Moving to Bellingham (Lynden, Ferndale: rental, sex offenders, crime)

[jac0978]

It is surely better then Phoenix I can guarantee that. The schools out there aren't nearly as crowded as the ones here. Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate it. I guess I will have to see for myself when I get there.

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by jac0978

Hi I am in Phoenix, AZ and I am moving to Bellingham Washington with my family in a couple of months. Anyone who lives there, if you can give me some info on how it is there, I would appreciate it. How are the schools, weather, what things are there to do out there. Ect...thanks.

I know people will have their own opinions and some down right frown against Sudden Valley but you be the judge and check it out. Sudden Valley Community Association - Bellingham, WA It seems to be a love/hate relationship with Sudden Valley but I think the positives out weigh the negatives. The elementary school is Geneva Elementary which is supposed to be good. Here is the website to check out Geneva Elementary School. It's so hard to find the perfect place to raise a family and finding a good school, IMO is one of the most important. The community itself has many great amenities for raising a family which you will be able to see on their website. It's about a 15 drive to downtown so it's close enough to drive to all the great restaurants and excitement etc. The community is on a lake so you will enjoy it in the summer on the lake. I am purchasing a vacation/retirement home and the #1 thing my realtor told me was to make sure the home gets plenty of sun when the sun is out, because you will have mold problems. The locals will tell you it gets more rain but it doesn't mean the sun is shining in down town Bellingham either so IMO, cloudy or rainy doesn't really matter much to me but everyone has their own way of looking at it. I think Bellingham in general is an excellent location. You have easy access to Alaska by boat, ferries to the San Juan Islands, Canada is probably an hour drive, Mt. Baker for skiing and the list goes on. It rains a lot everywhere in the Pacific North West and you really can't avoid it much but just learn to live with it and enjoy the beauty no matter what the weather. Even though I am purchasing a vacation home in Sudden Valley, if I had to live in Bellingham permanently, I would still pick Sudden Valley, especially if I had small children. Good luck.

[Loriandrandy]

What, you only want to hear the positives? I truly thought I was doing you a favor being honest! (oh and by the way, I am getting out of Bellingham just as soon as I can find a job elsewhere...somewhere the sun shines for more than ten days a year. Somewhere the poverty level isn't so high, but the cost of living out in the stratosphere.

[jac0978]

I do want the truth but I have gotten alot of positive feed back from other people. I appreciate your opinion and I am sure I will enjoy the place much more then living where I do now.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by jac0978

I do want the truth but I have gotten alot of positive feed back from other people. I appreciate your opinion and I am sure I will enjoy the place much more then living where I do now.

Your only going to move to a town that you can afford. If you can afford to buy a home in Bham and have a job to boot that supports your lifestyle, I can not think of a better place to live.

[jac0978]

Thanks, it will be a good move for my family, we are excited.

[montanaroots]

I was born in Bellingham and we lived in Ferndale. Was a wonderful place in the 60's I am sure. We had a farm on the Enterprise Road and then moved when I was six years old. I have a wonderful brother and sister in law that still live there with their grown children and grandchildren, I love going to visit except I don't get to go as much as I want to. Remember that Washington State has one of the highest suicide and depression rates in the nation. I guess if you are raised with it all of your life (meaning the rain and cloudy weather) you are more used to it, but I am getting older and now the arthritis is effected by it. So there is something to say. Really the doctors tell people with arthritis to move to Arizona. Washington has a high rate of arthritis and fibromyalgia. Good Luck. Washington is a beautiful place as is Bellingham.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by montanaroots

I was born in Bellingham and we lived in Ferndale. Was a wonderful place in the 60's I am sure. We had a farm on the Enterprise Road and then moved when I was six years old. I have a wonderful brother and sister in law that still live there with their grown children and grandchildren, I love going to visit except I don't get to go as much as I want to. Remember that Washington State has one of the highest suicide and depression rates in the nation. I guess if you are raised with it all of your life (meaning the rain and cloudy weather) you are more used to it, but I am getting older and now the arthritis is effected by it. So there is something to say. Really the doctors tell people with arthritis to move to Arizona. Washington has a high rate of arthritis and fibromyalgia. Good Luck. Washington is a beautiful place as is Bellingham.

my arthritis hurts here in AZ too. Might as well have beautiful trees to look at again. Soon its going to be 115 degrees here again, and my skin will burn, the water in my eyes will feel like it boiling, the little spots will appear on my skin that I swear looks like skin cancer (but has not been so far). Off all the places on the map, I think acient man might have had the easiest time adapting to the weather to the Pac NW. Lots of vegitation, lots of food to hunt. Maybe a little rain (and freak snow this year) but other than that what else would they need.

[jac0978]

I hear that Foreverking....today is already in the mid 70's! I will get out of here before the heatwave hits, thankgod.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by jac0978

I hear that Foreverking....today is already in the mid 70's! I will get out of here before the heatwave hits, thankgod.

I cant enjoy this winter when I know its going to end. I H A T E D the summer. Its was miserable. what I would give to be taking a walk in one of many of the beautiful parks around bellingham, or to be sitting in that park listening to live bands in the summer time buy the ocean eating a roasted chicken. Instead Im in this concrete desert. Get out while you still can.....Bellingham calls.