Best smaller US cities for cloudy, rainy, cool (but mild) weather (snow, hot)

[pookel]

So, I currently live in Bismarck, ND, which gets down to -40 in the winter (same temp in C vs F) and up to 100F/38C in the summer, and is dry and sunny year-round. I hate it. We're talking about moving away eventually and I've been trying to find good lists of cities with the weather I like, but all the "best weather" lists seem to assume everyone likes it hot and sunny, which I don't! So, I came here.

My ideal city would have:
Mild winters - I can handle some snow/cold but would prefer not to go below 0F/-18C
Long spring and fall seasons - a solid couple months of "sweater weather" at least
Very mild summers - most days below 80F/27C
Lots of cloudy days and lots of light rain

Also ideal: lots of trees/greenery, and being within easy driving distance (100 miles or so) of both mountains and ocean.

I know that the Pacific Northwest is probably my best bet, but I'm also considering New England. And I don't want to live in a big city like Portland or Seattle, but not in a tiny little town either. Does anyone have recommendations for me?

[grega94]

How big of a city/town are you considering? There is more to the PNW than Seattle and Portland. Olympia and Bellingham are pretty decently sized cities

[pookel]

Originally Posted by grega94

How big of a city/town are you considering? There is more to the PNW than Seattle and Portland. Olympia and Bellingham are pretty decently sized cities

I'm not really that picky - anything from around 20,000 people to 500,000 people is fine. I just want to be able to afford a house with a yard (not really possible in dense urban areas) and also have access to shopping/restaurants/events without having to drive a long way (so no remote rural areas).

I especially like mid-sized college towns though, like around 100K-150K people.

I will add those two to my list, thanks!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by pookel

So, I currently live in Bismarck, ND, which gets down to -40 in the winter (same temp in C vs F) and up to 100F/38C in the summer, and is dry and sunny year-round. I hate it. We're talking about moving away eventually and I've been trying to find good lists of cities with the weather I like, but all the "best weather" lists seem to assume everyone likes it hot and sunny, which I don't! So, I came here.

My ideal city would have:
Mild winters - I can handle some snow/cold but would prefer not to go below 0F/-18C
Long spring and fall seasons - a solid couple months of "sweater weather" at least
Very mild summers - most days below 80F/27C
Lots of cloudy days and lots of light rain

Also ideal: lots of trees/greenery, and being within easy driving distance (100 miles or so) of both mountains and ocean.

I know that the Pacific Northwest is probably my best bet, but I'm also considering New England. And I don't want to live in a big city like Portland or Seattle, but not in a tiny little town either. Does anyone have recommendations for me?

Yes, try Poulsbo, WA, Port Townsend, WA, Sequim (drier) but close to Olympic Mountains National Park. On the Maine coast, try Belfast, Rockport, or Ellsworth, all south and southwest of Bangor, ME.

Some interesting info on Poulsbo, I love their Main Street, was there a few years ago.

https://www.norwegianamerican.com/li...orway-poulsbo/

[grega94]

Here is a list of Cities with > 15,000 people in Western Washington by median housing sale price as per Redit.

City: Population | Median Sale Price
Aberdeen: 17,013 | $258,500
Centralia: 18,183 | $315,000
Longview: 37,818 | $347,000
Port Angeles: 19,960 | $420,000
Oak Harbor: 24,622 | $430,000
Vancouver: 190,915 | $445,000
Port Orchard: 15,587 | $455,200
Tacoma: 219,346 | $460,000
Bremerton: 43,505 | $475,000
Lacey: 53,526 | $487,000
Tumwater: 25,350 | $496,837
Lakewood: 63,612 | $500,222
Mount Vernon: 35,219 | $500,500
Battle Ground: 20,743 | $508,000
Olympia: 55,605 | $510,000
Puyallup: 42,973 | $515,000
Bonney Lake: 22,487 | $524,000
Tukwila: 21,798 | $535,000
Federal Way: 101,030 | $540,000
Des Moines: 32,888 | $541,000
Lynden: 15,749 | $558,00
Covington: 20,777 | $563,000
Auburn: 87,256 | $565,000
Washougal: 17,039 | $565,000
Ferndale: 15,048 | $569,950
Everett: 110,629 | $574,000
Bellingham: 91,482 | $576,000
Arlington: 19,868 | $585,000
Marysville: 70,714 | $590,000
Burien: 52,066 | $597,500
Seatac: 31,454 | $600,000
University Place: 34,866 | $605,000
Kent: 136,588 | $615,000
Lake Stevens: 35,630 | $639,000
Anacortes: 17,637 | $650,500
Monroe: 19,699 | $665,000
Camas: 26,065 | $674,000
Renton: 106,785 | $700,000
Maple Valley: 28,013 | $700,000
Shoreline: 58,608 | $750,000
Seattle: 737,015 | $765,000
Lynnwood: 38,568 | $770,000
Edmonds: 42,853 | $775,625
Mountlake Terrace: 21,286 | $818,000
Bothell: 48,161 | $851,00
Mill Creek: 20,926 | $865,000
Kenmore: 23,914 | $876,500
Mukilteo: 21,538 | $950,800
Redmond: 73,256 | $1,000,000
Issaquah: 40,051 | $1,168,750
Kirkland: 92,175 | $1,231,000
Bellevue: 151,854 | $1,352,500
Bainbridge Island: 24,825 | $1,185,000
Sammamish: 67,455 | $1,850,000
Mercer Island: 25,748 | $1,925,000

