Scouting Bellingham for retirement in 2018 (Seattle, Vancouver: 2014, house, crawl space)

[NextStage]

Husband will be retiring at the end of 2017. We've talked for a couple years about where to go but haven't reached a consensus. Recently Bellingham came up on our radar.

Hubby wants to be near the water - preferably a large body of it. I want to be near the mountains. We both want FAR less traffic than we currently deal with in the SF East Bay. We've spent some brief vacations in Canada and really enjoy visiting there. We're both attracted to all the things that Bellingham seems to offer and like the proximity to larger cities for major events and needs. We both like smallish cities with decent shopping and dining.

We KNOW that we don't want a 55+ community. We'd like to be in a place with a diverse group of people

Both of us are native Californians and have spent at least 1/3 of our years under some kind of draught watch going back to the early 1960s. It's gotten very old. I've read that Bellingham has a rep for being wet and dreary - at least for a good portion of the winter. We've lived near Truckee/Tahoe and did fine with the winters there. I realize Bellingham will be a very different kind of winter but it isn't seeming daunting right now.

We're hoping to make a trip there this Feb to see if it holds the same attraction in person that it does on paper. If it does hold the attraction, we'll visit a couple more times during different times of the year. Obviously a move is well over a year out from now.

What should we be looking at and looking for on the trip? We won't be house shopping at all - just getting a feel for the general vibe of the area.

Thanks!

[west seattle gal]

Check out the breweries, theater, coffee shops, local papers for a feeling about events, Fairhaven for bookstores/ice cream and downtown Bham for Spark and the train museum, boardwalk and park, and in-city trails including Whatcom falls.Go whale watching for a few hours to immerse yourself in the surrounding nature and views. Read about the waterfront revitilization plan, already begun, in the Bellingham Business Journal. Also read this to see what small businesses are in the area (lots!). Go to the Saturday am Farmers Market.

http://bbjtoday.com/
http://www.cascadiaweekly.com/cw/calendar
http://www.taptrail.com/
http://www.bellinghamfarmers.org/
https://www.fairhaven.com/
http://www.mountbakertheatre.com/
https://theupfront.com/
https://cfpa.wwu.edu/theatredance/current-season
http://bellinghamtheatreguild.com/
http://www.villagebooks.com/
http://www.whatsup-magazine.com/
http://www.bellingham.org/insider-bl...om-falls-park/
http://www.portofbellingham.com/524/Waterfront-District
http://www.portofbellingham.com/193/...ruise-Terminal
https://www.cob.org/documents/parks/...rail_guide.pdf
http://www.bellingham.org/activities/hiking/
https://www.cob.org/services/recreat...vard-park.aspx
http://moondancekayak.com/
http://www.boatingcenter.org/
http://www.bellingham.org/
http://www.bbaybrewery.com/boundary
https://whatcommuseum.org/
http://downtownbellingham.com/art-walk/
http://www.studiotour.net/
https://sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal
http://www.bellinghamrealfood.com/resources-1/resources
https://www.cob.org/services/recreation

[west seattle gal]

Just want to add that Feb is THE most miserable weather in the PNW. Summer and Fall are the absolute best seasons to visit.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

Just want to add that Feb is THE most miserable weather in the PNW.

Exactly and precisely why it's a great time for a scouting trip. The OP mentioned that she is a CA native and as such, I suspect that she is used to mostly sunny weather year round. If one can deal with the winter weather in western WA consisting of prolonged stretches of dark gray and rain, and do so without going bonkers, then the weather the rest of the year here should be a piece of cake!

BTW OP, when speaking of winter weather, since you're considering B'ham be aware of the Fraser Valley effect on B'ham's weather patterns.

Although it can be soggy during the winter months here, don't let that slow you down with respect to outdoor activities. After all, that's why they make Gore-Tex! Dress in layers and you'll be fine. The mantra in the PNW is that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes... :-)

Enjoy Bellingham, it's one of our favorite cities!

[Jane917]

We retired closer to Portland (north Clark County WA) because kids are in Portland. If that was not a determining factor, I would have loved to re-located to Bellingham. You are smart to visit in the middle of winter. If you can tolerate February, you can probably tolerate any time of year. Bellingham is beautiful, has good medical care, cultural events, less traffic, close to skiing and hiking. Plus it is on the water. I am also a CA native, and am not bothered by the winters at all. I lived in MT several years, and this is a cinch! I agree with Dendrite, just change your jacket (and your shoes) and head outside!

[509]

I lived in the Bay Area during the 60's and 70's for extended period of time.

