elegantlion Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 tell me about the Pacific NW. I've only been as far as Idaho and CA, never to Oregon or Washington. Dh has, eons ago, and loved it. Not that we're planning on moving, but I have restrained wanderlust, as we are here (being the midwest) while my parents are still living. But it never hurts to research, right? :lol: So, looking at OR and WA which would you choose? - which has better homeschool laws (probably not an issue as we'll probably be done by then) - location, near a big city, but not in it - affordable housing (comparable to the area) - closer to the beach (how swimable are the beaches? I'm assuming they're not like Florida beaches, but at least where I can get in the water) - sunnier location - what major disaster areas? I know there's a volcano up there. I've been through tornado warnings, hurricanes (plural), felt a minor earthquake, and seen smoke from forest fires. - We like big tall trees and hiking - area friendly to people moving into the area - Which state is friendlier to small business? If you live there, or have visited which area of those two states would you chose and why? Which area would fit our criteria. Proximity to a cool, real bookstore is a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 :bigear: I live in SoCal, and I have been dreaming lately of moving to either Oregon or Washington. I would love to know everyone's opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I lived in Oregon for 9 years, in the suburbs of Portland. Got a few hours for me to talk about what a wonderful place it is? Can't speak to small business at all. Or cost of living since it's been 5 years since we lived there and a lot has changed in that area. We moved to PA so my husband could go to seminary, and doubt we will have the opportunity to return to Oregon. It would be our first choice, though. Homeschooling is pretty easy: one time notification, testing in 3, 5, 8, and 10th grades - I am pretty sure, don't take this as legal advice. Loads of homeschoolers and homeschool groups. Fabulous weather. Don't listen to the hype about the rain. Yes it rains; that's why it's so green. Anything will grow there. Summers are warm but not super hot - maybe a few high 90's day, if I recall correctly - and NO HUMIDITY in the summer. Where we lived we had the beach 90 minutes one way, Mt Hood 90 the other way, the high desert about 2 hours away. The ocean water is cold but my kids were always happy to play in it. Beaches are gorgeous and generally not super crowded. We could see Mt St Helens from our house. I think danger of earthquake is probably higher than danger of volcano except for those living in close proximity to the mountain. I'd go back in a minute. If there had been a seminary of the right flavor there, we would never have left. Anything else? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 If you want beautiful country come to Oregon... just make sure you want an incredibly over the top liberal spot to live. Course... if you want a little more liberal and you can find a spot... Cali is more liberal and has a ton more sun. (especially depending on what part you live in...) Personally, I would probably rather going back to TX but hate the way you can melt there... Also, not as much green :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 We lived in Newburg, Oregon for one year. It was GORGEOUS! Mt. Hood always looming over the town...drive north a little ways into the hills and stare at Mt. Ste. Helens...Astoria - can't say enough good things about Astoria. Favorite Saturday activity, drive to Newport, picnic, drive north to Tillamook, ....so scenic it takes your breath away and the people are sweet beyond compare...take a look at the old navy blimp hangers, amazing! North to Astoria for dinner, drive home along the Columbia river. The bad news, cost of living was OUT OF THE WORLD at least at that time compared to the Midwest or south. So, we had sticker shock over many, many things and lived "tighter than two coats of paint" despite Dh's decent salary and benefits package. Of course, this was 20 years ago so I'm not acquainted with the financial picture now. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 WA resident here. Homeschooling is pretty easy. You as the parent have to meet certain requirements (40 college credits or take a special class or be approved by a school superintendent or have oversight from a teacher) and then you have the kids tested annually every year after completion of 2nd grade. I live in Olympia. It's the capital but it has a small town feel. I'm about 90 minutes drive from the ocean, St. Helen's, Mt. Rainier, and Portland and about 60 minutes from Seattle. I can be on a ferry to Victoria in 1 hr to 3 hrs (depending on which ferry I want to take) and I can be in the Northern Cascades or the Olympic Nat'l Rainforest in about 3 hrs. COLA is high IMO.... Our 1800 sq ft house values at $220K and I just don't see it but whatever. However, if we lived 15-20 miles away from here in one of the more rural areas the price would be less. The beaches are 1-1/2 hrs from here. The water is cold. COLD. But people surf and swim just the same. They are not crowded. However, I would say that Oregon has the nicer coast. It's generally sunny here from July 4th through Sept and then the overcast weather starts in. It tends to be very dreary in the winter months. Not necessarily raining (and certainly rarely does it rain hard... I'm from the Midwest and we get RAIN there. This is drizzle.) but overcast. There is a little town called Sequim out on the Hood Canal that is supposed to have wonderful sunny weather when the rest of us are suffering. :) Disasters: We have volcanoes. Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens are close by. We get earthquakes from time to time. This week we had the first real thunderstorm that I have seen in about 14 years. The rivers tend to flood annually because of the combination of rain and snow melt in the spring. There is the possibility of tsunamis on the coast. We have ample tall trees and hiking. It's really a great place for outdoor activities. We have numerous state parks, national forests, and national parks as well as some really pretty county and city parks with decent hiking. We moved here 14 years ago but DH was military at the time so my experience as a PNW newbie was a bit different. However, people at my work never took issue with me being an outsider and my patients are always happy to sing the praises of the PNW and give me great tips on places to go. Small business.... I can tell you that WA in not small business friendly. It is rough to own a small business here. Rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 I lived in Oregon for 9 years, in the suburbs of Portland. Got a few hours for me to talk about what a wonderful place it is? Sounds wonderful. No humidity would be a big plus. If you want beautiful country come to Oregon... just make sure you want an incredibly over