Best Family Towns??? (Seattle, Vancouver, Bellingham: rentals, crime rates, home)

[SunnyRoses]

Hi All,
My husband, new baby boy and I are planning to relocate to Washington. What are the best family towns (pop at least 60,000)? Would love to hear your opinions!!! What about Bellingham? Bainbridge?
Thank you!

[Mark S.]

I don't know much about Bainbridge Island, but I'd advise you against Bellingham. For such a smallish city, they have quite a bit of crime. I suspect that it's a combination of being a college town that is within spitting distance of the international border.

[Screenial]

See my previous posts about Bellingham.

[the dufferz]

Sunny roses,

You kinda have to divide washington into at least two areas. There is Western Washington and Eastern Washington. The dividing line is the cascade mountains.

First off you need to decide what side of the state you want to live in. If you are looking for "family" towns - old style, you are probably needing to look at "eastern" washington. Ellensburg (they call this area "central washington") is about the right size and is a two hour drive from seattle (summer time). Small town feel, big rodeo in September. College town, lack of jobs is an issue.

If you want small town feel in Western Washington I would recommend areas between Bellingham and Marysville (Mount Vernon, Burlington), or to the south of seattle, areas south and east of tacoma and olympia (Tenino, Yelm etc.)

Bainbridge is OK, folks there known for a certain attitude about being from there, tough commute to anywhere from there (either ferry, or one bridge to the mainland). Good casino nearby.

[Cowlitz County]

Bellingham really doesn't have much crime, sorry to argue. I lived there for two years and rarely ever heard a siren and felt very safe, no matter what time of day/night. Crime isn't an issue to worry about, even with a university. It is one of the top five places in the US to retire for medium-sized cities.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Cowlitz County

Bellingham really doesn't have much crime, sorry to argue. I lived there for two years and rarely ever heard a siren and felt very safe, no matter what time of day/night. Crime isn't an issue to worry about, even with a university. It is one of the top five places in the US to retire for medium-sized cities.

Check the stats and newspapers. Most of the crime is property related --- burglaries, larceny, vandalism, etc. --- but it is definitely a high-crime area (for its size).

[Ryan]

With (or next to cities with) pops. at least 60k: Olympia, Vancouver, Bellingham, Wenatchee, Issaquah, Walla Walla, Tri Cities (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco).

IMO, the best family towns have pops. less than 60k. Smaller towns are more intimate and the people living there have a better sense of community etc.

[garliclover44]

i would say that a very good family town is lynnwood. right outside seattle, it is growing, and there is a lot of construction, but lower crime rates here, and good schools, parks, and places for a baby to grow up in. in my opinion, the housing area is a very friendly neiborhood.

[frogamigo]

Just keep in mind that housing is overvalued and you may want to be careful about homebuying vs. renting for a while. (this is mainly in the Puget Sound area.)

- Chris

[silverfox]

frogamigo,

You are giving very good advice on the housing issue. We just recently sold our home in Seattle and have moved to a nearby small town that has lower rental rates and we will wait it out for a big savings when we re-enter the housing market again sometime later on. The market is already starting to crack in some areas. The problem comming now is that rentals are filling up fast, and there rates may go up as well.

Silverfox