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I've been scoping out Bellingham, myself, and it would definitely be affordable to the OP; I don't know what size of a place she's looking for, but there's plenty there that would come in well under budget. There are 2- and 3-br. homes with a big garage like she wants, that come in at around 1/2 her maximum, or a little more.
As to other questions: weather, amenities, etc., she can take a look at the WA State forum here; there are a couple of threads currently active specifically about Bellingham. Lots of good info, there.
Look into Ashland, Oregon, OP. It's about 20 minutes north of the state line, and an IMMENSELY cute college town/small city that distinctly resembles the character of Boulder.
That's Mount Ashland in the background - the highest non-volcanic peak in the area (though Shasta is a tiny hop, skip and a jump away), which rises over 5,000 feet above the town's elevation, fairly close to the same elevation change between Boulder and the local Rockies.
The view to the NE from town is Mount McGloughlin, a smaller, likely-extinct stratovolcano:
Aside from that, I guess I would default to Redding.
Last edited by PrincessoftheCape; 09-08-2016 at 02:19 AM..
I've been scoping out Bellingham, myself, and it would definitely be affordable to the OP; I don't know what size of a place she's looking for, but there's plenty there that would come in well under budget. There are 2- and 3-br. homes with a big garage like she wants, that come in at around 1/2 her maximum, or a little more.
As to other questions: weather, amenities, etc., she can take a look at the WA State forum here; there are a couple of threads currently active specifically about Bellingham. Lots of good info, there.
Bellingham is a far less nice town than Boulder, though - it's got big, big swaths of blight for a city of its size, and the downtown is somewhat neglected. Boulder is Colorado's Front Range gem, and is more equivalent in character to Issaquah, though less expensive.
I agree Ashland is quite nice and somewhat fits the OP's criteria - except it isn't anywhere near any sizable airport. But the OP has already said they had visited Ashland and ruled it out:
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We are definitely not stuck on California. We have visited the following towns and they were not right for us for one reason or another: Asheville,NC / Austin, TX / Bend, OR / Ashland, OR / Eugene, OR / Corvallis, OR / Portland, OR / Seattle, WA / Logan, UT / Flagstaff, AZ / Missoula, MT / Bozeman, MT / San Francisco, CA / San Diego, CA / Pretty much every town in Colorado!
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Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape
Aside from that, (Ashland, OR) I guess I would default to Redding.
I am amused by how many here are recommending Redding. It's in beautiful mountain surroundings, but otherwise has little to recommend it to the OP's various wish list: lousy downtown, crappy crime, hotter than blazes for half the year (OP specifically states:
[quote=PrincessoftheCape;45408313]
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We don't need the same amount of snow as Colorado, but we don't want to go back to 100+ degree days constantly in the summer (we used to live in Austin, TX).
and again, nowhere near any real airport.
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Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape
Bellingham is a far less nice town than Boulder, though - it's got big, big swaths of blight for a city of its size, and the downtown is somewhat neglected. Boulder is Colorado's Front Range gem, and is more equivalent in character to Issaquah, though less expensive.
As for Bellingham being not as nice as Boulder and having blight: It is not as large and sophisticated a city as Boulder for sure. Just a quiet-ish university town with a lot of outdoorsy character. But it is less than an hour's drive to Vancouver, B.C. which is as large and sophisticated as anybody could want. About the same length of a drive as from many suburbs into their large associated cities. And then only 2 hours the other way down to Seattle. It has a pleasant, albeit small, walkable downtown, with a second small, separated old town (Fairhaven) that is also walkable with restaurants. It is two hours to Sea-Tac airport or less than an hour to Vancouver Intl Airport. It is VERY affordable by the OP's budget. Plus, smack dab in proximity to mountain and fishing lake country.
And I have no idea what you mean by Bellingham having "big swaths of blight". I'm there usually a couple times a week for about four months a year. There's no run down blighted areas anywhere. There are a couple neighborhoods that are plain and simple lower cost housing without high degree pride of ownership detail. But "blight" is just not applicable to Bellingham anywhere.
The other town I mentioned, Port Townsend, across the Sound, is really small with only 10,000 population. Somewhat a tourist destination for its little size. Super sweet walkable downtown. One of the nation's older, yet active average age populations. Again less than a couple hours (including ferry rides) to Seattle for big city stuff and airport. Interesting micro-climate as it sits in the middle of the Olympic rain shadow -giving it a very dry location (but not really much sunnier) than the infamous surrounding NW / Puget Sound.
Again, budget-wise for outdoors activity connectivity, a quiet but sophisticated population, can't beat it with a stick. If I wasn't so addicted to sunshine and could stand the winters, I'd move to Pt. Townsend in a heartbeat myself. I recommended it to friends from rural Wisconsin a few years ago. They visited. Fell in love with the area and town and its people. Bought a piece of land on the edge of city limits and started an organic farm. They had had their hearts set on California coast but now say they couldn't have made a better choice. Thrilled to be there. As I type this I am in the ferry line going from Whidbey Island over to Pt. Townsend to visit them as I do several times a year now. I'll spend 10 days around the area doing the Pt Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and hiking and kayaking. Fort Worden in town also hosts the famous annual Jazz Festival and many other cultural venues. Remarkable community.
