A Few Questions About Bellingham. (Seattle, Vancouver: low income, ski resort, for sale)

[Jenifunk]

My husband and I may be moving to Bellingham from Anchorage, Alaska come this October. I have visted there a few times when I was younger, but don't remember much (certainly nothing pertaining to what it would be like to LIVE there) and my husband has never been. I have a few questions about work, living, and community in Bellingham, and any help would be appreciated. =)

- What is the make up of the city? Mostly white or blue collar? A good mix?

- What are the major industries and employers in Bellingham? (I hear it is a bedroom community but is there anything substantial in the city itself?)

- How is public transportation? Would one be able to do without a car?

- What kind of neighborhoods will we find in Bellingham? Are neighbors known to be helpful and friendly? What neighborhoods should we avoid?

- What kind of cuisine is available in Bellingham?

- What does it cost to register a vehicle in Washington? Does Bellingham or it's county have any regulations on Emissions Testing?

We are a hardworking young couple (I am 23 and he is 26) with some college education. We both mainly have worked office and/or retail. We are looking to rent and would like to avoid any low income or high crime areas.

Thanks in advance!

[Skytripper]

Bellingham is still a great community overall.
The population is rapidly approaching the 100,000 mark I would guess....and the street/road constuction is playing "catch-up" to all the growth and in several areas.....the roads just are not sufficient for the volume of traffic.

Overall.....I would say there is a fair mix of white and blue collar citizens...as well as retirees.
Friendly people here too.....but many others who are not as well as most just mind their own biz.
There are also many clannish groups at many companies....but that is true everywhere thesedays.
Jobs can be DIFFICULT to get as there definitely is competition.....not to mention....3 colleges here and just not enough jobs to sustain keeping educated people here for the wages many companies just don't wish to pay.
It is a community of wealth AND poverty so it is fairly balanced socioeconomically.....though wealthy ones are ever pushing the poor elsewhere and home prices/rents are still way overpriced, IMO.....but the real estate market is terrible here now as it is in many parts of the country.
A LOT of FOR SALE signs....and many with "Price Reduced" also.
Current gas prices are as low as $2.63/gal reg. unleaded.....but avg. closer to $2.85 + at most gas stations. Still...considerably lower now than about 5 or 6 months ago....when most stations were around $3.50/gal regular.

The biggest industry here....would probably be in Health Care...(Olympic or St. Joseph's Hospital).

Public transportation is very good here and a lot of people utilize the bus or ride bikes/walk, etc.

MOST of the neighborhoods in Bellingham are safe for the most part....BUT property crime is and has been an issue here for some time along with theft, burglary, vandalism, etc. The most notorious spots for these are generally associated with the lower Alabama Street neighborhood, the "letter" streets near downtown and other areas around Whatcom County.....(like Paradise Lakes near Maple Falls.....another "remote" area about 25 miles northeast of Bellingham which has had a history of various problems...so one to definitely AVOID).

Great food around Bellingham.....Fresh seafood, Asian, Italian, Steaks.....whatever.
Not many "chain" restaurants here like you would expect....I mean there are....but not as many.....No Chili's, No Outback, No Red Lobster.......BUT......there IS.....Applebees, Red Robin, Black Angus, Olive Garden and others as well as some AWESOME local restaurants like Boss Tweed (downtown), Bob's Burgers and Brew, Anthony's, Big Fat Fish Company and many more!

I believe its around $77.00 to register your car but that could depend ON the car, etc.
It cost $45.00 for a Washington Drivers License.....and if you just need to get it in lieu of another one from Alaska?.......you ONLY need to worry about passing an eye exam at the DL office.

