Hello and good morning!

Hi permies,
I'm new here and thought I would introduce myself, I'm Greg and I am very much a newbie to permaculture. My family and I currently reside right outside Washington, DC in Maryland but will be relocating to eastern Washington this summer. I have always been a lover of plants and trees and have been looking to find a way to live more in step with the planet. I became aware of permaculture through a neighbor of mine down the street, he would plant trees all over the neighborhood and asked if he could plant one on my property, I have a bus stop at the front of my house. I told him he could plant the tree and we talked more as I helped him dig a hole. We can fast forward a little to where I discover this "Free 72 Hour PDC by the Regenerative Leadership Institute"... and order Mollison's 'Introduction to Permaculture' and Fukuoka's 'One Straw Revolution'... I hope to take an actual PDC once we get settled some where in WA. But aside from reading as much as I can and talking with others my permaculture actions and projects are relatively limited for now. I have a garden here but due to our house being placed on the market have been 'advised' by our relator to plant flowers... My rain barrel system was deemed 'unsightly' and the hugelmound I was starting to build was called 'the yard waste that needs to be cleaned up'... Anyways, it's nice to be here. I hope to learn and contribute... please and thank you.

Welcome to Permies Greg!

Welcome, Greg.

Howdy Greg, tell that neighbor down the street about us too!

Howdy Greg and welcome!

Where in Eastern Washington are you guys looking to relocate? There are quite a few members from here that are in that area and, depending on location, not that big a drive to events here in Western Montana.

Bill Erickson wrote:Howdy Greg and welcome!

Where in Eastern Washington are you guys looking to relocate? There are quite a few members from here that are in that area and, depending on location, not that big a drive to events here in Western Montana.

Hello Bill and thank you!

We are currently looking at Spokane-Spokane Valley area of Washington. My partner teaches high school english so we'd initially like to be close to her school. We only live 6 miles away from the school she teaches at now and enjoy being close by, so if the situation allows us to we would be happy to do that again. BUT I look forward to exploring the rest of the state, Idaho, Canada and Montana too. We are not set on any one place though, we have places we like but need to do some more homework. We are currently trying to get our home sold here and that is proving to be a challenge. But I've got my eye on the horizon and I am excited about attending some of the events hosted by you nice people and look forward getting to meet some of you face to face.

Greg Boyderman wrote:

Bill Erickson wrote:Howdy Greg and welcome!

Where in Eastern Washington are you guys looking to relocate? There are quite a few members from here that are in that area and, depending on location, not that big a drive to events here in Western Montana.

Hello Bill and thank you!

We are currently looking at Spokane-Spokane Valley area of Washington. My partner teaches high school english so we'd initially like to be close to her school. We only live 6 miles away from the school she teaches at now and enjoy being close by, so if the situation allows us to we would be happy to do that again. BUT I look forward to exploring the rest of the state, Idaho, Canada and Montana too. We are not set on any one place though, we have places we like but need to do some more homework. We are currently trying to get our home sold here and that is proving to be a challenge. But I've got my eye on the horizon and I am excited about attending some of the events hosted by you nice people and look forward getting to meet some of you face to face.

You'll find it quite the change from Maryland - believe me. I consider it extremely crowded then I go there, but I drove through Maryland on my way to Virginia from Albany last year - I was pretty wound up when I finally got to my buddies house. Thankfully it was in the woods and I could breathe a bit.

I was raised in Spokane (all over) and when I go back to visit my mom or siblings/family, it is all I can do not to turn tail and run back home to Montana sometimes. That said, it is a pretty cool place for lots of different reasons, diverse landscapes, wide variation in systems, but the biggest change for you is that it is basically desert dry compared to Maryland. Send me a Purple Mooseage if you want to talk about the place and what you guys are looking to do. Good size chunks of land are still available for decent prices in various areas and others make my eyes bug out (I remember these places from when I was a kid). So it goes.

Hi Greg..

I may be wrong, of course, but I think you'll find rain barrels to be a *feature* if you were to sell your home here in WA, rather than an eyesore.

Have you spent much time in the Spokane area? I'm curious what attracts you there as opposed to, say, western Washington.

B.E. Ward wrote:Hi Greg..

I may be wrong, of course, but I think you'll find rain barrels to be a *feature* if you were to sell your home here in WA, rather than an eyesore.

Have you spent much time in the Spokane area? I'm curious what attracts you there as opposed to, say, western Washington.

Hello B.E. Ward,

I would agree! But my area is really upside-down/backwards... My county bans pitbulls and the city next to mine is cracking down on people keeping chickens on their property. My own town has 'lawn laws' (grasses and 'weeds' must be kept to a maximum height of 4 inches.) making the practice of turning my own property into an edible landscape an uphill battle I am tired of fighting. I tired to grow some mullein and the city came and weed whacked the stalk down while I was away for a few days. I had ignored a letter they sent, thinking I would just hope they would ignore me and go after someone else... Anyways.

We have visited Spokane 4 times in the last year and a half. My partner has a friend from school who lives their and invited us out to visit. We've only been in the spring and winter as our schedules keep up locked up here during the summers. I had never been anywhere in that region of the US and had longed to see any part of Washington. So we went and really enjoyed it! I know Spokane has a bad rap... #spokanesucks...#spokanistan...etc. But I lived in Tucson for almost 4 years and really enjoyed that (except the heat) and everyone harps on Tucson too. I'm not married to Spokane, I don't think the rest of my family is either. I personally see Spokane as a staging ground. I hope to explore the rest of Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon too. I'm very green to the the climate and everything else so I think the plan is to observe and explore for a good 2 or 3 years and then settle and buy. I've owned my own home for almost 14 years and owned rental property, I am okay with not being a landlord or property owner for a bit and not having to deal with the joys of 'ownership'... The PNW seems to be a bastion of permaculture, I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn and observe.

Greg Boyderman wrote:

We have visited Spokane 4 times in the last year and a half. My partner has a friend from school who lives their and invited us out to visit. We've only been in the spring and winter as our schedules keep up locked up here during the summers. I had never been anywhere in that region of the US and had longed to see any part of Washington. So we went and really enjoyed it! I know Spokane has a bad rap... #spokanesucks...#spokanistan...etc. But I lived in Tucson for almost 4 years and really enjoyed that (except the heat) and everyone harps on Tucson too. I'm not married to Spokane, I don't think the rest of my family is either. I personally see Spokane as a staging ground. I hope to explore the rest of Washington, Northern Idaho and Oregon too. I'm very green to the the climate and everything else so I think the plan is to observe and explore for a good 2 or 3 years and then settle and buy. I've owned my own home for almost 14 years and owned rental property, I am okay with not being a landlord or property owner for a bit and not having to deal with the joys of 'ownership'... The PNW seems to be a bastion of permaculture, I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn and observe.

I'm not very familiar with the Spokane area myself, though I have friends that moved there not too long ago. They went in with really low expectations, but have been pleasantly surprised with the culture they've found there. Coeur D'Alene stretching up to Lake Pend Oreille looks like a beautiful area, too.

I've lived in the Puget Sound area for 9 years now, and generally like it a lot, but the cost of living is tough (and getting tougher), and the lack of sun for a good chunk of the year is annoying. Knowing what I know now, I think if I had a 'blank slate' to start with and build something permaculture-y I would go out to the Olympic Peninsula.. particularly around Sequim (pronounced Squim, with a missing e). It's got a lovely mini-climate, but not nearly as expensive as the lovely mini-climate of the San Juan Islands. Though I'm sure after 2-3 years of wandering around the area you'll have a really good idea of where you feel is the best fit!