Best Small Towns in WA? (Spokane, Bellingham: apartment, rentals, college)

[andromeda_k]

My fiance and I are looking to relocate from AZ, and we really love WA.
We're both in our mid-twenties, very free-spirited and are looking for somewhere affordable (speaking relatively, I know it's not going to be super cheap anywhere in the North West.) We liked Bellingham, but it's a bit pricey for us, are there any other towns similar that might be a little lower cost of living?
Thanks!

[NW Crow]

Oak Harbor and Granite Falls are much smaller and a bit cheaper. You got the sea part of Bellingham in one, the mountain part in the other. Neither will as young or hip as Bellingham but they'd have a little of each.


If you'd consider away from the west side of the state...

Omak is a lot smaller with a much lower cost of living. Under 5,000. Some folks (from the west / wet side) are moving in for quality of life and more might be coming.

Cheney WA southwest of Spokane would be a wildcard suggestion but it is young, not that expensive and not that big.

Dayton WA northeast of Walla Walla might be another wildcard.


Priest River and Sandpoint ID and La Grande OR are even further out there but might appeal. Moscow ID is bigger than you want but one could live toward Genesse or Troy and have the shop in Moscow.

[andromeda_k]

I'm sort of envisioning towns with a population of 5,000-10,000, but we'd be willing to go a little bigger as well, like into the 30,000 range. We're more fond of the mountains than the sea, and definitely want a "younger" type town, or at least one with a more artsy/liberal feel. Thanks for the suggestions!

[NW Crow]

You are welcome. Then, you might consider Ellensburg and Cle Elum. Possibly have business in Elllensburg and live toward or in Cle Elum. Ellensburg is a young town and Cle Elum is even nearer the mountains. Both getting pricier but there are probably some affordable business leases and rentals.

[StealthRabbit]

If you are coming from AZ & like Bellingham, then you will probably NOT like many other places mentioned or in WA. Just find an area you can afford near Bellingham. Folks have gone to Sumas and Deming to retain the NW locale and have cheaper digs. Get yourself an old Mercedes or StealthRabbit that will run on free fryer grease and the commute will be digestible. I get 'like-new' tires from the junk yard, so ~ $20 for a set every few yrs. Really quite cheap and sustainable.

[andromeda_k]

Hmmm, could be true Stealthrabbit, we didn't visit many towns in the area. We're looking for somewhere to rent a 1 bedroom apartment for $650 or less, is that doable in WA? I think Bellingham looked a little closer to $750/mo which is just a bit too high for us. It's always hard to move somewhere more expensive, so maybe we're being unrealistic...

[NW Crow]

Put a place (entered as city, state / the comma is essential) or zipcode into this site http://rentbits.com/rb/rates.do?rid=...ds=2&beds=3%2B and you get some rental price information. Seems like it covers a lot of towns above 5,000 or 10,000. In bigger towns it is based on more listings and is probably more accurate than for the smaller places. Older units can be cheaper. The "cities within 10 miles" links in the lower left corner are handy. One could put in the name of a bigger town then click on those around it.

The site claims that the median for 1 bedrooms in Bellingham currently is a bit under $700 per month but the prices of the higher end units apparently raise the mean (labeled as "average") to almost $900.

[StealthRabbit]

since Bellingham is a college town, It gets higher rates for smaller apts. You will have no trouble finding 1bdrm for under $700 in about 85% of WA towns and cities.

If you give us your likes / dislikes we can direct you to a suitable place.

politics,
value set
interests / culture desires
food (coffee vs. beer) (granola vs mixed diet)

needs:
285 days / yr of drizzle / overcast (we_tside)
285 days of partly cloudy (colder in winter and occasional snow) (eastside)
Job
Commute
EDU,
Medical,

[secret_squirrel]

Check out Pt. Townsend. Not a lot of jobs, but small, artsy with a good community.

[NW Crow]

Pt. Townsend is nice but the average age is over 48 (national average is 37).