Misty days and sunny afternoons

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Except, she wants to be "within an hour or so of a larger city" (so her husband can give music lessons), in an area with "a really cute 'small town' downtown area with funky coffee shops and restaurants". The latter does kind of describe Bellingham's downtown, which isn't any bigger now that the population is 85,000 than when it was 35,000.

I think she would like Bellingham, but I'm not sure her husband would.

Oh, I got the population of B'ham wrong. Somewhere I'd read it was a bit larger. But there are the surrounding communities, too.... And university students to perhaps draw from. Well, it's up to them to decide what would work best, and what compromises to make in their wish list.

[CrazyDonkey]

Well, she could check out Ferndale, I suppose. I doubt that Deming, Lynden, Blaine, or Peaceful Valley are what she's looking for.

The problem is still that she, like many newcomers here, is seeking to overlay the region with a land/cityscape with which she's familiar, but which is an orange to our apple.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Well, she could check out Ferndale, I suppose. I doubt that Deming, Lynden, Blaine, or Peaceful Valley are what she's looking for.

The problem is still that she, like many newcomers here, is seeking to overlay the region with a land/cityscape with which she's familiar, but which is an orange to our apple.

They may not be what she's looking for, but he might find some music students there, in addition to whatever they find in B'ham. Otherwise, they'll have to find a way to live close to Seattle.

[mistytrails]

His income is not critical

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mistytrails

His income is not critical

Then, consider Bellingham, OP. Though....I couldn't guarantee the "sunny afternoons" part, lol. Bellingham doesn't have the best reputation for weather, but then...that's the NW for you. Bellingham not only has university music students, there's a constellation of suburbs around it that may have potential clients. Otherwise, your only other choice would be to look for something in Seattle's suburbs, like Edmonds, as suggested earlier. With more population comes much more traffic congestion.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Then, consider Bellingham, OP. Though....I couldn't guarantee the "sunny afternoons" part, lol. Bellingham doesn't have the best reputation for weather, but then...that's the NW for you. Bellingham not only has university music students, there's a constellation of suburbs around it that may have potential clients. Otherwise, your only other choice would be to look for something in Seattle's suburbs, like Edmonds, as suggested earlier. With more population comes much more traffic congestion.

A friend of ours when we lived in CA moved Poughkeepsie NY for work. When he retired he moved to Bellingham where he had a custom home built on Lake Whatcom. They lasted a year, and moved back to CA when they found the gloomy weather to be too much to handle. While Seattle gets 40", Bellingham gets a couple of inches less, but more foggy and overcast days. Places in the rain shadow, even at the extreme end of it like Edmonds, Mukilteo, and Port Townsend see more sun, if that's important.