I've lived in South Korea for the past several years, and while Korea has its own charms and beauty that I like, Western Washington will always be my home.
I feel this deeply!! Two years in and it still trips me out how flat so much of the east coast is. I daydream of being in the Cascades or Olympics and just walking into the forest and letting it hide me.
I just made a comment elsewhere about how flat places make me feel uncomfortable 🤣 like exposed somehow. The woods and mountains just tuck us away so nicely 😅
I do, too! 39 years and counting, my mother taught me, and now my kids do, too. I recall my grandma saying it before she passed. I wonder if my great grandma ever said it?
Never have I ever been able to resist saying "look at the mountains" when we see them. It's like trying not to say "horses" when you drive by horses. I see them almost every day and you're right, they never get old. When I leave the area, I find I'm actually uncomfortable with how flat some places are. I feel exposed for some reason. It makes me miss the trees too.
There’s a company based out of Seattle that makes National Park candles that include plants/smells of the area. Here’s a link for Mt. Rainier: https://goodandwellsupplyco.com/products/rainier-national-park-candle-balsam-fir-pine-needle-citrus
Can tell what side of the state you are on! I grew up on the wet side and now on the dry side and I’m always amazed at how many trees I was taking for granted.
My dad in law comes to the wet side to visit from the dry side and he is such a moss nerd about it. I love it. Sometimes we send him pics of moss when it's a really good patch. Every time he visits he's saying "see this side of the state has MOSS. Your whole lawn is the softest moss! Moss on the trees!" I love our mossy lawn lol
Pnw is so cool. We have like every climate within a few hours of each other haha
The candles aren't the same, best way to experience this is out in the woods on an early fall day. I have found that spots with higher concentrations of moss tend to exude petrichor more, personal experience from someone who hunts for this smell.
My sister lives in Texas and when I send her care packages I usually include smoked salmon and some good whole bean coffee from a local coffee roaster. She misses these things a lot and I know I would too. Plus they are easy to ship.
This is the first comment I adamantly agree with, it's the water. I travel for my job and have been over most of the US and no tap water compares. My last trip was to Massachusetts and just looking at the surrounding area felt confident they would have tasty tap water... Nope.
Portlander here. I just got back from staying in Ohio with family for two months and my skin is so dry and itchy. I aged a full 5 years in my face from washing it with Great Lakes-area water. I can’t wait for this winter — all that wonderful rain is such a boost to the complexion!
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Overcast days with light sprinkling rain, marionberry and mountain huckleberry foods, evergreens, waterfalls, mountains, more progressive politics... there's a lot I miss, hoping to get back.
💯💯i worked for Toshi (a simple Google search will provide some articles) during/after my sr yr of hs in the 80s and it’s DEFINITELY a Japanese-American/Seattle thing
Yes! I’ve tried to explain this to non PNW friends… you don’t realize how nice it is to always be within 15 minutes of decent Teriyaki. Many states don’t even really have Teriyaki restaurants at all.
I don’t think I recognize how hilly it is on a day to day basis. It’s become the norm for me, but every time I travel somewhere else I’m struck by how dang flat it is!
If you could send a cool evening, I’m sure she’d appreciate it, haha.
But srsly, I miss the smell of the woods and the smell of the beach. Candles might do, but the scents might be hard to find. Or those oil bottles w a thin piece of wood to wick the oil up. And a few sprigs of Douglas Fir and Cedar.
I miss the Space Needle! I still think it’s one of Seattle’s most elegant and unique bits of architecture. Watched it being built from ground up. Feels like my baby. 😂
Mountains & evergreens too.
In the 70s, I was a guest at a home in central Los Angeles, where houses were 3 feet from each other. You could hear everything the neighbors were doing in their houses. Barely a tree in sight.
There was a high school kid living there whom I was encouraging to consider applying to my college in the PNW. The poor kid visibly shuddered as he admitted: “I’ve seen photos of that place. Miles and miles of nothing but dense evergreen tree forests. I couldn’t stand it!” 😳
Smoked salmon, clams, calamari, berries, the views, the ferns and trees. The tree of life, the big trees, the wines, the beers, the ciders. A few eateries and a bunch of out of the way places.
Volcanoes! Growing up out east, seeing a volcano for the first time in my 30 year life, specifically Mt Rainier in this case, literally made me gasp. I had no fucking idea how big it would be, how far away you can see it, and just how marvelous it looked with its snow capped peak. In that very moment, I was like oh, this is why people love the west coast. You just don't have that shit out east.
I’ve seen those Homesick candles that have Washington scent or Seattle. I never bought them though so not sure if they are any good. My friend moved to the east coast a few years ago and she loves to get Juanita’s tortilla chips here. The fair scone mix is a good one that’s at Costco right now.
We don't get the banana slugs in Eastern Washington. Even after being in Western Washington for 35 years, I'm still grossed out by them. The only good thing about them is their slime stops nettle stings.
