Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle, Tacoma: school district, income, disposal)

[E Roy Slade]

yesterday it was 31degress with wind chill at 21

ive 2 colds in march
it seems bleak in a way,yet the sun was out and i got sunburned

i think i like oregon more though

is there a site that shows rents are higher here? is it worth it? i doubt it

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

That is the most miserable state I have ever lived. You can find homes in the 125K range, but who the H...would want to live there. Certainly no one from the west coast. Its flat, ugly, humid, full of nasty loud bitting bugs, snakes, low wages, hurricanes, tornadoes, dangerous electrical storms.

And don't forget a couple other things they've got down there besides what you mentioned - employment opportunities & sunshine.
Oh BTW, what are "nasty loud bitting bugs" ?

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

And don't forget a couple other things they've got down there besides what you mentioned - employment opportunities & sunshine.
Oh BTW, what are "nasty loud bitting bugs" ?

Don't play the sunshine card. The sunshine comes with terrible sticky weather in Texas. You will worship the cool weather in bellingham by the time your a year into texas. Jobs: What ever. If you love getting slave wages. Once again, you want good pay, make your way down to Seatte for plenty of good jobs and pay. You want sunshine....move to phoenix or even Denver (300 plus days of sunshine a year).

Bellinham doesnt deserve all this crap its getting on this thread. Its really annoying.

[njinbham]

I echo a number of the sentiments of what appears to be the minority in this long running threads:

First and foremost, Bellingham/Whatcom County is a wonderful place for the countless reasons stated and for many never mentioned. And while it is not without its issues (also discussed at length), it certainly does not desere -what I percieve to be- an unfair bashing at the hands of many posters. Like someone mentioned, however, it's unlikely that the majority of visitors to this site are happy and content with their current situation so I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise.

Many of the issues we face here (B'ham/WC) are not foreign to other parts of the country (just peruse a few other state's posts). And as was mentioned, there are always trade-offs wherever you call home. Yes, the costs to live here mentioned throughout the posts (financially and 'otherwise'--weather, employment opps, liberal city/conservative county, development--whatever else you care to rag about) may be too costly in the eyes of some, but hey, nobody is forcing you to stay. And if you think you'll find Utopia out there somewhere, best of luck to you. And I say that with all sincereity.

I have lived and traveled all over the country (been to 42 States)(Lived in: New York State (upstate and city); New Jersey; DE; Indiana; PA; NoCal/SoCal; Idaho) Big and small cities; big and small towns. I honestly believe many folks suffer from 'the grass is always greener' syndrome and it's not until they find themselves somewhere else for a period of time that they truly come to appreciate what they had.

Personally, I find Bellingham and WC to be a special place. My wife and I chose to raise our children here, again, for the multitude of reasons stated and many others left out (i.e her family). We both work and make sacrafices (esp. financially) to be part of this community. Guess what, it's worth it! I know...repeat that...I know the majority of people who live here feel the same way.

We're all entitled to our opinions. I respect every person's right to express themselves. But for those of you truly interested in learning about Bellingham/WC, don't be misled by the negativity of many posters. Much of the positive things you hear about this place are so true; while much of the negative (in my opinion) is overblown.

To all those trying to find there 'place' in the world, best of luck!

PS: Again this has been beat to death but.... Real Estate prices...come on! Look at where we are!! Find me any costal communities, with world-class skiing so close; two great cities within striking distance; natural beauty abounding; a university; etc, etc....Where's the comprable city where I'm going to find inexpensive/reasonably homes? Not that I can afford a house on Chuckanut or up on South Hill mind you, but damn, for what this place has to offer it's a relative bargin! Don't get me wrong, it's frustrating. Today I couldn't afford the house I bought four years ago. And yes, I sympathize with young families/couples just starting out. I truly hope we can draw businesses willing to pay a livable wage to address that issue but that's for another thread. My point is don't kid yourself about supply and demand when it comes to real estate. People want what we have and who can blame them. And all you folks looking to leave are basically seeking what others have yourselves, aren't you.

[la_fuerza]

I was in Bellingham recently. I drove up from Seattle. This may not be a popular opinion but I like what's going on in the city with all the growth and all. My sister went to Western University and would always tell me how the city is growing and becoming more progressive. I saw that for myself with all the new condo development in Fairhaven and along Railroad Ave in downtown. It's becoming like a little Seattle. What great views people have along the water too! I like the new diversity as well, Bellingham is not as whitebread as it used to be. That is a good thing. I even like the panhandlers downtown, it gives the place kind of a big city edge. Bellingham will be a great place in about ten years as the city gets more cosmopolitan and dynamic from the spillover from Seattle and California. I hope the population hits 200K at some point and blends into the Vancouver/Surrey metro area.

[NWDUDE2002]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

... A few years ago some dumb retirement magazine named Bellingham #2 in the nation to retire in. As you can imagine they came in groves from California, Arizona, Florida, and more. Some of them not the best quality of people either. Real Estate prices went thru the roof, and are still horribly high, averaging around $470,000 currently for the homes listed for sale. Very few jobs here are capable of supporting such a mortgage, it's said that 90% of the working families here can't afford a home. There are so many availiable jobs here for that reason, alot of the workers packed up and left because there is pretty much no hope here. The anti-growth attitude of our local government caused a massive price increase of real estate and cost of living.

The value of property was growing before the magazine did the story. Despite the myth, growth in the community is not exploding due to a magazine article, but just reflects population growth in Western WA and many other Western states. The Bellingham Herald did a story about a year ago looking at the zip codes of where recent transplants originated and the vast majority were in-staters, specifically from the Puget Sound.

