Maple Falls (Seattle, Bellingham, Nooksack: for sale, rentals, how much)

[dcgirl]

Does anyone have any personal information about Maple Falls (as opposed to chamber of commerce, etc)? The houses that I have seen for sale on the internet seem to be very reasonably priced for some pretty nice homes. Thanks.

[curiouser2]

Hi.

I'm not from Wash., so don't have info about Maple Falls but I'm thinking of moving to Wash. & I love the name "Maple Falls." Where is it in relation to Seattle? And what prices did you see for homes (are the homes old, by the way? I love older homes)?

[Sign]

Maple Falls IS a dinky, little town on the Mt. Baker Highway about 45 minutes east of Bellingham.
It is definitely a gorgeous area with very dense forest and the Nooksack River. Nooksack Falls and the, even smaller town of Glacier, lie further up the road on your way to the ski area (Mt. Baker). Glacier is really.....the last form of civilization in these woods.....before several more miles of THICK forest all the way up to Baker.
Maple Falls:
A convenience store, restaurant, bar, a post office.....and ski rental shops.
All I can recall other than the most traffic here is during ski season and there's NO other way for those going to or from Mt. Baker Ski Area to travel.....but through here.
There ARE some nice houses in the area but there is a reason why they are relatively....less expensive, with comparable properties around Bellingham.
I believe more houses here use propane for their primary source of heat?
Don't know if well water is prevalent here, but it is in the area.
Other than that, the area does have a reputation for some criminal activity (theft, burglary, drugs and even the Russian mafia?) in nearby areas like Kendall/Paradise Lks. Other than this is the lengthy commute to Bellingham which would likely explain the lower cost of houses here.
Also....I believe many houses around Maple Falls.....are used mostly during the ski season as rentals or for summer retreats.
It IS beautiful and pretty quiet. True Sasquatch country for sure!

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Sign

Maple Falls IS a dinky, little town on the Mt. Baker Highway about 45 minutes east of Bellingham.
It is definitely a gorgeous area with very dense forest and the Nooksack River. Nooksack Falls and the, even smaller town of Glacier, lie further up the road on your way to the ski area (Mt. Baker). Glacier is really.....the last form of civilization in these woods.....before several more miles of THICK forest all the way up to Baker.
Maple Falls:
A convenience store, restaurant, bar, a post office.....and ski rental shops.
All I can recall other than the most traffic here is during ski season and there's NO other way for those going to or from Mt. Baker Ski Area to travel.....but through here.
There ARE some nice houses in the area but there is a reason why they are relatively....less expensive, with comparable properties around Bellingham.
I believe more houses here use propane for their primary source of heat?
Don't know if well water is prevalent here, but it is in the area.
Other than that, the area does have a reputation for some criminal activity (theft, burglary, drugs and even the Russian mafia?) in nearby areas like Kendall/Paradise Lks. Other than this is the lengthy commute to Bellingham which would likely explain the lower cost of houses here.
Also....I believe many houses around Maple Falls.....are used mostly during the ski season as rentals or for summer retreats.
It IS beautiful and pretty quiet. True Sasquatch country for sure!

Oh yep ... I refrained from responding when I first saw this a few days back ... didn't want to be the first one to mention: the immigrant group that has kind of settled into the area from eastern Europe. Significant among them are a rather distinct religious sect that is very closed ... they are not exactly, um, 'reaching out' to their new homeland communities and cultures. Certainly these new arrivals are not the only residents ... yet, somehow, they do seem to dominate the new character of the area more than their numbers would seem to justify. And, while there is certainly good in all, there is also a fairly unpleasant ambiance to the near communities these days. It'll all shake out eventually, I suppose.

Pretty area? You bet! ... but, aside from cultural issues mentioned above: be absolutely SURE you can handle the wet, cold isolation that increases exponentially as you approach Mt. Baker from the Bellingham interstate corridor. No kidding. If you are not a native, wet-sider Northwesterner, you might not be able to handle the way the mountain attracts clouds and precipitation like a magnet attracts iron-filings, no matter how much you think you love rain and gray.

Tread carefully and thoughtfully here. LOTS of time would be required on site before you could make a well-informed and advised decision to move to Maple Falls and Granite areas.