Decisions

I woke excited (like a kid before a holiday) for the first time in ages.  Yesterday we decided that our move West would be taking us all the way over the mountains to Cascadia – more specifically, the upper (west of I-5) Cowlitz River Basin (UCRB) area of Washington.

Two major considerations influenced the decision: geography and economics.  Our initial plan – which at this time remains a possibility, and probably always will – to return to Colorado proved to have too much against it.  The current (summer of 2014) housing shortage in the state has inflated the real estate market (which shifts “high cost of living” into “no way possible” range).  And the potential problem areas following issues with either fracking or the Yellowstone volcano made our choice of Morgan County (based on Koppen designation) unworkable.

The Koppen map got me to take another look at Washington.  The state, much like Colorado, has dramatic change from one side to the other (east and west; not unlike Illinois’ difference north-south) and the southern-central part (Lewis County) pretty much meets or exceeds our definition of “perfect climate.”  Not as cold or hot as here, and not as humid.  Not as arid as Colorado, true, but less humid then the swamp is really the only demand there.