What's life like in Coastal Washington?

[AlexJones]

I was in Westport a couple months ago and passed through the ghetto of Aberdeen - what a s-hole! Westport looked like a ghost town, with only, like two open restaurants, boarded up buildings, methed out people, and many shut down hotels.

[jertheber]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

bmsea, nicely done. I looked up this old thread out of curiousity, after seeing all those Seattle-area television and newspaper ads for the condominium auction at "The Point" in Westport.

On weather, we were in Long Beach a couple of weekends ago and really enjoyed it, but the wind got kinda tiresome after a while. Is Westport windy, also?

Yes, very windy, Westport is a ways south from the Grays harbor area, and therefore more open to the Ocean. The west end of town is buttressed by a huge wall of rock to buffer the wave action.

[bmsea]

But when it clears up its second to none.

The chamber of commerce tagline is "Pure wind in your hair fun!"

Here is a funny video of the weather in Westport:

YouTube - Westport Weather in February

[acwhite96]

Originally Posted by AlexJones

I was in Westport a couple months ago and passed through the ghetto of Aberdeen - what a s-hole! Westport looked like a ghost town, with only, like two open restaurants, boarded up buildings, methed out people, and many shut down hotels.

Sounds like it has gotten worse since we lived there! We moved away in 07 and were really glad to be out of there! 3 years was way long enough for us! It is a very popular place in the winter months for surfers to visit the bigger winter waves. Ocosta schools were ok. I like alot of the teachers there, but drama ville if you move into the school. School was pretty clicky for my daughter who started there after spring break during 8th grade. My younger ones didn't really have problems.

[angelagardner]

As someone who is also trying to relocate and getting rude responses from other forum members in different areas telling me to stay away, I am going to be honest and friendly. The coastal waters in Washington are not that good for surfing since the water is cold and if you are in the Northern area the waves are not surfable. That said, if you like surfing and move here, take up snowboarding---it's a blast and you aren't as cold as you would think. I hate snow but love snowboarding. Bellingham is nice for younger people, not sure about at teaching job right now since the recession is hitting us as well but WWU is looking for teachers, as are the colleges. There are sometimes openings at daycares if you need a job until the school hire again in a year or two. Cost of living here is normal (in my mind), the only thing that you have to watch is your heat bill in the winter when it colds. During the summer my power bill has been around $30 a month and gas $20--my heat has been off since May and I use a clothes line outside to dry clothes (tacky I know but saves a ton of money and I have a fenced yard). As a twenty-something person you will love Bellingham since there are people of all ages living here and there are a lot of things to do: kayak, ski/snowboard, movies in the park, a few nightclubs, and you are just an hour away from Seattle or Vancouver, Canada (in which you can ride the train for a small amount to both cities and not deal with driving).