10-23-2011, 10:42 AM
quote:sorry to respond to an older comment, but just saw it.
Originally posted by terracore
"Olympic Penn. of Washington State"
Yeah, I used to think Portland, Oregon was wet too. No comparison to a real rain forest.
The Olympic Peninsula is a true wet wet rain forest. I spent a winter there. There were times that the standing water on the ground was over the tops of my knee high boots doing heavy rain. I'm talking about standing water in the driveway ... we had mushrooms growing on the walls inside the house. All of my clothes got ruined by mildew. It is way easier to adapt to the humidity here! [
]As far as expenses go, I found that there were far more expenses at the beginning, and different types of expenses. Any time you move into a new home, lots of expenses, especially if you are an owner.
After a while, it is just maintenance. If you are the type who doesn't buy much unless something wears out, there's not so much consumption outside the basics.
Every so often you get hit with a big one, like a major car repair or an appliance failing, or even a major home system failing. That happens anywhere, of course.
One thing about living over here is that I no longer have much of an entertainment budget. In California, I went to a lot of events, concerts, movies, museum shows, plays, and ate out more. Here I really don't require much amusement, and the offerings rarely rise to the "OMG I have to see that" level -- especially after being here for some years.