Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle, Tacoma: section 8, motel, townhouse)

[kynight]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Well, to be fair this is a once in 20 or 30 year event that came in a series of storms with cold air already in place. So that makes things quite difficult. But I agree about the plows and roads not being ready this time-and should mention that in previous years- especially in Winter 2016/2017 where we had four or five decent snowfalls, the plows were out both during and immediately after the storms. So I'm not sure why everything is so delayed this time.

Regarding the forecast, there's just no way to get it right. Similar to Western NC (I lived there, too, for 15+ years), it's very difficult to get the winter storm forecasts right outside the mountains, where there's more of a likelihood of precipitation remaining frozen. But unlike NC, it's even harder to get the prediction right here because of several other factors, mainly the moderating effects of proximity to the sea, larger mountains, right nearby, and the existence of a phenomenon called the Fraser Outflow, in which cold air bottled in the BC interior mountains sinks down the Fraser River Valley and spills southward, especially affecting the lower mainland of BC and Whatcom County north of the Chuckanuts. It's what kept us colder and drier during the first few days of Seattle's big snows last week and is what kept us colder and snowier over the last few days.

Ideally the roads should be treated just before the snow fall. I can tell snow storms are tougher to forecast here. Someone told me 30% chance of rain means there will surely be rain. Where I lived before 30% meant probably no rain.

[rkcarguy]

I really wish we'd do something to address the cost of housing around here:
Funny how this article touches on all the issues EXCEPT the cost of homes/rents.
The truth is none of those job positions listed will afford the average listed home price, except maybe the $97K manager if he/she could save up a hefty down payment or end up the "lucky bidder" on a smaller home or fixer.

If I may(mods), the link to the article in our local paper.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/new...231219683.html

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

I really wish we'd do something to address the cost of housing around here:
Funny how this article touches on all the issues EXCEPT the cost of homes/rents.
The truth is none of those job positions listed will afford the average listed home price, except maybe the $97K manager if he/she could save up a hefty down payment or end up the "lucky bidder" on a smaller home or fixer.

If I may(mods), the link to the article in our local paper.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/new...231219683.html

It did touch on the cost of housing, near the beginning of the article. It gave the impression there was a vicious circle, caused by the high cost of housing leading to a dearth of workers in the construction field, which in turn resulted in home construction projects being cancelled, and housing supply, therefore, remaining low and demand/prices high.

It sounds like the word needs to get out regionally (West Coast) if not nationally, that there are jobs available in the trades in B'ham. People with a journeyman's license in the field make good money. Those without a license will still make better money than the average office worker there. Job seekers in those fields are overlooking Bellingham in their job search; they're going to the Bay Area, where the disparity between pay and rent is much greater than in B'ham, and to Seattle, where---ditto, and the Denver area. We can do our part here on C-D, to get the word out, when we see people on other state/city forums asking about the availability of work in construction.

[momma4evr]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

I really wish we'd do something to address the cost of housing around here:
Funny how this article touches on all the issues EXCEPT the cost of homes/rents.
The truth is none of those job positions listed will afford the average listed home price, except maybe the $97K manager if he/she could save up a hefty down payment or end up the "lucky bidder" on a smaller home or fixer.

If I may(mods), the link to the article in our local paper.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/new...231219683.html

Completely agree with you. You can't lure a permanent labor force that can't find housing or afford it.


This article also touched upon "Drug Testing Also An Issue"... It's not the testing, per se, but the drug problem here. It's not just pot. There's a big problem here with workers using heroin, meth. We're surrounded by retail / blue collar workers using where we live.



But, back to your comment... The article definitely left out a major drawback - imo - for this area: housing instability / availability / affordability.

[momma4evr]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

It did touch on the cost of housing, near the beginning of the article. It gave the impression there was a vicious circle, caused by the high cost of housing leading to a dearth of workers in the construction field, which in turn resulted in home construction projects being cancelled, and housing supply, therefore, remaining low and demand/prices high.

It sounds like the word needs to get out regionally (West Coast) if not nationally, that there are jobs available in the trades in B'ham. People with a journeyman's license in the field make good money. Those without a license will still make better money than the average office worker there. Job seekers in those fields are overlooking Bellingham in their job search; they're going to the Bay Area, where the disparity between pay and rent is much greater than in B'ham, and to Seattle, where---ditto, and the Denver area. We can do our part here on C-D, to get the word out, when we see people on other state/city forums asking about the availability of work in construction.

