Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle, Vancouver: environment, equity, apartment)

[Nomad1273]

And, by the way, I don't appreciate your tone. I wasn't being disrespectful to you when I answered your question, and I don't appreciate your disrespect of me.

[Nomad1273]

Not to mention calling me a "loud liberal" sounds a little like the pot calling the kettle black. You might want to check your own loudness level.

[scirocco22]

Ok, we're getting a little off-topic here in the last few posts. Let's not get into personal attacks, please.

Thank you.

[Nomad1273]

Thank you for reminding us to be on topic. I will stand up for myself when someone else attacks me, which racechick73 seems to do to a lot of people from what I've read. If I am supposed to just lie here and let her pick on me, I will not participate any further.

Thanks.

[middleoftheroad]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

Greenery appears to be your typical WA state "immigrant". "I sold my house in ________ and moved here and got a great big new house and new cars and bought an apartment building and jacked the rent up like where I came from isn't it great?"

Everyone had to come from 'somewhere!' When your family moved to B'ham, all of the old timers probably were jerks too! Huh? I'm from Tx (butthead Bush ISN'T!) and 60 years ago most of Houston was a desirable place to raise a family. Now its terrible! You know why? Cause all of the out of work miners and loggers from B'ham jammed into the place to get work in the oil industry!

AND...RACECHICK73: here is a forum where you can REALLY vent.........The SANDBOX!

[racechick73]

I was born & raised in Whatcom County. So were my parents, 2 sets of grandparents, & 4 sets of great-grandparents. The rest of my relatives have neen here nearly forty years. You can see why I'm a little disgruntled.

[Skytripper]

After reading all of the above posts, I have to agree that the real estate market is definitely in outter space in Bellingham and unfortunately.....this is true nationally with possibly the exception being the state of Texas.
I have lived in Texas and it really sucked!
I lived in Colorado and watched it too become overrun with Californians and others with too much money. The greed that went with... that spread corruption in the local government politics and other BS..... goes all the way to the top anyway and I became pretty disgruntled with what became of that state too.
But.....that's the American way especially when we elect politicians who really don't care about the people on an individual level anymore anyway.
Big Business...Corporate America....come FIRST! So the middle class gradually ceases to exist and soon its just the po' folk catering to the rich.....the path America has been on for a long time now.....especially since Reagan's day.
In a previous post.....someone said poverty=crime. That is not always true....generally it is but one thing IS true......GROWTH=crime.
I'm poor and NOT a criminal but I KNOW that crime increases with growth so I truly hope a lot of people DON'T move here like I did. I hope the gray and long, dreary winters keep a lot of people away.
Open space and natural beauty are things not to take for granted anymore and you really cannot put a price on.
I moved to Whatcom County a couple years ago and despite very long periods of gray, damp weather (Nov-April) and an unusually brutal winter this past year with 18 inches of SNOW in a single storm in Birch Bay (sea level).......it definitely beats the crap out of EVERYWHERE else I ever lived or even visited in this country!
I have lived or passed through pretty much everywhere from New York City to Hawaii and this place is VERY beautiful despite its downsides.
BTW.....Hawaii is the ONLY other place I can compare such beauty to (on a tropical level though).
Overall......it IS a very sad situation IMO.....nationwide and the future looks pretty bleak for the entire nation IMO......as long as things continue on the path they are now.
As far as Bellingham and this area is concerned.....it is very apparent that there are contributing factors not noticed in other parts of the country that are making it quite expensive to live here and one big factor is the sheer number of Canadians who infiltrate this county.
Gas prices have leveled off in the past few days to around $3.50/gal. unleaded and it is also very apparent that the housing market has slowed quite a bit in the last year.
The Canadian dollar is pretty strong at the moment and the American dollar not so great......very noticable here!
Most homes that are listed on the market are truly overpriced by about double what they should be and only time will tell where that goes.
Also.....the 2010 Winter Olympics are just around the corner and being that they are going to be in Vancouver B.C. could drastically affect Whatcom County prior to and afterwards in so many ways. (Something to think about).
Personally.....my family STRUGGLES financially and we have really had to make some changes as a result of the gas prices.......but the way we see it......WE would much rather be poor and live HERE than wealthy and live in MOST other places in this country!
It' TOO damn beautiful HERE!!!

[41Willys]

Skytripper I know exactly what your talking about. Ive seen it with my own two eye's,TWICE!! I lived in Colorado in the early 90's rite outside of Boulder.

They built these 5500 square ft homes only a few miles away from me that sold for 350,000. Well by the late 90's they were going for 700,000 !!

I moved back east to NJ, Im originally from NY, but I have a brother in Jersey so came back here for a bit. I just went through a big custody battle for my kid and actually won but was financially drained.Im in the country part of the state. 14 miles from the Delaware water gap.

So in 1998-99 there buying up farms and forrests and putting houses on em. There going for 190,000-220,000. Well by 2005 the same houses were going for 555,000!!

If I stay here 6 more months I "WILL" lose my sanity! Im coming to Wa. (In the back of my mind Im hoping all tha rain and grey skies will keep people away also!)
I just wanna raise my daughter in a place that I find to be home, in a beautiful state!
With that being said are there many jobs in the Bellingham area? at all?
I will be there in 3 months and will take a week to look around before I settle.

[racechick73]

Good luck finding a job here. Remember, it's a university town- you've got kids graduating with fresh degrees, and THEY can't afford to stay here, either!
BTW, the weather hasn't kept people from moving in by the thousands. I think a lot of people like it here b/c they don't usually have to deal with snow. You should hear all the complaints when we do get it- it's pretty entertaining!

[Skytripper]

Yes....there ARE jobs here.....BUT......
(1). The competition for any of the decent paying jobs is fierce
(2). There are a lot of low paying jobs (service industry, etc.)
(3). The best...or most secure jobs are in Health care (St. Joseph's Hosp), government and/or the school districts....and sometimes....the refineries (2 of them here in Whatcom Co.)......any of which can pay quite well....IF you are lucky enough to get on board.

Otherwise.....there is a company in Lynden, WA.....(Lynden Door) that makes doors, etc. and Ocean Necky Kayak in Ferndale that does make some sweet kayaks and ships internationally a superb product......but starting wages for a kayak manufacturer are around $11/hr.......a few lumber mills in the county also.....but that is some pretty physical work for a wage that just isn't as high as it should be, IMO.
Whatcom County IS the raspberry CAPITAL of the US (60-90 million pounds annually....or something like that).....LOTS of produce, flowers, etc. and PLENTY of recreational choices......along with the cleanest air in the nation possibly.

Basically.....I see it here as a trade off. Don't necessarily have the home of your dreams or the bank account you wish for.....but in return.......OUTSTANDING natural beauty and generally.....friendly people.....at least far more so than Colorado....which, IMO.....were about the rudest people I ever met overall......even worse than Texas.
Also.....despite its growth here......it certainly isn't like living in a large urban area with all that goes with it in the "rat race" and Bellingham IS a GREAT town still under 100,000 people......with a LOT of potential......IF the future is CAREFULLY planned out here and GREED doesn't take over!