compare seattle to toronto weather (Vancouver, Pacific: live in, prices, move to)

[szeyamo]

We are considering a move to Buffalo or Toronto from Memphis TN. My parents live in Toronto and we would like to be closer to them. Last week, my parents brought up the possibility of a Seattle - Vancouver (them) move so I am researching this possibility.

8 years ago my husband was offered a job in Seattle but we turned it down because we thought it would be easier to start our family here and afford a house. Fast forward to present time and we are in good financial shape, with 3 children. My American husband has not had luck finding work in Toronto so we are reevaluating the plan. Buffalo is an option. However, I would rather live in Seattle if my parents relocated to Vancouver.

Seattle housing prices appear to be more affordable than Toronto, so that is attractive. Traffic/commute issues appear to be the same. I am slightly worried about Seattle weather however. I read a thread about "SAD" that there are some sunny days in the spring, and the summers are decent. I don't have SAD concerns, but I do wonder about the amount of sunshine one sees from season to season. Toronto has looonng winters -- I talked to my mom in Toronto yesterday and they were still wearing winter coats!!! Compare that to wearing shorts and t-shirts in Memphis right now and well .... something in between would make me very happy.

Any info appreciated.

[keen cat]

Seattle weather is more tolerable than Toronto weather. I'm from Toronto originally but I was raised in the states. I've never been to Toronto in the winter but my family always says its so cold. Seattle has nice summers and the winters aren't harsh. Of course it rains often but its no biggy. If you moved to Buffalo of course you would be a lot closer to your folks but you know Buffalo will have harsh winters. But it can't be as bad as Minnesota, one of the coldest places in the states and it is near Winnepeg (burrr). B.C. has great weather, its a lot like Seattle.

[Ira500]

Seattle averages 58 sunny days per year and 81 partly cloudy days( which means partly sunny)the rest are cloudy or raining

How Many Sunny Days Do We Get Each Year? | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | News Archive

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Seattle averages 58 sunny days per year and 81 partly cloudy days( which means partly sunny)the rest are cloudy or raining

How Many Sunny Days Do We Get Each Year? | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | News Archive

no. Seattle averages 71 sunny days, 93 partly cloudy and 201 cloudy. Sunny days include mostly sunny, cloudy days include mostly cloudy and partly sunny.
Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Seattle, Washington, United States of America

2007 had 165 sunny (partly cloudy) and 200 cloudy (mostly cloudy) days, rain 38.95 inches
2006 had 183 sunny (partly cloudy) and 182 cloudy (mostly cloudy) days, rain 48.42 inches
2005 had 178 sunny (partly cloudy) and 187 cloudy (mostly cloudy) days, rain 35.63 inches

Seattle Sky Condition Summary

Don't forget sunny days are completely clear days with almost nothing in the sky. Partly cloudy days are still sunny that have a few clouds. Mostly cloudy and partly cloudy days have sun breaks and they are counted in the cloudy days.

There are sensors that can actually measure when the sun is indeed shining on it. These sensors will track the number of seconds the sun was shining on it, and divide it by the number of seconds of daylight for that given day.

If the sun shone on the sensor for 70% or more of the day, it's considered a sunny day. If it was between 20-70% of the time, it was a partly cloudy day, and 20% or less, it's a cloudy day.

[Ira500]

Interesting how two different reliable sources can come up with different answers. Steve Pool the KOMO meteorologist says 58 sunny days, your source says 71. Either way, we ain't Palm Springs.

[Botev1912]

Yes but Miami averages only 75 sunny days a year!!! But 175 partly cloudy. This makes the difference.

[CityGirl72]

Sacramento is on the list of Top ten for Sunshine

No wonder I have S.A.D

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Sacramento is on the list of Top ten for Sunshine

No wonder I have S.A.D

It's wrong to compare Seattle weather to any city in California

[LordBalfor]

Compared to either Toronto or Buffalo Seattle winters will hardly feel like winter at all. At NO time of the year does the average nighttime low ever drop below freezing (some nights may occassional do so, but NEVER the AVERAGE night) and in Seattle proper snow is generally almost non-existent throughout the winter. When we do get snow, it rarely lasts for more than a couple of days. Now, keep in mind - that's for Seattle proper (and some of the nearby areas close to the water) - inland, especially up towards the mountains it's different, but Seattle itself (and many of it's suburbs) get snow only infrequently. Generally winters here are known for being gray above and green down down at ground level (our many evergreens stay green through the winter, as do our lawns).

The extremely mild winters means that spring comes very, very early - the last few years (though not this year) my daffs have been blooming before the end of February and by mid-March they are in their full glory, with the tulips starting to bloom as well.

The downside to all this is that although winter (what we have of it) typically ends early, summer takes a longgggggg time to arrive because the presence of the nearby Pacific tends to keep up cool long after other parts of the US have long sinced warmed up (it is of course this same ocean that keep our winters so very mild).

Once summer finally arrives (reliable sun and warmth generally don't get here until AFTER the 4th of July) summer tends to be very nice indeed - not particularly hot for those who like heat, but USUALLY quite sunny and with pleasant temps and very low (by East Coast and MidWest standard) humidity. In fact, Seattle generally has some of the driest summer weather to be found anywhere in the county.

Vancouver BC will be similar - but a bit cooler (especially in the winter, when colder air from the East side of the Cascades flows down the Frasier River Valley into Vancouver.

Nowhere else in the country has weather quite like the Pacific NorthWest. We may be dreary throughout those winter months (well, often through spring and fall too) but we are pretty darned warm in the winter compared to much of the US (especially when you consider that we are wayyyyyyy far north).

Ken

[szeyamo]

Thanks for the info everyone. It doesn't seem like the weather is so bad in Seattle after all. It's all relative I guess. Having lived through many cold and gloomy Toronto winters (Buffalo winters may be even worse), and many excruciatingly hot and humid Memphis summers, I think I can tolerate Seattle weather.

I'm going to search for weather threads now ... just to make sure I can deal with it ...