I moved here for work from Seattle, after nearly a year of driving back and forth over the Cascades. The three communities that make up the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, Kennewick) each has its own flavor. Richland was established and built by the government – check out the CHREST museum for info on the Hanford project and the “alphabet houses”. (We currently live in an “A” house.) The confluence of 3 rivers (Snake, Yakima, and Columbia) in the desert makes for interesting weather, in particular heavy freezing fog in the winter months.