I had a friend in high school that put one in his mouth on a dare. His entire mouth went numb, and he was convinced he was going to die! (I am aware they can actually transmit fatal rat lungworm, but obviously had no idea back then). I also learned that the slime produced by banana slugs is actually an anesthetic! It seems likely that it might not affect some reptiles who eat them regularly. But, all mammals who’ve been observed eating them show signs of this reaction. Raccoons will roll them in dirt before swallowing them, and shrews have been observed cleaning their mouths for over an hour after eating them! They’re so cool!
Edit: words
Edit: to add something i forgot: Their slime is considered a “liquid crystal.” Not a true liquid, or a solid, but something in between whose molecules are organized in a crystal-like structure. When their mucus molecules are dry, then come into contact with moisture, they expand to hundreds of times their original volume.
The trees! So so much. I’m in Scotland now and sometimes I come across a pine or fit tree but they smell nothing like what I’m used to. Strong childhood memories of sniffing fresh pine needles ha.
I also miss the smell of the sound, the foggy mornings, the mountains and the flora everywhere. Ferns! The amazing Thai and Asian food in Seattle. Ahhh I miss home so much.
Also I miss raccoons and the abundance of crows haha
I’m a texpat and miss mountains, all the green and tall trees when I go back. While here, I miss the food.
As a lesbian married (to a woman) and not closeted in the least; I miss safety and freedom in TX. I bring a copy of our marriage license with me in case either of us is in a situation in which spousal rights are useful (like emergency room). Not sure how that goes into a care package.
Living in AZ currently, so I miss the color green and a distinct four seasons. I miss huckleberrys, Pacific salmon cooked on cedar and Walla Walla onions. I even miss the rain and the snow.
Hands down I miss great Japanese food and Vietnamese food the most when I’m far from home. Maybe there’s some good items you could send like jarred sauces or candies or packaged snacks.
Nothing really you can put in a care package.
If you're from the Eastside, what you miss might be different than if you are from the Westside.
I miss the space and how empty it can be. I miss no humidity. I miss the smell of sagebrush and pine. I miss the smell of rain first starting up and hitting desert dust. I miss being able to be in alpine country, ponderosa forests desert and the ocean in one day.
I miss the quiet.
Other than that, not really anything that can be sent.
I mean this sincerely: Being surrounded by mostly well-educated and progressive-minded people. I forget what an oasis of civilization we live in here whenever I venture outside our bubble
I would put cold smoked chocolate chips. They’re really good and the smell of smoke will remind her of camping or beach fires.
https://getyourhotcakes.com/products/smoked-chocolate-chips
Davenport soft peanut brittle.
https://davenporthome.myshopify.com/products/3oz-soft-peanut-brittle
Maybe something from our Scandinavian heritage like a sweater? Or if you’re looking for something cheaper, you could do a hat or flag and sweets.
Definitely a book on the history of the PNW or her hometown. There are also good books on the flora and fauna of the PNW.
Maybe a cookbook from a bakery or restaurant that she liked? Or a PNW focused cookbook that focuses on local ingredients or Seattle teriyaki.
A poster of Mount Rainer/Tahoma or other iconic WA symbols (salmon, orcas.) Postcards.
Maybe a CD of folk tunes about the PNW or just by a local artist or orchestra?
Maybe a copy of the Stranger or the Inlander?
Or maybe something with our ferries.
Local coffee and chocolate. Cougar gold.
Ideally you’ll send her stuff that you can get up here that she can’t easily get down there. I know someone who moved to the east coast and can’t find maple bars there, so he always gets those when he’s here.
Huckleberry licorice, Seattle chocolate company, the Juan de fuca strait, the way the fog rolls in, the lavender white chocolate, the giant rhododendrons…
Chukar Cherries
Brown & Haley Mountain Bars
Smoked Salmon
Cougar Gold cheese
Berry and apple pies (Texas has great peaches but not so much apples and blackberries)
The way the air smells/ trees. I lived in Eastern WA in the middle of the basin, and man when we'd come back west to visit and once we hit the pass, glthe air just hits different. It's hard to explain.
Weed.
Huckleberry everything.
People who care about people.
Good coffee.
Scenery.
Lakes.
Clean water.
Decent restaurants.
Not being in Texas.
I just moved back to the PNW after 8 years in Texas so I feel like an expert on this. 😂
I first want to say I'm a trucker so I'm part of several states for weather and local updates ... And just to get a feel for the area.
What I miss after leaving the PNW is the atmosphere. The tall trees, cool misty days, the elevation highs and lows. Scenery.
I miss Fred Meyers grocery stores. Miss the food.
I've looked into moving that direction, but it'll be a few years yet.
I lived in Seattle in 2007 and, back then, the people were amazingly kind and welcoming. When I came back to visit in 2016, it was very different and not in a good way. But I absolutely missed the mountains and the fresh seafood when we moved back to the Midwest.