the top liberal spot to live. Course... if you want a little more liberal and you can find a spot... Cali is more liberal and has a ton more sun. (especially depending on what part you live in...)Personally, I would probably rather going back to TX but hate the way you can melt there... Also, not as much green :) I'm in the midwest now and my lawn is practically dead it's so dry. Beautiful country trumps politics, plus.... well, it's not so much an issue, so as to keep board rules in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 WA resident here. Homeschooling is pretty easy. You as the parent have to meet certain requirements (40 college credits or take a special class or be approved by a school superintendent or have oversight from a teacher) and then you have the kids tested annually every year after completion of 2nd grade. I live in Olympia. It's the capital but it has a small town feel. I'm about 90 minutes drive from the ocean, St. Helen's, Mt. Rainier, and Portland and about 60 minutes from Seattle. I can be on a ferry to Victoria in 1 hr to 3 hrs (depending on which ferry I want to take) and I can be in the Northern Cascades or the Olympic Nat'l Rainforest in about 3 hrs. COLA is high IMO.... Our 1800 sq ft house values at $220K and I just don't see it but whatever. However, if we lived 15-20 miles away from here in one of the more rural areas the price would be less. The beaches are 1-1/2 hrs from here. The water is cold. COLD. But people surf and swim just the same. They are not crowded. However, I would say that Oregon has the nicer coast. It's generally sunny here from July 4th through Sept and then the overcast weather starts in. It tends to be very dreary in the winter months. Not necessarily raining (and certainly rarely does it rain hard... I'm from the Midwest and we get RAIN there. This is drizzle.) but overcast. There is a little town called Sequim out on the Hood Canal that is supposed to have wonderful sunny weather when the rest of us are suffering. :) Disasters: We have volcanoes. Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens are close by. We get earthquakes from time to time. This week we had the first real thunderstorm that I have seen in about 14 years. The rivers tend to flood annually because of the combination of rain and snow melt in the spring. There is the possibility of tsunamis on the coast. We have ample tall trees and hiking. It's really a great place for outdoor activities. We have numerous state parks, national forests, and national parks as well as some really pretty county and city parks with decent hiking. We moved here 14 years ago but DH was military at the time so my experience as a PNW newbie was a bit different. However, people at my work never took issue with me being an outsider and my patients are always happy to sing the praises of the PNW and give me great tips on places to go. Small business.... I can tell you that WA in not small business friendly. It is rough to own a small business here. Rough. Thanks. Yes, I know rain, lots of rain. I haven't melted yet. It's nice to hear people are welcoming, that makes a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Proximity to a cool, real bookstore is a plus. I missed this before. Powell's City of Books in Portland. Book heaven. They have a branch in the western 'burbs, too. Maybe others. We left there in 2007 so much has probably changed. But I know Powell's is still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Someday when I leave the land of eternal darkness..... I would love to move back to Spokane. All the beauty and nice people, plus MUCH LESS RAIN than the western part of the state. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I missed this before. Powell's City of Books in Portland. Book heaven. They have a branch in the western 'burbs, too. Maybe others. We left there in 2007 so much has probably changed. But I know Powell's is still there. I grew up in Oregon but have never lived there as an adult. Yet. :D However, I was just at Powell's in November and I can verify that it is still there and as awesome as ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniferlee Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 We live in rural oregon about an hour from portland. I've lived in OR my whole life except for in college I lived in spokane, WA. It does rain a lot. It's hard in the winter here with 5 kids in the house dark at 5:30 and raining all day for weeks on end. But it never gets REALLY cold and it never gets REALLY hot in the summer. In fact, the summers here are fantastic. It's been 78-83 for several weeks now. And Fall is really nice as well. Hight points are: beautiful. It is so pretty here! So green and tall trees and mountains. Beach is close and beautiful. Mountains are close and beautiful. Easy homeschooling, everyone I've ever met is supportive. I love how laidback it is here. Powell's bookstore is the best! As far as disasters go, I heard on NPR recently that Corvallis OR has been rated about the safest place in the country to live.:D Farther from the volcanoes, not on the fault line, and of course no tornadoes, etc. To wet for fires. No poisonous creatures except your random black widow spider. (I've never seen on in 35 yrs.) Downside is the rain in the winter. But, you are not going to get the green without the rain, so it's an ok trade. Also, it is more expensive to live here. Anyway, we love it. Except in February. Then I hate it and want to move. (I go through this every year:D) When I lived in Spokane, it was sunnier and drier because it's on the other side of the mountains. But I hated how dry it was. And way too hot in summer and too much snow in winter. But some people love that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I lived in eastern WA for 6 years. YUCK. Tumbleweeds and wind. I have lived in Seattle area most of my life. We live just north of Seattle now and I would never move. There are just so many things I love about it here. Snohomish, Monroe, Duvall are all towns just outside cities, and you can still get property, etc. With the climate here, you really can eat sustainably and fairly local year round. Seattle is my favorite city anywhere. People are nice No homeschooling regs Lots of outdoor stuff to do. Easy to go hiking, BIKE TRAILS everywhere. Just a beautiful place. Clean air. Clean water The rain? Not so bad. It doesn't just pour out rain all the time. Often it is JUST cloudy. My kids are natives, and run in when it's sunny :lol:. I guess clouds don't bother me. There is enough beautiful green around to cancel it out! I can grow a garden year round. We usually have one good snow that lingers long enough to let the kids sled and get sick of it. Lots of culture here. And COFFEE! :D I could go on and on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 Thank you, all. I will respond more, but the cruddies have hit and I feel like a zombie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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