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As Mutt mentioned, look further South. The Morro Bay area is nice as well as surrounding communities and you are an easy days drive to a lot of other areas to enjoy. Cold in Winter but better than further North. In general more moderate weather and definite so com parred to Ashville. Ashville is a beautiful area but Winters are too cold.
Yep, weather wise, the Central Coast is my favorite part of CA hands down. The only major negative is crazy rising RE market. Even the more 'relatively' affordable locations like Santa Maria are at all time highs. The OP didn't mention budget. But my working assumption is affordability is an important factor. I know its one of the reasons we're exploring options beyond the Central Coast. OP, if you guys can afford the SLO, Morro Bay area, by all means give it a closer look.
Yep, weather wise, the Central Coast is my favorite part of CA hands down. The only major negative is crazy rising RE market. Even the more 'relatively' affordable locations like Santa Maria are at all time highs. The OP didn't mention budget. But my working assumption is affordability is an important factor. I know its one of the reasons we're exploring options beyond the Central Coast. OP, if you guys can afford the SLO, Morro Bay area, by all means give it a closer look.
Derek
I've looked at this area and the only housing in our price range is manufactured with expensive lot fees. Currently we own a nice craftsman bungalow in a safe leafy neighborhood, 5 minutes from Whole Foods, 5 minutes from National Park trails, everything else within 15 minutes.
Not long ago I saw a Morro listing - great views, 3br 1400sq ft for just under $300,000. It turned out this was the price for a vacant space in a manufactured home park!
No doubt options open up above that price bracket, but that's not where we are, and given that by most people's standards we are already in an enviable location, the bottom line is that there would be no sense moving somewhere where the trade off for endless sunshine would be living in a shack.
Moreover, even though I started this thread with the focus on climate, climate isn't everything. Culture matters too and that, in large part, is what brought us to Asheville -- a town we find suitably unconventional.
Sounds to me like the OP is in a spot that would be hard to beat for any money. Time for winter escapes to Flory-dah to ease the seasonal frustrations.
Sounds to me like the OP is in a spot that would be hard to beat for any money. Time for winter escapes to Flory-dah to ease the seasonal frustrations.
Yup, that would definately be the least disruptive. And FL is within driving distance of NC if vacation resources are limited. I'm sure flights are pretty reasonable as well being so close.
Sounds to me like the OP is in a spot that would be hard to beat for any money. Time for winter escapes to Flory-dah to ease the seasonal frustrations.
The may indeed be the solution: time to start looking for a camper van.
The may indeed be the solution: time to start looking for a camper van.
I live on a small sailboat and I’m in my early 70’s. I also camp at length in my Sprinter diesel van that I use to haul my boat up and down the west coast from Canadian border to Mexican border. I love my lifestyle ... but my long-time gal-pal? Not so much. So I bought her a small rural property and built her a little cabin. She loves it. We visit each other ... sometimes at her place ... sometimes she joins me camping. It’s not for most people as they grow long in the tooth. But there’s always nicer, bigger rigs and parks with amenities for those not crude and crusty like me. Good luck with it all. Asheville is pretty sweet all things considered. Some trips away might do ya.
The big question would be: are the winters too gloomy? I could probably handle them (having grown up in England), but they might be too much for my California-raised wife.
I lived was born and raised in the SF Bay Area, and moved to western WA right out of high school. I lived in several locations, including near Portland, OR, Seattle, and Bellingham, WA. I was in that area a total of around 18 years.
I can say absolutely, with zero reservation, that yes - the winters are definitely too gloomy.
All you have to do, is check the weather every day for Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Bellingham, WA.
Check out the monthly calendar of weather on wunderground.com. Look at not only the highs and lows, and precipitation, but also whether or not it says mostly cloudy, or partly cloudy or partly sunny, etc.
When I lived in Bellingham, WA, we used to joke about all of the different descriptions the media had for clouds and precipitation. You have to wonder what the difference is between mostly cloudy and partly sunny, for instance. You have to realize that either description describes clouds - either optimistically or pessimistically, but either way - it's cloudy.
And just the fact that when I moved to Crescent City, CA - on the far north coast of CA a few years ago - that the doctors there routinely checked all patients for Vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunshine - just says it all. It's dang overcast there. And it's worse the farther north you get.