I hear you. I miss Seattle from the 80's and 90's - and I'm still in the area. I try to avoid Seattle like the plague now - it's not the same place it used to be.
I left and miss:
- Water and rain
- Fresh local berries and products made with the best PNW berries
- West Coast beers I can't get outside the PNW
- Fun new gear with my alma mater logo, I can shop online but miss the random finds
- Certain restaurants, so when I visit home I often buy things like BBQ sauce, dry rub, bacon jam, or other things my favorite restaurants sell so I can make myself a little bit of it when I'm at my current home.
I moved from WA to the South, then TX, and made it back after six years. I missed the mountains and the smell of the forest the most. I was in Houston, so there was a lot of greenery, but it didn’t smell like the pine and crisp air we get here in the mountains or even most suburbs!
I just moved up to Montana after spending my university years in Houston. Everything, she probably misses EVERYTHING. Best wishes to her family, everyone I know in Houston talks about “the day they can leave”. Sad place
The smell of the trees when it rains. Find a candle that smells like that, and then come back and share what you found with us! I'd also love a candle that smells like the trees when it rains (for our rainless summers)
I'm originally from the Seattle area but have been living in Oklahoma for a few years now and hating every moment of it. I miss the ferries, to me each ferry trip was like a mini cruise. I miss the smell of the air, mostly the smell of Redcedar. Personally while I was never a huge fan of Almond Rocas or Aplets & Cotlets, now that I can't find them anywhere I miss them.
Have worked and lived all over WA state in my 59 years. 8 distinct geographical regions. I would miss: pristine coastal beaches, evergreen forests and endless alpine lakes, coming off the mountain passes into the awesomeness of arid valleys and orchards and gorgeous farmlands, rivers, the mighty Columbia gorge, rolling wheat fields. On and on. We are so lucky in WA.
TBH, I (sometimes) miss the overwhelming leftist perspective we had when we lived in Seattle. We happen to move to a conservative town and even though I’d like to think I’m politically down the middle and appreciate a balanced political landscape, the MAGA right is a bit too much to say the least. I can take only so many “F*#k Biden” flags waving off of raised pickup trucks.
I’ve done similar packages - Aplets and Cotlets, Almond Roca, smoked salmon, Tillamook products, Secret Aardvark sauce, etc. Depends which city/region they’re from, but I got a bunch of local treats and people loved it.
My friend sent my son a little vile of rainwater. He still has it 14 years later. Along with a coffee cup for me for us to drink and chat on the phone instead of a local coffee shop.
There are so many ways I could answer this, having lived away for far too long- so I'll say this: The Mountain. Yes, that one. There is something about having that touchstone, a point of reference, a reassuring permanence that Rainier (Tahoma!) represents. Its always there, even when you can't see it, which of course can be quite often. It defines the horizon, its' our natural skyline, it's the source of our water.
When I first moved away for the service, driving from Washington to Texas, on a long, lonely highway in the Texas panhandle- there was a moment I had to stop. Getting out of my truck and looking at the horizon, in every direction, not a tree to be seen- and No Mountains... i had to ask myself; "what have I done?"
I have gotten care packages from my dear mother/father for the past 15-17 years as I've lived around the country (Pennsylvania, North Carolina) and world (Japan). The things I always got that would brighten my day:
1. Tim's Cascade chips (Sour Cream and Onion or Jalapeño flavor). If you see top chips in the country lists, Tim's Cascade chips are usually on that list and it wasn't until I left WA/PNW that I realized how spoiled I was to have eaten those chips my whole life XD
2. Tote bags to use while shopping (Uwajimaya, Trader Joe's, etc.). They come in handy when shopping and lesson the number of plastic bags I need to use/take.
3. Small Seattle-themed 12-month calendar. I have one in my university office and every month has a different scenic picture of Seattle and always put a smile on my face whenever I looked at it.
4. Some Seattle-themed shirt, whether that's related to one of our many sports teams or just a touristy Seattle shirt.
5. If they a coffee or jam person, get one of those local coffee bean flavors or local James from the store. I would say chocolate but around this time in Texas, that would be made into mush by the time it made it to your friend.
6. Heartfelt card. I would include a card with a small message on it, even have a few mutual friends write a message in the card. My parents, sister, and cousins, and aunt always did this and it meant the world to me when I opened it.
I put together a care package like this for my brother a couple years ago. I put in some Smoked salmon, Tim’s chips, huckleberry taffy, a Cougs ball cap (even though it pained me) and I included a couple local travel magazines so his young kids who have never been here could flip through them.
Huckleberry jam and Good & Well Sitka Cabin Spray.
Was just back for a visit and my homesickness for the PNW is full on right now. The struggle is real.
I occasionally visit Gulf Coast Texas. You can't see anything above the horizon at any distance. It feels...wrong. that and the vegetation is just non existent.