I lived in the Bellingham area for 14 years and loved it. Has its faults but in all is a great town.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Don't play the sunshine card. The sunshine comes with terrible sticky weather in Texas. You will worship the cool weather in bellingham by the time your a year into texas. Jobs: What ever. If you love getting slave wages. Once again, you want good pay, make your way down to Seatte for plenty of good jobs and pay. You want sunshine....move to phoenix or even Denver (300 plus days of sunshine a year).

Bellinham doesnt deserve all this crap its getting on this thread. Its really annoying.

That "sunshine card" trumps most other cards for a lot of people, if not you.
And I think you're not too well informed about job opportunites in Texas ?
I think Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston each are ranked among the top ten
cities/metro areas in the country with Fortune 500 headquarters, which usually also indicates a large number of professional positions in accounting, computers, managerail positions, etc. And finally, what you can buy a
house for down there is another big consideration, expecially for young-family couples.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

That "sunshine card" trumps most other cards for a lot of people, if not you.
And I think you're not too well informed about job opportunites in Texas ?
I think Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston each are ranked among the top ten
cities/metro areas in the country with Fortune 500 headquarters, which usually also indicates a large number of professional positions in accounting, computers, managerail positions, etc. And finally, what you can buy a
house for down there is another big consideration, expecially for young-family couples.

Hey just take the I5 south Until you hit the I10, go East and find out for yourself. You want to 6K in property taxes a year on a 200K house just to live in that Nasty version of the sunbelt, and all its humidity, go right ahead. Last time I checked, there were no Road blocks on I5 or I10.

I lived in Texas in 2007, lived in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, and Arizona in the past. Texas had the worst working conditions, lowest pay, a very high immigration problem, the worst weather, the most huricanes, the most tornadoes, chiggers (tiny bugs you discover if you lie down on your grass in your back yard) that eat you alive, Fire Ants, Scorpians, poisonous snakes, terrible drivers, no moutains (except for the west side), flash floods when you least expect it. Its a racist, flat desolate wasteland of hot sticky posionous misery.

Your high tech jobs will be in India as Texas has some of the WORST labor laws in the USA.

Bellingham, while also not a mecca for Jobs is beautiful year round, is surrounded by mountains. Has, at least to my knowledge, any poisonous snakes. No flash floods, no chiggers, Union represenation at the labor level, no Fire ants, no hurricanes to be expected, don't remember any tornadoes.

Bellingham is a beautiful wonderland of dreamy landscapes, rivers, with cool temps in the winter and the most georgeous summers to be found maybe anywere in the USA.

[Clint_Noname]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Hey just take the I5 south Until you hit the I10, go East and find out for yourself. You want to 6K in property taxes a year on a 200K house just to live in that Nasty version of the sunbelt, and all its humidity, go right ahead. Last time I checked, there were no Road blocks on I5 or I10.

I lived in Texas in 2007, lived in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, and Arizona in the past. Texas had the worst working conditions, lowest pay, a very high immigration problem, the worst weather, the most huricanes, the most tornadoes, chiggers (tiny bugs you discover if you lie down on your grass in your back yard) that eat you alive, Fire Ants, Scorpians, poisonous snakes, terrible drivers, no moutains (except for the west side), flash floods when you least expect it. Its a racist, flat desolate wasteland of hot sticky posionous misery.

Your high tech jobs will be in India as Texas has some of the WORST labor laws in the USA.

Bellingham, while also not a mecca for Jobs is beautiful year round, is surrounded by mountains. Has, at least to my knowledge, any poisonous snakes. No flash floods, no chiggers, Union represenation at the labor level, no Fire ants, no hurricanes to be expected, don't remember any tornadoes.

Bellingham is a beautiful wonderland of dreamy landscapes, rivers, with cool temps in the winter and the most georgeous summers to be found maybe anywere in the USA.

I'll have to completely agree with you there.

The original poster also said that Bellingham has a high crime rate that's over twice the national average...not true at all! Sure, there's a high rate of theft, but violent crime levels are less than half the national average. Wouldn't you rather have something stolen from you than be shot, stabbed, beaten, raped, mugged, etc.?

[stingray427]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Hey just take the I5 south Until you hit the I10, go East and find out for yourself. You want to 6K in property taxes a year on a 200K house just to live in that Nasty version of the sunbelt, and all its humidity, go right ahead. Last time I checked, there were no Road blocks on I5 or I10.

I lived in Texas in 2007, lived in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, and Arizona in the past. Texas had the worst working conditions, lowest pay, a very high immigration problem, the worst weather, the most huricanes, the most tornadoes, chiggers (tiny bugs you discover if you lie down on your grass in your back yard) that eat you alive, Fire Ants, Scorpians, poisonous snakes, terrible drivers, no moutains (except for the west side), flash floods when you least expect it. Its a racist, flat desolate wasteland of hot sticky posionous misery.

Your high tech jobs will be in India as Texas has some of the WORST labor laws in the USA.

Bellingham, while also not a mecca for Jobs is beautiful year round, is surrounded by mountains. Has, at least to my knowledge, any poisonous snakes. No flash floods, no chiggers, Union represenation at the labor level, no Fire ants, no hurricanes to be expected, don't remember any tornadoes.

Bellingham is a beautiful wonderland of dreamy landscapes, rivers, with cool temps in the winter and the most georgeous summers to be found maybe anywere in the USA.

WHAT ABOUT CUSTER?