The Pacific Northwest combines the best of rich natural beauty with cosmopolitan style. From the peaks of the Cascade Mountains to the emerald plains of Puget Sound to the eclectic charm of the port city of Seattle, Washington state offers a vibrant mix of urban and rural environments. LoopNet puts the vast Northwest at your fingertips. The easternmost part of Washington is home to Spokane, a city of a quarter-million residents just minutes from the Idaho border. Spokane is close enough to the Cascades to make it an attractive vacation destination, especially for ski trips. An abundance of green spaces and a recent downtown renaissance give Spokane a new small-town charm despite its size. Traces of the city's industrial roots remain, but the warehouses have been transformed into galleries, theaters and elegant apartments. Central Washington is rugged country. The Cascades form the backbone of the state, and the mountain range's rain shadow falls over east-central Washington to create a desert environment of stark but haunting beauty. The Grand Coulee Dam, built on the Columbia River, created Lake Roosevelt as a reservoir and recreation area in 1941. The small communities around the lake create a perfect opportunity to build a bed and breakfast or find a summer home to enjoy the temperate climate of Washington. Along the Pacific Coast and Puget Sound's complex shoreline, small towns and cities dot major thoroughfares like pearls on a string. Aberdeen, Port Angeles, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma and the state capital Olympia surround Olympic National Park. About 80 percent of Washington's population lives in the region between the Pacific coast and the Puget Sound basin. In... middle of paper... in the gentle country cadence of southwestern cities, West Virginians welcome visitors and new residents alike. People here weathered tough economic times when the coal market collapsed, but when telecommuting and better travel options became available, West Virginia began to prosper again. Marshall in the south and Morgantown in the north are economic engines pushing the state toward more career opportunities in medical research and engineering. The fusion of Southern hospitality and Northern industriousness gives the state a charm that goes far beyond the sum of its history. It is the meeting point between other states, but its lush green heart remains untouched by the traffic and unnerving bustle of big cities. From the rolling hills of Appalachia to the bustling college towns of West Virginia, opportunities to put down deep roots in coal country abound.