Coastal arts communities in Puget Sound area? (Seattle, Olympia: real estate, how much)

[coastal58]

After the past winter on the East coast in the NYC area, I've decided that enough is enough and am considering a move to the Seattle area. Being an artist, I'd like to find a coastal community on Puget Sound or the general area that 1) supports the arts and has galleries and community arts center(s); 2) draws weekenders and vacationers from Seattle and other metropolitan areas; 3) has weather that includes a fair amount of sunshine; 4) has real estate values that are still reasonable.

Is this too much to expect? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[homesinseattle]

Take a peek at Langley on Whidbey Island, La Conner in Skagit County. For sunshine, perhaps the very best is Port Townsend: charming, somewhat affordable and filled with arts and music.

[Hemlock140]

I agree with Port Townsend. Vashon Island would work too, if not for the high cost of real estate there. Another is old downtown Olympia, which we only discovered recently when stopping there for breakfast on a road trip.

[homesinseattle]

Agreed Hemlock, Vashon is special, I lived there 3 years. It can be dreary and rainy there, though. Port Townsend (with it's location in the "banana belt" of this state), is going to win in the weather contest. Coastal58, with your east coast roots, you will be interested to know that Port Townsend was one of the earliest towns in Washington, as evidenced by the Victorian architecture, mostly absent in Seattle as most of the development there was post 1900.

Port Townsend was conceived as the major town in this area but then the railroad went into Seattle and the rest is history. Port Townsend is very special. My dear friend Tom moved there, describes it this way "I am in heaven. Two huge bodies of water colliding (straights of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound), vibrant arts and music, glorious architecture, great restaurants, galleries, great music and arts, nature all around, easy access to Victoria BC via the Port Angeles ferry, on the doorstep of the amazing Olympic Peninsula. Grooyy hippies, retirees, boat people, artists, all rolled into one".

[coastal58]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. You have given me a bunch of stuff to research as starting points. Port Townsend sounds like a really cool community. At the moment I am divorcing, selling a 3300 square foot house on Long Island Sound in Fairfield County, CT, which is basically a bedroom community for New York CIty.

The vibe here is stressed, and the cost of living is insanely expensive, and I no longer want to be a slave to that lifestyle. The flooding I experienced from Hurricane Sandy a couple of years ago, on top of the winters, is an additional factor.

I realize there are few areas in this country that are immune from natural calamities (including the Pacific Northwest), but this Texas boy wants to spend the rest of his life in the West, where I can watch the sun set every night over the Pacific.

[homesinseattle]

I understand your stress, have relatives in Upper West in NYC and in Great Neck on the island. I love the city but everyone seems to be running around with a look of panic on their faces. This will seem like paradise.

[coastal58]

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how the climate compares. Here on the Connecticut coast, we get 120 days/48.5 inches of precipitation a year, an average of 30 inches of snow (which this past winter was at least twice and maybe three times that), average 94 days with temperatures below freezing, and 100 sunny days, 107 partly sunny days, and the balance gloomy and depressing. Not sure I could trade down for more gloom if the Seattle area beats that overcast ratio, though.

[DavidDJ]

I'm an artist and I live in Port Townsend, WA. It's a great arts community with a lot of talented people. Check out the Centrum Arts Festivals, listen to KPTZ 91.9 fm radio online, and check out surrounding areas, like Port Angeles, WA and Sequim. Housing rates are best in Port Angeles. Or nearby Port Hadlock. You can check out weather data online, but it's mild compared to Connecticut. We do not have the harsh winters you have (my sister lives in Connecticut) I originally lived in Mass but moved to Port Townsend 33 years ago. For a person who has travelled all over the country and world, living in many places before moving here, that should tell you how much I like it here.

[homesinseattle]

Although the weather seems to be getting better long term, the precipitation figures can be deceptive here. Although there are many places in the country (including the east coast) that get cumulatively more rain than the Seattle area, it can be socked in and drizzly for weeks on end. Port Townsend is sunnier. In fact, Sequim (very close to Port Townsend) is the sunniest place in Western Washington.

[Gardyloo]

Originally Posted by coastal58

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how the climate compares. Here on the Connecticut coast, we get 120 days/48.5 inches of precipitation a year, an average of 30 inches of snow (which this past winter was at least twice and maybe three times that), average 94 days with temperatures below freezing, and 100 sunny days, 107 partly sunny days, and the balance gloomy and depressing. Not sure I could trade down for more gloom if the Seattle area beats that overcast ratio, though.

Here are the numbers for Port Townsend -Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not ok

...and here for Seattle: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not ok

Compare to (I just picked) New London CT: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not ok

Of course it's all got to do with your own tolerance levels. You're just not going to get the extremes in weather in this region that you get on the east coast. Many of us would gladly trade a few more overcast days for ones when the heat and humidity are oppressive, or weeks of sub-freezing temperatures. I doubt if there are 100 homes in Port Townsend with air conditioners either in the windows or with central a/c.

But if you want snow in the winter, it's not that far away - you can run up to Hurricane Ridge just outside Port Angeles (an hour from PT) for stunning winter alpine scenery. Or look out across Puget Sound at Mount Baker, maybe with the snow geese present.

In the spring, a short ferry ride from PT to Whidbey Island puts you 45 min. from the daffodil and tulip fields in the Skagit Valley. Later in the summer you can head to the lavender fields right next door in Sequim; put the CBC French language service on the car radio (comes booming in from Victoria) and imagine you're in Provence. (As if.) Or get knocked out by the wildflowers up at Hurricane Ridge.

So the climate is something you either tolerate or, like many of us, enjoy, because the balance sheet is tilted way in favor of all the other things.