Born and raised in Indiana.

Sue

Central Indiana. Hubby worked for GM. Been here 52 years.

I grew up on a farm in the Great Lakes area, followed my husband to San Antonio, Texas in November of 1962. Big mistake! (Husband, that is, not Texas.) Divorced just a couple of months later. Met an irresistible, died in the wool Texan and remarried in 1964. That marriage lasted almost 48 years, until Alzheimer's Disease claimed him in 2012. We moved from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley area in 1966 due to his job, and have moved a couple of times since then, also due to his job. We landed where I live now, deep in the heart of Texas, in 1968, and I hope to stay right where I am for as long as the Good Lord sees fit to leave me here on this earth. I really hate summer, the unrelenting heat and the drought, but this is where my family is. I can't imagine moving anywhere else.

Rusty

I live in the center of the USA....east central Kansas. Born and lived in this area all of my life. I enjoy having 4 distinct seasons but as I age, I do not appreciate winter.., but my family is all here, so that keeps me here.

Born in Texas. Funny story: Mother got divorced. Computer dated a guy in Colorado Springs & married him, moving us there. Hubby is a native. He & I lived on the same street, 10 blocks apart. Destined to meet. :0) Love Colorado! It's beautiful outdoor scenery is unmatched. We stay because we can't get enough of it!

As my name suggests, I live in the Bay Area in northern California. I was born in the PNW and Olychick, I have to disagree with you about the weather there! The rain and clouds are relentless for many months of the year and gave me headaches during my growing-up years. Dh and I moved to this area because of his job and while it's getting awfully crowded here, I still quite like it. The sunshine can't be beat! Dh wants to retire in a smaller town but I've always lived in big cities so we'll have to find a compromise if we move after retirement. However, since he's from India, we would have to get a good feel for a smaller town as there has been such a resurgence of racism in this country, of late.

sjerin, now I can say I know of a native who moved away! (Actually, I now know of more people who have, but as a kid, I don't remember anyone ever moving away).

Great!! The more folks that spread the word that PNW weather sucks (it most certainly does not), the better! I agree with Olychick that this area is being overrun with incomers from elsewhere........most of my new garden design clients have been relocatees from other states, mostly California. Traffic is almost unbearable and I avoid going into the city for that reason.

So yeah, it rains here ALL the time and it is invariably gloomy and gray........not! Because the sun never shines, maybe you all should reconsider moving here :-)

btw, my sister relocated back here after living in SoCal for more than 20 years because she missed the weather and the more overt change of seasons that SoCal lacked.

DH and I grew up in central Illinois. His career moved us around the country. Finally, he was self employed and decided he would like to live in southern California, so we moved here and raised our 3 kids in south Orange County. Great climate, good schools, very high cost of living.

Well, we moved from Seattle (transfer of dad's job) when I was just a kid, but only to Portland, which basically has the same weather. The first five years I lived here I wanted to return to Portland badly, but I think it was only my family I missed. :) You can keep most of the rain for yourselves! Interestingly, the rest of my family never minded the gray skies.

Everyplace has its pros and cons. Some like cold, some like warm. Some mountains and some beach. Some the hustle of the city and some the quiet of the country. You may not understand why someone would want to live where they do, but it's where it feels like home.

I was raised in the PNW (Washington state) . Born in a small lumber town (Port Gamble) now live in Port Townsend. So to my thinking I live kind of in the middle and not more then 2 or 3 hours of the west coast Canadians and Olychick and Gardengal. Not to hot and not cold, but it is very green (because of the rain) most of the year.

I love Vancouver as it is surrounded by mountains and yet has ocean side beaches too! And lots of rain and lots of grey days. I'll take it all. My skin adores water filled air and ocean breezes! I know not everybody is built for rainforest type living though.

I'm hoping my desire to live there will lessen with 1time. So far it hasn't even lessened one drop (no pun intended) although I don't dwell on it.

I love Vancouver as it is surrounded by mountains and yet has ocean side beaches too! And lots of rain and lots of grey days. I'll take it all. My skin adores water filled air and ocean breezes! I know not everybody is built for rainforest type living though.

I'm hoping my desire to live there will lessen with time. So far it hasn't even lessened one drop (no pun intended) although I don't dwell on it.

Southwestern Arizona (not Phoenix). Born and raised here, I love the mountains, sunsets and even the heat in the summer. I think it's very beautiful and the winters are great. My family is here too. I think the heat is everyone's biggest complaint but you learn to live with it. No tornadoes, major earthquakes, or hurricanes to deal with, but we could have used more rain in my area this summer.

SE Pennsylvania in a suburb of Philadelphia. I was born and raised here and love it. I would never want to live anywhere else.

