I have lived in the Seattle for over 40 years and I am planning my retirement somewhere that has sun more than 2 months out of the year. Summer started this year on July 5th and it will end by September 15th. If you like 45 degrees and raining for months then this is your place.
That said it is amazingly beautiful. Here is a picture from my house.
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In reply to Sultan:
Wow, that is amazing. See, this is what we DO NOT have in LA, and I could really use me some of that.
As for the volcanoes, I am not too worried. Vulcanology is actually a hobby of mine, so I am aware of the potential issues. Earthquakes are much more unpredictable (as in, cannot be predicted), and at least we can have some kind of warning with an eruption.
Rain is all good, as is 45 degrees. I hate hot and I love me some rain. I am like the anti-SoCal, even though I have lived here my whole life. Not sure how that happened.
I think for now, we are looking at some of the southern Snohomish County communities, some of the areas to the southeast (Renton, Maple Valley), and maybe Bremerton/Port Orchard.
Thanks for the info, guys!
Sorry, wasn't trying to be alarmist. I was just letting you know but you already are aware. I lived in CA for 15 years. At one point I was about 10 km from the San Andreas. I'd live in Seattle no problem but would probably avoid the historic flow areas.
Geekspeed wrote: I think for now, we are looking at some of the southern Snohomish County communities, some of the areas to the southeast (Renton, Maple Valley), and maybe Bremerton/Port Orchard.
South Snohomish County is WAY better than living in King County!
Put my vote in for "North of Seattle" (snohomish etc) and the Peninsula if you're going to be working on the waterfront. I think housing will be cheaper in both areas, less population, and I think on the peninsula will be a decent commute but you'll have to take a ferry...
Sultan: thanks for making me homesick...
The Pacific Northwest is one big city now and getting worse. I drive up from BC from time to time and its rush hour pretty much all the way from Bellingham, any hour of the day. I can't imagine having to let trafic reports dictate my daily life.
"South Snohomish County is WAY better than living in King County!"
Yes, yes it is. I LIKE it here...
In reply to bearmtnmartin:
I have been to the Seattle area recently, and it is NOTHING compared to the urban cesspool/spraw/traffic nightmare of Southern California. I drove from Tacoma to Queen Anne in about 45 min. at 4:30 on a Wednesday. A comparable drive where live now would take almost twice that long. Not to mention that traffic in LA is bad ALL THE TIME. Weekends are almost worse than weekdays. I have literally been stuck in traffic on the Sepulveda Pass (north of LAX) at 2am.
North of Seattle sounds good. Thanks again, everyone.
I didn't know there are so many PNW folks on this forum.
Geekspeed wrote: Rain is all good, as is 45 degrees. I hate hot and I love me some rain.
Same here, I am sick of the southeast.
It can wear on you after a while. I prefer my PNW a bit more southerly. Oregon is great.
The 4 Seasons of Seattle Weather
ditchdigger wrote: It can wear on you after a while. I prefer my PNW a bit more southerly. Oregon is great.
Yeah, east of the Cascades in Oregon, was unbelievably awesome in July. I remember it being in the upper 40s low 50s in the morning and mid 60s to low 70s during the day. I loved the weather. I could put up with the high desert all the time. 
Looks like things are moving forward. Go me!
Anyway, I have a couple of quick questions. How hard is it to buy and register a used car in Washington? In the police state of California, it basically takes an act of congress... Well, not ours, cuz they can't get anything done. Is there a rolling exemption for emissions and the like? Annual inspection?
Also, I cannot seem to make heads our tails out of the ICSCC's classification system. What is EIP? I THINK it is like E Prod, but then I see a bunch of Pro3's in there running at 2650 lbs. (which is MUCH heavier than they are allowed in E-Prod).
Thanks!
Geekspeed wrote: Looks like things are moving forward. Go me! Anyway, I have a couple of quick questions. How hard is it to buy and register a used car in Washington? In the police state of California, it basically takes an act of congress... Well, not ours, cuz they can't get anything done. Is there a rolling exemption for emissions and the like? Annual inspection? Also, I cannot seem to make heads our tails out of the ICSCC's classification system. What is EIP? I THINK it is like E Prod, but then I see a bunch of Pro3's in there running at 2650 lbs. (which is MUCH heavier than they are allowed in E-Prod). Thanks!