Rents can vary greatly...DEPENDING on location....but generally.....
a 2 BD apartment.....$650-900 +
3 BD HOUSE....$1100-1800 +
BTW....I wouldn't consider Bellingham a "bedroom" community as it is 100 miles north of Seattle.....but I would consider Lynden and Ferndale "bedroom" communities to Bellingham.
Like I said.....OVERALL....Bellingham and Whatcom County is still a great place but a lot of people who have moved here just cannot handle the long GRAY, RAINY season (mid-October to 1st of May.....basically).....so its also not such the place to have to work outdoors, IMO.....but a LOT of people here either adapted well to it or don't mind it much.
Anchorage weather can't differ too much I would think.....'cept even colder and snowier?
Very green, hilly on the southside, lakes, the bay, the islands, Mt. Baker, skiing( hour and a half east)....Vancouver, BC not far to the north....waterfalls (even in town....Whatcom Falls), kayaking, camping, beachcombing, kite-flying, golf, etc. etc.
Definitely better here than many other parts of Washington, IMO.

[Jenifunk]

Wow! Great response! Thank you so much. That was very helpful and well thought out. We actually decided that we WILL be moving to Bellingham this evening, so having this information has made it that much more exciting! If anyone has anything else to add, I would appreciate that as well.

Does anyone know the rent for a basic 1 bedroom apartment? I've been checking craigslist but it never hurts to ask elsewhere. =)

[Skytripper]

You could check out the Bellingham Herald Newspaper website.....but for the most part I would say you could find a 1 BD apartment IN Bellingham for $650/mo and up.....much nicer 1 Bed apts. will run you around $750-900 and generally a one year lease.
You could also look into the neighboring communities of Ferndale, Lynden and Birch Bay.....all nice locations....but Lynden is 70% Dutch ancestry with lots of churches and quite conservative (15 miles north of Bellingham).
Ferndale is ok (about 12 miles NW of Bellingham on I-5) and little Birch Bay is great....unicorporated still but close to 5,000 population and right on the water with FANTASTIC views to the west across the Strait and views of the San Juan Islands.
Birch Bay is worthy of consideration and not bad of a commute to Bellingham as there is not much here in the way of shopping.....just peace and quiet and a State Park with camping and a little, rocky beach with firepits....awesome sunsets too.
Birch Bay has some nice condos along with water views and a Worldmark Trendwest Resort timeshare, a few little restaurants, a waterslide park with go-cart track....summer fun.

[Jenifunk]

How far a drive is it from Birch Bay to Bellingham?

[Skytripper]

Birch Bay to Bellingham is about a 25-30 minute drive (only about 16 miles as the crow flies...BB to Bellingham).....mostly freeway (I-5) and 5 or 6 miles of 2lane road into Birch Bay.
Not many apartments in Birch Bay but there are small houses, cottages, manufactured homes, etc.
There are also VERY large homes and gated neighborhoods around as well with some homes close to the million-dollar range...(Semiahmoo).
Saw a small....almost beachfront....3 BD house/cottage for rent earlier today in Birch Bay....across the street from the beach....$875/mo.
VERY easy commute into Bellingham...and a little less expensive....MUCH quieter and peaceful, IMO.
Birch Bay is part of the Blaine, Washington zip code (98230) and Blaine itself is only about 6 miles north of Birch Bay and RIGHT at the US-Canadian border.
Not much in Blaine....nice marina, a grocery store, a FEW restaurants.....but it IS RIGHT on the I-5 freeway and often there are huge traffic backups with people trying to get into the US or Canada....transients as well.
Birch Bay....on the other hand....NONE of that "rat race" at all.

[Jenifunk]

Well, after talking to the husband, (I'm completely sold on looking into Birch Bay) we might just stick to finding something IN Bellingham until we get our bearings and know our way around a bit more...I'm just worried we're gonna end up having no choice but to take a teeny tiny junker apt...I'm just overthinking things LOL...cause we're having to downsize considerably...

Currently we live in a 2bdr, 1 1/2 bath, upstairs/downstairs 1500 sq ft apt for 895 a month....so after 2 years here, we've accumulated a lot. We're getting rid of a considerable amount of things, but I'm worried we're gonna get into a place and STILL have to rent for storage....

Moving is stressful >.<

Okay, enough of my venting in some forum online...LOL..back to the cardboard!