[quote=Tulemutt;45409930]I agree Ashland is quite nice and somewhat fits the OP's criteria - except it isn't anywhere near any sizable airport. But the OP has already said they had visited Ashland and ruled it out:
I am amused by how many here are recommending Redding. It's in beautiful mountain surroundings, but otherwise has little to recommend it to the OP's various wish list: lousy downtown, crappy crime, hotter than blazes for half the year (OP specifically states:
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Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape
and again, nowhere near any real airport.
As for Bellingham being not as nice as Boulder and having blight: It is not as large and sophisticated a city as Boulder for sure. Just a quiet-ish university town with a lot of outdoorsy character. But it is less than an hour's drive to Vancouver, B.C. which is as large and sophisticated as anybody could want. About the same length of a drive as from many suburbs into their large associated cities. And then only 2 hours the other way down to Seattle. It has a pleasant, albeit small, walkable downtown, with a second small, separated old town (Fairhaven) that is also walkable with restaurants. It is two hours to Sea-Tac airport or less than an hour to Vancouver Intl Airport. It is VERY affordable by the OP's budget. Plus, smack dab in proximity to mountain and fishing lake country.
And I have no idea what you mean by Bellingham having "big swaths of blight". I'm there usually a couple times a week for about four months a year. There's no run down blighted areas anywhere. There are a couple neighborhoods that are plain and simple lower cost housing without high degree pride of ownership detail. But "blight" is just not applicable to Bellingham anywhere.
The other town I mentioned, Port Townsend, across the Sound, is really small with only 10,000 population. Somewhat a tourist destination for its little size. Super sweet walkable downtown. One of the nation's older, yet active average age populations. Again less than a couple hours (including ferry rides) to Seattle for big city stuff and airport. Interesting micro-climate as it sits in the middle of the Olympic rain shadow -giving it a very dry location (but not really much sunnier) than the infamous surrounding NW / Puget Sound.
Again, budget-wise for outdoors activity connectivity, a quiet but sophisticated population, can't beat it with a stick. If I wasn't so addicted to sunshine and could stand the winters, I'd move to Pt. Townsend in a heartbeat myself. I recommended it to friends from rural Wisconsin a few years ago. They visited. Fell in love with the area and town and its people. Bought a piece of land on the edge of city limits and started an organic farm. They had had their hearts set on California coast but now say they couldn't have made a better choice. Thrilled to be there. As I type this I am in the ferry line going from Whidbey Island over to Pt. Townsend to visit them as I do several times a year now. I'll spend 10 days around the area doing the Pt Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and hiking and kayaking. Fort Worden in town also hosts the famous annual Jazz Festival and many other cultural venues. Remarkable community.
Agree on bellingham vs. Boulder. Bellingham is wonderful, boulder WAS wonderful. Its time is past...
Murphys, Grass Valley, Nevada City for mountain towns in "Gold Country". Other towns are also nice, such as Placerville, Sonora, Jamestown, Columbia, etc...These are small towns.
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These are small towns that have a surprising number of good restaurants, events and theater. Major shopping can be had an hour away
These are the best suggestions I've heard, given the OP's requirements. I'd urge the OP to check out all three towns. Of the three, I'd choose Truckee because there's so much outdoorsy stuff going on there.
As for granite countertops, we got them installed in our rental house for $2500 all-in. So don't rule out a house that doesn't have them.
As for Ashland, I find the people there to be unbearably stuck-up. Just too pretentious for me.
After making a couple of long posts about Bellingham and Pt Townsend, I am motivated to also prod the OP to my other two earlier suggestions of Prescott, AZ and especially Santa Fe, NM. Especially if sunnier weather is important.
I have searched and searched and have not found an exact answer so firstly, I apologize if I missed the answer somewhere in the forums! Secondly, thank you for any help you can offer!
My husband and I currently live in Colorado. We are looking for the right town to settle in and buy a house. We have been hunting (visiting) various towns for the past two years and have yet to find a good match.
Here is what we are looking for:
-If you are familiar with Boulder, CO that city has the vibe we love! It is bikeable, there are so many restaurants, it is clean, it has fabulous access to the outdoors... BUT it is WAY out of our price range. We would need over $750,000 to get a decent house there (i.e. one with a two car garage and maybe granite counters in the kitchen).
-A place where we can get a decent house (two car garage and *fingers crossed* granite counters in the kitchen for under $600K.
-We are extremely active outdoors so we need a town that is close to hiking, camping, and fly fishing spots.
-We love to travel so a town that is within 2 hours to an airport would be great.
-I am a teacher so I can work anywhere and my husband works remotely as a computer engineer so the job market is not an issue.
-We want a town that has unique, locally owned restaurants. If chain restaurants are the main source of dining, then we are most likely not interested in the area. We really do not want to live in Suburbia.
-A neutral religious/political scene. We are not active in either of those areas and would rather everyone go about doing their own thing without pressure from one end or the other.
-A walkable downtwon is an added bonus!
Again, thank you for any help you can give me in our hunt!!
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