Washington Emissions testing info: http://www.emissiontestwa.com/e/
Washington DMV info: http://www.dol.wa.gov/index2.php
I would send an e-mail to the folks in charge of ICSCC/CSCC as they would know best. I suspect that the folks running in EIP are doing so to get track time and have really just configured their cars to run as Pro3. This is true of my friends who run their cars in ITS but they are built to run as Pro944 cars. Its all for trophies and dash plaques, so don't sweat it too much!
In reply to Geekspeed:
This is the easiest state to buy cars in. The plates stay on the cars, and there are (almost) no inspections (just live not in Seattle). No emissions, inspections, etc. Also, it only has to be 30 years old (1982!) for a Collector's plate, which is permanent registration and 1 plate only (no front required).
Ok, thanks guys. This seems to be quite a bit easier than CA. I appreciate it.
I moved from LA to the Seattle area about 4 years ago and ready to move back now (not to LA specifically, but California). Here's my quick take on some of the differences/observations from a native Californian:
Great air (no smog!) and water quality. Very green, lots of beautiful nature all around.
Lots of outdoor stuff to do, hiking, biking, ski/snowboarding nearby, many bodies of water for boating/watersports.
Great motorsport tracks nearby as listed in an earlier post. The Ridge is a brand new track and it's amazing, like a NW Laguna Seca.
Plenty of opportunities to drive tracks in the wet and learn how to do so well.
People are friendly, cities are very clean/well maintained.
As stated earlier, the summer weather is great from July 4th (literally, on that day) through October.
On the flip side, November through July (9 months out of the year) it's incredibly dreary. It's not the rain, it doesn't really rain hard that much, more of a drizzle if anything. It's the constant overcast/dark cloudy weather that's gotten to me. After a while it definitely can affect your mood. I have a sun lamp on my desk at work. This is the main reason we're moving back.
Miss the ethnic diversity and food variety. Don't get me wrong, you can find most things here, just have to go into Seattle itself usually but not the same as what you find in LA. I miss the street fruit stands over there, it's the little things. :)
I miss the southern California beaches. There are lots of lakes here but it's not the same (I live more inland, can't say about the coast here).
So overall, nice place to stay a bit. I came here because of work but we're glad we didn't buy a house and are still renting. Makes the move back much easier.
Geekspeed wrote: I think for now, we are looking at some of the southern Snohomish County communities, some of the areas to the southeast (Renton, Maple Valley), and maybe Bremerton/Port Orchard.
I grew up in the Bremerton/Silverdale/Port Orchard area, and can answer any questions about it other than current real estate pricing. 
In reply to afonseca:
Honestly, I think moving back to CA would be a mistake. Move somewhere else, just not here. This state is going down hard. The legislature cannot remove their heads from their own asses and all of the idiots who live here keep voting the same people in over and over. The schools are terrible, the infrastructure is falling apart, housing values are STILL dropping... It's not pretty.
ANYway, I am headed up to check some things out in Seattle tomorrow. First on my list is Snohomish, then over to Bremerton. I may hit Pacific Raceways if I have time. :-)
In reply to Geekspeed:
Yea, you're right about all those things unfortunately, it's really a shame where the state is heading. But the weather, didn't realize it would be such a big deal until living here for a while.
So, we're saving up some money to be able to move back, not quite sure when but definitely decided not to stay here long term.
Geekspeed wrote: In reply to afonseca: Honestly, I think moving back to CA would be a mistake. Move somewhere else, just not here. This state is going down hard. The legislature cannot remove their heads from their own asses and all of the idiots who live here keep voting the same people in over and over. The schools are terrible, the infrastructure is falling apart, housing values are STILL dropping... It's not pretty. ANYway, I am headed up to check some things out in Seattle tomorrow. First on my list is Snohomish, then over to Bremerton. I may hit Pacific Raceways if I have time. :-)
No offense, but Cali isn't alone in stupidity in Government. Oregon and Washington aren't too far behind, though Washington seems to be a little more on the ball. For now.
Look around at all of the unfinished government pension programs and tell me that we're headed to a good place. Once cities and even states start going bankrupt (Stockton anyone?) to get away from them, you know it's going just cresting the hill and headed down in a hurry.
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