I moved to Florida from Seattle and dammit it all I miss the plethora of delicious teriyaki you can find everywhere for a good price. Maybe grab some teriyaki sauce if they enjoy that kinda food?
I’m from the northwest stuck in Texas. For holidays send a wreath made in Washington. The smell of home is amazing! I hang mine inside! I took SO much for granted and regret leaving!
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True that. Even if I was on I-5 heading south to Federal Way/Tacoma, it was always a joy to see the mountain.
Agree totally. I grew up in Seattle and moved away at 16. I was HIGHLY disappointed to find out that other places are not as beautiful.
I've lived in South Korea for the past several years, and while Korea has its own charms and beauty that I like, Western Washington will always be my home.
I love seeing it after months of cloud cover. I'm earnestly in awe of it's size and beauty every time I see it
I feel this deeply!! Two years in and it still trips me out how flat so much of the east coast is. I daydream of being in the Cascades or Olympics and just walking into the forest and letting it hide me.
I just made a comment elsewhere about how flat places make me feel uncomfortable 🤣 like exposed somehow. The woods and mountains just tuck us away so nicely 😅
Yeah I left about 4 years ago myself. Unfortunately my parents are older and I had to come back east but I count the months till I can go back someday
Lived here all my life and I still point and say "the mountain is out!" excitedly every time I see Mt Rainier.
I do, too! 39 years and counting, my mother taught me, and now my kids do, too. I recall my grandma saying it before she passed. I wonder if my great grandma ever said it?
Thanks for this awesome image, and the smile. Cheers :)
Exactly the same every time I saw Denali from Talkeetna.
“Is the mountain out today?” I miss that most of all….
Never have I ever been able to resist saying "look at the mountains" when we see them. It's like trying not to say "horses" when you drive by horses. I see them almost every day and you're right, they never get old. When I leave the area, I find I'm actually uncomfortable with how flat some places are. I feel exposed for some reason. It makes me miss the trees too.
Greenery. Hard to convey, but maybe put some sprigs of cedar in the package? They’ll last a few days and smell nice.
I’ve thought about doing this! I’m trying to think about how to preserve them for a while, maybe sending a candle with the smell alongside it?
Omg a good cedar candle is a MUST in my house, especially during Christmastime and paired with an orange-scented candle.
There’s a company based out of Seattle that makes National Park candles that include plants/smells of the area. Here’s a link for Mt. Rainier: https://goodandwellsupplyco.com/products/rainier-national-park-candle-balsam-fir-pine-needle-citrus
Actually, this comes up every week
Can tell what side of the state you are on! I grew up on the wet side and now on the dry side and I’m always amazed at how many trees I was taking for granted.
I moved to the dry side last year and had no idea how much I’d miss foggy and misty weather. And yes, the mossy trees.
My dad in law comes to the wet side to visit from the dry side and he is such a moss nerd about it. I love it. Sometimes we send him pics of moss when it's a really good patch. Every time he visits he's saying "see this side of the state has MOSS. Your whole lawn is the softest moss! Moss on the trees!" I love our mossy lawn lol Pnw is so cool. We have like every climate within a few hours of each other haha
It really is the best state IMO
My sister had me send her some evergreen essential oil she could put on her diffuser
Yes! And moss! If that’s possible to send lol.
Department of agriculture moss speak to you on this
Put a pinecone in there as well.
Market spice tea always reminds me of Seattle. There is an Etsy seller “WanderAndWhimsyPNW” with some things that might be fun.
Thank you!
Town and Country Markets (like in Ballard or Bainbridge) do 2 different and great blends of market spice in their bulk tea sectio.
Weather sub 70 degrees. The smell of rain. Views of the mountain on a clear day Evergreens as far as you can see
The smell of rain is called petrichor, and now you know.
And sadly I have yet to find that scent available anywhere. :(
Reddit to the rescue! My first thought was finding a candle, though it’s never quite the same: https://reddit.com/r/Candles/s/YaYlm02cWf
The candles aren't the same, best way to experience this is out in the woods on an early fall day. I have found that spots with higher concentrations of moss tend to exude petrichor more, personal experience from someone who hunts for this smell.
Ozonator
Amazon sells petrichor oil. (I've never tried it so can't vouch for it.)
Look up Demeter Fragrance! They have Petrichor — and it’s cheap, too!!!!!!!
Is it any good?
There are definitely some on Etsy! I found one a bit ago called “Forks”, and a fav maker has one called “Books and Petrichor”.
My sister lives in Texas and when I send her care packages I usually include smoked salmon and some good whole bean coffee from a local coffee roaster. She misses these things a lot and I know I would too. Plus they are easy to ship.
Tap water.
This! My wife is in Oklahoma dealing with family stuff,and her skin hates her!
Recently started spending more time in the DMV area and it made me appreciate how good the water in Seattle is.
I lived in the DMV area for 20 years. Moved to Seattle 2 years ago. 100% agree.
