>>2079222Everett guy former Eagle Scout here. It's KIND of bad in the bigger cities, with suburban sprawl slowly growing over time, but if you can get north of Everett, it's still less populated. Everett isn't too bad, but I'm a little too close to the bad part of town for my own tastes, honestly, to have a decent rent.
West of the Cascades tends to be beautiful, East of the Cascades tends to look like dead grass.
Most parks west of the cascades are beautiful places to hike at or camp at, and Ross Lake National Park is some of the best canoeing/kayaking you'll ever find for camping and paddling around.
There's a lot of older logging roads that aren't getting worked on anymore, so a lot of older hiking trails are starting to disappear, but if you can find them? They lead to some beautiful spots.
Seattle has horribly gone downhill with all the rioting for a good chunk of the pandemic, so stay the fuck away from there if you value yourself.
Let's see now, personal reccommendations? Fort Ebey on Whidbey Island has access to some spectacular beaches and picnic tables.
Deception pass tends to be a bit too crowded, with too many jets from the close by naval base for to be fully comfortable some nights, so that's iffy. And most yurts will need an air mattress on top of the mattress they give you, if you want to sleep at all.
