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My wife and I relocated up to Anacortes for a job opportunity for myself with a compensation package we could not pass up. We have been here for 1 month and although I like the region, I am having mild doubts. It has been great enjoying the sunny days we have had the past few weeks, but I am really unsure if I can tolerate all of the gray days expected with a normal winter. I also think I will progressively miss the suburban lifestyle we left in San Diego. My wife works from home and likes it up here so far.
I am a native of So Cal and was getting sick of the hot summers, high cost of living and traffic, but am unsure if I was ready to give sunny skies throughout the year. We really analyzed this opportunity before we committed to this move, and I am going to give this relocation a full chance to experience a winter and summer season up here in the PNW.
I am posting here to seek feedback from others that may have moved here and encountered these same concerns. I really enjoy the outdoor activities and love snowboarding which are great positives of this area. I just may need a light box to go along with my vitamin D supplements to combat any potential SAD effects.
I too am born and raised SoCal; lived there just about my whole life. I made a sudden move up here north of Seattle going on 7 years ago now. That first winter was somewhat disheartening due to the extended periods of darkness and grey weather; but it hasn't effected me since.
You'll get used to it; I guarantee it. I was a life-long, t-shirt and shorts-wearing guy with a year-round tan that had been in place most of my life. I thought I was forever "bronze", because... well... I always had been. Interestingly enough, after my first winter here, I donned a pair of shorts in the spring... and found that I had turned pasty! "You're now an official Washingtonian", I was told.
I hope I did not appear to sound as if I do not like it here or am feeling depressed, because I am not. I just felt that my feelings and apprehensions were likely normal for someone experiencing a cultural shock with my urban to semi-rural new lifestyle along with the climate changes. Before coming up here I knew that alot of CA transplants have made it up here and actually love the change (at least in Anacortes), but I just wanted to hear some other varying opinions.
I plan on enjoying my first full year experiencing all 4 seasons here in WA, and than deciding how both my wife and I feel about staying here to raise a family and continue with our career endeavors.
I too am born and raised SoCal; lived there just about my whole life. I made a sudden move up here north of Seattle going on 7 years ago now. That first winter was somewhat disheartening due to the extended periods of darkness and grey weather; but it hasn't effected me since.
You'll get used to it; I guarantee it. I was a life-long, t-shirt and shorts-wearing guy with a year-round tan that had been in place most of my life. I thought I was forever "bronze", because... well... I always had been. Interestingly enough, after my first winter here, I donned a pair of shorts in the spring... and found that I had turned pasty! "You're now an official Washingtonian", I was told.
DD
NO! Your officially a 206'er. Those east of the Cascades remain Bronze, Fit, and still look forward to the sun rising in the east every morning.
Location: Big Island- Hawaii, AK, WA where the whales are!
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You wil not believe how pasty white you can become... Good luck in your investment of WA....again get out and look aroound. This year is cold but really dry not normal. It is gpnna take another year or so for you to acclimate. This is not normal but after hte 21 of Dec starts the lighter days. Whahoo normally by Feb you are done here for the rain, By June you are pulling your haif out. But that June kinda - Sept you fall in love. Hopefully you make it till then?????? post next Aug and tell your experience.
And 206'er? Could also be a 360'er, 425'er, or 253'er, all Western WA area codes.
Not all that long ago there were only 2 area codes. 509 is dating himself. (herself) lol
I grew up in Phinney Ridge. My first phone number was ME 3 1744. (ME stood for Melrose, translated to 63) And we had an old phone in the house that still had the previous phone number on it. That number was ME1744. It's my understanding that the 7th digit was added in the 50's I believe. The home had been in the family since it was built in 1918.
What's interesting is that the exchange would tell you where in the city you lived. So Melrose was Phinney Ridge over to Wallingfrod. Then LA as I recall was near Lake City and so on. EA was Eastlake which also covered at least part of downtown I think. Oh yeah and SU was Sunset, which was Ballard.
If in doubt, don't worry. In the end you may find Washington (and its weather) is not for you, lesson learned, with hopefully more than a little compensation along the way. You can look back on those aspects fondly, if thankful to be elsewhere.
I've really enjoyed winter in Washington, and summers as well, but unfortunately not to their full extent. So while reveling in the drizzle and overcast which could lend a certain coziness, if for an entire winter, well, I'm not so sure. I like sun as well. Although, and perhaps I was lucky, my experience in different years is that the sun does emerge occasionally, now and then, only it tends to be fleeting and most usually intertwined with cloud and shadow.
There is a thread on the Portland, OR forum with people b*tching about an unusual amount of sun, and otherwise depressed due the less than usual amount of rain. What that might suggest is that everyone has their favorite flavor, why some live in the PNW and others perfectly content to remain in Phoenix. Put another way, this your chance to try something different and gain a better sense of what you really do like.
As others have wisely suggested, the PNW is no place to play the hermit all winter inside. Those most content with it tend to be out and about, even enjoying the wet. It is such a lovely place, and surely moments when in beauty (and perhaps even fleeting sun) you'll be perfectly content with exactly the spot you're on.
Keep some relatives in California and go visit them in Jan or Feb. You will enjoy the sunshine but then be glad to get back to greenery and heaven.
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