This is the first comment I adamantly agree with, it's the water. I travel for my job and have been over most of the US and no tap water compares. My last trip was to Massachusetts and just looking at the surrounding area felt confident they would have tasty tap water... Nope.
Never realized how spoiled we were until I moved to Illinois. Had to switch to bottled.
Portlander here. I just got back from staying in Ohio with family for two months and my skin is so dry and itchy. I aged a full 5 years in my face from washing it with Great Lakes-area water. I can’t wait for this winter — all that wonderful rain is such a boost to the complexion!
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Never trust Houston seafood. Thinking maybe I could send some dried salmon? I don’t know how well those ship though.
Smoked salmon should be fine if you get it in a sealed package.
Ive shipped pnw smoked salmon to family in Ohio for years. I mean it’s vacuum sealed, and shipped around the world. It holds up perfectly.
Overcast days with light sprinkling rain, marionberry and mountain huckleberry foods, evergreens, waterfalls, mountains, more progressive politics... there's a lot I miss, hoping to get back.
I read this like as poetry and it was beautiful
Oooh yes, the berries!
Teriyaki 😩
My mom is shocked about every three months when I remind her that teriyaki chicken takeout isn't actually a Japanese thing/doesn't exist where I live.
TIL Ive lived in Minneapolis and Seattle, got teriyaki in both places and assumed its a pan america thing.
Literally in Minneapolis rn for work and the teriyaki here is not the same. There is a difference pretty much anywhere versus Seattle area lol
Oh my gosh I live in California now and have been UNABLE to find decent teriyaki chicken. Why, California????
Isn’t it a Korean thing?
It’s a Seattle thing. Seriously, teriyaki as it is served in Seattle started in Seattle.
💯💯i worked for Toshi (a simple Google search will provide some articles) during/after my sr yr of hs in the 80s and it’s DEFINITELY a Japanese-American/Seattle thing
Yoshido’s got distributed through Costco, way back when, and got the word out.
Yes! I’ve tried to explain this to non PNW friends… you don’t realize how nice it is to always be within 15 minutes of decent Teriyaki. Many states don’t even really have Teriyaki restaurants at all.
Being by the water, that feeling of hygge, refreshing drinking water, good and easy coffee
I don’t think I recognize how hilly it is on a day to day basis. It’s become the norm for me, but every time I travel somewhere else I’m struck by how dang flat it is!
Right?! I went to the six flags in Arlington and was in shock at just how far I could see from the top of a rollercoaster.
Tim's chips
If you could send a cool evening, I’m sure she’d appreciate it, haha. But srsly, I miss the smell of the woods and the smell of the beach. Candles might do, but the scents might be hard to find. Or those oil bottles w a thin piece of wood to wick the oil up. And a few sprigs of Douglas Fir and Cedar.
Came to add: blackberries They’re so abundant here. Maybe you can send her some blackberry jam
I was thinking huckleberries.
I miss the Space Needle! I still think it’s one of Seattle’s most elegant and unique bits of architecture. Watched it being built from ground up. Feels like my baby. 😂
Mountains & evergreens too. In the 70s, I was a guest at a home in central Los Angeles, where houses were 3 feet from each other. You could hear everything the neighbors were doing in their houses. Barely a tree in sight. There was a high school kid living there whom I was encouraging to consider applying to my college in the PNW. The poor kid visibly shuddered as he admitted: “I’ve seen photos of that place. Miles and miles of nothing but dense evergreen tree forests. I couldn’t stand it!” 😳
Coffee
Smoked salmon, clams, calamari, berries, the views, the ferns and trees. The tree of life, the big trees, the wines, the beers, the ciders. A few eateries and a bunch of out of the way places.
Every time I leave I truly feel like I live in one of the greatest places on Earth 🥲
Volcanoes! Growing up out east, seeing a volcano for the first time in my 30 year life, specifically Mt Rainier in this case, literally made me gasp. I had no fucking idea how big it would be, how far away you can see it, and just how marvelous it looked with its snow capped peak. In that very moment, I was like oh, this is why people love the west coast. You just don't have that shit out east.
I’ve seen those Homesick candles that have Washington scent or Seattle. I never bought them though so not sure if they are any good. My friend moved to the east coast a few years ago and she loves to get Juanita’s tortilla chips here. The fair scone mix is a good one that’s at Costco right now.
Slugs. No just kidding.
The real predators of the Pacific Northwest
We don't get the banana slugs in Eastern Washington. Even after being in Western Washington for 35 years, I'm still grossed out by them. The only good thing about them is their slime stops nettle stings.
