Pacific NW is such a great area. Living in cities, people often forget about the amazing nature in this country. The nice thing about being over there is you are very close to Portland which still keeps the dream of the 90's alive.
I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather. Anything below 50 degrees and I dont want to do anything. Also the lack of diversity. Wife gets mad at me for counting how many non-white people we see. A few years ago we reached a high of 20 people.
Left Portland after 23 years for Bellingham Washington. Just 20 miles south of Canadian border. Closer to Vancouver BC (50 miles) than Seattle.(80 miles). We are right on Bellingham Bay- can see San Juan islands. Climate is much milder than Spokane, and city is about half the size of Spokane. Great state university in town. Housing a little more expensive than expected. 3 hour drive to Whistler, 1 hour to mt Baker. Nice downtown and older neighborhoods. Portland getting too crowded and traffic was bad all the time. Also, got a better job here. Also, if my old Houston/Portland buddy Andy G.who I lost contact with reads this please contact me. I'm pretty sure you are in Seattle/Everett area.
Congrats on the move. I've been up in the PNW (South Seattle Area) for almost 3 years now after a lifetime in Texas, best move I've ever made. My wife and I and packed up our 3 cats and dog and did that same type of drive, though through the Arizona and California desert in the middle of the summer. I have great memories of that, it is quite an adventure!
Spokane is a decent city. Make sure you get over to Coeur d'alene as much as possible that is a nice place to relax. If you are really feeling adventurous head down to McCall Idaho, there is at least one Rockets fan there.
Have fun. Enjoy the pacific northwest. I've heard it's really nice. I'm sure you wont be missing Houston's weather.
Crazy, good luck Moes sound like a real adventure. I want to spend at least one summer of my life in the Pacific Northwest -- 3 months of perfection before the rains start again.
Good luck. One of my closest friends lives in the Tri-Cities area and is always trying to get me to come up there. Spent a week with them out in Cle Elum this past summer. Just stupid how beautiful it is there. I can handle the cold as a visitor but not permanently. I get not liking the heat. But what I tell people who work at my corporate office in central Wisconsin, all I have to do is turn the a/c up a little more. It doesn't take me 1-1/2 hours of shoveling, defrosting, etc just to leave the house in the morning for 6 months.
In regards to winter: It has been around 0 degrees at night most of the past week and snow and ice have been much more prevalent this year than any year prior for a while according to the locals. Spokane has a pretty mild climate and winters are not as drastic as they are in other parts of the North. But everyone here also says just wait until the summer, you will never want to leave. @IVFL My old Idaho friend! I live 20 minutes from CDA and have already been hanging out by the lake! That will certainly be the go-to spot once the weather warms up. Also found a nice little hole-in-wall Mexican food place nearby too. Can't wait to explore Northern Idaho too. @LonghornFan Tour dates in April include Seattle and Portland. Y'all should fly up and stay in a 420 friendly room.
That's usually true, but I've been annoyed before, especially in Portland, when nobody seems to have AC the few times it does get hot. Y'all fly me to Seattle for that Radiohead. I love Seattle. Not a big fan of Portland.
