Have you ever been? A very extensive park system, puts other cities to shame. One of the cleanest cities in America. One of the friendliest cities as well. Not to mention it's so much easier to get in and see a doctor than other areas I wouldn't live there because I need mountains, but people who do live there say it's the best place they've ever lived.

Yeah I think we have talked on this before, good chance your family knows my wife's family, they are up in the Hall/Drummond area. I have helped run cattle through the canyon north of P-burg....in late November. That's the trip I figured out what real cold was. They homesteaded the land there, own about 5,000 acres and lease another 5,000. The core of the ranch house is the original 2 room cabin that was built when they landed there. Folks there are a little stand-offish to outsiders, but once they figure out you are tied to the valley, they will talk your ear off. That's really the only difference from the rural south, where they will talk your ear off regardless. Up here, for a while it didn't bother me, and I organically got my social interactions through work, but now that I work from home, I don't get that opportunity and I am really starting to feel it. My mom came out here for a visit several years ago, and when we passed someone on the sidewalk, she looked at them in the eye and said "hello, how are you today" in her very pleasant southern accent. He stopped short, he got this confused look on his face then scurried off. It was a middle aged professional looking dude. I had to educate my mom that out here, we make the briefest of eye contact, maybe a slight smile and a nod hello, but that's about as far as it goes LOL!

Oh...... but I don't blame him it sounds like it has worked out very well.

I know. That's why I'm so worried for him.

Lol I have the weirdest luck with snow events here. Despite being in the PNW for 12 of the last 15 years, my best is probably only like 12" in January 2012, when I lived in Bothell. Runner up, ironically, would be 8" in Vancouver, WA on April 2022. Lived in Seattle at the time and just happened to be house sitting for my mom that weekend. Unfortunately those are the only two times I've actually lived in a location that got more than 6" here when it happened. Lived in downtown Seattle for most of 2013 through 2020, so I don't even remember any meaningful snow events those years. Visited PDX from SEA for a week in January 2017, but went home 2 days before that freak surprise event on the 10th. My mom had like 18" at her house in the SW Hills then. Then I missed out on February 2019 and February 2021 in Seattle by being in PDX both times. Then for February 2023 & January 2024, I was actually living in California for both, but lucked out and just so happened to be visiting the Portland area for both of those events. February 2023 though I was in the one tiny snow hole in the entire metro, Salmon Creek. Got about 1.5" for that event when everywhere more than 3 miles in any direction got 8-16". January 2024 I did luck out at least, relatively speaking, being one of the only areas to get 3-4" of actual snow as we luckily transitioned from sleet to heavy snow for a brief period at right as the moisture dried out at the end of that huge sleet event.