would we get more sun at a higher elevation and less fog at certain times of the year? Same with fog, much more nearer the water. Get higher up and there is fog often but thinner, and burns off faster. My fols are at about 500' elevation, and Blue Mountain splits the clouds around them from the west, often they have sun while all around them is fog or clouds. They have had 13" of rain this winter, the most in their 13 years there. Normally it's 9-10" all year.

3. We are looking at homes with wells. I read about restrictions in some areas. Is the water good quality for the most part? Their well water is drinkable, but has that mineral taste so they get 5 gallon bottles delivered. It's fine for coffee, cooking and bathing.

4. Where is the closest airport? Is it expensive to fly out of it? PA has a small airport, but for a real one you have to go to Seatac. There will be some flights soon from PA to Seatac, but it will cost more than driving.

5. How is the medical in the area? Are there plenty of specialists? Do they accepts a lot of different insurances? My dad fell and had major surgery at the Olympic Hospital in PA, and we were very happy with their care. They do have to go to Silverdale for some things.

6. Does Sequim and Port Angeles look like middle class areas, more upscale or somewhat low income?
There is a complete mix in both places. On their road alone , there are people living in travel trailers on acreage, double-wide mobiles, middle-class looking suburban homes, and multi-million dollar mansions.
The latter are mostly way up at the highest elevations with water views all the way to Victoria.


7. How many lanes does the closest bowling alley have. That is my hobby and tennis.[/quote]
Sorry, never looked for either while there. Too busy helping around their 5 acres.
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Old 03-25-2015, 08:18 PM
 
78 posts, read 131,447 times
Reputation: 34
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. We are flying out at the beginning of April. We are retiring soon so we want to start looking now and maybe buy if the right property comes available. Prices seem fair compared to other areas of the country. My realtor said that houses rent very quickly. I hope he is right.

Were exactly is Blue Mountain? I found Blue Mountain road and it was between the two cities. It sounds like a nice area. We are looking for acreage too. We are going to become weekend farmers. I have lots of hobbies so I don't see myself being bored. We were originally going to look in the Reno/Minden area but it is so barren in those areas. There are pockets of green and some trees but it's the desert. The weather there is pretty amazing though. 250 days of sunshine with very mild temps.

I was wondering how you like the summers. Does it feel like summer or more like a nice mild spring day? I don't like a lot of heat so the 70's or 80's is ok with me.

I also read that in the winters the sun will come out for an hour or two on most days. It's the NW so I expect a lot of cloud cover. Just wondering if it's bright enough to want to go outside and do things or is a typical winter day dark and gloomy? We have had a really cold winter here. It snowed on the first day of spring and was 23 degrees yesterday when I woke up. We've also had a blizzard and lots of snow. Not going to miss this weather at all.
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Old 03-25-2015, 08:52 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,331 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57341
Their neighbors next door sold their house on 25 acres for just $300k about a year ago. The mountain is at the end of the road. Yes, I am there a lot and many days they will see the sun after 2-3pm while the rest of the area is still overcast. The higher up you go the colder in winter, but summers are nice, rarely over 80. Their frost at 500' is early and stays late. I go up to plant their crops around Mother's Day in May, two greenhouses plus an area about 50'x50'. They get enough to freeze and last most of the winter, in addition to all the fruit from the fruit trees, some old and some that I planted. They are still "farming" into their 80s but mostly water and pick now, and I do most of the rest. The lady across the street has 30 acres and horses and is pushing 90. Neighbors look out for each others.
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Old 03-25-2015, 09:36 PM
 
78 posts, read 131,447 times
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I like how neighbors look out for each other. That is a nice way to live. It's amazing that your parents are still motivated and love farming at their age. My mom is 92 and never stops moving. I think staying busy is the key. I'm just curious with so much land how do you deal with the grass? You said that your parents see some sun while the area is mostly cloudy. Does this include Sequim too. It sounds like 500 elevation is the sweet spot. I look forward to visiting. It sounds really nice. It's nice that you also help your parents keep their passion going.
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Old 03-26-2015, 05:50 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,331 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57341
Grass? They have worn out 2 riding mowers, on the 3rd one now (but all bought used). The Llama also helps cut down on the grass in the pasture area. They have 2 tractors, one with tiller on the back and loader front, the other backhoe & posthole digger. Both bought used and great deals. Lots of garage ales in the area with that kind of thing. Sequim gets sun when the rest of Puget sound has rain, but often even Sequim has rain when their house is sunny.
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Old 03-26-2015, 06:54 AM
 
