As many of you know, I decided to pack up my life in California back in Fall of 2020 and move to the Pacific Northwest. I had been wanting to move out of California for awhile, mainly because I didn’t love the heat and traffic, but I was so established there between friendships, work, and my house that moving seemed like a lot of work and a little scary. I always heard that once you move out of California, it’s hard to move back, especially if you sell your house. Then in August 2020, Silicon Valley was hit with a huge dry lightning storm that caused some of the biggest fires in California history. For two weeks we had an orange apocalyptic sky with bad AQI that ended up affecting the whole West Coast, with smoke moving across the whole country! Between the fires and the increased amount of summer days over 100*F, I was over the heat and smoke, so I went on a 5 week road trip to Oregon and Washington to see where I would want to live.
For some reason, I never made it to the PNW until 2016, despite living in California most of my life. The guy I was dating that year took me on a vanlife road trip to Oregon and Washington, which is when I discovered how much I liked those two states. I kept visiting and exploring them over the next few years in my RV and enjoying my time there, making them viable choices of where to live next. I also considered moving to the Central Coast of California, somewhere near Pismo Beach. I went on this month-long road trip with another female vanlifer named Cory whom I met at a few vanlife gatherings over the years. She also wanted to leave the Bay Area and move to the PNW. We started the journey on September 24th and worked out way north to Fort Braggg, through the various Redwoods in Northern California, and even stopped at Moonstone Beach.
I originally figured I’d find the perfect beach town in Oregon as I’ve always wanted to live by water. Brookings was a front runner prior to the trip, mainly due to being right at the California border and having a lot of sunny days compared to other oceanside towns. One concern I had though was health care in these small beach towns as they don’t have the same amenities as big cities, which aren’t exactly that close. I did enjoy my time in Harbor and Brookings, but there was a heatwave hitting California and Southern Oregon with 90+* temps that made me reconsider the idea of moving to a place that was still quite hot at the beginning of Fall. I also heard from some newer locals I met who had moved there that finding a house was hard since not much inventory was available. One family had been looking for a year and still hadn’t found a house that was worthwhile. Cory and I decided to drive further north to get away from the heat and continue to see what towns were more favorable.
After a nice stint on the Oregon coast with stops in Bandon, Florence, Coos Bay, Yachats, Newport, Tillamook, Manzanita (another town that topped my list), and Astoria, we worked out way inland along the Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side to Skamokawa for riverside camping, and then even further inland to Graham where Cory had some friends that hosted us with a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier. From there we headed to Alki Beach in West Seattle, but the weather turned gray and misty, plus we spent a restless night along the waterfront due to traffic and noise. Cory needed to get her Roadtrek serviced near Seattle for a few days, so we parted ways and I headed north to Bellingham to visit a friend from high school who always spoke very highly of this small city near the Canadian border.
What I didn’t realize at the time was how this part of the trip would change my life forever. I literally FELL IN LOVE WITH BELLINGHAM! I had the best four days exploring this idyllic bayside city that feels like a big town. There are no high rise buildings, no traffic, lots of parks, waterfront trails, a beautiful waterfall, and the huge 13 miles long Lake Whatcom only 10 minutes from downtown. The weather was sunny and between the bay, the lake, and the mountains, I just felt like I was home. Bellingham has a European feel to it and there are a lot of outdoor activities to enjoy without having to drive far. It’s a haven for hiking, kayaking, paddle-boarding, boating, fishing, mountain biking, and even skiing and snowboarding at Mount Baker. I also took a day trip to Anacortes, which is a charming island town close to the San Juan Islands, and Deception Pass State Park. I hired my friend’s real estate agent with hopes of finding a house with lake or sunset view in the Bellingham vicinity before I left.