Ruth... From what I see here, there are a number of construction workers who come here from other areas to work on projects, but they do not reside here permanently. Their presence affects the rental market here and bumps up prices. We attempted to do a lease takeover for a rental we had and the number of inquiries from traveling healthcare professionals to construction workers outnumbered those of people seeking permanent housing here. Bringing more people here to fill jobs does not fix the housing problem here. Again, my opinion.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by momma4evr

Ruth... From what I see here, there are a number of construction workers who come here from other areas to work on projects, but they do not reside here permanently. Their presence affects the rental market here and bumps up prices. We attempted to do a lease takeover for a rental we had and the number of inquiries from traveling healthcare professionals to construction workers outnumbered those of people seeking permanent housing here. Bringing more people here to fill jobs does not fix the housing problem here. Again, my opinion.

"Traveling healthcare workers"? Does the hospital not offer permanent jobs? I've heard of this traveling nurse phenom; I don't quite understand it.

And yes; it occurred to me, reading the article, that in order to attract the construction workers the city needs, the jobs would have to be year-round, not seasonal. I didn't see that the article acknowledged that, and offered any solution.

[momma4evr]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

"Traveling healthcare workers"? Does the hospital not offer permanent jobs? I've heard of this traveling nurse phenom; I don't quite understand it.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you regarding this. I know this was a big deal in Arizona when I lived in a rural area there 10 years ago as well. I believe it's not so much that there aren't permanent jobs but there aren't permanent, local workers. I worked for a hospital in AZ and the traveling nurses there were individuals who tended to be single, adventurous types who enjoyed experiencing/living in different parts of the U.S. Their living expenses were minimal and they were paid quite well. I wonder how many of them actually landed in an area that they loved and decided to plant roots in...

[ndcairngorm]

Part of the lack of rentals is due to the fact that there is not enough student housing at the two major colleges in town. Whatcom Community College is attempting to address that by building a huge new student housing complex adjacent to their campus. We can only hope that this will take the heat off the 1 bedroom rental market.

[momma4evr]

Originally Posted by ndcairngorm

Part of the lack of rentals is due to the fact that there is not enough student housing at the two major colleges in town. Whatcom Community College is attempting to address that by building a huge new student housing complex adjacent to their campus. We can only hope that this will take the heat off the 1 bedroom rental market.

Yes, I will be curious to see what kind of an impact that housing near WCC will make. I remember when community college was for students who opted to continue living at home after high school and then moving out when they transferred to a 4 year school, etc. to complete their degrees. I am sure they studied the situation before moving ahead with this plan, so there must be a lot of community college students who are leaving home OR a large number of older, non-traditional students who are enrolled in college who need affordable housing. I have a child who attends WCC but has chosen to continue living at home due to the cost, desire for a quiet environment (and probably the perks of laundry & meals!)



Western WA University's enrollment is increasing as well, which continues to impact housing. Especially for small families in Bellingham. No adequate houses to rent if one is looking for a house. Most of the houses we see are priced so high a small family (i.e. 2 adults, 1 - 2 children) could not meet the income requirement or the monthly rent. The houses rent to multiple students who are forking out $500 or more for a shared house/bedroom with other students to split utilities. The new apartment rentals are not really designed for families or for the elderly or disabled for that matter. Vertical buildings with square footage that is decreasing with increased prices; no elevators. I know it's happening everywhere-not just in Bellingham :-(

[rkcarguy]

Agreed, it's sort of a Catch 22. The workers aren't going to stay, or come at all if there is no affordable housing for them. And when those workers are the ones that build and repair homes, repair and maintain cars, care for the sick and injured, and school our kids, we have a bit of a problem. I know many of the people that work on the turnarounds at the refineries stay in hotels or put their RV in a park and then leave when the work is done.

The "bunkhouse transformation" has continued to creep up my street. Families move out, the home sells, more parking is made out of most of the front lawn, and the next thing there's 4-8 cars in the driveway and parked in the street. I don't know how much of it is even being done legally.
Craigslist ads show that $400-$650 is pretty normal for ROOM rent depending upon if and what utilities are included.

As far as it "happening everywhere", it is to an extent, but I think we are seeing an extreme here along the lines of San Francisco and other super high cost of living to income ratio cities. Worse yet, the next recession could fold everything up like it did before. So why move here to work when you can't afford housing and have a likelihood of being jobless the next time the economy contracts again?

Every little bit helps as far as new apartments and townhouses, but the stats show that 6-10x the people are moving here compared to the number of units being built. Idk where they are even going. 29% of our population is students, so obviously that requires a lot of housing.