Drier places to live - PNW or West - feedback please?

[Sally S Miles]

I do know that there is a TriCities group, it's not very active. I do know there are other areas - but at the moment  I'm going rogue and querying that entire map.

We live in the Puget Sound area and am desperately seeking a drier place to go, details are immaterial at this point, just trust that this is not an optional move.  I've had friends suggest the Tri Cities area. Others suggest Medford OR or Pendleton OR - - frankly I have followed maps and diagrams til I am nauseous.   I don't want to live in isolation. 

I have lived in many areas of this beautiful country,  I'm collecting data and trying to hone in on my 'gut'. That being said, desperation can cloud judgement and so any information that anyone is willing to spill about their area and why/what = please feed me,  Thanks in advance!

[Adina P]

She even recently won the HDA:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/LindaHamilton

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Thanks Adina.  I sent Sue a message prior to seeing this was a discussion.  We need to think about a doodle romp here - the new dog park on Keene is quite nice and they even planted trees this year.  We moved from Edmonds (on Puget Sound north of Seattle) to Richland 7 years agol  I love the sunshine.  My only complaint is the wind does blow some here! LOL

[Christie]

I live in Western WA at the present and I'm moving to Idaho this summer. I'm not moving because of the climate, but I'm really looking forward to the sunshine. Super low cost of living to boot!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I live in Southern California and inland it gets HOT.  The coastal areas of central and southern California are gorgeous places to live and where we planned to move when we retired, but like Lynda, mom needed more care so we have decided to stay put.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

If you stay out of San Francisco, the bay area of California I beautiful. The San Gabriel valley just east of Los Angeles is lovely too, as is the San Diego area.  Housing is very expensive in all these areas.  The Sacramento area has some more reasonable areas and is relatively dry and has four seasons, though summer is very hot. Chicago suburbs and Detroit suburbs have four seasons and less rain than the Puget sound area, but often have long and very cold and snowy winters,

Mighigan real estate is incredibly cheap in many nice areas, Chicago is more expensive, but less so than the three city areas of California, I mentioned.

These are the places I am personally familiar with.

[Sally S Miles]

Thank you all for the replies.  

  I am easily able to find Chamber of Commerce pages, weather averages, cost of living, and so on.  As a final point with my curiosity is that if you live in the drier area, if you like it - why, and if you don't - why.  What draws and what disgruntles?  The charts and graphs do not paint a daily picture, nor do the ads - but I am weeding through many.

I have lived in  AZ, CO, GA, FL, VA, CA (SD and bay area) , and traveled to many more.

[Christine & Shelby]

I was born and raised on the west coast (SF Bay Area) and did grad school on Oregon... But one area that really suprised me was the location of my first job. It technically doesn't count as PNW... But it's close and worth a closer look. Check out Boise, ID! I loved Boise! Four seasons.... Not too hot, not too cold.... Mountains nearby for hiking and skiing.... I just loved it. Another job took me away, but it was a beautiful place to live. :). Technically I lived in a small town about 20 miles away called Caldwell.... But went into Boise just about every weekend!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I love living in California, because I would take heat over cold anytime.  Yes it gets hot in the daytime for one to three weeks at a time, but if you live in the coastal valleys it is nearly always cool in the evening.  It is rare to get longer than three weeks of really not weather, unlike Arizona or Nevada.

I like suburbia, where we live now is up against the Los Angeles National Forest and my favorite place yet.  The San Jose area on the Los Gatos, Sunnyvale end is my second favorite.

I like where we are because there is lots to do locally and you can get to know many people from many cultures.  Yet in 45 minutes we can get to pro sports and professional theater.  The cities depress me because of all the tall buildings cutting out the sunshine, the dirt, the homeless, and just plain so many people per square foot.  The country is too isolated, although living in a country type suburb is pretty cool - sort of the best of both worlds.