I was born and raised in a suburb of Pittsburgh but after graduate school I moved to Philadelphia to work at the public library. My fiance was already here attending med school and after he finished we moved across the river to N.J.

For those of you in the PNW, I think it's just beautiful. My sister has lived in Seattle a very long time. Though I'd not do well with all the rain, it's one of our favorite places to be in the summer. Nice escape from the heat here in SoCal.

Thanks chloebud.....I think it is pretty special too :-) I live on Bainbridge Island, so have the convenience of the city close by should I want it but also the spectacular mountain and water views and a more laid back, semi-rural community. And minimal traffic (if you avoid the ferry commuters)!!

"All the rain" is a bit of a misapprehension. We actually get much less rain than many other parts of the country - and in fact, it is downright dry and droughty in summer. But when we do enter our rainy season the rain is very light, often not much more than drizzle. It just tends to persist for a long time :-)

I would have considered this summer wetter than usual but we are still below our year-to-date average (25.5 inches) by more than an inch!

For those of you who have lived in the PNW for many years, do you find the weather has changed? DH and I were married in Portland and after ten months of constant drizzle and one morning finding mold in my closet, I told DH I couldn't take it one minute longer and we moved. However, I've heard a lot of people the last few years comment that it isn't like it used to be. Would you concur?

gardengal, it just seems very wet to those of us in SoCal. I'm always in awe of all the greenery there, especially all the Japanese maples. My sister and her husband just left for Southern AZ to get a little more heat and sun. I'd rather be in Seattle with what we've had here lately.

I know what you mean regarding the ferry commuters!

@gardengal - shhhhh! Do not tell anyone about the lowering rainfall. I'm on the Canadian side of the PNW and we do not need anyone else moving here. I think in early October we had a couple of record breaking rainfall days which brought up the monthly total but the last 10 days or so the weather has been cool but spectacular.

whatsayyou - Our late spring weather and summer is bringing dryer and hotter conditions hence the worsening fire seasons. We were lucky this year in that even though rain was down temperatures weren't as high for as long a time as the past few years. So our forest fire season was more normal.

Gardengal is correct that other parts of the country gets more rain. Here in Pittsburgh our average is 38 inches a year. Last year we got 57 inches. I never been in the PNW but I think the difference is the frequency. I believe the PNW gets a little bit of rain more days. Making it seem like it rains more. But we rain moderately anywhere from all day to several days in a row with dry spells in between.

Other than I think it is milder than it used to be (the effects of global warming), I don't find the weather to be very different now than what it used to be. And I have lived here all of my life (just turned 71).

As Portland's weather is almost identical to ours, "10 months of constant drizzle" is a little far fetched :-). Rain is predominately focused on the winter and early spring months - November through April. Things start drying out significantly in May and June, July, August and September are very dry with typically less than 2" of rainfall (often a LOT less) and then starts creeping up again in October.

chloebud, compared to SoCal, it IS pretty wet :-) But still far from as wet as it gets in other areas of the country! For us to get as much as an inch of rain in a single day is rare, whereas 5 inches or more with a single day's rainfall is common to many other areas.

I'm 20 min south of Seattle. I was born and raised in Seattle and have lived here all my life.

Those of you who think it rains in Seattle all the time, go ahead and keep thinking that. We have too many transplanted people here for the infrastructure. Our weather has changed over the years. During the summer we regularly have temps over 100. I remember growing up where it rained a lot. Like most places, the changing global environment is affecting the rainfall amount. Seattle gets less rainfall per year than L.A, but in L.A it dumps a lot infrequently, whereas it drizzles in Seattle.

But keep on thinking it rains all the time . We don't need any more people moving here.

A search looking at multiple sources suggests that Seattle gets over 150 days a year of measurable rain. And certainly other days with drizzle that's not measurable. That's nearly every other day. Do the math - if there are two sunny days in a row, that means that at another time there will be 4 consecutive days of rain.

I've been to the Seattle area many times, including a multi-month stint living nearby while on active military duty. It's beautiful but much too often it's gray, drizzly, and cool. It's fine to visit but longer term, too depressing for me.

Over the years I've known plenty of "natives" who moved away from Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. And a handful who moved away, moved back for awhile, and then left a second time. And people who moved there and then left after some period. The most cited reason for leaving is the weather.

If you like it there, great. For me, almost daily sunshine and gentle temperatures aren't overrated or something to take for granted.

I'm a native Californian. I was born and grew up in SoCal, moved to the Bay Area in my 20s and remain. I lived in Europe for 3 years. I spend time in both parts of the state, Northern (really the middle) and South. I've always been in the more populated coastal areas where the weather is mild and not inland where dawn, lindsey and others have hot and oppressive summers and colder winters.

