Let's Talk Ferndale (Seattle, Vancouver, Bellingham: house, job market, buyers)

[sunyata84]

My wife & I recently fell in love with a home on a piece of property in the Ferndale area. We have been living in Seattle for around 19 years and recently had a child who is now a toddler and we were looking for a pretty radical change in our lives because of the kid and our lack of dependance (currently) on geographic location for work (we freelance web stuff for a living right now).

We are not young parents (middle 40's) and are really looking for a quiet, safe place to raise our wonderful daughter. Ferndale seems to hit on the quiet and safe but as we get to the offer stage I'm starting to wonder if Ferndale is the right place for us because of a few things:

1. Have been reading about the oil refineries and the aluminum smelter. The property that we are looking at are 6 miles from the refineries. We love gardening organic and growing our own food and plan on using the land to play with some small scale farming type projects over time, but wonder about the environmental impact to the area these industries might have.

While we are not climb-up-and-sit-in-the-trees environmental activist types by any means, we are concerned about the long term health and safety for our family, especially the kiddo

2. We are a little bit on the crunchy side (not too bad), atheist and we tend towards progressive on a lot of the issues, but we are certainly not as extreme as the folks in Seattle tend to be in that generally we don't really care what you are or what you believe as long as your not too loud about it.

We are quite aware that Ferndale and the county tend to be more conservative than say Bellingham and we are quite ok with that after spending a long time in Seattle where. Not a lot of different ideas if you know what I mean.

But anyway, the thing that brought concern was reading something recently about how rural Whatcom County has a deep religious conservatism that leads to a lot of intolerance around ideas and such that got me a bit worried.

More positively though, we love the idea of Ferndale being a growing town with a mix of people and ideas, but change is scary (and exciting) sometimes and this will be a huge change for us.

Any thoughts?

[JackLonsdale]

Ferndale is fine. Yes, it is more conservative than say Bellingham and has an arguably more small-town sensibility, but increasingly it's becoming a bedroom community of Bellingham, as first-time buyers are shut out of the Bham market.

Keep in mind that population growth there has been pretty phenomenal. It has some very nice parks and conservations areas. The views of Mt. Baker from there are amazing. The downtown area in my opinion is nice for a town that size.

It doesn't strike me as a particularly political or religious place - just an all-American community that loves its high school football. I can't speak to the refineries, but at 6 miles out you are probably more than fine.

The one challenge for Ferndale moving forward is managing all of that congestion on the I-5.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, if you're independent of any local job market, why not expand your options? Olympic or Kitsap Peninsulas? No refineries or smelters. Maybe the occasional pulp or paper mill. What about the San Juan Islands, if you're liberal and crunchy? You might be able to find an older property, a smaller property.... Or maybe not....

Just trying to think outside the box. Poulsbo? Great family-oriented, low-key kinda place.

[sunyata84]

@jack: Thanks for the info. Ferndale seems lovely to us and all american is fine. Thanks again.

@Ruth4Truth: Yeah we've looked around those areas and like them. We really are crunchy moderates though, so fitting in most places would work. I like the idea of Poulsbo.

But Ferndale, we fell in love with this house up there. It may or may not work out depending on the inspection, but if it doesnt we may look elsewhere. Which is bittersweet because Ferndale seems like a lovely place. Just worrying too much like a dad will and should

[bartonizer]

I think you'd be fine in/near Ferndale. And it's a good mix of people as more and more people are priced out of Bham. It's a blend of the more conservative county and more progressive urban newcomers. The town itself is small, but has the essentials you need and is 10-15 minutes from all the shopping and amenities you'd need. And I think that Bellingham is a nice city for you to have nearby- it's a pleasant, easily accessible city to get an urban feel (and you can get to Vancouver very easily if you need a legitimate big city fix).

Regarding the refinery, it's not near any population, and you can't see or smell it from Ferndale. You'd notice a nearby pulp mill in other places much more. The air quality around this region is very good (Bham's is regarded amongst the top in the country: https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenew...t-12848301.php). In any case, you're more likely to hear about it as a contested local issue than to actually experience it.

[robin9]

Are there any massive/mega pig farms or the like in that area?

Look up toxic manure lagoons--even if you live some distance away, winds can make life unpleasant--

----Edited to add:

Be sure to choose your Whatcom County property carefully:

CAFO lagoons in Whatcom County:
http://whatcomwatch.org/php/images/3-15pg6.jpg

Whatcom Watch Online - Got Milk? Got Manure!
"Many dairies in Whatcom County are not small idyllic farming operations where cows graze on vast stretches of green grass. Instead, many are “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” or “CAFOs,” industrial operations where animals are not pastured, but confined in barns and feedlots, standing in mud, manure and urine 365 days per year. Industrial dairies produce vast amounts of waste that is stored in unlined manure storage lagoons—essentially holes dug into the ground—and as discussed below, over-applied to farmland."

Washington Cracks Down On Mega-Dairy Water Pollution
Washington Cracks Down On Mega-Dairy Water Pollution | KUOW News and Information

[waviking24]

It's all just going to end up being Bellingham-lite in 10 or 15 years anyways, so why not. Same with Blaine. You might not even need a pickup truck to live there anymore!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by waviking24

It's all just going to end up being Bellingham-lite in 10 or 15 years anyways, so why not. Same with Blaine. You might not even need a pickup truck to live there anymore!

Yeah, I've noticed that the rents in F'dale and even Blaine have risen to the level of B'ham's, so they're already suburbs, for practical purposes. People used to advise to go there, for cheaper rents, but I don't see it....

[NW4me]

There are also pipelines that go out from the refinery. It must've one of those that caused the 1999 fire in Bham. Was the pipeline rerouted after that, or was it repaired in the same location?
I just visited Bham and found it to be a really delightful little city, but it's worthwhile to know about things like pipelines.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by NW4me

There are also pipelines that go out from the refinery. It must've one of those that caused the 1999 fire in Bham. Was the pipeline rerouted after that, or was it repaired in the same location?
I just visited Bham and found it to be a really delightful little city, but it's worthwhile to know about things like pipelines.

That's a good point. But on the broader issue of trying to avoid fires, that's going to be harder to do in the coming decades, on the West Coast, as forests become drier. . B'ham is surrounded by forest, which is very close at hand. It might be something to think about. My escape hatch, if I move there, would be to maintain a sailboat at the marina, and sail away, if the city becomes threatened by fire. I wonder how the north and NW areas of Vancouver, BC, are planning for such an eventuality. They seem to be very good at looking ahead toward sea level rise, and other perils in the offing.