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Regarding your kids - jobs opportunities in the area are limited and low-paying. College options are very limited and are running into funding problems due to the state's budget crisis. This is a good area to be in to retire, but not so good if you are trying to get your life off the ground.
Winters are cold. They can be windy. It is dark here in the winter, with about an hour less of daylight than you have in California. Summer days are longer by the same amount, though. If you don't like clouds then please don't move here and complain about the weather.
There is good health care in the area but for top notch health care you need to cross over to Seattle, Bellevue or Everett. If you are seeing a specialist in PA or Sequim they are likely to send you to Seattle for any advanced tests you might need.
Shopping and restaurants are pretty limited to big chains. There are some good small restaurants, but nothing outstanding. You might as well hit the really nice stores and outstanding restaurants when you come to Seattle for a test that your doctor ordered.
You'd prefer a temperate, mostly sunny area? Might I recommend San Diego?
Thank you all for the input. I love Sequim. I also know that I get "down" when it is gloomy for long stretches of time. Befor I bought a home and moved their permanently, i would rent for 6 months to a year.
Other than that concern, it really is what I am seeking, hiking, similar climate to Huntington Beach, CA. thanks!
Sequim does not have and will never have an Orange County CA climate. Sorry to be blunt.
It is in the "rain shadow," but is nonetheless cloudy and cold for 6+ months from November-April. Glimpses of sun, but a climate more like the UK than the Mediterranean.
You might find that (sunny and cool winter) climate in parts of Arizona, Nevada, southern Utah.
I'm not sure how many who answered you actually live in Sequim, but I do. I'm actually on the east side of town in a community called Diamond Point. Our weather can vary in very short distances. What is happening in Port Angeles maybe be very different than what is in Sequim which can be different than what we have out here. In the winter, it can be snowing in PA, rain in Sequim and sunny and windy here in DP. There is a joke that says if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. Yeah, I know, it's said in our towns, cities, states, etc. This winter has been bad everywhere, including in Sequim and Port Angeles. Whether that will be the new norm is hard to say. Summers rarely get very hot and if it gets higher than 85 everyone starts to complain. Normal summers range from 65 to 75. But remember, it's the rain that makes Western Washington so green and keeps us from too many forest fires. Even with that, we end up with a burn ban most every summer. Sequim is considered to be the Sunbelt of the Peninsula. Unfortunately, there are people who expect that to mean sunshine 365 days a year. That's not going to happen. But on average we do get about 16 inches of rain each year, compared to the roughly 40 inches that Seattle gets.
Yes, I would recommend that you visit first, rent second and then buy. I've been here since 2001, moved from the Seattle area where I was born and raised. Now I wouldn't live anywhere else. My husband and I retired in 2000, but now he is working part time and running his own business because he found retirement too boring.
Medical care is really better than what they are telling you. I've been in hospitals in Seattle and they aren't all that great. There are more and more doctors, nurses and other medical people moving to the Peninsula and a lot of are coming to Sequim.
I have Lymphoma and I'm in the middle of chemotherapy. I've had cancer since December 2009, and Sequim has a state of the art Cancer center that gets better all of the time. The medical care I get here is as good, if not better, than anything I received in the Seattle area. Plus I don't have to drive as far.
The economy and housing is still a little behind Seattle still, but it seems to be catching up. The housing market is still a buyers market and you will find a lot of houses for sale. If you don't want lots of neighbors, look at houses outside of the city limits of both towns. Blue Mountain was mentioned, and there are houses up in the Hurricane Ridge area, but both are high elevations and if we get snow, these areas get it first and lasts the longest. There are some great houses along the waterfronts, or at least with a water view, on both Sequim Bay and Discovery Bay. In many cases, houses will be more affordable in Port Angeles. You might consider subscribing to the local newspapers for a month (Sequim Gazette and Peninsula Daily News) to get a feel for the area and check out housing prices, although there are some that are posted in their online versions too. I found quite a few houses for sale in the newspaper for under $300,000. City-Data has a page, which I'm surprised no one cited: https://www.city-data.com/city/Sequim-Washington.html
I do agree about the wildlife.. we have a herd of deer in our front yard all year long and right now we are waiting to see the first fawn of the season. We have a nesting pair of eagles that fly around our house. One landing on the railing of our deck the other day, and scared the s*** out of our niece who was visiting.
As far as traffic goes, we don't have much, except in the summertime in Sequim when Lavender festival is on. But again, coming from Seattle where the traffic is terrible, it's not bad here. However, just remember there is only one main highway in and out of Sequim and Port Angeles and that is highway 101. If there is an accident on the highway, you can be sitting there for a while. There are "some" back roads, if you are familiar with them.
Hiking you have Hurricane Ridge, Deer Park, Dungeness Beach, the Hoh Rainforest, Lake Crescent...
Shopping is one area you might have problems with.. there is a Costco, 2 Walmarts, and other big box stores that most people don't like but shop there anyway. The closest shopping mall is in Silverdale. There are some wonderful little locally owned stores.
It seems like every time someone posts about wanting to move here, everyone on City-Data does all they can to try to talk them out of it.
Besides being a small town, it's beautiful and peaceful here and yet, there is a lot of things to do. So since everyone else told you reasons they think you shouldn't move to Sequim or Port Angeles, I'm giving you the other side, all of the reasons why I live here.
It seems like every time someone posts about wanting to move here, everyone on City-Data does all they can to try to talk them out of it...