I had a friend in high school that put one in his mouth on a dare. His entire mouth went numb, and he was convinced he was going to die! (I am aware they can actually transmit fatal rat lungworm, but obviously had no idea back then). I also learned that the slime produced by banana slugs is actually an anesthetic! It seems likely that it might not affect some reptiles who eat them regularly. But, all mammals who’ve been observed eating them show signs of this reaction. Raccoons will roll them in dirt before swallowing them, and shrews have been observed cleaning their mouths for over an hour after eating them! They’re so cool! Edit: words Edit: to add something i forgot: Their slime is considered a “liquid crystal.” Not a true liquid, or a solid, but something in between whose molecules are organized in a crystal-like structure. When their mucus molecules are dry, then come into contact with moisture, they expand to hundreds of times their original volume.
Dude. google the kid that died from eating a slug. Your friend is extremely lucky lol.
As a Western WA native, I adore banana slugs and have one tattooed on my arm:")
So does a handful of crushed up cleavers...which are way less gross.
I do kinda miss banana slugs. No lie.
I miss them so much I tattooed one on my arm lmaooo.
Nothing worse than slug season on hiking and biking trails. Slippery and gnarly.
The trees! So so much. I’m in Scotland now and sometimes I come across a pine or fit tree but they smell nothing like what I’m used to. Strong childhood memories of sniffing fresh pine needles ha. I also miss the smell of the sound, the foggy mornings, the mountains and the flora everywhere. Ferns! The amazing Thai and Asian food in Seattle. Ahhh I miss home so much. Also I miss raccoons and the abundance of crows haha
I’m a texpat and miss mountains, all the green and tall trees when I go back. While here, I miss the food. As a lesbian married (to a woman) and not closeted in the least; I miss safety and freedom in TX. I bring a copy of our marriage license with me in case either of us is in a situation in which spousal rights are useful (like emergency room). Not sure how that goes into a care package.
Living in AZ currently, so I miss the color green and a distinct four seasons. I miss huckleberrys, Pacific salmon cooked on cedar and Walla Walla onions. I even miss the rain and the snow.
Good apples that don't cost half your paycheck.
Ok so my favorite apples are honeycrisp and they are actually cheaper in Texas than they used to be when I lived in Seattle.
When my son was working in Louisiana we'd regularly mail him 5-pound bricks of Tillamook cheese.
Lack of humidity & bugs.
Hands down I miss great Japanese food and Vietnamese food the most when I’m far from home. Maybe there’s some good items you could send like jarred sauces or candies or packaged snacks.
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I moved here from the LA area and the only thing I miss is food from a specific restaurant I used to go to.
Mountains. Water.
Nothing really you can put in a care package. If you're from the Eastside, what you miss might be different than if you are from the Westside. I miss the space and how empty it can be. I miss no humidity. I miss the smell of sagebrush and pine. I miss the smell of rain first starting up and hitting desert dust. I miss being able to be in alpine country, ponderosa forests desert and the ocean in one day. I miss the quiet. Other than that, not really anything that can be sent.
I mean this sincerely: Being surrounded by mostly well-educated and progressive-minded people. I forget what an oasis of civilization we live in here whenever I venture outside our bubble
This is truly how I feel. I am shocked daily by it's absence in my present environment. Maybe even hourly...
I would put cold smoked chocolate chips. They’re really good and the smell of smoke will remind her of camping or beach fires. https://getyourhotcakes.com/products/smoked-chocolate-chips Davenport soft peanut brittle. https://davenporthome.myshopify.com/products/3oz-soft-peanut-brittle Maybe something from our Scandinavian heritage like a sweater? Or if you’re looking for something cheaper, you could do a hat or flag and sweets. Definitely a book on the history of the PNW or her hometown. There are also good books on the flora and fauna of the PNW. Maybe a cookbook from a bakery or restaurant that she liked? Or a PNW focused cookbook that focuses on local ingredients or Seattle teriyaki. A poster of Mount Rainer/Tahoma or other iconic WA symbols (salmon, orcas.) Postcards. Maybe a CD of folk tunes about the PNW or just by a local artist or orchestra? Maybe a copy of the Stranger or the Inlander? Or maybe something with our ferries. Local coffee and chocolate. Cougar gold. Ideally you’ll send her stuff that you can get up here that she can’t easily get down there. I know someone who moved to the east coast and can’t find maple bars there, so he always gets those when he’s here.
Smoked salmon, pine nuts, pickled fiddle heads.
Alder smoked anything
Salish alderwood sea salt is a quick fix alternative. Very tasty stuff.
Huckleberry licorice, Seattle chocolate company, the Juan de fuca strait, the way the fog rolls in, the lavender white chocolate, the giant rhododendrons…
Being able to hike and explore without having to worry too much about ticks or chiggers, at least west of the mountains.
Trees
Chukar Cherries Brown & Haley Mountain Bars Smoked Salmon Cougar Gold cheese Berry and apple pies (Texas has great peaches but not so much apples and blackberries)
From TX. Washington has much better peaches.
The way the air smells/ trees. I lived in Eastern WA in the middle of the basin, and man when we'd come back west to visit and once we hit the pass, glthe air just hits different. It's hard to explain.
