possibly moving to Bellingham area (Seattle, Redmond: high crime, felony, buying)

[mapgirl]

We're looking for a quiet place with interesting people, affordable property with an acre or two, and mountain views (ideally). We'd like to be close to "culture": bookstores, movies, art galleries. But "close" could be a 45 minute drive or so.
We visited Bellingham 4 years ago and liked it well enough, but felt we needed to check out other places. Now we're getting closer to our move (less than a year) and feel drawn back to the Northwest.
How do you folks feel about Bellingham, Deming, and the other surrounding areas?

[Mark S.]

I don't know much about Deming.

I really don't care for Bellingham very much. The scenery is gorgeous. No mistake. But the college there seems to generate a lot of hooliganism in town.

Based on what you want, personally I would recommend Port Angeles, Port Townsend, or Anacortes far and above Bellingham. Anacortes is within easy driving distance of both Bellingham and Seattle. Port Angeles and Port Townsend would be either a long drive or a short ferry ride.

[rainbird]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Based on what you want, personally I would recommend Port Angeles, Port Townsend, or Anacortes far and above Bellingham. Anacortes is within easy driving distance of both Bellingham and Seattle. Port Angeles and Port Townsend would be either a long drive or a short ferry ride.

As for scenery you won't go wrong with any of the towns mentioned above. Bellingham is the largest and its the easiest to get to and from. It is a college town so you get both the positives and negatives that go with that. I haven't spent much time there but I would expect they have a lot of bookstores and probably some theater.

Port Townsend is an artsy type town. You might like it, long trip to Seattle though if you get the need for big city stuff.

Personally I like Anacortes a lot, however I don't think they have a lot of cultural things going in the town, so you would probably have to drive for that.

Port Angeles is a long way from anywhere, however it is just a ferry ride away from Victoria B.C. which is pretty cool.

Happy hunting!

[Pickyday]

We are also looking at moving to Western Washington. I have done some research and since we want to be a little removed from the city but still close enough to the airport (within an hour) I am looking at the following areas: Woodenville, Camano Island and Stanwood. I have also looked at the Lake Stevens area, however it appears that that area is developing very quickly and getting expremely congested!

Can anybody give me some feedback on the areas I am looking into? We will be moving this summer, so I need to focus really quickly!

Thanks!

[compltlyme]

Originally Posted by Pickyday

We are also looking at moving to Western Washington. I have done some research and since we want to be a little removed from the city but still close enough to the airport (within an hour) I am looking at the following areas: Woodenville, Camano Island and Stanwood. I have also looked at the Lake Stevens area, however it appears that that area is developing very quickly and getting expremely congested!

Can anybody give me some feedback on the areas I am looking into? We will be moving this summer, so I need to focus really quickly!

Thanks!

I live in Sammamish and it is really nice!!! But a bit on the pricy side. We are about 40 minutes from SEATAC. We go there all the time and it is a farily easy drive. And although I love it here there is on place I would rather live and that is Woodinville. Seems to have quite a bit right at your fingertips. In Sammamish we have to drive into Redmond or Issaquah to get to shopping. We only have a couple of small strip malls up on the Plateau. I wish I could tell you more but I am still getting to know this area.

[Screenial]

I lived in and around Bellingham for 20 years. We had a love - hate relationship! I think Bellingham would fit all the things you have listed. I guess it's all relative, but I think Bellingham is a pretty pricy area to live. Deming is still a pretty rural country, though it can be a quite a drive commuting into Bellingham on the Mt. Baker Hwy. The traffic has turned from bad to really bad in the last couple years. Nothing like getting stuck behind a slow driver on the only road into town Bellingham has plenty of culture. There are lots of different art festivals in Bellingham, Village Books in Fairhaven is a great place to hang out, listen to book speakers, check out an outdoor movie in the back of the store. I miss all the great seafood, and tasty hole-in-the-wall eateries. Bellingham has outdoor concerts in the summer. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't get rained on! Out of 20 Fourth of July's, only one time it didn't rain. I'd say Bellingham's biggest problem is crime, traffic, and housing prices. Bellingham's jail is so overcrowded, you have to have a warrant out for a felony in order to be taken into custody. It leads to a lot of less desirables hanging around down town.
Ferndale used to be pretty much a hick town, but it has come around and is pretty quaint now. My friend has some beautiful acreage outside of Ferndale, but nothing is close by, they put a lot of miles on their cars every year.
If you search my other posts, I have talked about other towns around Bellingham.

[mapgirl]

Originally Posted by Desertdweller

I lived in and around Bellingham for 20 years. We had a love - hate relationship! I think Bellingham would fit all the things you have listed. I guess it's all relative, but I think Bellingham is a pretty pricy area to live. Deming is still a pretty rural country, though it can be a quite a drive commuting into Bellingham on the Mt. Baker Hwy. The traffic has turned from bad to really bad in the last couple years. Nothing like getting stuck behind a slow driver on the only road into town Bellingham has plenty of culture. There are lots of different art festivals in Bellingham, Village Books in Fairhaven is a great place to hang out, listen to book speakers, check out an outdoor movie in the back of the store. I miss all the great seafood, and tasty hole-in-the-wall eateries. Bellingham has outdoor concerts in the summer. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't get rained on! Out of 20 Fourth of July's, only one time it didn't rain. I'd say Bellingham's biggest problem is crime, traffic, and housing prices. Bellingham's jail is so overcrowded, you have to have a warrant out for a felony in order to be taken into custody. It leads to a lot of less desirables hanging around down town.
Ferndale used to be pretty much a hick town, but it has come around and is pretty quaint now. My friend has some beautiful acreage outside of Ferndale, but nothing is close by, they put a lot of miles on their cars every year.
If you search my other posts, I have talked about other towns around Bellingham.

I did search your other posts and they (and the strings they were in) were very helpful. Since we want an acre or so of land, we'd be living outside of Bellingham.
As for traffic and crime, the fact that they're both rising is disappointing, but given that we'd be coming from Los Angeles, I figure there'd be little comparison (at least until we'd been there awhile and forgotten what we'd left ). We are hearing good things about the Ferndale area, so we definitely will look into that. And since we'll be retired (more or less) commute times don't really matter.
Any feelings about Skagit county?

[Screenial]

Skagit County is a little more spread out, more of a farming community. Skagit is flatter, and can have flooding problems.
I hate to generalize, but South Bellingham in the Fairhaven/College area is more liberal, educated, cultural, out in the North County ( Lynden, Everson, Ferndale) tends to be more conservative, family oriented, working class people. Deming is a rustic logging community, and Sudden Valley is , well........ unless you want to live in an isolated rainforest, DON'T move there!
If you are buying acreage, I'd say make sure you find land that has good well water. It really can be hit or miss. A high mineral content can mess up your plumbing fixtures, washing clothes, and ruin your hair. And just because it a community water district doesn't mean it isn't any different than a plain old well.
Good luck and enjoy your move!

[Pickyday]

I have been looking at relocating north os Seattle, however I have seen some suggestions that have mentioned Olympia, Montesano and Aberdeen. I have done a little research and schools seem fairly good and housing seems much more affordable than the areas i have been looking into (Woodenville, Stanwood, Camano Island). Can anybody give me some feedback on these areas? I will be moving with my wife and 10 year old daughter, so community and School is very important.

It just appears as though this area has a much better value in housing than the other areas i have been looking into!

Thanks!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by mapgirl

As for traffic and crime, the fact that they're both rising is disappointing, but given that we'd be coming from Los Angeles, I figure there'd be little comparison

Right on. Bellingham has what I consider a high crime rate, but compared to L.A., it ain't nothing.