water view retirement - where oh where -rain shadow? (Carlsborg: county, historical)

[AhFacts]

PT Townsend is a nice place,but can be super blustery in the Fall and Winter
Exceptional location
Whidbey is cool but we've heard maybe not as friendly as might want
Port Angeles is scenic,and has some charm as others mentioned
One thing for all of these is that RV hell starts in the late spring and jams the roads for months everyday
PT Townsend is kind of out of the way,but the rest are in the midst of it consistently
Personally, I would look at Vashon Island, feel is definitely rural and
yet all needed amenities
Not too crowded,some actual operating small organic dairies left
Island is hippiesh but that has helped to preserve its charm
Property values seem acceptable,
Limited access makes this ideal for safety,yet you
have a easy 15minute ferry ride to Seattle

Good Luck,

[cneajna]

[SIZE=3]It's a while off but we are seriously looking at moving to the Oly Peninsula when hubby retires. I don't care about or mind cloudy or rainy or windy... but where we live now we often get the smell of the stockyards. So I wonder, is there anything we should be concerned about regarding odors? Sea breezes/salty ocean air is no problem. I'm thinking more along the lines of paper/lumber mills smells. I wouldn't mind occasionally smelling them but would not want to smell them every day. I haven't seen this mentioned, but I know there are some mills in the area. (or used to be) None of the other "negatives" mentioned would bother us - including (or especially) the "hippy dippy" stuff as we're native Calfornians (currently stuck in TX)... Thanks.....[/SIZE]

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by cneajna

So I wonder, is there anything we should be concerned about regarding odors? Sea breezes/salty ocean air is no problem. I'm thinking more along the lines of paper/lumber mills smells. I wouldn't mind occasionally smelling them but would not want to smell them every day. I haven't seen this mentioned, but I know there are some mills in the area.

Lumber mills smell like timber due to all the harvested trees stacked in their yards. I would suspect that most would consider this "woodsy" smell pleasant.

The potentially stinky mills are the paper mills. There is a mill in Port Townsend and a mill in Port Angeles. Of these, the one that smells (IMO) is the mill in PT. I can't recall every smelling the mill in PA but it's a different type of paper being produced at the PA mill, which likely explains the difference in odor. My wife will occasionally mention that she can detect a slight chlorine smell from the PA mill (as we drive right through the middle of it) on our way out to Ediz Hook. I can't ever seem to smell anything from the PA mill though.

In fairness to PT, most of the mill smell "experience" happens in the vicinity of Mill Rd. as you are driving in to town. I've smelled "wet paper" (my kids describe the aroma as "burnt asparagus"!) from Kala Point as well as the PT airport. I don't recall ever smelling Port Townsend Paper from the north end of town (Ft. Warden area), the west side or the southwest (Cape George) side of town. Also there have been many days that I've been in PT where I haven't smelled PT Paper at all. Probably depends upon mill operations and which way the wind is blowing (offshore or not).

As one coming from sunshine states as you are, IMO I'd be a lot more worried about the frequent gray days and lack of sunshine here than the occasional wet paper smell from the mills.

[cneajna]

As I originally stated cloudy or rainy won't bother me. I'm trying to get away from sunny and HOT. I probably would not mind "wet paper" smells as much as the stockyard smells when the wind blows here in the right direction. Thanks for the info.... we haven't firmly decided on where we want to move (as in a particular town/city)... but we do feel Washington state in the Seattle area is what we're looking for. Water/ocean views, close to a big city w/o having to live in it, trees, mountains, fishing - it all sounds pretty good. We have been thru the Seattle area a few times so it's not completely unfamiliar just not PA and PT areas.

[Felines6]

I have visited the OlyPen and love it. I'm prepared for rain, overcast, etc.; but I'm worried about wind. I am looking at houses in the Agnew area between P.A. and Sequim. A friend who lives in P.T. tells me the Agnew area will get high winds nine months a year. This is very daunting to me! Can anybody confirm or modify my friend's warning? I would appreciate it very much. ---Felines6, moving to the Peninsula this fall Thanks.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by Felines6

A friend who lives in P.T. tells me the Agnew area will get high winds nine months a year. This is very daunting to me! Can anybody confirm or modify my friend's warning?

