What is Bellingham like? (Seattle, Everett: rentals, houses, teaching jobs)

[corvidae]

I am intrigued by the city of Bellingham because of its proximity to Mt. Baker and the North Cascades. What is the city like? Are jobs really hard to come by?

[rkcarguy]

Best to do some searching,lots of info here. There are some jobs but housing is the problem. You'll be hard pressed to rent or buy anything for less than $1000/month unless you go out of town a ways or rent in the Ghetto area at the base of Alabama hill. College students keep the rents up around here.

[Foreverking]

Bellingham is fantastic, you can water ski and snow ski all in the same day. The whole place feels like it is in the middle of a fairy-tale forest. Not sure if you can make much money there however. I guess it depends on what you do. I would love to live there again, have been trying to move back for 20 or more years. I guess Ill just have to be happy about visiting.

[rkcarguy]

That's the problem, while it's good in that respect it's grown to a Hawaii-ish type place to live(certainly not relating to the weather!) You want to move here for what is has to offer but end up working 1-1/2 jobs and have to vie for position on the slopes..the boat launch..a parking spot at the grovery store....or the picnic spot in the park, when you do have time off. Average family income around here(about par with the US average) is just over the poverty level, but the cost of living fluctuates between 110-120% of average depending upon your exact location.

[jaja111]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

.........have to vie for position on the slopes........

The times (5) I've been to Baker were all on Holidays and 3 were Saturdays. I don't think I ever waited more than 5 minutes in a lift line. And crowds on the slopes themselves? Just ski the whole thing. Trails are only really suggestions as long as you know the boundaries and few cliff-out areas. Crowded just isn't something I could call the joint.

As far as the jobs issues, yeah, that's proving to be a real ***** for myself just starting to get resumes rockin out there for a move in October. It certainly isn't cheap livin, but heck I'm coming from NY so at least I won't be taxed into dust.

[Freebird2007]

Lots of Canadians

[djdawg321]

OP...you haven't told us much so it's hard to help you too much at this point. It sounds like you don't have a job yet? What do you do? Or want to do? How old are you? Family...kids? Looking to rent or buy? A quick check on Craigslist shows that you can get a 1 bed apt for $600 and up. If you rent a room you can pay less.

I grew up in Bellingham and have been back numerous times. I will be moving back there in the next few months. My reasons for loving that city probably won't apply to you. It just feels like home to me...I feel it when I arrive and it's hard to leave. I'll try and break down what I think of Bellingham into different catagories....

Outdoor recreation - Aside from the personal connections I have I have always thought of Bham like a mini Seattle...you have decent shopping...a skiing paradise close by....3 HUGE lakes in town that are amazing...and my favorite - Whatcom Falls Park. The natural beauty of that park is out of this world and the fact that it's smack dab in the city is a huge plus for me. I've been swimming in those falls (or about 4 different falls to be exact) for 40 yrs now and have taken my kids swimming there. So for outdoor recreation - you'd be hard pressed to find a better place. A quick nod to Larabee St. Park that is south of town just a bit...when you climb out onto the rocks and look over the ocean you feel like you're on the edge of the world.

Economy - some have already mentioned this. It can be tricky...I don't think it's the college kids that keep prices up, I think it's more of the influx of Canadians that cross over for shopping. If someone has a decent paying job I think they can do quite well in Bellingham. If you're not setting your sites on anything more than delivering pizzas then expect to rent a room and go that route. It really is an All American city in many ways...many people there are either attending college or have businesses of their own. There are still jobs to be had there - you just have to search. (and of course it depends on your career path as there are more of some jobs than others) The employment rate (as of July 2012) is at 7.4...slightly less than the US average at 7.7 and significantly lower than the 8.4 Washington state average.

Political climate - not sure if this is important to you but I'll include it for anyone else...I believe that Bham has a nice mix of liberal/conservative folk although I believe the leadership that has been elected has been mostly liberal. (don't take my word on this because I haven't voted in that county for years) I would say that no matter what side you lean to you would most likely feel comfortable. I myself am fairly conservative as most of my friends that live there are...but there are more liberal pockets in the town most notably the Fairhaven district and of course WWU.

