jojo7

I live in the Seattle Washington area and my husband and I want to purchase a vacation house which will become our retirement house. We have 20+ years to retire, but planning now so it will be paid off before retirement. I have read several posts on this forum about Whidbey Island being a great place to vacation, but what about retiring? More convenient to get to than the San Juan Islands which are also considering. I was interested to hear any comments on Whidbey Island and in particular the town of Langley. We are also considering renting out this house in peak season (summer time) so the location would need to be in area of "vacation rentals". I am only a four year resident originally from the east coast and not familiar with locations AT ALL. We are planning on a visit to Whidbey Island this summer and would love to hear any recommended areas to explore which would be a great location for the reasons we want to buy. Appreciate any advise and would like any opinions on Langley and other neighboring communities we should consider. THANKS!

Gardyloo

If you live in Seattle start taking day trips there asap. Also visit on wet days and winter days; it's an hour from Seattle so there's no reason not to know it like the back of your hand before you consider moving there. Langley, Coupeville - plenty of choices, but prices are going up fast, and if Boeing/Everett starts rehiring big time (787, new 777 models) then the south end of the island will be developing rapidly as it's an easy commute on the Mukilteo ferry + bus.

happytrailstoyou

Good advice from Lou. Also, if you are concerned about weather, check out if weather on Whidbey Island differs from the weather in Seattle.

When I returned to this area fifteen years ago, I moved to a town north of Seattle which is in the path of the "convergence zone." When talking on the phone with relatives in Seattle I often found they were basking in sunshine while it was raining in my neighborhood.

jojo7

Interesting weather patterns. Does the weather vary much from the northern and southern part of Whidbey Island? We have much research and planning ahead of us and definitely will be visiting different parts of the island at different times of the year to get a better sense of the area.

happytrailstoyou

This morning I checked average Whidbey Island rainfall on www.worldclimate.com and was surprised to learn that it is only about 20 inches a year.

jojo7

I recently read that Whidbey Island has less rain beginning with Coupeville on southward through Oak Harbor. Boy that is odd since Langley is not really that many miles away from Coupville. Makes you wonder if all these statistics are even true??? Would love to hear from anyone from the island that can confirm any of this info to be true. THANKS!

Fodorite018

Oak Harbor is north of Coupeville, but they basically adjoin. I have not personally lived on the island, but a family member was stationed at Oak Harbor for 7 years. Born and raised in the PNW though, so any rain was never a big deal. The one thing they did have problems with was storms. If a storm came through they always lost power.

We lived N of Seattle and would take day trips over to go sailing, and we learned very quickly to never trust the forecasts.

I am not trying to sway you against Whidbey at all. Actually I love it and think it is a fantastic place. Just wanted to let you know our take on it.

jojo7

Oops, my mistake. I actually did mean to write the northern portion was suppose to get less rain. You are absolutely right on not trusting forecasts but power outages could be a different story. We live just outside Seattle so are use to the rain. I would rather place the emphasis on the right location to enjoy a vacation home which will be a great area to retire than to get too concerned over the weather because it's too unpredictable. Inspite of the rain, the PNW is just beautiful!

Orcas

I have heard it rains a lot less in the northern part of Whidbey Island as it is in the so-called "rain shadow" of the Cascades, where the mountains block the clouds.

Other places in the rain shadow- Sequim, Victoria, and I believe the San Juans and some of the Gulf Islands. I think the area north of Vancouver is called the Sunshine Coast because it's in the rain shadow, as well.

Orcas

Found a good website on the climate zones of Whidbey Island:

http://www.whidbey.net/mvg/whidbey.htm

jojo7

Thanks Orcas for the website. I am going to check it out!

desertgirl

This is for happytrailstoyou: You said in your post that you moved to a town north of Seattle. I love that area and just wondered whereabouts you settled. We have purchased a home in Bellingham with an eye toward retirement, but I am looking at other towns as well.

Rhardy5554

When we moved here in 1991, we chose Vashon over Whidbey - and have never regretted it.

jojo7

Rhardy5554: Would you mind sharing why you like Vashon better than Whidbey?

Rhardy5554

Glad to! Vashon has all the advantages of Seattle (theater, restaurants, etc.)only a 15 minute ferry ride away. On top of it, it's a totally rural atmosphere, unlike what Whidby has become. Don't get me wrong - I like it there to visit, but it's too busy and touristy to live there for us, anyway.

jojo7

Thank you for the info. I think I will have to visit Vashon Island and put it on my list of areas to research!