I also lived in Vancouver, BC during the winter of 1973-74. Bellingham is a nice town. Vancouver is a world class city. You won't be spending much time in Seattle which is a collection of suburbs in search of a city.

HOWEVER, be sure you can handle the weather. I couldn't. It is AWFUL. I had a friend that grew up in Bellingham and had well over a dozen sets of raingear. Now granted he was very outdoors oriented.

I asked him how he tolerated the weather. His reply, was that he was born there and thought the whole world had the same weather!! His comment: "I didn't know any better".

You do. So be very careful about weather in the coastal Northwest.

It was the worst eight months of my life due to weather. I left as soon as I could and never thought about living on that side of the mountains again.

I love Montana. With the exception of Kalispell I can handle Montana weather and yes I did spend a lot of time there in winter.

[seagypsy59]

My family and I moved to Bellingham from New York (suburbs near NYC) in 2014. I came out here alone for the first trip in late January to early February to scout and look at homes. I liked it so much my other half joined me for part of the trip. I was expecting lots of rain, dark skies, etc. The entire time I was here it didn't rain. That's not normal.

You've already been given lots of good suggestions. I'm retired as well. I will say though, if you decide to move here, look at homes during the rainy season. This gives you a chance to see how the water drains or pools in the yards. Also look for water intrusion into a crawl space or basement. You won't see anything like that in summer, which is gorgeous.

The weather doesn't bother me at all. But it's definitely not for everyone. The weather doesn't stop us. I too, have lots of different rain gear depending on the temperature. And a really good waterproof hat with an adjustable cord to prevent it from blowing off.

Good luck!

[NextStage]

Thank you all for the really informative info. West Seattle Gal that list is wonderful! Thank you so much. Probably 90% of the things you've mentioned to do are things we seek out on a regular basis - theatre, music, bookstores, museums and art, the farmers market and of course Ice Cream!

You're all exactly right that we're making our first visit in Feb during the rainy season. I know a week or 10 days won't give a a true feeling for a winter - but it's a start! In our area of the east bay we do spend a good deal of winter under the marine layer. Lots of cloudy days and heavy fog, just not a lot of rain.

509 - interesting comment about Seattle being a group of suburbs in search of a city! The SF east bay is much like that. It's hard to know what city/town you're in unless you pay close attention to the city limits signs. We do go to SF for big concerts and museums. It sounds like for major events Vancouver will be a better option. We also have some relatives in Vancouver so we have another reason to visit there.

I also need to do some deeper research on the COL change. I'm suspecting it will be a bit lower but not banking on it. As long as it isn't higher, we'll be good.

Again, thanks to all of you for your suggestions and thoughts.

[NextStage]

Originally Posted by Dendrite

E

BTW OP, when speaking of winter weather, since you're considering B'ham be aware of the Fraser Valley effect on B'ham's weather patterns.

Although it can be soggy during the winter months here, don't let that slow you down with respect to outdoor activities. After all, that's why they make Gore-Tex! Dress in layers and you'll be fine. The mantra in the PNW is that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes... :-)

Enjoy Bellingham, it's one of our favorite cities!

Dendrite can you tell me more about the Fraser Valley effect? What type of impact are we talking here?

Luckily hubby already has plenty of good Gore-Tex I'm actually headed out tomorrow for a new raincoat. It was on my radar anyway but seems particularly timely now!

[NextStage]

Originally Posted by seagypsy59

My family and I moved to Bellingham from New York (suburbs near NYC) in 2014. I came out here alone for the first trip in late January to early February to scout and look at homes. I liked it so much my other half joined me for part of the trip. I was expecting lots of rain, dark skies, etc. The entire time I was here it didn't rain. That's not normal.

You've already been given lots of good suggestions. I'm retired as well. I will say though, if you decide to move here, look at homes during the rainy season. This gives you a chance to see how the water drains or pools in the yards. Also look for water intrusion into a crawl space or basement. You won't see anything like that in summer, which is gorgeous.

The weather doesn't bother me at all. But it's definitely not for everyone. The weather doesn't stop us. I too, have lots of different rain gear depending on the temperature. And a really good waterproof hat with an adjustable cord to prevent it from blowing off.

Good luck!

This is a wonderful point seagypsy. Thank you!

Where we are now a lot of homes have lower levels that are built below grade. It's an older neighborhood and I think almost every home has put in pumps or french drains. I confess that I've looked at a few homes online recently and saw a couple that really made me think that water intrusion could be a serious issue. The idea of possibly looking at a couple homes during the visit is a great suggestion.

Thanks too for the suggestion about the hat! I'm not an umbrella person and generally rely on a coat hood. A hat with adjustable cord sounds like a good thing to have handy!