From: kperdue@hpsmtc1.cup.hp.com (Karla Perdue)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: tips on living in the Seattle area
Date: 13 Apr 92 05:13:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: hpsmtc1.28620170
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino


wyle@bernina.ethz.ch (Mitchell Wyle) asks:

> We hope to move to the Seattle area and would therefore like to gather
> information about it:

Since I have been away for 20 years or more, I can't comment on many
of your questions.  But I grew up on Puget Sound and loved the area.
Of course, these memories are filter by years living somewhere else,
but I often wish I could move back.  I hope they are still valid.
 
> Could you please give us some information about:
> 
> 1.  Day care and schools
> 
> 2.  Parks, playgrounds, outdoor activities and sports

Outdoor activities are WONDERFUL!  There is a huge variety close enough
to be a day outing.  Everywhere you go, the scenery is lovely.

Water: Puget Sound is great for all kinds of boating, including boat
camping.  Some of the islands are parks and you can moor your boat
over night.  I remember several week-long boat trips (first in a cabin
cruiser with the family and then in a large sailboat with my brother).
Or you can tour the islands by car/ferry.  A slow ferry ride through the
islands is a wonderful way to spend the day.  I still remember the smell
of the salt air and the sound of the seagulls.

Beaches: There are several good ones to play on.  The water is COLD, so
swimming in general is not so good (although there are severl lakes that
do have good swimming in summer).  However, there are tide pools and
lots of other interesting things even without going in the water.  Of course,
as kids we went in the water, cold or not.  These are rugged beaches, with
rocks and waves and driftwood, rather than smooth swimming or surfing beaches.

Hiking: The Cascades are great for hiking - either short, easy day trips
or long backpacks.  I've done both.  The flowers are lovely and scenery
spectacular.  There are also the Olympics, which are equally wonderful.
The mountains are much wetter than the Sierras - that means no dust.  It
also means that it sometimes rains.  But the mountains in the rain are
also lovely, and smell great.

Biking: I did not really tour as a child, but did bike a lot on the flat
area, between the water and the mountains.  There is a lot of country
with farms and so on to bike through.

Skiing: There is both down-hill and x-country.  The skiing is excellent.
The one negative is that the lift lines I encountered (20 years ago and
the couple times recently) are longer than at Tahoe (where I have skiied
several times over the last 10 years).  However the runs are good and
with variety in length and difficulty.  X-country can be done almost
anywhere in the mountains.

There is easy access to British Columbia and to the desert areas of
Eastern Washingtom and Oregon for longer vacations.  Vancouver is an
especially lovely city to visit.
 
> 3.  Housing (prices for a 5 bedroom house)
> 
> 4.  General cost of living (food, used car, insurance, etc.)
> 
> 5.  Climate and scenery

It does rain a lot, but I don't rememeber it bothering me.  In summer,
we would just keep playing right through the rain showers.  They did not
last long most days.  If your use to a lot of bright, hot sun, you won't
get it.  There is a lot of grey overcast and fog and mist.  But it never
kept me indoors and it does mean that everything is GREEN.  There were
LOVELY sunsets!  As you hike, there is WATER in the creeks and rivers
(although, as everywhere today, you should not drink it without filtering).
In planning outdoor activity, plan for rain but there are many, many 
wonderful, mild summer days that are a joy to be out in.

The temperature was MODERATE - not too hot in the summer and not too cold
in the winter.  Down in the flat, snow did not stick long.  A few times
each winter, there would be a snow fall of a few inches that would stay
for a couple days.  The temperature seldom got down to 0 (usually in the
20's at night).  Summers were pleasant with a few hot days in the 80's
or 90's, but mostly in the 70's.  It is HUMID (but not tropical) so that
any extreme in tempurature was more noticable.
 
> 6.  Crime
> ----------

God, this makes me nostalgic!!  Culturally, the SF Bay Area is great,
but I miss the environment of Puget Sound.

Karla Perdue                 The opinions expressed are strictly my
Mountain View, CA            own and not those of Hewlett-Packard.
Newsgroups: misc.kids