We had a saying when I lived in western WA - "We have 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad sledding." It's not too far from the truth.
Now, I will say, that it can also get really hot during the summer in the mountains of western WA. But, that's a short window, and it never made up for the weather the rest of the year for me.
On the upside, you might look into eastern WA or eastern OR. You'll have more snow, but a lot more sunshine. Hotter summers, too. But, it will definitely be sunnier.
That was the one thing I did like about living in Redding, CA. It's a very sunny area. Winters are great there. Summers are just too dang hot.
Having read your older posts on Humboldt, which overall were quite positive, I'm interested to hear that you're planning on leaving and also that you'll be heading for the Seattle area.
In my research (which is fastidious and has ranged nationwide from Wilmington NC to Las Cruces to Santa Fe to San Luis Obispo to Corvallis to Salem, right now the area that's looking most appealing to me is Bremerton/Silverdale.
Apart from a brief excursion in the early 90s through the Olympic peninsula and Seattle, my knowledge of the area is all from a distance (although it includes my quirky habit of taking "long drives" on Google street view as a way of exploring neighborhoods).
What's attractive about parts of Bremerton (away from the naval facilities) is that it has the topographical features of the islands without being an island. It reminds me of Belvedere (one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Marin County) except it has modest-sized houses instead of multi-million dollar mansions.
The big question would be: are the winters too gloomy? I could probably handle them (having grown up in England), but they might be too much for my California-raised wife.
I'm curious which parts of the Seattle area have caught your interest.
I've mostly been looking north of Seattle, specifically Snohomish County. I would very much prefer not working in Seattle if it can be avoided and would prefer working in Everett. Neither my wife and I are big on cities/crowds so I'm more interested in outlying areas where I can have a bit of land and peace and quiet as those are things I value greatly. Access to a city is more important to me than actually being in the urban area. As I said before the low population density is one of the things I really like about Humboldt.
As for winter, yeah it's gloomy. It rains often and is cloudy probably 5 or 6 days out of 7 during the winter months. I don't mind though because of the storm dynamics I mentioned earlier, and I really enjoy the look of an active storm sweeping across the landscape. All the mist and clouds and stuff swirling around the mountains and in the trees is just gorgeous, and winter is just thick with rainbows which I also love.
I dunno, I just think that people who say "9 months of rain and 3 months of summer" are oversimplifying things and fail to see the nuance that accompanies the seasons. There are definite shifts between the 4 seasons and each season is very distinct in its feel and atmosphere, especially as daylight hours shift throughout the year.
In Humboldt for example it's very easy to say it rains for 8 months and is foggy for the other 4, but again that misses the nuance and feel as the seasons change. Plants change, animal patterns change, weather patterns change, all in distinct ways that, admittedly, can be easy to miss if you're not paying attention or focusing too much on the things you don't enjoy like persistent overcast, chilly weather.
The PNW is definitely a climate that rewards patience, as those perfect, glorious days are well worth the wait in my opinion, and each season has its own version of what a perfect, glorious day is.
In spring, it's those warm, breezy days with lots of birdsong and huge, beautiful clouds passing through and maybe a shower or two. Shadows and sun cross the land, lighting up all the spring flowers and budding trees and all that.
In summer, it's a cool, foggy morning that slowly gives way to a warm, pleasantly sunny afternoon with strong summer sunshine and cool ocean breezes.
In autumn, it's a cool, crisp day, with a swift northern wind carrying a bite of winter in the air, again maybe accompanied by some showers and of course the changing of the leaves.
In winter, it's an angry, stormy day with hard, driving rain and swirling winds, the storm sweeping across the land and leaving fresh, clean air in its wake, and maybe a rainbow if you're lucky.
But maybe that's just me, and maybe it really is just cloudy, drizzly, clammy, overcast trash for 8 months and persistent fog for the other 4. I suppose that's for you to decide.
I've mostly been looking north of Seattle, specifically Snohomish County. I would very much prefer not working in Seattle if it can be avoided and would prefer working in Everett. Neither my wife and I are big on cities/crowds so I'm more interested in outlying areas where I can have a bit of land and peace and quiet as those are things I value greatly. Access to a city is more important to me than actually being in the urban area. As I said before the low population density is one of the things I really like about Humboldt.
