Zees et al, you should all make aliyah to the Pacific Northwest. I think you would quickly tire of dreary days. I grew up in Vancouver and didn’t anything different than a lot of dreary and rainy days (but at least you don’t have to shovel rain). As much as I love Vancouver, I don’t know if I could live there now. I know that I couldn’t afford to live there now, but finances aside, I think that all the rain would depress me. Where I live it is usually sunny, even when it is bitterly cold. You need sunglasses for driving year round, particularly in the winter when the glare from the sun on the snow can be blinding.