Has anyone turned down a job offer in another State because of weather concerns.? (houseboat, living)

[MechAndy]

Lots of people here don’t care for the heat.
I am one of them and consider myself a climate refugee.

When it gets 70 degrees and I’m driving I want my air conditioner on in my car.
When it’s in the 50’s-60’s and I am outside doing chores or taking a hike I think it’s perfect weather.

Doing things in cooler temperatures is easier for me.
If I’m in an area that is over 100 degrees it might as well be 0 degrees in a nasty blizzard because I won’t go out in that kind of weather.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by DZT2022

I'm thinking about moving from Texas to Vancouver WA for a job offer but have concerns Seasonal Affective Disorder will get to me. Moving from Texas to Washington State will be a drastic change weather wise. I've never visited WA before to get a feel of what the weather will be like, most likely will need to be there Jan 2022, which is not the best time to go. I'm undecided at this point and don't want to regret turning it down. Anyone here been in a similar situation before and who could share their experiences.?
Thanks!

I was born in Renton Washington. Summer Can get Hot. We use to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Vancouver during the summer, when i was a kid at the Farm. It can and did get into an over 100 Degree's at times. Sunset is after 9 pm. It's grown a lot the farm is gone now.
But i visited the area and saw some of my Cousins in 2017.
Winter can get snow and sunset is around 4 pm.
I never had any affect of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I never worried about the weather in winter.
I was just careful in driving and watched the weather reports, kept chains in the car, and did not go out if it was real bad snow and wind. Also stocked up food and water in case we could not get to the store for a few days. Also had a Noah Radio

I've lived in Los Angeles, Honolulu Hawaii, and Everett Washington In my Adult life.
A job offer in Vancouver I would accept, if it was me. Lots to do in that part of the country if you like Camping and Fishing.
Good luck with your Job choice.

[509]

Originally Posted by DZT2022

I'm thinking about moving from Texas to Vancouver WA for a job offer but have concerns Seasonal Affective Disorder will get to me. Moving from Texas to Washington State will be a drastic change weather wise. I've never visited WA before to get a feel of what the weather will be like, most likely will need to be there Jan 2022, which is not the best time to go. I'm undecided at this point and don't want to regret turning it down. Anyone here been in a similar situation before and who could share their experiences.?
Thanks!

I moved to Vancouver, BC for graduate school.

The weather was awful. It was almost impossible for me to function on a daily basis.

I drove down for a week in late October to California. I drove down to California in December for four weeks during winter break. I left in April, never to return.

Years later, I moved from Idaho to Washington state with the Forest Service. Moved to Wenatchee. nice weather except from Thanksgiving to President's Day, when the weather is EXACTLY just like western Washington.

I took ALL my vacation time and comp time and left Wenatchee for a month in January. That really helped.

Still living in Wenatchee and every winter we get a western Washington day. Dark, spitting rain, cold and humid. I have a hard time even getting out of bed....so I got a place in Arizona for that time period.

Tough decision. But having a professional job and being unable to function is not a good combination.

You really do want to go in Jan. It will give you a a quick idea if you will be able to survive. Once you get to June the weather is "decent" until late September.

Have an exit strategy or plan on taking LONG winter vacations.

BTW...had a Forest Service friend accept a transfer to Portland. I warned him. He thought I was kidding. Two years later, he finally escaped.

Take heart, Alaska is worst. The Forest Service had to finally offer a two years and out plan. Take a job and you will be able to move back down to the lower 48 in two years.

It was about the cloudy, rainy weather in coastal Alaska.

[StealthRabbit]

I would not take a job in most of the USA because of weather. Too hot or too sticky, or too cold and gray. (Tho I love Wyoming cold / blizzards are ok, then they are over.). I have never had AC in car or home, and never intend to.
Tornadoes, hail, floods, hurricanes, sand storms... No thanks

I took a job in Vancouver WA, coming from Colorado. (1980)
Invading Texans were taking control of Colorado at that time, and still are, tho California is helping to ruin Colorado for ranchers, farmers, hunters. But if you like to mountain bike and join the reservation only hikes in National park.. Colorado or NM is quite good for those suffering from SAD.
I keep a few homes in TX and CO for the 240 days I don't care for WA. I also fly to CA, NV, AZ, UT from WA to get sun breaks. Sometimes every week (32 flights booked at the moment through June.)

If moving to WA.... Get a place to live with open views and huge south facing windows. And lots of indoor lighting. Never nestled in the damp, cold, mossy trees. I worked 30 yrs of nightshift so I could be outdoors every day. Pay was good. COL is quite similar to TX. Depending on housing choice. Rents and property taxes are high in both places. Homes can be less expensive in Texas, but either state has sweet spots for expensive and cheap. I'm unloading my Fredericksburg, TX places now that it is Wine Central. Colorado real estate is insane. Personally... I would put my real estate money to work in a high ROE area and rent wherever I desired to live. Tahiti, Tokyo, Toronto, Tarragona, Turin, Toulouse... I have tried most of these and they can beat Vancouver much of the year. Neither Texas or WA are in my top 10 places to live, and if single.... Poof.... I be GONE. For my previous career, family's desires, eldercare, earnings, recreation, and a convenient place to be based for working and living around the world, WA sufficed. Wages were good, real estate hobby panned out, so retired pre age 50 when kids left for college.