Vibe - a corny word but the most appropriate I think. There are some towns that have an "alive" feeling to them...and some towns that just feel kind of dead...you know it when you see it or live there. Bellingham has an "alive" feeling to it. I think a lot of that is because of the college campus. There is something to be said for college towns and the young vibe/input that the town receives from it and Bham is no different. It's kind of cool because in the summer - when a lot of locals do their recreation thing - the town's population drops by 10k or so because the college kids go home for the summer so places aren't as packed. (obviously they can be from time to time but it's hard to find any city where it isn't during the summer) And the neighborhoods....I grew up on top of the fairly vanilla Alabama Hill but the before mentioned Fairhaven district at the south end of town is your artsy/fartsy/liberal neighborhood and it's awesome...even for a conservative like me! ha ha Every neighborhood is unique and there is a place for everyone.

Churches - There are many houses of worship in Bellingham and those that have no interest in church will be equally as comfortable there. One that I have enjoyed going to in the past is Christ the King on Meridian.

Other stuff - I could go on for days and I haven't even scratched the surface but hopefully this helps some folks out. The Ski to Sea race is - I think - the biggest annual event in Bellingham and is capped off with celebrations in Fairhaven. It's just like it sounds...teams start out on Mt. Baker and race down to finish in Fairhaven. (I think..someone else might be able to chime in here) Nearby towns - Lynden has a reputation as a strong Christian community (and it gets knocked for that although I'm puzzled why) but it also has a cute dutch heritage which is reflected in some of it's buildings, etc. It's about as close to Mayberry as you can get. Ferndale is similar to Lynden in some ways but feels more "dead" than Lyn or Bham....I lived in Ferndale for about a year or so.

If you have any other questions OP, fire away...I'll do my best to answer them...good luck!

[djdawg321]

I completely forgot to mention that Cornwall Park (again - smack dab in the city) has a frisbee golf course! Is that the right term?

[corvidae]

Thanks djdawg. Very informative.

I am not sure how serious my inquiry is. I am just in my initial stages of looking around, I have always dreamed of moving to Washington state but the more I read about Seattle, the more I think I would prefer a smaller town. It sounds like traffic is quite bad in Seattle, and it is not as close to the mountains as I originally thought.

I am in grad school for art, so I don't know what I would do for a living. All my degree really prepares me for is teaching college, but I have heard that with so many budget cuts in so many schools it is difficult to get college teaching jobs, so I am honestly not sure what I will do for a living. I have thought about going back to school again to just get an associate's degree in graphic design. I thought about maybe doing that somewhere in Seattle or Everett at the community colleges there, and then moving up to Bellingham after.

I am in my early 30's, and am married, but no children. My husband is a student also, getting his degree in adult education. I think he would like to teach at a community college, possibly. We would probably be looking for a small house, maybe out in the country a little bit towards the moutains (I am picturing a cabin) but in driving distance to belllingham. It would be nice to have a garage or something that I could use as a studio/workshop.

I am liberal to independent, so I suspect my political views would be much more in line with the atmosphere in much of Washington state than where I live currently. I am not so dogmatic that I can't tolerate other viewpoints, though.

[djdawg321]

Well there is Western Washington University....a beautiful campus that I'm sure could help fulfil your educational goals. My dad worked there for years and I've been all over the campus. There is Whatcom Community College in town too...I don't know much about that one though. Getting out in the country for a home is easy...well depending on your $ situation. Not sure if you're looking to buy or rent? More options with buying of course....less than 10 mins out of town and you're in the country....when I'm talking country I mean farmland. I think it's beautiful personally...if you want to get something more towards the mountains (Baker) that's always an option too...it's hard to find rentals out in the country though...it always has for me but you might have better luck. One area you might consider is a development called Sudden Valley. I lived there for about 6 months in a rental house. It's kind of a planned community but not a typical one like you would think. There are quite a few people there but it's like living in a state park. Lots and lots and lots of trees. Part of it runs along Lake Whatcom and even if you're just renting you're able to use the pool (I think) and other things they have. You can access the lake for swimming, etc. People that purchase there have some community fees, etc but I don't know a lot about that. I'll put a link here but not sure if it will show up...not sure if they allow links?

Sudden Valley - Home Page

I really can't think of anywhere else I'd like to live in Washington state...not that there aren't nice places but Bellingham is just so great! I could see myself in Eastern Wa and the climate is quite different than here though. Keep in mind that Bham is more like a med size city...about 86k or so....I guess it depends on what you're used to. As I mentioned before there are smaller cities close by like Lynden and Ferndale and they are less than 15 mins from Bham...hope that helps!