Working in western Washington.

[SpruceGoose]

Hello all, I am looking for any information on the working conditions, woods, climate, etc, along the coast of Washington. I have worked in Montana so feel comfortable with slopes, but I have no experience working in the woods of western Washington and am looking for any info that would help me make a decision on a move from the SE corner of the country to the NW. I loved working in the woods of Montana but do realize western Washington is a lot different than Montana and certainly a world different than the southeast pine flatwoods. 
Thanks! 

[sawguy21]

Welcome!!! What kind of work are you looking for?

[SpruceGoose]

Thanks sawguy21, I'm a field forester and would be doing a lot of cruising until I could hopefully move up the ranks and do other forester work.

[mike_belben]

Talk to skeans

[BaldBob]

Cons: 1.Count on a lot of time wearing rain gear from October to May. 
           2.The Salal and Devils Club can make walking difficult and can make prism cruising extremely difficult.
           3. Getting accurate tree heights can be problematic, especially in closed canopy high site stands.
           4. Measuring DBH of trees over about 20" DBH can be problematic on steep slopes.
           5. Traffic on any major highway within ~50 miles of Seattle, Olympia, or Vancouver can be a real downer.
           6.  Need two pair of good boots - preferably corks - leather for summer & rubber for winter.

Pros:   1 . Beautiful country.
            2. Rarely get snow.
            3. Mild temperatures - rarely above 90 in summer, rarely below 30 in winter.
            4. Scarcity of biting insects -  no chiggers or black flies, few ticks & mosquitoes, but wasps/hornets can be a problem in the fall.
            5. Near zero chance of encountering a poisoness snake.
            6. An abundance of excellent medical facilities.

[SpruceGoose]

Thank you BaldBob for the info!

[quilbilly]

Umm we have plenty of skeeters, maybe not tons but we've got em. There is room for another Forester up here, some differences in timber though I think. If you are independent and pick up small private pieces you're going to get the most variation and headaches. If you work for the state, expect massive amounts of headaches. Timber sales are routinely held up in courts and the tribes are involved in everything. If working for a large private company, work will be more monotonous with 90% of wood planted to Doug fir and most of the lines will be easy to run. Whether or not you are in steep country depends on who you work for. Most of the really steep country is owned by the forest service and therefore untouchable for the most part.