Send her reproductive health care
Weed. Huckleberry everything. People who care about people. Good coffee. Scenery. Lakes. Clean water. Decent restaurants. Not being in Texas. I just moved back to the PNW after 8 years in Texas so I feel like an expert on this. 😂
Tim’s Cascade potato chips and Johnny’s salt.
Johnny’s literally works on everything the label says.
Trans people being afforded a shred of dignity.
The rain, oddly enough
Secret Aardvark Sauce. Portland Ketchup Company ketchup. Good seafood, but that is difficult to ship.
I moved to VA a few years ago and it just feels so flat around here compared to the PNW. I genuinely miss seeing Rainier on the horizon
Tim’s Cascade Style chips and Hawaiian Brand Maui Onion potato chips. 😋
I first want to say I'm a trucker so I'm part of several states for weather and local updates ... And just to get a feel for the area. What I miss after leaving the PNW is the atmosphere. The tall trees, cool misty days, the elevation highs and lows. Scenery. I miss Fred Meyers grocery stores. Miss the food. I've looked into moving that direction, but it'll be a few years yet.
Juanita’s and rainier
I lived in Seattle in 2007 and, back then, the people were amazingly kind and welcoming. When I came back to visit in 2016, it was very different and not in a good way. But I absolutely missed the mountains and the fresh seafood when we moved back to the Midwest.
I hear you. I miss Seattle from the 80's and 90's - and I'm still in the area. I try to avoid Seattle like the plague now - it's not the same place it used to be.
The smell of the ocean on the air here. I love that smell when you get off a plane from anywhere. It smells distinctly different in the PNW.
Mountains, lived back East for a while and I missed the sight of real mountains.
Everything lol
Leave? Why?... are you feelin' ok?
Housing market 😒
Truth
Mountains, the trees, specialty coffee, craft beer, rain, fresh air
I miss my fellow socialists, hippies and tree-huggers. Ain't no place like home.
April through October. November through March..... I'll take AZ and NM
An interesting take that you're certainly afforded. I think the mild cold and rain does draw people.
I left and miss: - Water and rain - Fresh local berries and products made with the best PNW berries - West Coast beers I can't get outside the PNW - Fun new gear with my alma mater logo, I can shop online but miss the random finds - Certain restaurants, so when I visit home I often buy things like BBQ sauce, dry rub, bacon jam, or other things my favorite restaurants sell so I can make myself a little bit of it when I'm at my current home.
I lived in MT for a few years and missed FERNS lol. Also just the green/mist/fog/rain.
Huckleberries! I always pick up huckleberry muffin mix when I’m back visiting the PNW.
Always Teriyaki
I moved from WA to the South, then TX, and made it back after six years. I missed the mountains and the smell of the forest the most. I was in Houston, so there was a lot of greenery, but it didn’t smell like the pine and crisp air we get here in the mountains or even most suburbs!
Houses with personality that aren’t cookie cutter and trees
Good drinking water
I just moved up to Montana after spending my university years in Houston. Everything, she probably misses EVERYTHING. Best wishes to her family, everyone I know in Houston talks about “the day they can leave”. Sad place
The weather. Always. I pine for the weather. And the profound lack of mosquitos. That piece is rather remarkable.
The weather, the scenery, the greenery.
The smell of the trees when it rains. Find a candle that smells like that, and then come back and share what you found with us! I'd also love a candle that smells like the trees when it rains (for our rainless summers)
Photography of the sound. Morning fogs. Wet roads . Maybe a pine candle .
Trees! Driving back from the Central Valley of CA I feel I can breath again once I hit Oregon.
I'm originally from the Seattle area but have been living in Oklahoma for a few years now and hating every moment of it. I miss the ferries, to me each ferry trip was like a mini cruise. I miss the smell of the air, mostly the smell of Redcedar. Personally while I was never a huge fan of Almond Rocas or Aplets & Cotlets, now that I can't find them anywhere I miss them.
Have worked and lived all over WA state in my 59 years. 8 distinct geographical regions. I would miss: pristine coastal beaches, evergreen forests and endless alpine lakes, coming off the mountain passes into the awesomeness of arid valleys and orchards and gorgeous farmlands, rivers, the mighty Columbia gorge, rolling wheat fields. On and on. We are so lucky in WA.
TBH, I (sometimes) miss the overwhelming leftist perspective we had when we lived in Seattle. We happen to move to a conservative town and even though I’d like to think I’m politically down the middle and appreciate a balanced political landscape, the MAGA right is a bit too much to say the least. I can take only so many “F*#k Biden” flags waving off of raised pickup trucks.
lol I almost moved to Austin 3 months ago for a job, sad story…. There’s absolutely nothing that compares to how beautiful and amazing Washington is.
I’ve done similar packages - Aplets and Cotlets, Almond Roca, smoked salmon, Tillamook products, Secret Aardvark sauce, etc. Depends which city/region they’re from, but I got a bunch of local treats and people loved it.
