Port Townsend, WA?

[Zoocat]

Anyone ever lived or visited there? I'm curious to know what it's like. I've been looking at that area for fun, dreaming of living by the ocean again. I understand that it's sunnier than other parts along the NW coast.

[CyclingInvestor]

Port Townsend is near the edge of the Olympic rain shadow (Sequim is near the
middle), which produces the sunniest and least rained upon stretch of Pacific
coastline north of Los Angeles.

What Is The Olympic Rain Shadow? | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | F.A.Q.

[crazy connie]

I liked it! Small town touristy atmosphere. Not sure about the weather on more than a few day trips basis when I lived in Snohomish. Certainly some beautiful country but I know the Ferry system can be a cost shock when you need to go to the city for shopping or healthcare.

[DblDoc]

I live close by. Quaint Victorian downtown area targeting tourism. Your access off the peninsula is limited by ferry access and the Hood Canal bridge. As noted above significantly less rain then the rest of the PNW. Local industry is the mill, tourism and wooden boat building/repair. Waterfront and downtown real estate is expensive. What are your interests/hobbies as that would likely dictate if it would be a good fit. You are very close to the Olympic National Park and Forest and the ocean with great sailing so if you are into outdoor activities it is ideally located. If you need to do things in the big city you are looking at 2-3hr trip to get into Seattle.

DD

[TromboneAl]

Spent a week there at a jazz camp a few years ago. Nice place. Plenty of music and arts stuff.

[Dudester]

I live in the Seattle area. I haven't been to Port Townsend for a few years, but it has always struck me as an interesting place. When I first visited it in the 1980's, it sort of had a last-refuge-of-the-hippies flavor to it. You might find this article from the Seattle Times a few years ago interesting:

Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper

[haha]

One of my sons attended music camp there during his teen years, and I would visit for performances. I lived for a time west of there along the straits. I know a few people from there now- they are identified by the rush to get to the ferry before it shuts down for the night. A pretty affluent semi-hip vibe among the residents of the old town itself.

I can't think of anything that might be better there than it is is Seattle.

Ha

[ProspectiveBum]

My wife and I spent a few days in a B&B there years ago. Cute town, but probably a little *too* sleepy for me (YMMV). We were there in early September, and had a mix of rain and sun. We're into wooden boats*, and they have a wooden boat festival there that's fun.


* That means that we like the *idea* of them, but have never built nor owned one ourselves.

I was considering retiring to Port Townsend until I found out that it sits on top of the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

[DroopyDog]

I attended the country blues workshop in Port Townsend for several years, which was a lot of fun. PT seems like a good place if you're artistically inclined. It does seem kind of far away from everything, though, but that might just be me.

DD

[Zoocat]

Well, my flirtation with Pt. Townsend has ended. Two hours from Seattle? I didn't think it was that far. And the Cascadia Subduction Zone?
Thirty seconds of research turned up this fact:

"There are only two places in the United States where colliding tectonic plates could cause a major tsunami, and new studies show a new earthquake in at least one of these locations could be imminent." Tsunami-Generating Earthquake Near U.S. Possibly Imminent | LiveScience

I guess one of them would be the Pacific NW. *shudder* As a child, one of my recurring nightmares was to be swamped by a tsunami. I guess I heard or read about one in Hawaii. Scary!

Thanks, all!

[Janet H]

Check out Port Angeles as well. Small, pretty good weather (for that part of the world) and a little less expensive that Sequim.

[AzDreamer]

Anacortes, WA might be worth a look. It's access to Seattle is a lot better, no ferries needed. Check out Washington Forum - Relocation, Moving, Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum for more info.

[Orchidflower]

Here is a site you can use to check out PT: citytowninfo.com.
I did some homework on it already. It's loaded with retirees I found. Looks great if that's your thing.
Personally, I would rather live in the center of town like haha does....unless the cost of housing is significantly much lower, of course.

[Urchina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyclingInvestor Port Townsend is near the edge of the Olympic rain shadow (Sequim is near the middle), which produces the sunniest and least rained upon stretch of Pacific coastline north of Los Angeles. What Is The Olympic Rain Shadow? | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | F.A.Q.

Um, sorry, don't think so. We live about 100 miles north of LA, on the coast, and get less rain (avg. annual rainfall 15 inches vs. 17 inches for Port Townsend) and more sun (over 300 days a year versus the 156 "days a year with some sun" that Port Townsend gets).

In my experience (and I grew up in Western Oregon), it's not the amount of rain that gets you, it's the amount of gray. So I'd pay closer attention to "Days of Sun" than "inches of rain."

Have you checked out Brookings, Oregon? It's Southern Oregon (Banana Belt), coastal and sweet. Probaby no tidal waves coming that way, either.

[Zoocat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urchina Have you checked out Brookings, Oregon? It's Southern Oregon (Banana Belt), coastal and sweet. Probaby no tidal waves coming that way, either.

Thanks, I will do that!

[Dudester]

I hate to rain on your parade, but Brookings is well within the Cascadia subduction zone. It runs from Northern California, thru Oregon, thru Washington, and up into British Columbia. If tidal waves are your main concern, there are parts of the Oregon Coast that are essentially cliffs, which presumably would provide some protection against tidal waves. I don't happen to know if Brooking is in the cliff zone.

[haha]

Brookings should serve well in the mandatory isolation department.

Map of Brookings, OR by MapQuest

[Urchina]

Centrally located it ain't. But it's not terribly far from Coos Bay (not a metropolis, but has plenty of basics shopping) and it's gorgeous and, as yet, still has reasonable real estate prices.

As I remember, there are some pretty good cliffs there, and you could buy a house up on the mountains and get extra Tidal Wave Protection Points. (I totally get this concern; we live in coastal CA and our elevation is only 30 feet -- I think about that a lot, also about where our house is going to be if sea levels rise).

Earthquake points are pretty much the same everywhere on the West Coast, though.