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You really have to see for yourself and go from there. Thankfully we have finally been seeing some of our "nickel" and some areas that badly needed road/traffic improvements are finally getting them and it's made the commute much easier to more of the little suburbs outside of Bellingham where housing can be actually reasonable. I'm going to touch on each one here a little bit.
Ferndale is about 10 miles north of Bellingham centered on the west side of I-5. Some of the best deals for housing are there, but it suffers from traffic problems having only two "pinched"access points to cross the Nooksack river into town. Also as seen this winter the Nooksack river can be nasty once in awhile and float parts of the city. I-5 access is right there so it's not a bad commute to Bellingham. A co-worker lives there and has complained of some gangs and alot of "tagging"(graffiti) going on there. Ferndales main strip has some good restaurants, a supermarket, furniture store, banks, etc.
Birch Bay is the next city north of Ferndale. Much of it is waterfront tourist type places. It is growing but lacks alot of the necessities and is basically a bedroom community and tourist trap. The scenery is excellent with alot of bay view offered. From Bellingham it's about 18 miles and the commute can vary alot due to traffic, But typically around 25 minutes. Living there can be a pain during the summer because it gets clogged with rubber-necking tourists and the beach front road speed limit drops to 25mph. Housing is expensive in some view areas, but there is more space here and more options for affordable housing a few miles inland.
Blaine lies to the north of Birch Bay at the canadian border. A quiet town from what I have seen, with fairly affordable housing.
The local economy is in constant turmoil here as exchange rates favor one currency over another. Factory outlet stores come and go, etc. Most here travel elseware to work, but it's near I-5 and a straight shot south if you don't get caught up in the border wait traffic. Blaine school district is rated as one of the best ones in the county.
To the east is Lynden. A largely conservative city centered on the Guide Meridan(SR 543) near the Canadian border. Access to lynden is gained thru SR543, or east on birch bay lynden road from I-5. Lyndens southern outskirts can suffer from some flooding.
Housing is generally cheaper than Bellingham although slightly.
SR543 is undergoing a widening project of several years. Formerly a death trap of a highway, traffic flows much better due to 4 lanes being complete from Bellingham's center almost to Lynden.
Everson and Nooksack(soon may be consolidated into Nooksack Valley) lie east of Lynden. Access can be obtained thru Haneggen Rd. to Pole Rd, Mt baker Highway to Everson-Goshen or Highway 9, or thru Lynden or Sumas(another border crossing). Everson has grown alot in the last few years and has some of the best values for housing vs. location. A home that would be $450K in Bellingham will be 2/3rd's of that there. The commute is straight forward as there is several roads to choose from with only a few stops going into Bellingham or Lynden. The Nooksack river runs along the south side of Everson and although it has been high several times hasn't flooded town since I was knee high(I think a log jam caused it in the 80's?).
It's about an 18 mile commute to downtown Bellingham. Roads have improved drastically since the repaving of the Everson-Goshen Rd. and completion of the new intersection at Haneggan and Pole Rd, as the state scurries to increase road capacities.
Further up Mt. Baker highway are the little bergs of Deming, Kendall, Paradise, and Glacier. Mt. Baker hwy and hwy 9 are the only way in and out, and flooding here can cut off these areas totally. Housing can be found cheaply but the 45 minute+ commute and gas expense makes it difficult to make ends meet. During the high gas prices last year many people from these areas foreclosed. Area's of these little towns have big problems, I remember reading the sherriff's report and of 72 "incidents" 56 of them were in these areas. It does have it's advantages of being near Mt. Baker and having a few tourist locations for activities such as skiiing or fishing and camping.
The 2010 Olympics are coming to Vancouver B.C. just across the border. While this is expected to bring in more local revenue, sadly it's expected the publicity will increase home demand and values will rise at least 20% more despite a poor economy. If your a builder or investor, that's great, but when you're trying to work and live here, the last thing you need is higher property taxes and more expensive homes. Those who know and have waited for the bubble to burst are buying now, for us it's the best it's going to get. We did not get nearly the annexations and new subdivisions this year that we have in the past, and this will only compound issues with elevating prices come next year. I could be wrong, but I haven't been too far off yet. Time will tell.
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Bellingham factual information and links
Good luck getting a loan for that median $319K home on that median income..at 8.4X the gross.
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