1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk"
Signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is
not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and
Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, and
Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while
only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain,"
and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You cannot wait for a day with "showers and sunbreaks".

18. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

19. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of
mind.

20. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see
through the cloud cover.

21. You notice "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can
actually see it.

22. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still
wear your hiking boots and parka.

23. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks
on.

24. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

25. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

26. You knew immediately that the view out of Frazier's window was fake.

27. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you can't find the old
ones after such a long time.

28. You measure distance in hours.

29. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

30. You use a down comforter in the summer.

31. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use
them.

32. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

33. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still
Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer) Deer & Elk season (Fall).

34. You actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your
friends in the Northwest or those who used to live here.

 

dude...i'm definitely not from there!!
later, dustin

 

Oregon's best kept secret is that it hardley ever rains here. We just put that in the forcast to keep people from moving here. Seattle on the other hand gets very little rain, and welcomes liberals.

 

very good!

 

I can imagine that most of those points may be true, but it is very real that the region is absolutely beautifull. I was in Tacoma last November, before my son was deployed to Iraq, he is stationed at Fort Lewis, and had the oportunity to sight see a bit. Then drove on the Pacific coast highway to San Francisco. What beauty, words don't do it justice. Not to mention the fresh seafood. Oregon Bay shrimp, ahhh....

The sunsets on the Pacific are better that any postcard you could see. I will do it again as soon as my son comes home.

In the mean time, you guys who live there just keep it as it is.

 

Some big differences about being in Pacific NW that I've noticed are:

1. It's not +130 deg F when you get into the car for months on end.

2. Although the ice storms can get pretty bad, we tend not to see snow on the grounds for extended periods.

3. We don't get what seems like months of hot, humid weather like exists back east.

4. Except for spots here and there we don't have the bugs and other critters that chew on you like other parts of the country do. In Oklahoma I can remember chiggers, ticks, skeeters, red ants, scorpions, centipedes, snapping turtles, rattlers, cotton mouths, water moccasins, and that's just the back yard :^)

When a friend from southern California visited for a few days he stopped several times on our porch when we were going inside, and would say "I can't believe that it's so green and quiet here". He also came running in once after heading for a walk in the neighborhood, excited, and telling everyone to get a pail of some sort because HURRY ! THERE ARE BERRIES AT THE END OF THE STREET ! He didn't acknowledge when I told him that the blackberries were all over and were considered weeds, and wouldn't calm down until we went down and picked some berries :^)

 

Born and raised in Tacoma, Wa

Been in San Diego since I was 13 yrs old............... dont miss the rain/gloom !!!!!!!!!

 

I have been to Seattle once and I love that area. When I left Texas it was around 100 degrees and I stayed hot until I stepped off the plane in Seattle - upper 60s and misting. I was there a week and people kept appologizing for the cold weather. I loved every cool minute of it.

I start a 2 year project in south Texas next week and it will be near 100 until September. Not looking forward to the heat but at least the winters are mild.

 

Do you know what people do in the Northwest for summer????......Well, if summer happens on a Sunday, they have a picnic

(p.s. I now live in the Calif. Sierra mountains,....yeah baby!!!)

 

It's been a coon's age since I have been to the NW. Loved it, even tho it was in the Bremerton area.
While the heat can sometimes get oppressive in the summer, Fall in the Boston, Ozark, and Ouachita mountains, here in Arkansas, is very spectacular.
Just a mention of possible snow here gets the generators out and a rush to the store. T-storms gets everyone in their "fraidy hole".
Gotta love this United States. No where else can you see such diversity.

 

Here here, Ramlovingvet;
I have been away for three years now, and I will trade 1000 sunny, sweltering NJ days for just one rainy, blowing-sideways, beautiful day in my beloved Washington!!!!

 

Just a bit of trivia in relation to this theme:

The city of Seattle has the nickname of "The Emerald City". Must be something to do with all those nice green trees around.

Within a two hour drive of Seattle it is possible to visit a rain forest, a desert, go skiing, go swimming in the ocean, play golf and more - all on the same day.

The state of Washington has more boats per capita than any other state in the USA.

The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president.

Seattle is home to the first revolving restaurant, 1961.

Washington state produces more apples than any other state in the union.

Washington state has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined.

Washington state's capitol building was the last state capitol building to be built with a rotunda.

Everett is the site of the world's largest building, Boeing's final assembly plant

Medina is the home of the United States wealthiest man, Microsoft's Bill Gates.

The Northwestern most point in the contiguous U.S. is Cape Flattery on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

King county the largest county in Washington was originally named after William R. King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce; it was renamed in 1986, after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Microsoft Corporation is located in Redmond.

Before it became a state, the territory was called Columbia (named after the Columbia River). When it was granted statehood, the name was changed to Washington, supposedly so people wouldn't confuse it with The District of Columbia.

The highest point in Washington is Mount Rainier. It was named after Peter Rainier, a British soldier who fought against the Americans in the Revolutionary War.

The Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge at Evergreen Point is the longest floating bridge in the world. The bridge connects Seattle and Medina across Lake Washington.

Washington is the birthplace of both Jimi Hendrix (Seattle) and Bing Crosby (Tacoma).

The oldest operating gas station in the United States is in Zillah.

Washington's state insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly.

The world's first soft-serve ice cream machine was located in an Olympia Dairy Queen.

Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world was founded in Seattle.

Spokane was the smallest city in size to host a World's Fair. - 1974

 

" When a friend from southern California visited for a few days he stopped several times on our porch when we were going inside, and would say "I can't believe that it's so green and quiet here". He also came running in once after heading for a walk in the neighborhood, excited, and telling everyone to get a pail of some sort because HURRY ! THERE ARE BERRIES AT THE END OF THE STREET ! He didn't acknowledge when I told him that the blackberries were all over and were considered weeds, and wouldn't calm down until we went down and picked some berries :^)"
Send your friend to my house I have at least a couple acres of those weeds...oops I mean berries. He can have them all. CJ

 

SO very very true!

I like Deer and Elk season, best time of there year, IMO!

Kyle