Thank you! So much for your post! I said the following on another post because I was being called names for venturing my positive opinion and was was not only told I was crazy that I was basically a horrible person in general. If there was a tar and feather button on here I would have gotten it
""And I think I have read almost every thread on here in the last 6 months having to do with relocating and I will say without a doubt consistently there is the "everything is horrible here, you will never be able to handle it or afford it from where you are coming from, you just don't understand and must not be good enough" attitude. And you can say this isn't but that is often the feeling people get. I get alot PM's from people who have read my responses because they are usually positive about relocating/affording to relocate there (though you may think they are argumentative or egotistical) and ask me what my take was on the area as a non-resident, because the above impression that is given is that residents don't want outsiders moving in there. There are of course there are some really nice people who have posted and helped, they always seem to be the same people and they give a wealth of very well thought out, kind information. So thanks to you all!""
Of course I have not lived there yet, we don't leave till June, but aside from visiting I did MONTHS of research, price and weather comparisons and reading these boards from not only where i want to go but where I was coming from just to see what people really think. If I had listened to all the negativity I got on here I would not have signed my lease for a house in Port Angeles! Can't wait to get there and was really pleased to read your post, it made me all warm and fuzzy
6. MODERATE climate, can't handle the heat anymore and I personally noticed that after 3 days of overcast I find myself getting gloomy. Need a temperate, mostly sunny area...Other than that concern, it really is what I am seeking, hiking, similar climate to Huntington Beach, CA. thanks!
Washington is the WRONG place for you, based upon this criteria alone. Furthermore, there is no place in western WA which is "mostly sunny." Sounds like you want CA coastal weather, and you won't find that in WA. Lastly, I do not know where on God's green earth you got the idea that Sequim weather is like that of Huntington Beach, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Last edited by NomadicBear; 03-26-2011 at 12:22 PM..
Washington is the WRONG place for you, based upon this criteria alone. Furthermore, there is no place in western WA which is "mostly sunny." Sounds like you want CA coastal weather, and you won't find that in WA. Lastly, I do not know where on God's green earth you got the idea that Sequim weather is like that of Huntington Beach, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Where in Washington do you live? Not that I'm saying Sequim is like Huntington Beach, but it's not as gloomy as Seattle or Tacoma either.
[quote=mrslovettstailor;18444947]It seems like every time someone posts about wanting to move here, everyone on City-Data does all they can to try to talk them out of it...
Thank you! So much for your post! I said the following on another post because I was being called names for venturing my positive opinion and was was not only told I was crazy that I was basically a horrible person in general. If there was a tar and feather button on here I would have gotten it
""And I think I have read almost every thread on here in the last 6 months having to do with relocating and I will say without a doubt consistently there is the "everything is horrible here, you will never be able to handle it or afford it from where you are coming from, you just don't understand and must not be good enough" attitude. And you can say this isn't but that is often the feeling people get. I get alot PM's from people who have read my responses because they are usually positive about relocating/affording to relocate there (though you may think they are argumentative or egotistical) and ask me what my take was on the area as a non-resident, because the above impression that is given is that residents don't want outsiders moving in there. There are of course there are some really nice people who have posted and helped, they always seem to be the same people and they give a wealth of very well thought out, kind information. So thanks to you all!""
Of course I have not lived there yet, we don't leave till June, but aside from visiting I did MONTHS of research, price and weather comparisons and reading these boards from not only where i want to go but where I was coming from just to see what people really think. If I had listened to all the negativity I got on here I would not have signed my lease for a house in Port Angeles! Can't wait to get there and was really pleased to read your post, it made me all warm and fuzzy QUOTE]
I'm so glad, that was what I was hoping. I've been here for 10 years and there is no way I would go back to the Seattle area where I lived for 20 years, and before that Seattle itself for nearly 30 years.
When you get moved here, email me. I don't get out much anymore due to my health, but I can give you suggestions of things to check out once you get here. One place you do need to go to is the Fine Arts Center and their art in the park exhibit. Every time I go there, it's like a new park all over again.
Also, as far as weather goes. When we do get snow (and that's not very often), it's like a celebration. It only lasts a few days anyway, and then we are back to sunshine, rain and yes, sometimes clouds. Most natives don't let a little rain bother them. Some actually go to the rainforests to find rain... or Forks.
We try to let as much light in as we can... most of our windows don't have curtains or drapes, and we have a lot of lamps in the winter, and get out for walks on the beaches, trails, up in the mountains. There are lots of remedies to deal with the gloominess if that does become a problem.
I'm glad City-Data is here, but I wish people would try to be a bit more positive and only post negative comments only if they actually in the city asked about. I see people who have never even visited Sequim voicing their opinion, which is fine as long as they make sure they say it's their opinion.
I have been called names too... which I fine very sad. I don't think it's necessary to criticize people just because you don't agree with them. One thread asked about restaurants in Sequim and I commented on which ones I liked. I was told it was obvious that I had "no taste" based on restaurants I suggested.
So I now only post to share the good things about living here based on my own experience.
Welcome to the Peninsula. I hope you end up loving it as much as I do.
By the way everyone, the sun is shining in Sequim RIGHT NOW!!!
Yes it is! I watch the webcams out there I have to say most days I do see some sun there. Is is all day always? No, but there is alot of times when I look and I bring up the site several times a day.
I think people need to realize winter weather can suck, no matter WHERE you are from. Its just up to you what type of weather you are willing to deal with for the other 9 months that is NOT sumer. Me, I would prefer to deal with the rain (which I LOVE) then bitter cold, everything freezing and a foot of snow every other day.
Another thing I found funny was when I said we don't get alot of sun here in MI during the winter WA residents told me I was crazy lol. Sometimes we get what we call winter blue--this wierd blue sky that is clear and just really depressing. But here is a link from the MI city-data--see there are clouds other places besides WA
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