After my incredible days in Bellingham, Cory and I met up again and headed south to Bay View State Park for some camping, meeting up with another vanlifer whom I met on Instagram named Cameron. Then after a stop at Snoqualmie Falls, the three of us headed to the Olympic Peninsula to spend a few days in Sequim, known for its lavender, game farm, and lots of water and mountain views. Sequim is a small town of 30K people (if you count the greater surrounding area) and is often referred to as the “Blue Hole” because it is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and stays sunnier than most of the Puget Sound area. There are still some occasional drizzles of rain, but those led to seeing lots of rainbows!! Cory and I met with a real estate agent and got familiar with the different regions of Sequim and I even found a house on sale that appealed to me. I made an offer on it, but was beaten by a much higher cash offer. Turns out one of the founders of Descend on Bend lives in Sequim, so I spent one night at their place enjoying the sunset view and bonding with the family. My days in Sequim were quite lovely, making it my second choice to move to.
Cameron, Cory, and I parted ways after Sequim. Cameron headed to spend time with a friend of his in Port Angeles, Cory headed to Oregon’s wine country, and I headed further west and then south on the Olympic Peninsula to explore Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, and the Hoh Rainforest, all of which are located in the Olympic National Park. It was a wet and rainy few days, therefore, I headed back inland to McMinnville, Oregon, for some wine tasting in sunny warm temps. From there, I worked my way south with a stop in Corvallis for cider tasting, and then west to Highway 101 to take the scenic, mostly ocean-front drive south with quite a few stops in the Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor just north of Brookings. The moment I crossed the border and saw the “Welcome to California” sign, my heart sank, which is when I knew the time for me to move was official — I no longer wanted to live in California.
I got home on October 30, 2020, and packed up the 10% of my belongings I wanted to keep in 2 weeks. I had an estate sale on November 21st. The following week I had friends and acquaintances take whatever they wanted from what was left, and then the weekend after Thanksgiving, I made a Craigslist post for people to grab whatever they wanted from the garage. I had very little left for donation and dump runs, and then my house was cleaned, staged, photographed, and went on the MLS on December 4th. I had so many offers the following day that I went under contract on the 5th. That’s how quick the process was, a little over a month and I no longer owned property in California! The crazy part was that I hadn’t found a house yet in Bellingham nor Sequim, so I started looking for a rental and found one just outside of Bellingham. Then the day after I closed escrow on my California house, this beautiful modern house near Lake Whatcom in Bellingham went on the market. It was everything I ever I wanted style wise, so I bid on it sight unseen, though my Bellingham friend did go look at it for me and gave me his approval. The sellers didn’t want a bidding war so they took my offer and I went under contract with a mid-February close. I was able to stay in the California house I just sold until January 21st, then I stayed at my friend’s ranch until I moved to Washington on February 1, 2021.
That Pacific Northwest vanlife trip was the best decision of my life. Many of my Bay Area friends didn’t understand my urge to pack up and move in such a short time frame, but for me it was the right decision. I just had a gut feeling that I needed to start over somewhere fresh with a healthier lifestyle. Was it a bold move with some risk involved? SURE! But I also knew that if by chance I didn’t love living in Bellingham, I could always move after two years and find another place. I also knew to trust my instincts and they told me that living in Washington was just what I needed. My instincts were right! Turns out I absolutely love where I live, that the Pacific Northwest climate, landscape, scenery, and lifestyle really suit me, and I’ve never looked back. Sometimes I even wish that I moved here when I was younger because I feel so at home now.
I always encourage everyone to FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. Moving can be scary, especially when you’ve lived somewhere most of your life, but moving can also be SO REWARDING! I can honestly say I live a much healthier lifestyle, enjoying nature, exploring new places, camping, hiking, kayaking, spending time outdoors, all things I was not doing in California. The heat and the traffic kept me from exploring and made me lethargic. I can no longer imagine living in a big city. I finally live near water like I’ve always wanted, I even live in the forest. Plus I love that I can be completely immersed in nature feeling like I’m far from civilization within 5 minutes of my house. So if you’re reading this and you’ve been feeling the need to change your life, I encourage you to go for it, even if it seems scary or impossible. You are the the only person that can change your quality of life and make it better. JUST DO IT, take the plunge!
A quick closing note. Cory also ended up finding her retirement place on this caravanning trip. She moved to Florence, OR, about a year after I moved. She’s also super happy with her decision!