78 posts, read 131,447 times
Reputation: 34
Ok. That settles it we need Lamas to cut our acreage too. Your parent's house sounds likes it's in a beautiful location. Microclimates are new to me being from the east. House prices seem reasonable from where we come from but I did notice that a lot of houses in the 400k range site for a while on the market. We are not interested in living on the water but I saw one in Sequim for 480k that is amazing for water front property. Most of the lots we are looking at are 1 to 5 acres not a lot compared to 25 acres but I think we could even get by with 1 acre as long as we had privacy. We want to get a few animals and just enjoy nature. We are more into the mountains and trees. I checked out the Blue Mountain road. It looks really nice from Google Earth. It's suppose to hit 50 this week so that is great. The winter was too long and too cold.
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Old 03-26-2015, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Northwest Peninsula
6,164 posts, read 3,370,291 times
Reputation: 4337
Quote:
Originally Posted by traderfjp View Post
Hi, I read most of the threads on both cities and found some great info. My wife and I are thinking of moving to the area. I hope someone can help us out.
Hemlock has given some some advice but may I share my perspective.

Quote:
1. We don't like a lot of wind. I read that the area gets heavy winds at time. Is the wind weekly or constant occurrence? How far inland do we need to be to get less wind?
I live in Sequim (about five miles from the water) and while we get some high wind in late winter and early spring it nothing compared to the places like the mid-west. Most of the wind storms don't last that long and cause little to no damage. Remember the North Peninsula climate is maritime. We are at the mercy of the ocean and straits at all times. For example it is now 57 clear and no wind.

Quote:
2. Would we get more sun at a higher elevation and less fog at certain times of the year?
No. You would see more low clouds the higher you go. Sequim, for example may get ten days of fog a year, usually when then the temperature starts to rise in early spring. Not sure about PA but since I suspect because PA is a port city they would get more fog.

Quote:
3. We are looking at homes with wells. I read about restrictions in some areas. Is the water good quality for the most part?
I don't know that much about wells, but I think established wells have good water and the only restrictions are new wells and failing wells. You would have to double check with a realtor beforehand.

Quote:
4. Where is the closest airport? Is it expensive to fly out of it?
PA use to be the closest but about a year ago the airline stopped flights. But as I understand it there is interest of another airline coming to PA. I have flown out of PA a couple times and it wasn't expensive. Considering the parking is free at Fairchild (PA airport) and considering the cost of driving and paying for parking at SeaTac, the cost is not that much higher.

Quote:
5. How is the medical in the area? Are there plenty of specialists? Do they accepts a lot of different insurances?
Yes and no...If it's not too complicated it is fine but if it is no. Silverdale or Seattle. I know of no restriction on insurances except maybe medicaid as it may be harder to find a doctor.

Quote:
6. Does Sequim and Port Angeles look like middle class areas, more upscale or somewhat low income?
Depends on what you consider upscale? Sequim's downtown area is older and some trailer parks but mostly well kept. In the outline areas it is most newer and I would consider upper scale. Remember Sequim is basically a retirement community and a lot of people who move here have money. PA like Sequim is on the older side down town but the further you go out the newer it is. But Sequim more so.

Quote:
7. How many lanes does the closest bowling alley have. That is my hobby and tennis.
No bowling in Sequim but I hear they have a very nice bowling alley in PA. No idea of how many lanes. The Sequim High school has tennis courts and pickle courts used by the public. No idea about PA.

I hope that will give some insight into our area...look luck.
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Old 03-26-2015, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Lake Country
1,961 posts, read 2,245,363 times
Reputation: 1830
Quote:
Originally Posted by traderfjp View Post
Hi,

I read most of the threads on both cities and found some great info. My wife and I are thinking of moving to the area. I hope someone can help us out.

1. We don't like a lot of wind. I read that the area gets heavy winds at time. Is the wind weekly or constant occurrence? How far inland do we need to be to get less wind?

2. Would we get more sun at a higher elevation and less fog at certain times of the year?

3. We are looking at homes with wells. I read about restrictions in some areas. Is the water good quality for the most part?