I've traveled extensively throughout the US and dozens of countries abroad. I enjoy all the sights and experiences travel provides but strictly from a weather standpoint, I don't think anywhere can match urban/suburban coastal California. Yes, it's expensive and there's a lot of traffic. It's because people want to be here. And that isn't a new phenomenon.

Feel free to keep thinking that, Elmer :-) As sephia noted, we have far too many transplants here already.....the vast majority of them Californians, despite all the hoo-haw about how wonderful the weather is down there. Yes, it's nice but boring - it's the same all year long.

And glad you do not wish to leave. Not sure your personality would fit in well here anyway.

sephia, you must live in some sort of hot pocket :-) The last time it hit 100F in Seattle was 2009. We can experience the 90's for short periods of time in July and August but hitting triple digits is a very rare occurrence!!

I moved to Texas as a young adult after being born and raised in central Arkansas. Settled 40 years ago in the DFW area and I expect to live here for the rest of my life. I did make a change around 15 years ago in moving to the northwest side of Fort Worth after spending many years north of Dallas. The pace is a bit slower in our neighborhood, I love the quiet at night. Traffic is awful but in general this is a very friendly area. People go out of their way to help each other and I love being a part of that attitude. The weather is hot and dry in the summer and wetter and cooler in the spring and fall. We often reach 50 or higher during winter days so it's a great time to get out to enjoy nature.

gardengal, I'm pretty sure my sister would agree with your account of the weather after having lived in Seattle for almost 45 years. Her biggest gripe is lack of sunshine in the winter months. However, they LOVE Seattle and wouldn't think of leaving. I'm always telling people who've never been to go visit. It's truly one of my favorite places on the planet. It's still beautiful in the winter, but I so enjoy being there in summer.

I check the weather for Seattle almost daily. Today it shows a high of 53 with sun and clouds. Ours here should be 83 with all sun. I'd actually be very happy with 53 and some sun for fall weather. We love living here but October's my least favorite month since it's still hot. I want that cool, crisp fall weather I remember as a kid in Michigan. However, as it gets deeper into winter, I'm pretty happy to be here when I see what's going on in some parts of the country. I love it when our temps are 65-70-ish with sun.

sephia said "Seattle gets less rainfall per year than L.A"

No, this isn't true. LA averages 15 inches per year, while Seattle averages 38 inches. 2..5 times more. And because it rains harder in LA, there are fewer rainy days. A total of 35 in Los Angeles, compared to over 150 in Seattle, more than 4 times as many rainy days. Annual rainfall in San Jose near where I live is also 15 inches, though the microclimates here and there get more rain (though not more rainy days).

gardengal said 'Not sure your personality would fit in well here anyway."

The Puget Sound area has only a subset of human personality types? So the natives who move away and others who move there and leave are misfits in some way? I think migration patterns happen everywhere, though not always for the same reasons.

It's very silly to use insular thinking to try to justify unwanted features or differences. The discussion belongs in the recent "how do you cope with the things you dislike where you live" thread. Because I guess for some, it's with misinformation and false stereotypes.

Rainy Seattle

Gee, midwesterners are underrepresented! I live in the beautiful rolling green hills of north Missouri. Farming country, extremely rural.

DH was born 1/2 mile from our house and has always lived in this county. I was born and raised in Iowa.

Our small town is going thru some bad economic downturns right now and I hate that. I can’t even buy a pair of shoes here (well, except for flip flops at the Dollar Store). We love rural life but driving 25 miles to reach even a Walmart is getting old.

As we age, the winter is getting more and more unpleasant. I’m starting to see if I can get DH talked into snowbirding . . . . I don’t believe I could ever get him to totally move away.

Northwest Kentucky has been my home for the past 30 years. Came here from east central Illinois when my husband (now ex) was transferred. He did not stay but I decided to stay here because my children were happy in their schools. Now, of course, both have moved away. Where I live is a small city, traffic is manageable and the weather, although humid in the summer is very nice, with all 4 seasons being represented. I haven't made up my mind yet whether to stay or move closer to family when I retire.

My parents lived in Johnson County, KS (suburb of Kansas City) when I was born but the hospital was in KC Missouri, so I'm a Missouri-native. We moved across the state line to KC when I was not yet 3.

When I was a bit over 8, we moved to Topeka KS and lived there until I was 19.

We moved to St Louis. I lived there from 1962 -1981 with a few years elsewhere in the middle. I spent one year in NYC while in school, and a little over 2 years in Washington DC when DH was in the Army.