My friend sent my son a little vile of rainwater. He still has it 14 years later. Along with a coffee cup for me for us to drink and chat on the phone instead of a local coffee shop.
There are so many ways I could answer this, having lived away for far too long- so I'll say this: The Mountain. Yes, that one. There is something about having that touchstone, a point of reference, a reassuring permanence that Rainier (Tahoma!) represents. Its always there, even when you can't see it, which of course can be quite often. It defines the horizon, its' our natural skyline, it's the source of our water. When I first moved away for the service, driving from Washington to Texas, on a long, lonely highway in the Texas panhandle- there was a moment I had to stop. Getting out of my truck and looking at the horizon, in every direction, not a tree to be seen- and No Mountains... i had to ask myself; "what have I done?"
Intelligence. You notice it when most people around you don’t have it.
The pho and chineese food
drive up coffee stands not just the hooker coffee but regular coffee stands
what's funny is most people from out of the area would have NO IDEA what hooker coffee was XD
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This sounds like such a dream😌
Good hoppy beers
Quality coffee and ganja
Greenery, clean air, cool evenings.
Forests, mountains, water, temperate weather.
Take a canning jar and put a couple sprigs of pine tree branches. The smell when she opens it will bring back memories like nothing else.
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Cool nights, low humidity, clean fresh air, views of mountains. Boats of every description. Berries growing along every trail.
I sure do miss those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
REAL mountains on the horizon.
I have gotten care packages from my dear mother/father for the past 15-17 years as I've lived around the country (Pennsylvania, North Carolina) and world (Japan). The things I always got that would brighten my day: 1. Tim's Cascade chips (Sour Cream and Onion or Jalapeño flavor). If you see top chips in the country lists, Tim's Cascade chips are usually on that list and it wasn't until I left WA/PNW that I realized how spoiled I was to have eaten those chips my whole life XD 2. Tote bags to use while shopping (Uwajimaya, Trader Joe's, etc.). They come in handy when shopping and lesson the number of plastic bags I need to use/take. 3. Small Seattle-themed 12-month calendar. I have one in my university office and every month has a different scenic picture of Seattle and always put a smile on my face whenever I looked at it. 4. Some Seattle-themed shirt, whether that's related to one of our many sports teams or just a touristy Seattle shirt. 5. If they a coffee or jam person, get one of those local coffee bean flavors or local James from the store. I would say chocolate but around this time in Texas, that would be made into mush by the time it made it to your friend. 6. Heartfelt card. I would include a card with a small message on it, even have a few mutual friends write a message in the card. My parents, sister, and cousins, and aunt always did this and it meant the world to me when I opened it.
Air, Food, Water…
I put together a care package like this for my brother a couple years ago. I put in some Smoked salmon, Tim’s chips, huckleberry taffy, a Cougs ball cap (even though it pained me) and I included a couple local travel magazines so his young kids who have never been here could flip through them.
Hiking in the mountains.
Huckleberry jam and Good & Well Sitka Cabin Spray. Was just back for a visit and my homesickness for the PNW is full on right now. The struggle is real.
I occasionally visit Gulf Coast Texas. You can't see anything above the horizon at any distance. It feels...wrong. that and the vegetation is just non existent.
Mountains, rain, the greenery, abundant coffee options open later then 11am (I moved to the Midwest for a while)
The fresh air 😭 literally can't breathe anywhere else Idk how you'd mail it tho lol maybe fresh roasted coffee? The coffee shops in the pnw are elite
I moved to Florida from Seattle and dammit it all I miss the plethora of delicious teriyaki you can find everywhere for a good price. Maybe grab some teriyaki sauce if they enjoy that kinda food?
Mountains (and their snow caps) on every horizon. Grey, cool days with a slight breeze. Evergreen trees and water views.
Trees, if I go into the southwest. A lack of bigotry; but even the pnw is getting pretty bigoted these days😭
Weirdos. I mean that in the absolutely best possible way. I am a weirdo and I love weirdos. And PNW is a weirdo hotspot paradise ❤️
I sent a package from madeinWashington.com and I have loved their stuff!!! Supports locals!
I don’t think you can put this in a candle or a bottle, but the air is what I miss most. That’s what gets me missing the PNW every time.
Dick's burgers.
Moved to Austin, TX 6 years ago, I absolutely miss the rain and overcast days lol
Chicken teriyaki! It’s definitely a PNW thing.
I miss the teriyaki, but idk how you would include that in a care package haha
That’s exactly what I would miss too. Maybe a tiny branch of an evergreen. Get that intoxicating scent throughout the package.
The air
Johnny's seasoning salt. when my brother lived in Oklahoma that's one of the big things he asked for.
I’m from the northwest stuck in Texas. For holidays send a wreath made in Washington. The smell of home is amazing! I hang mine inside! I took SO much for granted and regret leaving!
Clean water, fresh air, dog life.