Welcome to the Great Amazingly Awesome Northwest!
I am a mountain lady. A Northwesterner. Washington, Oregon, Idaho & Montana - (Let's include Alaska, Colorado, the Northwestern part of Wyoming and obviously Western Canada too.) I've lived around the Greater Northwest U.S. my entire life.
In my younger, carefree days I dreamed of living as an artist in a large city. And I did the artist thing and the big city thing - but not at the same time. (I also like being able to afford the luxuries like heat and food.) In years since, I've come to truly appreciate all that the NW has to offer.
I've done a little bit of traveling, though not nearly as much as I still intend to do. I've yet to find anywhere as awesome as here. I loathe heat & humidity and I'm not a big fan of tornadoes, hurricanes, big, mean bugs or crowds of people.
Everything is right here - Camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, gardening, skiing, sailing, sledding, and riding - horses, bikes, motorcycles, 4-wheelers and snowmobiles. For the truly adventurous there's paragliding, wind & river surfing, kayaking, kiteboarding, world-class rapids and hot air ballooning if you're so inclined.
For the mellower crowd, there's also attending any one of the festivals or fairs happening on any given weekend throughout the year.
But let's not forget tasting at any one of a hundred world class wineries or micro-breweries - There's even a few ghost towns still around to explore. There's no shortage of things to do, see and taste around here if you're so inclined.
There may come a day when a milder climate might appeal to my worn-out bones, but for now, I can't imagine living anywhere more fun, exciting and awe-inspiring than right here.