Thanks again Skytripper! =)

[Skytripper]

You could definitely find something similar to what you are renting now for around the same price here.
There are a couple things about Birch Bay though that are not so great....but they are tolerable:
(1). At certain times of the year more so than others...there is an absolutely horrible smell along a stretch of the waterfront through Birch Bay......it could be something in the saltwater bay...(it is quite shallow) like in the seaweed and sometimes the beach is closed to shellfish harvesting due to "Red Tide" which is toxic and NOT good to swim in either..."swimmers itch."
GREAT BAY to LOOK out across though....makes me really wish I had a boat, personally! But I won't swim in it....have waded in the bay before but not for long.
(2). 2 miles south of Birch Bay is a large oil refinery....and if you drive past it....it stinks too...or if the wind is blowing from the direction of it....its noticeable....but fortunately.....NOT too often.
Overall.....it is definitely a great little area and quite scenic!
Just be prepared for very long, dark, gray, rainy/drizzle season....ALL winter long....( I would imagine Alaska can relate?)...very early darkness too a lot of drip, drip, drip.....oh yeah....and an occasional...awesome windstorm to livin things up...(sometimes an all day/night steady wind of about 50 mph and gusts over 75 or 80. These are NOT that frequent and generally they occur in October/November and maybe February/March.
Last November was BAD!!!!
Within 4 weeks we had 2 MAJOR windstorms (gusts to 90 mph).....flooding rains before and after the windstorms....then....topped it all off with an 18 inch SNOWSTORM......ALL BEFORE Thanksgiving!
November can be a CRAZY month!!!
BACK to SWIMMING:
PLENTY of other places to swim that have much nicer and cleaner conditions....namely a couple lakes in/near Bellingham.....Lake Padden is great for swimming....Lake Whatcom is ok too....'cept for some bird feathers in the water sometimes....and then Lake Samish....just south of Bellingham....clear water but kinda cold generally.
Lake Padden is my personal fav. and it has a grass beach that a LOT of people sunbathe on....especially when we get a brief but HOT...heat wave.
BTW...In the summer it can be 15 or 20 degrees cooler in Birch Bay than it is only 10 or 15 miles east...(inland)!!
It gets HOT in Lynden and most homes here do not have AC.
(Somethin to think about)....but heat waves are generally short-lasting....generally....except last summer...it was HOT and NO rain for 3 months! RARE here!!!
I'm not much for swimming in the saltwater here though......Hawaii was great for that....but not here, IMO.
Larrabee State Park south of B'Ham and Chuckanut Drive to get there IS GORGEOUS!!!! More so in the fall when the leaves are at their peak colors!
WINTER SPORTS:
Mt. Baker Ski Area is great for snowboarding/skiing.....BUT it is about an hour to hour and/half drive east and in the winter....there can be some really treacherous roads in the Cascades and chains ARE required more often than not.
Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort up in British Columbia Canada is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north....(depending on traffic in the Vancouver area as well as the border crossing wait time)....BUT it IS the BIGGEST and by far, the SWEETEST resort in ALL of North America!
EVERYTHING you can imagine in winter recreation is available.....even sleigh rides and intertube rentals for rushing down the mountain...also helicopter (heli-skiing)....high altitude out-of-bounds extreme skiing/boarding.....and it...and Vancouver...will host the 2010 Winter Olympics!
Gotta LOVE the GREAT PACIFIC NORTHWEST!!
Hope ALL this info. helps ya.

[Jenifunk]

ROFL! You about got my husband dancing right here in the living room. He's been to Whistler twice and is just ecstatic about taking me there! He absolutely lives for snowboarding! ...Me not so much, but I love a good day of tubing down some hills =)

We're really excited and anxious to just be done with packing and BE down there. I know once we are there, everything will fall into its place and we'll learn our way around.

Thank You so much for all the information over the past few days!

-Jen.

[Jack Kuze]

Hi,

I'm a LaConner artist thinking of moving to Bellingham, mostly for the view and some "fresh air" (if you know what I mean).

What is the artist community like in Bellingham?