4. Where is the closest airport? Is it expensive to fly out of it?

5. How is the medical in the area? Are there plenty of specialists? Do they accepts a lot of different insurances?

6. Does Sequim and Port Angeles look like middle class areas, more upscale or somewhat low income?

7. How many lanes does the closest bowling alley have. That is my hobby and tennis.
I will comment (on the Sequim area only) from the perspective of a Wisconsin native who just bought land in Sequim with the goal of building a retirement home there in 5-7 years. My comments are based on two trips to Sequim in the last year...not nearly enough for any experience beyond what occurred during those trips...and a ton of research along with much appreciated input from my valued C-D friends.

1. In July 2014 we stayed on Marine Drive at the Dungeness Bay Cottages. We were constantly blown away...literally...by the cool (sometimes downright chilly) winds when it was warm and hardly even breezy in downtown Sequim and on our property which is just east of Sequim and about a half mile southwest of 101. Tank tops in Sequim and fleece jackets at the DBC. All week. Seriously.

Friends of my sister's bought a home 3 miles south of the Cline Spit and it is so windy/chilly in the summer that they installed heaters on their patio. These are people who enjoyed Packer games on their Wisconsin patio in October/November so they are not weather wimps.

3. Thoroughly research the Dungeness Water Rule and how it will affect your prospective property with your goal of hobby farming in mind. New water uses are restricted, measured and fees charged. If in the DWR area you will have a meter on your private well...that is an alien concept for many of us outsiders. Depending on where you buy (some areas south of 101), you may not be able to do any outside watering. We chose to buy outside the DWR area. Here is a map of the DWR area with outside use limits shown. You'll have to scroll down to check the box for Mitigation Availability Layer: " + theTitle + "

4. The Seattle airport, SeaTac, is pretty much your only airport. We were given excellent advice on C-D to drive/ferry from Sequim to Seattle, stay overnight near SeaTac and fly home to Wisconsin the next morning. Ferry delays (or the alternate of driving all the way around in high-volume traffic) can make driving to SeaTac and flying out the same day a bit tight. Getting from SeaTac to Sequim is pretty easy via the Bainbridge Island ferry...we considered it a nice drive but we don't mind driving. No clue about parking fees at SeaTac. Relatively inexpensive flights out of SeaTac do exist but you need to be flexible to take advantage of them.

5. Health care was a potential negative for us in retiring to Sequim. My stepsister lives on Bainbridge Island and works at several area hospitals as an OT...PA, PT and Silverdale. She feels strongly that we will be able to get quality health care in Sequim/PA/PT with some trips to Silverdale. Seattle will be required only for serious, very specialized health care. Of course if you end up needing such care it will be very inconvenient. Since we were also considering retirement summers in the Wisconsin north woods where quality healthcare is even less available we felt the compromise was reasonable.

6. We also noticed a mix of upscale and lower income housing on the same streets...took a few days to get used to prolly because that is so unlike where we live now. We don't consider it a negative but more a part of Sequim's charm as a smaller community.

7. From the December 31, 2014 Sequim Gazette online top news stories of 2014: "In early September, deep cracks and an uneven playing surface led Sequim School District officials to close two courts at Sequim High School, leaving three total courts for public access at the school and in the City of Sequim. The closure hindered the high school boys’ teams’ practices and meets and community members’ recreational play. Maintenance staff attempted repairs later on but have found the cracks requiring much more repairs than anticipated. In November, a new group, the Sequim Community Tennis Fund, formed to seek donations to install tennis courts in Carrie Blake Park for community use."

Carrie Blake Park also has an enclosed, off-leash dog park if you are so inclined. This dog trainer by hobby for 25 years thinks their Facebook page posts some very savvy articles so it seems they are a well-informed, intentional and civic-minded group of dog lovers.

Hope this helps some and hope you enjoy your relocation endeavors!
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Old 03-26-2015, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Idaho
2,097 posts, read 1,922,854 times
Reputation: 8366
Quote:
Originally Posted by traderfjp View Post

4. Where is the closest airport? Is it expensive to fly out of it?
When we were in the area last December, we stopped by Port Angeles Airport (William Fairchild International) to check the flying condition & hangar spaces (we were thinking of relocating in the area and would need a place to keep our little plane). We talked to several people there including a flight instructor who were about to depart. We learned that the FBO provides chartered private flights from PA to Seattle, Vancouver, nearby islands etc.. The cost was something like $350 to Seattle. If you can find 1-2 other passengers to share the cost, it can be quite reasonable. If not, it is probably cheaper to drive to Seatac.
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