As for winter, yeah it's gloomy. It rains often and is cloudy probably 5 or 6 days out of 7 during the winter months. I don't mind though because of the storm dynamics I mentioned earlier, and I really enjoy the look of an active storm sweeping across the landscape. All the mist and clouds and stuff swirling around the mountains and in the trees is just gorgeous, and winter is just thick with rainbows which I also love.
I dunno, I just think that people who say "9 months of rain and 3 months of summer" are oversimplifying things and fail to see the nuance that accompanies the seasons. There are definite shifts between the 4 seasons and each season is very distinct in its feel and atmosphere, especially as daylight hours shift throughout the year.
In Humboldt for example it's very easy to say it rains for 8 months and is foggy for the other 4, but again that misses the nuance and feel as the seasons change. Plants change, animal patterns change, weather patterns change, all in distinct ways that, admittedly, can be easy to miss if you're not paying attention or focusing too much on the things you don't enjoy like persistent overcast, chilly weather.
The PNW is definitely a climate that rewards patience, as those perfect, glorious days are well worth the wait in my opinion, and each season has its own version of what a perfect, glorious day is.
In spring, it's those warm, breezy days with lots of birdsong and huge, beautiful clouds passing through and maybe a shower or two. Shadows and sun cross the land, lighting up all the spring flowers and budding trees and all that.
In summer, it's a cool, foggy morning that slowly gives way to a warm, pleasantly sunny afternoon with strong summer sunshine and cool ocean breezes.
In autumn, it's a cool, crisp day, with a swift northern wind carrying a bite of winter in the air, again maybe accompanied by some showers and of course the changing of the leaves.
In winter, it's an angry, stormy day with hard, driving rain and swirling winds, the storm sweeping across the land and leaving fresh, clean air in its wake, and maybe a rainbow if you're lucky.
But maybe that's just me, and maybe it really is just cloudy, drizzly, clammy, overcast trash for 8 months and persistent fog for the other 4. I suppose that's for you to decide.
Yeah, I think there are different ways to experience the same seasons. Everyone has their preferences. For example, in Monterey our summers can actually be the opposite of the rest of the nation with lots of fog and cooler weather. In fact, tomorrow's forecasted high is 59 degrees. Some simply don't like the weather here because of these colder summer conditions. Some even leave because of it. However, I love the coolness and find it refreshing. And there are breaks of sun in between the June gloom which are very nice as well.
I'm really looking forward to enjoying fall colors in the PNW. You can bet I'll be out there shooting them rain or shine like I did in Colorado even in the snow.
When we visited the PNW in the spring it rained and we went out and hiked in it and felt great. Under the canopy of trees the light rain feels refreshing while hiking to beautiful waterfalls in the Gorge, for example. Here's a shot of the family when the kids were much smaller. Now my son is taller than I am.
Then there were also days when the sun broke through the clouds and it was gorgeous. Here's a shot that I took between rain bands along the Oregon coast. It was an amazing day with very mixed weather.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 08-14-2018 at 01:13 AM..
One thing I learned when I was living in the PNW, is that if the sun comes out and it looks gorgeous outside, don't think "I'll just finish my chores, then go outside and enjoy the sunshine," because by the time you finish your chores, the sun could be gone. You just drop everything and go enjoy it - now!
I can trust the sun now that I'm back in the SF Bay Area, but I still have that feeling that I'm wasting the sunshine if I am inside when the sun is shining.
I can also remember when I lived in Seattle, and the whole day would practically be over and I'd accidentally look up and see Mt. Rainier in all it's glory - and realize I hadn't looked up to see it all day, because it usually wasn't visible.
I understand the nuances of the seasons and different types of days in the PNW, and there is a lot to like about it. But, I do think people need to understand the reality of living in that kind of weather. And it's really hard for anyone who hasn't lived in it to fully grasp it and whether or not it will suit them.
The worst part for me was having such a hard time feeling motivated. When I think of what I want to do on a rainy day, it's not usually anything that required motivation. If most days are rainy or cloudy, it's just hard for me to get up all excited about getting anything done. It takes effort to make yourself (at least me) get going. The weather just affects my mood too much. Gloomy outside, gloomy inside my head. And then I have to force myself to get motivated. That's okay for a while, but not month after month after month - for me, anyway.
But, it's definitely the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
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