Yeah by far the worst experience of living there is the lack of sunlight and not the rain. Watching the sunset at 4pm while you're still stuck in an office is brutal. Much of the winter you'll wake up in darkness, go to work, and come home in darkness.
It's worth it for the summer and fall though, at least when things aren't on fire. I've never experienced nicer and more consistently amazing weather than the PNW in summer and early fall.
> Watching the sunset at 4pm while you're still stuck in an office is brutal. Much of the winter you'll wake up in darkness, go to work, and come home in darkness.
This is orthogonal to the cloudiness issue, and is the norm in most northern cities. At least it's not cold in Seattle.
First off, please stop using "orthogonal" like that. Second, the cloud cover is not "unrelated" (if that's what you meant) to the wake up and come home in darkness issue. Portland and Seattle are often dismal and dreary, but not totally "dark" in the mornings and early afternoons, making it feel and look "dark" more often here than other cities where the sun gets a chance to peek through at those early and late hours.
And I disagree with "it's not cold in Seattle." It may not be freezing most of the time, but weeks of consistent 35-45 degrees Fahrenheit weather with little sun certain feel "cold."
> First off, please stop using "orthogonal" like that.
Sorry, I will not.
> And I disagree with "it's not cold in Seattle." It may not be freezing most of the time, but weeks of consistent 35-45 degrees Fahrenheit weather with little sun certain feel "cold."
It's fair to disagree - there is a variation in people's perceptions of temperature. Having lived in colder places, it's extremely pleasant not to have to cover head, ears, and neck, and walk around without zipping up my jacket. It's extremely nice to walk 30 minutes in Seattle weather and not have my nose run from the cold. These are luxuries you don't get in colder climates - including Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc.
Serious question, why hasn't the PNW taken on the Norwegian model of winter work? Up and to work early, leave while it's still light outside, take a few work calls in the evening from home after time with the family while it's still dark out?
I haven’t spent time around Seattle, but I’m wondering if you have spent much time in the Bay Area peninsula and how you would compare the climates of the two. Picking Redwood City as a good “middle of the peninsula” location (and whose slogan is “climate best by government test”) and comparing climate stats with Seattle, it seems to me that I would prefer Redwood City in nearly every category. The clearest advantage Seattle has is the extra hour of daylight in the summer, but of course you pay that back in the winter.
It's worth it for the summer and fall though, at least when things aren't on fire. I've never experienced nicer and more consistently amazing weather than the PNW in summer and early fall.