At th moment, Enjoying 75f days, 60f evenings, sunrises and sunsets + longer days to play in TX Hill County.... But... I would rather be in Southern Hemisphere enjoying 16 hrs / day of spring sunshine. Several USA and Canada farmers I know winter on their NZ / AU farms. Good idea for controlling SAD... 16+ hours sunlight and outdoors year round.

If afraid of SAD, do the right thing for you and your family.

[happygrrrl]

I guess you have to think of it as the lesser of 2 evils. Spouse & I knew that we had to leave our native state & Washington was the place to meet many of our needs.

I thought spouse would be the one with SADD, but joke's on me, I'm the one! It starts creeping in around November. I'm dreaming of Yuma, AZ these days, it happens every winter. So now I sort embrace the SADD & tell myself "life could be worse, I could be in ------", as I chug down vitamin D.

After winter solstice, the days slowly start to get longer & I slowly feel better.

You'll never know until you live here. I'm way north of Vancouver, I think it's sunnier there.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

I guess you have to think of it as the lesser of 2 evils. Spouse & I knew that we had to leave our native state & Washington was the place to meet many of our needs.

I thought spouse would be the one with SADD, but joke's on me, I'm the one! It starts creeping in around November. I'm dreaming of Yuma, AZ these days, it happens every winter. So now I sort embrace the SADD & tell myself "life could be worse, I could be in ------", as I chug down vitamin D.

After winter solstice, the days slowly start to get longer & I slowly feel better.

You'll never know until you live here. I'm way north of Vancouver, I think it's sunnier there.

Vancouver gets 143 sunny days/year on average. Here in Sammamish it's 155 days, Seattle 164. It seems odd, being 178 miles farther south, but Vancouver gets less sun than farther north, perhaps due to the Columbia River and Willamette Rivers meeting there?

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

I guess you have to think of it as the lesser of 2 evils. Spouse & I knew that we had to leave our native state & Washington was the place to meet many of our needs.

I thought spouse would be the one with SADD, but joke's on me, I'm the one! It starts creeping in around November. I'm dreaming of Yuma, AZ these days, it happens every winter. So now I sort embrace the SADD & tell myself "life could be worse, I could be in ------", as I chug down vitamin D.

After winter solstice, the days slowly start to get longer & I slowly feel better.

You'll never know until you live here. I'm way north of Vancouver, I think it's sunnier there.

Vancouver gets 143 sunny days/year on average. Here in Sammamish it's 155 days, Seattle 164. It seems odd, being 178 miles farther south, but Vancouver gets less sun than farther north, perhaps due to the Columbia River and Willamette Rivers meeting there and sucking in clouds.

[fluffydelusions]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Vancouver gets 143 sunny days/year on average. Here in Sammamish it's 155 days, Seattle 164. It seems odd, being 178 miles farther south, but Vancouver gets less sun than farther north, perhaps due to the Columbia River and Willamette Rivers meeting there and sucking in clouds.

I know where you are getting that data from (just google average sunny days _insert city) but I wouldn't believe that data in terms of how sunny a city is. Rather look at official sunshine data.

Vancouver should be similar to Portland at 2,340 sunshine hours:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon#Climate

Seattle has 2,169 sunshine hours:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle#Climate

[509]

I use to go down to Portland on business once a month. It is sunnier than Seattle.

Plus it really rains in Portland, instead of the constant mist that I had in Vancouver.

Downtown Portland was wonderful in the 80's and 90's. Haven't been back there for a couple of decades, but it doesn't look good on the TV.

[MtnSurfer]

We moved to Vancouver, WA from sunny California like many do from other states including TX, AZ, FL, HI, etc... We enjoy living in Vancouver. But we also don't like places with too much sun and too little rain. Some people actually get SAD from too much sun which can also feel quite oppressive. Living in CO was that way for me. Sunny, windy and 5 degrees out at times. Then, freak blizzards and hail storms. Yuck! I would never move back there no matter the salary offered.

Bottom line: Some love it, some learn to deal with it and some want out and leave. There's no one answer for everyone including you.

There are lots of coping mechanisms for this time of year. One that works for me is to get outside and remain active even if raining. Then, if your job schedule provides some flexibility you will find sun breaks even during rainy season. Find a way to get outside and enjoy it even if on lunch break. Here's my sun therapy from this past week which has been primarily rainy and cloudy all week.














Another great coping mechanism is to take snowbird trips to southern states during winter. Find cheap flights and head to CA, FL, Vegas or wherever for a few days. If pay is higher here, you should be able to afford getaways, right? Flights are very reasonable to California, AZ and many other warmer states during winter. Get creative and make it work or not. The choice is yours.

Derek