Moving to Bellingham to go to University (Seattle: cheap apartments, rentals)

[eduviv60]

Good morning everybody, my daughter is planning to go to Western Washington University and I would like to ask a few questions and hope I can get good feedback.

1-how bad is the crime rate overall in Bellingham?

2-We are looking to rent a one bedroom house/duplex or guest house for her that accept pets (1 dog) what will be the average price for a small place with a small yard for the dog in a decent area or close to WWU?

3-which are the known bad neighborhoods in Bellingham?

4-is the cost of living as higher than Tucson, Az?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[waviking24]

Well I can answer your first and third question, but not the second and fourth since I've never rented in bellingham and have never been to Tucson. Keep in mind I grew up in south Florida so my definition of crime and bad areas may be a little different than others who are from Washington, specifically bham. So here it goes:

1. Crime is not bad at all in bellingham. Most people don't even lock their doors around here. Supposedly property crime is high, but I've only had one incident and that was when I DID leave my car door unlocked over night. As an adult male I would walk anywhere in Bellingham day or night without worry. For a girl there are areas I wouldn't think that's a great idea. There have been maybe 5 or 6 murders since I moved here 12 years ago. Definitely no more than 10 and they are always something sketchy involving sketchy people. There are gangs around but most are wannabes. There might be more crime around the college just because drink kids do stupid stuff. Same with downtown.

2. Bad neighborhoods. I wouldn't say there are any neighborhoods where I would be afraid to live in, but for a girl living by herself I'd say avoid northwest ave over by albertsons and avoid the Texas street area. It's hard to even pick out bad neighborhoods in bellingham. Someone with a born and raised here perspective might have better insight because I'm biased from where I came from.

[mkarch]

Back when I lived there car prowls were a problem in areas around campus, which is fairly common at any university. The "bad" neighborhood was referred to as the "Letter Ghetto" where all of the streets have letters instead of names or numbers. That was over a decade ago, so things may have changed. In general, the areas with newer, nicer more dense off campus apartments were a little less sketchy than the ones that consisted of older homes chopped up into cheap apartments.

[Pahn]

Renting with pets will likely be a challenge if you're on a budget. Avoid Texas St. It's not really dangerous, but it is easily the least desirable neighborhood. I rented a 1 BR apt on Lakeway Dr for $600/mo a few years ago. It's probably $700 now. They allowed pets with deposit. There was a nearby shuttle to get to WWU.

Violent crime is pretty low. Bellingham has property crime. Bike thefts, car prowls, etc.

[West coast at heart]

I found this site to answer your cost of living question.

Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

Hope this helps.

I have been to Bham a few times during the day and liked it a lot. Just from a visitor's standpoint. Very upbeat vibes. Small town with a big town feel to it. I hope your daughter likes it there and is successful in school.

Peace,
wc@h

[eduviv60]

Thank you very much for your responses, before all I was able to find was information that was kind of old, 6 or more years old, and negative about Bham, although most of it was thru people trying to find jobs or purchasing homes so I was getting really worried, specially us being in Tucson and her going to a so far away college on her own.
Seems that rent is quite high compare to Tucson, then again there are 1 bd apt here that are even higher but they are luxury apt with many amenities and fairly large and comfortable, and one of the things I have found is that Bham has many amenities as parks, beach, hiking trails, etc.
Thanks again all information is greatly appreciated!

[Hemlock140]

Anywhere in Western WA or the west coast is going to coast more than Tucson, and Bellingham is no exception. It is very reasonable compared to Seattle, but with apartments at $700 and up, a small house with yard is going to be about $1,100 or more. Something like an in-law cottage or duplex may be less but harder to find with the demand from many students sharing rent.

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by West coast at heart

I hope your daughter likes it there and is successful in school.

They all do. And they never leave.

[eduviv60]

it seems that I should not worry to much as all of your comments are positive, as long as she makes sure she stays away from the 2 bad areas mention, "letter streets" and Texas street, it seems that my main worry should be to find a place that she can take her german shepard with and then possibly never seen her around as she will stay there as per Pahn comment, as I see it in google maps, it is a beautiful are, really green and next to the ocean, something that my wife and I are looking for ourselves, however we like it warmer as it gets on the south as in Mexico's Nayarit area, if any of you in Bham area knows of anyone that owns rentals please send me their information, thanks again for the information!!

[west seattle gal]

My parents have retired in Bellingham. I absolutely love it. If there was a stronger tech economy there (jobs), my husband and I would absolutely raise our kids in B'ham. Enough culture to feel like one is not missing out or too isolated, yet also beautiful scenery and endless outdoor choices. Safe and cute, no reason for a parent to worry. Housing seems to be very expensive, but around Fairhaven would be a great place to live if you can afford it.