Pacific Northwest is the place to be. As the BC and western Washington people have mentioned, we're so fortunate because we have so much in a 2-4 hour drive. For me, that can include the high desert, the beaches, the mountains, the lakes, as well as the ammenties of a bigger city with shopping, theater, etc.

I love the pacific air. Even though I'm about 70 miles inland from the ocean - our air still has that cool, clean, crisp smell that only the ocean can provide. I feel land-locked if I'm in the mid-west.

We endure cloudy, rainy months in the winter, but what we get is well worth it. Trees and shrubs and flowers everywhere A large number of landscaping plants are grown here in the Willamette valley.

One drawback is if you have allergies to mold. With our rain, there is no way around it except to move to central Oregon.