High winds for nine months of the year? No...

Obviously, the closer you are to the waterfront bluff, the more breeze from offshore you are going to get (as well as a little sand blowing in to your house and leaking in to your well water) but "high winds" for 3/4 of the year? I wouldn't worry about the latter... Sure, winter storms are going to be associated with strong winds at times but they're occasional rather than constant. IMO the wind constancy in PT is much more of an issue than it is in the Agnew/Dungeness area.

If your move this fall is not already locked in, I'd suggest you spend a few weeks around Agnew this December, then a few weeks here during January, then another few weeks here during February. If you can handle the weather then including the rain & dampness, dark gray skies, short daylight hours and the wind during those 3 or 4 months, you'll generally be fine the rest of the year.

Why? Because the real estate market here has been quite slow and flat (just like most places around the country now) and may not get a lot better anytime soon. So (as you seem a little uncertain about the region) before I bought a home and moved here, I'd be sure it's where I really wanted to be- rather than trying to re-sell a home on the peninsula in this market after finding out that the climate and/or area didn't agree with me or suit my needs. Of course if you're only looking to rent a home here, then you'll have the chance to try the area on for size prior to deciding for sure whether or not to settle in-

Just my $0.02. Good Luck!

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

If you want to be within an hour or two of the big city, and have a drier climate, try Eastern WA, beyond the Cascades. It is very arid there, I was actually shocked when I first came here since I had always expected to encounter my first tumbleweeds in the deserts of Arizona or someplace like that, NOT Washington state. But there you go. Of course, you won't have a water view where you live (unless you move to Moses Lake, lol)

There are other places for water in Eastern Washington. Along Lake Chelan, for one, in Chelan or Manson. (Or if you want an ever quieter life, Lucerne or Stehekin). You still get nice water views/live close enough to water (although not looking at as much water) along the Columbia River. Brewster, Bridgeport, Chelan Falls, Entiat, Wenatchee, Vantage, Tri-Cities, etc.

Or Electric City or Coulee City or Grand Coulee on Banks Lake.

There are others as well, but a few to show the point here.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by Dendrite

In fairness to PT, most of the mill smell "experience" happens in the vicinity of Mill Rd. as you are driving in to town. I've smelled "wet paper" (my kids describe the aroma as "burnt asparagus"!) from Kala Point as well as the PT airport. I don't recall ever smelling Port Townsend Paper from the north end of town (Ft. Warden area), the west side or the southwest (Cape George) side of town. A

I moved to PT in early July and I don't notice the smell at all out here near the Fairgrounds/Ft. Worden area, nor do I smell it uptown or downtown. So basically I only smell it driving south out of town, and I just keep my windows rolled up and recirculate the air in the car for a couple miles.

The "wet paper" description is funny, because I think it smells like wet cardboard, with a bit of acrid odor thrown in.

It's really not an issue here if you don't live in the proximity of the mill, and most of the town is situated away from it.

[Felines6]

Thanks very much for clarifying the "wind warning" I got about the Agnew area. Your response, Dendrite, is the same as the one I got from a helpful person at the Chamber of Commerce who said, as you did, that winds are NOT high 9 months a year, and that s/he has a relative who lives in Agnew and wind is not a big issue. Cold, damp, grey are all OK with me. I and my partner plan to acquire a sun-light---yknow, not a tanning lamp but one that replicates sunlight, just as insurance against seasonal affective disorder. I used to live in various states of New England so I miss the sea and its influences/presence. With your message about wind, which greatly relieved me, now my last fears are gone. I HAVE visited the Peninsula and Port Angeles, Sequim, and PT in particular so I have a little bit of a feel for what we're getting into. Basically I can't wait!--felines6

[Felines6]

Can anybody tell me why the Agnew area between Port Townsend and Sequim is called Agnew?
I'm sure you know what I hope you won't say.
Thanks,
Felines6