[TheseGoTo11]

Salem or Eugene, OR?

Northern New England is mostly small towns, gets below zero, and gets more snow than Bismarck.

Somewhere in Rhode Island, SE Mass, or SE Connecticut might work for you. Kingston, RI where the University of RI is and not far from Newport. Or maybe Westerly, RI on the CT border which has an Amtrak station for connections to NY and Boston. If you go further west there are a lot of quaint towns on the CT side which are not that $.

[psyche_da_mike24]

Originally Posted by grega94

Here is a list of Cities with > 15,000 people in Western Washington by median housing sale price as per Redit.

City: Population | Median Sale Price
Aberdeen: 17,013 | $258,500
Centralia: 18,183 | $315,000
Longview: 37,818 | $347,000
Port Angeles: 19,960 | $420,000
Oak Harbor: 24,622 | $430,000
Vancouver: 190,915 | $445,000
Port Orchard: 15,587 | $455,200
Tacoma: 219,346 | $460,000
Bremerton: 43,505 | $475,000
Lacey: 53,526 | $487,000
Tumwater: 25,350 | $496,837
Lakewood: 63,612 | $500,222
Mount Vernon: 35,219 | $500,500
Battle Ground: 20,743 | $508,000
Olympia: 55,605 | $510,000
Puyallup: 42,973 | $515,000
Bonney Lake: 22,487 | $524,000
Tukwila: 21,798 | $535,000
Federal Way: 101,030 | $540,000
Des Moines: 32,888 | $541,000
Lynden: 15,749 | $558,00
Covington: 20,777 | $563,000
Auburn: 87,256 | $565,000
Washougal: 17,039 | $565,000
Ferndale: 15,048 | $569,950
Everett: 110,629 | $574,000
Bellingham: 91,482 | $576,000
Arlington: 19,868 | $585,000
Marysville: 70,714 | $590,000
Burien: 52,066 | $597,500
Seatac: 31,454 | $600,000
University Place: 34,866 | $605,000
Kent: 136,588 | $615,000
Lake Stevens: 35,630 | $639,000
Anacortes: 17,637 | $650,500
Monroe: 19,699 | $665,000
Camas: 26,065 | $674,000
Renton: 106,785 | $700,000
Maple Valley: 28,013 | $700,000
Shoreline: 58,608 | $750,000
Seattle: 737,015 | $765,000
Lynnwood: 38,568 | $770,000
Edmonds: 42,853 | $775,625
Mountlake Terrace: 21,286 | $818,000
Bothell: 48,161 | $851,00
Mill Creek: 20,926 | $865,000
Kenmore: 23,914 | $876,500
Mukilteo: 21,538 | $950,800
Redmond: 73,256 | $1,000,000
Issaquah: 40,051 | $1,168,750
Kirkland: 92,175 | $1,231,000
Bellevue: 151,854 | $1,352,500
Bainbridge Island: 24,825 | $1,185,000
Sammamish: 67,455 | $1,850,000
Mercer Island: 25,748 | $1,925,000

The bolded ones are Seattle or Seattle suburbs (probably missed some). The underlined ones are Portland suburbs (which Vancouver technically is).

[pookel]

I don't mind being in a suburb of a bigger city as long as I can afford a house with a fenced yard there, lol. But Eugene is on my list too!

In New England so far I have Portland Maine, because we visited there and it was lovely, but thanks for all the other suggestions! I don't mind a town that technically has a small population if it's part of a bigger metro area, or a quick drive to something bigger.

[pathrunner]

Huntsville, Alabama is a lot like what you describe. Great small city. Kind of a melting pot now, with folks from all over due to the FBI, NASA, Redstone Arsenal and soon Toyota and Amazon.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Huntsville, Alabama is a lot like what you describe. Great small city. Kind of a melting pot now, with folks from all over due to the FBI, NASA, Redstone Arsenal and soon Toyota and Amazon.

Nothing in Alabama would be described as cool and mild year around.