In 1981, we moved to Los Angeles and lived there for almost 3 years.

Then we moved to Louisville where I've lived since 1984.

When I was married to my first DH, we spent time each summer in northern MI at his family's summer cottage. When I married second DH, we started spending the summer on Martha's Vineyard where his family had been coming since 1946. After he died in 2005, we have continued to spend time there each summer.

My mother was from NW Arkansas and as a child, we spent a month there every summer. My father was from SW Missouri, and we always visited there over Memorial Day weekend.

I made some wonderful friends in LA and loved the winter temp, but the cost of living was just not possible on a teacher's salary - at least not the standard to which we were accustomed. KY was a good alternative, but no one moves here for the climate! We have about 2 weeks of beautiful weather in the fall, and 2-3 weeks in the early spring. Other than that, it's cold, dreary and damp in the winter, and hot and humid in the summer.

One cannot have it all.

I think the misfit comment is backwards. No words are wasted on discussing middle to southern California around here. If at all mentioned there is only eye rolling and a look of disgust or laughter. I'm sure there got to be nice logical common sense people living in
California. We never hear about them. Maybe they are the minority.

I am in north central Ohio, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. I've lived in the same county all my life. My DH grew up about 3 miles from me, and we live about 11 miles from where we grew up. Martha Scott, DH has family near Pittsburg, KS.

I am sure I am going to get slammed for this but my comment was not intended to include ALL Californians........only one Californian in particular :-)

I quite like 99% of the Californians I have met!

btw, we just (10/31) had an extended family member move back to the Puget Sound area after spending more than 30 years in SoCal. Something keeps drawing them back up here...........

Yea, we're kind of a wild bunch out here in sunny Cal! ;-)

"I'm sure there got to be nice logical common sense people living in California."

Yes, plenty of us, although the ones running the state can definitely be put in the questionable category.

Another nice plus for Washington is no personal income tax. Something we know nothing about here in CA...the lovely land of let's tax the bajeeters out of people. It's crazy expensive to live here, but we've been fortunate, love it here and aren't leaving.

Cloebud, lol. I swear politicians in PA stay awake at night trying to figure out how to tax taxes. Even after we are dead our money is taxed .

function, ah, so PA, too? I think our charming politicians here wrote the book on all that.

I have been here is smalltown PA for my entire life( 69 years). DH is from Pittsburgh. Three of our toddler grandkids are in the northern suburbs of Pgh, so we have a second home there (225 miles away). We are there about every other weekend. Hopefully we die right here at home, but if we need to, we can go to our Pittsburgh home as we age more. Not many people buy a " second home" in Pgh.

I can't afford a second home...the first in the DMV is crazy expensive...but my inlaws have a beach home and it is so great to be able to get away for them and then for us when we invade. It is great you can be near your grands!

I live in central SD. I moved down here from ND 23 years ago. All of our family siblings are in ND so it is only a 3 hour drive to see them.

bengardening....even though I have been to almost all the states in the US I have not been to either ND or SD and I feel a little uneducated that my wish is to go to the Popcorn Palace when my husband tells me how awesome the Badlands are.

I work in New York so spend most of my time here. However we bought a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach Delaware and love it so much there it will become our permanent home when we retire. So I currently split time between NY and Rehoboth Beach.

My husband and I moved to Maryland from New York 43 years ago with three kids ages 4 and under. We live in the same house we selected then, but have remodeled and added on to several times. During the ensuing years, we have added two vacation homes- one we call the riverhouse located in southern Maryland and most recently a house in Rehoboth Beach. Waving to patriceny.

Minnesota. Born and raised here and no intention to leave, except to move north a bit.

Central OH. I was raised near Cincinnati - my husband and I moved to San Diego to find work (for him, a carpenter) in late 1979 due to the recession - construction and factory jobs had crashed to a halt. I stayed there after we split; really felt more at home there than I ever had in OH. But, after almost 13 years, the cost of living was becoming a strain and I wanted some family near as well - so back to OH, this time to Columbus, though, and I have found it to be a very pleasant place to live. Lots of parks, cycling and hiking, great live music, very many good and varied restaurants including lots of ethnic (various African, middle eastern, and other-than-Chinese Asian.) All sorts of activity.

The past two summers have been hotter and more humid than the first 25, but I still find them tolerable (I like heat) and the winters are still pretty moderate -- the past 2 weeks of erratic weather notwithstanding - I don't mind them at all.

Still, I think about trying another part of the country. I would like to go back to the San Diego area but do not think it would be a wise financial move.

Can you provide a few contractors you were looking to install your cabinets please? I am in LI as well and is looking for a good contractor or kitchen planner in my price range.