exvj

I moved from Wisconsin to Safety harbor Florida to Washington State.
I am 140 miles from Seattle in the eastern foothills of the cascades and the climate is superb

Could not hack the Seattle climate though

WARPed

Anywhere near Leavenworth? I look at a webcam from there daily.

http://www.mthome.com/webcam.html

Beautiful today and currently 73 degrees!

Safety harbor is just a few miles north of me and while I know you are having issues with the attitudes of many around you, how do you feel the two compare. Where would you rather be?

exvj

yes that area. I have stalkers on BEP so I dont give my exact location.

We got a false view of FL because we were in safety harbor from November to April and the climate was lovely. People who hack it through the summer say its a sticky oven.
What I miss is the wildlife as there is nothing here and I mean not a rabbit or a squirrel - it's dead. It's the price to pay for a dry cilmate. The view is stunning here but you get used to it in a month and then a mountain is a nuisance that is dead and impenetrable.

We plan to retire to safety harbor and spend the summers in Europe.

For a young working chap, Seattle is better than FL. My wife is a computer specialist too and worked 10 hours a day trying to get a job in FL from nov to april - nothing - that was November 2007

Eventually, she got a job here 3,200 miles away at a better salary than I had when I was European Group Finance Director !

The weather in Seattle is like Yorkshire - the islands and Vancouver are superb. After 2 years where I am, it's going to be tough for me to move - one wet day in Seattle has me depressed ! I go there when the weather is set fine - I take my zodiac inflatable and it's great. Gun laws are very relaxed so I do target rifle shooting. Ar-15, .303 lee enfield, Glock , ruger pistols etc - it's fun.

Zero income tax like Florida

yeah forget the weather - it would be better workwise and the outdoors and canada travel locations offers lots. Direct Plane time to UK same as Tampa (over the top)

Hawaii is my tenerife - 5 hours

WARPed

Thanks. I appreciate your honest comments about the area. Honestly, peoples attitudes are a big deal for me so I would want to be west of the Cascades, and as you said, employment would be better in that direction. I have no problem with the rain providing it isn't 365 days a year. My wife is not so keen though.

kimilseung

I find reports of Seattle rain to be greatly exagerated.
It is no Manchester never mind Capel Curig

exvj

It's like england in that from fall to spring it's just that dreary grey curtain

I was talking to an english guy in the brit pub there who has been here 18 years.. He said its 80 in summer and yes a few days are

this is the forecast> (its 81 where I am)


http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/...chType=WEATHER

The republicans here are a pain with their hate talk - but they are very nice to me because I am white. There are outright declared socialists ! on the town council and so far they haven't been shot.

It's too far for a Seattle commute, but a fun weekend in Leavenworth. We will be there at the weekend eating brats and drinking bitburger pils on tap.

Do Florida again when you retire !
Victoria and Vancouver are ace - 3 hour drive even from my house. The car ferries between all the islands are state owned and dirt cheap. The electricity is a hydro co-op (Columbia river) and i pay $38 a month for EVERYTHING when it 100 degrees !
Property tax same as England - dirt cheap compared to Florida.
No tornadoes, no hurricanes. no income tax

Wife is bored stiff but I am fine with it.

WARPed

This is another webcam I look at. Grey at the moment in the city.

http://www.explorebainbridge.com/pages/webcam.html

Hubcaps

I agree. There's something about the light here too, no matter how grey the sky might be it's still very bright. I've seen very little rain here on any of my trips (and the were at all times of the year) certainly nowhere near as much as it rained in Cheshire/Manchester.

exvj's post about wildlife is quite interesting. I was stunned to see a family of deer wandering around our garden. Apparently there are 14 in the group and they just go where they please and have absolutely no fear. I didn't know racoons were so big either. I thought they were about the size of cats...not three times the size of cats! Again, it was absolutely fearless. I wish there were more things that ate spiders though

exvj

ah but I live in the dry bit on the east of the cascades - rattlesnakes, ugly horned lizards, coyotes. It's superb but dead for mammals. Lots of Osprey/Eagles. 200 miles of NOTHING 1 mile east of me.

I agree that Seattle is not as bad as Lancashire - we rented a house there for a year before we moved to Florida (had to for her job). I am not a hater but I HATE Lancashire and I mean everything about it. The only fish and chips are from the Chinese and they are done in oil - same oil as the spring rolls. I threw mine away and never had them again until I got to the garden of eden - West Yorkshire. The rain in lancs was sideways all year and the place is filthy and the pits. Seattle is far, far better - if just for the islands and vancouver and victoria

Burn1911

I 100% agree, and its just rain, not like you are going to melt or anything!!

Burn1911

I always notice this time of year that all the spiders are starting to move indoors, we have had some fast little buggars scurrying across the living room floor lately!!

AmerLisa

The rain can last a little bit longer than I like, sometimes. But, in all honesty the weather is very nice here. Summers can and do get pretty damn hot, but again it doesn't last an overly long time. We just had two warmish days (mid to high 80s) the last two days, today its cloudy and supposed to be about 20 degrees cooler.

exvj

Our cats see to them. Wifey is scared they might be black widows. Big cat is sick today - might have bitten one. Critters on the east foothils are nasty

15% humidity on the east of the cascades so 100 is nothing - quite fresh - I mow the lawn in 100 degrees and I can't take a humid 70 in england

Hubcaps

I am NEVER coming to your side of the mountains

Burn1911

do you get Black widows over there? I must admit the thought of rattlers and other nasties puts me off moving that side of the mtns.. or anywhere else in the US come to think of it!