Hi. I'm down in Eatonville which is about 20 miles from Mt. Rainier. For Farmer's Market's I go to Olympia or Puyallup. Love the one in Olympia just because it becomes a day's outing.
For trails there are lots of trails around here -- converted Rails to Trails one of which starts in Yelm and runs to Olympia, one down by Orting that runs almost to Puyallup. And, of course, there are what the hikers refer to as "real" trails with all the national park and forest land around here.
I've been here 7 years and got to laughing about the umbrellas. On the rainy days where it's that gentle mist, I don't use one either. However, this weekend it was raining buckets and I would have used an umbrella if I'd gone out.
Sarah - I love our side of the world but prepare yourself for traffic and rain. Before you pick a place to live you should test your commute at the time you will be commuting. And if you test in the summer know it will be longer in the winter. Our winters often get the better of people - it basically is grey/overcast/raining from November until May and mostly raining until July 5th. And while we're not Alaska we are North enough that in December/January you will go to work in the dark and leave in dark and some people can't handle that.
But August - it's like living in paradise.
Yeah, while Im looking online, Im using a online program to create a commute grid (hoping the info is accurate) and trying to balance commute with cost. Im not too worried about the weather. My husband was born and raised IN Alaska! And I met him/married and lived in Alaska for about 5 years. My sister is actually still in Alaska and I love the idea of being only a flight away from her. Anyway, dealing with weather and seaonal light issues are hopefully still old hat for us.
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Originally Posted by Misti in Seattle
Oh yay, Bothell! It is right down the road from me. I love Bothell... just bought my condo in Kenmore because it is so much cheaper. If you move to Bothell we will be able to easily meet if you would like.
And not sure where on the East Coast you are but for sure in Fort Lauderdale the layout was totally different... so many gated communities and stuff, which are not very common here at all. And the "atmosphere" there was much more formal.
Yes, this is definitely an expensive area! But the landscape and beauty of this place is to die for!!!! Have you been here before?
I'd love to get together if we end up close buy! Maybe some lunch and farmer's market shopping? I'd could use the experts lay of the land.
We currently about an hour north of Boston. And its actually the formality and culture here that I just dont care for. After living in Alaska, where EVERYTHING is just more laid back and casual, but just as nice - this uppity east coast thing just is not really for me.
And I havent been to Seattle much (flown through, stayed a quick overnight once), but I responded (Red Cross Disaster Responser) to the floods in Northern Oregon (Astoria etc) and just fell in love with how beautiful the area was there. STUNNING. So, Seattle is pretty close? And my husband is a software engineer and for his career, Seattle is just nearly unbeatable.
Hopefully I can get to ONEderland before I get there! I can't imagine seeing a new city/new city seeing me only in the 100s!
If you're an Alaskan veteran you should be just fine in Seattle - we don't have the mosquitos that Alaska does so that's a bonus!
Tons of software jobs - I've been in the industry and all my brothers are as well. Now I teach computers and am the IT person for a tiny school that gives second chances to students who have failed at public high school. I love it!
Yes, if you lived in Alaska you will be just fine here! And I am about 3 miles from Bothell... in Kenmore... and I live about one mile from the Seattle city line; so yes, it is close. And there are bus lines which are great to take and avoid parking if you just want to have a fun day exploring downtown. And be sure to hop on a ferry and see the Islands!!
And North Bend is not all that far away either!!! About 40 miles. Eatonville about 70... the other direction
We have it all... easy day's driving to the mountains, ocean, desert... whatever you want!
And yes, software jobs should be fairly easy to get; this is the place for that!
And you are making me feel better. I considered moving to Boston when I first moved to Portland OR from Missouri. But I do NOT like formality either and that almost drove me crazy in Fort Lauderdale, even though they *consider* themselves casual. To them, "casual" meant a matching two-piece shorts outfit. Here it means throwing on your jeans and a sweatshirt LOL... and a black fleece if it is cold or raining.
There is more to consider than distance in the commute. If you can do so at all avoid the freeways. They are total parking lots, and the mass transit here is horrible; in fact pretty much non-existent. You can get to downtown Seattle fairly easily from most places, but nowhere else LOL. There are a lot of van pools though.
There are some real drawbacks to living here for sure... but all in all it is a wonderful part of the country to live in!
Last edited by Misti in Seattle; 04-08-2013 at 01:15 PM.
I didn't want to live in Yakima but was working on the reservation in White Swan so Yakima was the best place to live and after I'd been there awhile I really enjoyed it.
Hey it looks like it's finally clearing up which is motivating me to get walking today. It's been pretty rainy in North Bend this week - we get some heavier rains here I think because we're so close to the mountains -- well we're IN the mountains haha.
Anyhow we get a bit of a break in the weather for some outdoor activities.
Just back from a weekend of camping at Bay View State Park on Padilla Bay. I LOVE this state with the mountains, water, and the desert side of the mountains, too. Always lots of things to do here and a whole lot of them can be done for free!
