Weather-related depression? (Seattle, Spokane, Everett: to live in, move, vacations)

[noplacelikeWA]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

So your handle "noplacelikeWA" is not used in a positive sense ?

I chose my handle because after living in 11 different states, I believe there is no place like WA. It is rare to find a place that provides such majesty all around you, from the mountains to the trees and the beaches, I miss it very much for these reasons. The typical weather is more than I can emotionally and physically handle right now, but the summers are amazing and I can't wait to take my extended vacation to enjoy every corner of the area.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

...my time there was May thru November, so guess I missed the heavy precip in the winter ?

yeah, Nov - May is a better time to come if you want to enjoy the winter.

heavy rain is rare, but we get 100+ inches of drizzle, that takes awhile

the map posted on the WA "banana belt" thread is very interesting (combined with the charts here) Seems WA has adequate Purple Zones - 100"+. In our case the clouds come in from the west and 'campout (and dump)' till the high pressure east of Cascades allows them to move east. That can take a week (of 50 mph+ winds) at times. It is necessary to have a submarine grade house, as driving rain can penetrate any crack.

Drugs seem to be used a tad too frequently in most cases, (i.e. kids). Exercise is best (walking), but at times...condition often gets too bad b-4 intervention. Drugs come with a price, as it can take a long time to stabilize and find the right dose / med, and then... you need to wean off.

I'll agree, that it is better to leave if possible. My kids seem to like it (can't handle BROWN trips to Colo and Wyo), even after many miserable baseball and soccer seasons (I don't miss that...)

It's sunny today, and it's not even June !! !!
the 15 day forecast shows 14 days of rain coming, I better get out there!! trees to transplant

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA

I chose my handle because after living in 11 different states, I believe there is no place like WA. It is rare to find a place that provides such majesty all around you, from the mountains to the trees and the beaches, I miss it very much for these reasons. The typical weather is more than I can emotionally and physically handle right now, but the summers are amazing and I can't wait to take my extended vacation to enjoy every corner of the area.

It is truly a spectacular, majestic, beautiful part of our country, and probably
the whole world. Though I'm not really qualified to judge since I've traveled
throughout our great country extensively, but not that much internationaly.
When I was in Olympia, I would go out and run at this Track that had the most perfect view of Mt. Ranier. Wow !
And the Rain Forests. How unbelievable that something that looks like it should only appear in the Amazon jungle is found in the forests of WA state. How exotic !

[jgood]

Have a house with a sun room or light colored walls and really, really good lights and light bulbs, or big windows.
I liked it better before I had kids, they don't like playing outside with the wind and rain blowing in their faces, it seems cold here unless it is at least 60 degrees because of the dampness. I think you would do fine for 3-7 years if you keep busy and take lots of sunny vacations the people i know that are happy here are rich and fly out alot on vacation.
Kids are often sick once they are in school about double that of other areas because of weather and population, weather driving people indoors.
It is pretty here and fun to visit Oregon, Canada, and Eastern WA and Idaho isn't to far either, the Oregon Coast is pretty and the areas of Canada just north of Spokane are pretty also, alot of people that live here like to have a country house in Eastern WA to spend weekends at or get a hotel or have a motor home, if you come for a few years to see all the sights then leave you will probably be happy.

[noplacelikeWA]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

It is truly a spectacular, majestic, beautiful part of our country, and probably
the whole world. Though I'm not really qualified to judge since I've traveled
throughout our great country extensively, but not that much internationaly.
When I was in Olympia, I would go out and run at this Track that had the most perfect view of Mt. Ranier. Wow !
And the Rain Forests. How unbelievable that something that looks like it should only appear in the Amazon jungle is found in the forests of WA state. How exotic !

The whole area is amazing and the Olympia area is especially beautiful. I don't love the rain but I do the love the rain forest, we camped at Lake Quinault one summer and it was gorgeous! The things you can grow in the climate of the NW are out of this world, we often visited this really hidden obscure nursery (Moorehaven) up in Mukilteo that would blow you away. Since moving away we have now realized we did not do enough to capture the scenery on film and have been searching everywhere to find a giant print of Rainier that we can hang above our fireplace. I plan to take about a million pics when we're back there this summer.


Speciman:Gunnera, native of South America
Picture taken from www.moorehaven.com

[LMB]

Wow--that Gunnera (aka Dinosaur Food) is amazing! Reportedly there's a Gunnera in the backyard of our new Poulsbo home. We can't wait to see it take off and grow this summer. Hopefully it's a little smaller specimen than the one in the pic above though! My husband and I hiked in the Quinault Rainforest a few years ago, and it was a truly amazing place. I'll check out the nursery you mentioned in Mukilteo. We have a lot to learn about gardening in the NW--our home was previously owned by a botanist, and the yard is incredible. Sure hope we can keep it that way!

[AZ_singlemother]

There is beauty in every state - don't say anything bad about WY and CO since these are really beautiful states. Arizona desert and the sunsets. Any one who hates the rain and lives in WA state obviously should stop complaining and leave. If you can't take the rain, get out of Washington.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA

have been searching everywhere to find a giant print of Rainier that we can hang above our fireplace.

As you know, Olympia is very close to Ranier National Park and if I took one
picture of Mt. Ranier while I was living up in Olympia, I took 25 or more but
none ever turned out like I wanted or as one would see with the naked eye.
Trouble was that even into late Summer the dang mountain was still snow covered and didn't have the clarity or sharpness against the sky with the sun to your back. I would imagine someone with better equipment than I was using could get a pic suitable for fireplace framing.

[noplacelikeWA]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

As you know, Olympia is very close to Ranier National Park and if I took one
picture of Mt. Ranier while I was living up in Olympia, I took 25 or more but
none ever turned out like I wanted or as one would see with the naked eye.
Trouble was that even into late Summer the dang mountain was still snow covered and didn't have the clarity or sharpness against the sky with the sun to your back. I would imagine someone with better equipment than I was using could get a pic suitable for fireplace framing.

The mountain can be very elusive and even on a good day it is hard to get just the right shot. I have found several good amateur shots for viewing on www.flickr.com (broken link), but really I want to either take a photo I can claim for myself or purchase an extra large print as a gift for my hubby.

[WestCoastDiva]

Wow! You guy are scaring me! I'm from Seattle, but I haven't lived there for over 20 years. I'm moving back this year. I never felt depressed while living in Seattle, but I was a young woman then ( left at 19 ). I have lived in San Diego for the past 20+ years, so I sure hope Seattle's weather doesn't put me in a blue funk. I visit Seattle often, and I've never felt depressed or anything, but that could be because I knew I was coming back to San Diego....guess I'll have to wait and see what happens!