Young Family moving to Bellingham from SC (South Hill, Acme: best neighborhoods, real estate)

[mharrelson]

My husband, our two sons (5, 7), our yellow lab and I are planning on moving to Bellingham from Charleston, SC. I am a English as a Second Language teacher and he is a real estate appraiser. We are 32 and 34 years old. We are looking for a neighborhood that has really good schools, is safe, and has lots of kids and young families in the area. I would like to see kids playing in the yards and riding bikes, etc. Walkability to school or restaurants would be nice but not necessary. We are looking to rent a 3 br house. We are coming out in November to check it out and get a feel for the area before we bite the bullet. Please let me know what part(s) of town you think we should check out and/or avoid.

[CrazyDonkey]

Will depend on your budget. The best neighborhoods and schools are west of I-5, but house prices/rents are higher. East of I-5, the housing is more affordable, but the schools aren't as good.

[Ira500]

My son, daughter in law, and grandkids live at the north end of the Lettered Streets neighborhood in Bellingham. There are lots of kids and young families, nearby parks and playgrounds, and lots of nearby kids activities.

[mharrelson]

We are looking to spend 1500-1800 a month.

[RotseCherut]

Cordata seems to be the most suburban neighborhood in Bellingham and I hear it has pretty good schools, but I don't have kids so cannot tell you from my own experience. You can also get a lot more for your money in Cordata versus being closer to downtown or in Fairhaven. Avoid living near the college like the plague. Don't be fooled by how nice the area may look at first glance, it becomes party central and will be annoying to the 9-5 family types of people. How do I know? I lived right next to WWU for the summer and took over the lease of the house of some college students while I was transitioning my move from Idaho to Washington.

[west seattle gal]

There have been many threads on schools, just look in the search bar. From what I gather, all of the elementary schools are fine, but the middle schools are a bit more problematic. In terms of high school, Sehome seems to be the most highly rated. We drove by it, and the campus is beautiful. The course catalogue is impressive (published online). However, our realtor this weekend told us that Bellingham High has recently become the most popular school to attend, and that kids are really trying to transfer in. He has newly graduated twins from that school. Who knows what to believe. I imagine they are all fairly the same, for the population in Bham is somewhat homogenous.

[waviking24]

Even though I don't like that everyone and their grandmother is moving here still, I will say one thing about safe areas in Bellingham. If it looks like an area that you would live in then it is probably safe. I don't exactly know what the stats are these days but to me Bellingham feels even safer than it did 4 or 5 years ago, if that's even possible. I can't even remember the last time I saw graffiti anywhere in town and I drive around a lot. Also, I'm not sure how liberal you are, but you should know that the county and the city of Bellingham are polar opposites when it comes to politics, environment, people, ideologies, etc. The county would probably be more like where you are coming from.

[NWbyNW]

Overall the whole city is pretty great. You can walk, ride, anywhere. Visit downtown, Fairhaven, and Boulevard Park with the fancy boardwalk.

Alabama Hill and that area is middle class and affordable as well as a lot of new developments going in around Barkley which ranges from middle class to upper class as you go up the hills.

Northern parts of Bellingham that are west of I-5 in the Birchwood area are not too hot. Nor is Puget, or around Lincoln Avenue.

Fairhaven is nice, but spendy especially with views. South Hill and Edgemoor are very nice, with easy access to the shops and business in downtown Bellingham or Fairhaven's downtown.

Happy Valley is hit or miss, but overall more rural, pretty safe, and pockets away from college students, you can easily find cheap housing here.

Older homes, though fairly dense, can be found in Lettered Streets and Columbia. What is neat about Bellingham and their neighborhoods is that many have a community market or local store of some sort, which helps build community. Community is big in B-ham and a good place to grow in that community is the local farmers market in downtown.

Just up Meridian is the growing section of Cordota which is newer roads, new homes, and new big box store developments. That might appease you too. The area is growing out into what was once farm land of Whatcom County. Close to many big stores like Walmart, Costco, WinCo, and others.

Downtown Bellingham

Roughly looking over the Letter Streets/Columbia neighborhood.

[mharrelson]

Thanks for the input! We are headed there to check it out in a few days! Anything you think we must see/do while we are there?

[CrazyDonkey]

If the weather is nice, go for a drive on Chuckanut Drive.