Bellingham WA vs. Eugene OR (Seattle, Vancouver: house, income, income tax)

[pnwguy2]

Bellingham has more of an urban attitude based on it being so close to major US cities, Vancouver and Seattle. Yet, you can still find some small town vibes, especially downtown.

I would say that Eugene has a better climate, with a modified Portland weather correlation, but somewhat warmer. Bellingham tends to get cold with the Fraser River funnels, and can get snow when Seattle will not.

Both areas have been on an uptick with COL, but Bellingham is perhaps more expensive.

Overall, Bellingham is better situated, but also in the risk of winter storms and a cascadia earthquake. While Eugene would also be effected by the quake, it would be moderated.

Both cities are college towns, quite liberal, and green. Tough call in the end.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

Bellingham has more of an urban attitude based on it being so close to major US cities, Vancouver and Seattle. Yet, you can still find some small town vibes, especially downtown.

I would say that Eugene has a better climate, with a modified Portland weather correlation, but somewhat warmer. Bellingham tends to get cold with the Fraser River funnels, and can get snow when Seattle will not.

Both areas have been on an uptick with COL, but Bellingham is perhaps more expensive.

Overall, Bellingham is better situated, but also in the risk of winter storms and a cascadia earthquake. While Eugene would also be effected by the quake, it would be moderated.

Both cities are college towns, quite liberal, and green. Tough call in the end.

Interesting assessment of the more urban attitude. It's funny- my in-laws just visited and struggled to find the right description for Bellingham, both attitude and layout. They called it "Rural Urban"- for having easily accessible elements of both a decent-sized city and a small town, but not really being either (with the added twist from having Fairhaven on the south side of town).

Regarding the weather, it's true that Bellingham is generally about five degrees cooler than Seattle- and often closer to ten degrees cooler than Portland or Eugene- but that also means more mild summers, and as we all know anything above the mid-80's in the lowlands west of the Cascades can be unpleasantly warm. We didn't hit 90 degrees this summer in Bellingham, unlike the Willamette Valley: Cliff Mass Weather Blog: The Portland Hot Box.

As for the Fraser River Outflow, it's an interesting phenomenon, but not one that people should plan their lives around. It happens every 5-10 years, and I've yet to even see accumulating snow going on my third winter here. But yes, a little cooler in general with more nights dipping below freezing.

Finally, there's been a lot of attention given lately to the fact that Bellingham would be better situated than much of the region, when it comes to earthquakes. Unlike other nearby locales, we're at a lower risk for both damage on land and tsunamis: When the Big One Hits. It's not going to avoid damage altogether, but it certainly won't be as bad as places to the south or west.

I mention these things because I feel like they/re generally overblown concerns overall, and I've seen a lot of other posts that make Bellingham seem like a significantly colder, darker, and rainier place than most of the Puget Sound/Salish Sea- which I just haven't found it to be the case.

So overall, it's a tough call, indeed. Eugene is bigger and feels a little more "big school" university town while Bellingham is more subtle, and a little less noticeably influenced WWU. Bellingham is also a retirement destination and a haven of artists.

I can't speak as much to Eugene's current housing market as I haven't paid as much attention since choosing Bellingham several years ago when we moved from CO, but from what I know it's a little more expensive to live here- and quite a bit more expensive to buy- a lot of it having to do with a limited inventory of affordable homes.

[pnwguy2]

We agree on most of this. The Fraser River funnel can cause big cold/snow events in Whatcom County. True, the last few winters have been mild. But growing up in Seattle, I remember snowstorms in Bellingham/Whatcom where Seattle had next to nothing. Perhaps the climate change will continue, perhaps not. Unknown.

Yes, also true about Bellingham being a relatively small city between two major North American cities. I think it offers a little of both cultures.

I would certainly recommend both Bellingham and Eugene as good places to live. They both offer a certain NW lifestyle without the traffic, high cost of living, and for the most part, crime.

A good WA/OR city vs. city, but no strong feelings on either one of them. (Disclosure: I lived in Eugene for 7 years, and was born and raised in Seattle and lived there for 31 years).

[ctr88]

I think when you add in the substantial savings from no state income tax in WA vs. OR, Bellingham might have lower cost of living than Eugene. This is really substantial, especially if someone makes above the median income, many people do not consider the income tax savings. Eugene is probably out for me since I ran the numbers and saw how much I would be paying per year in state income tax.

Having the Chuckanuts right there minutes from town seems like really cool plus for a quick hike living in Bham. And you don't have to fight 45 min of congestion just to get out of the city limits like you do in Seattle. Having such close access to Canada is really cool too for outdoor stuff, live music shows, skiing, a cosmopolitan city.

The smaller airport would be one of the biggest hits for me leaving Seattle to move to Bham. I priced a few flights I regularly do, and it seems to be $80-$150 higher per flight than going direct out of Seatac. Also, it turns what would be a non-stop out of Seatac into a 1 stop flight, or a 1 stop flight out of Seatac into a 2 stop flight. And on top of that, there is less flexibility with departure and arrivals as you need to either hop to Seattle first, or if you get back to Seatac late you might not have a connection up to Bham. And I plan to get out of state frequently from Nov-May to escape to sunnier locales, so the smaller airport makes this a bit more expensive and less convenient, but might be a OK concession to make to live in a smaller sized city.

I actually like a somewhat warm sunny summer, I don't want to be cold in summer after suffering though 8 mos of predominantly chilly overcast weather. I don't quite want it to be 85, but 77 is not bad. My hope would be Bham summers would not be too chilly.

House prices and rents in Bham although not cheap, look considerably lower than Seattle.

I was just in Olympia checking it out. That is an interesting comparison to Bham as well. Similar sized city and county. Bham has a bit more upscale feel, Olympia a little earthier and grungier downtown feel. I think I like the outdoors stuff close to Bham more than whats close to Olympia (Mt. Baker, Chukanuts, highway 20 corridor, state parks in B.C., Mt. Baker ski area and Whistler). Olympia has vastly more affordable housing than Seattle of course, and so much less congested, hectic and frenetic. I thought Olympia was an interesting place to consider for someone who has a telecommuting job but wants to escape Seattle congestion/prices/crowds, but still live in a decent sized city in the PNW.

This is why I'm thinking of places like Bham, Olympia, Eugene...I really don't want to live in a massive megalopolis like Seattle metro area or Portland metro area anymore. I want to be completely outside the sphere of these congested high priced hectic urban areas. Bham especially is it's own unconnected entity, not just a distant part of the massive and exploding Seattle sphere of congestion.

[CrazyDonkey]

And at 85 miles, you're not that far from Seattle in Bellingham. Just time it to hit Seattle off-peak (preferably early or late). A weekend visit is very doable.

By the way, Chuckanut Drive is named after Chuckanut Mountain (singular), which is more of a high hill than a "mountain", although it does have some great views. You're also not far from North Cascades National Park, the Anacortes ferries to the San Juan Islands and Victoria/Vancouver Island, Whidbey Island (and the ferry to Pt. Townsend/Olympic Peninsula), Camano Island, the Mountain Loop Highway, etc.

[pnwguy2]

Eugene is closer to Portland than Bellingham is to Seattle, but only by about 20 miles.

Bellingham is closer to Vancouver, BC than either of the above.

I would love to live in Bellingham if there was a job opportunity, but for now I am happy in the Tri-Cities, WA, enjoying a low cost of living, super strong economy, and sunny climate.

[perigee]

One thing to keep in mind with flying out of Bellingham is that you avoid the horrendously long TSA security lines in Seatac. BLI isn't a mini SEA, there aren't a lot of airlines flying in and out and it just barely qualifies as international. How busy it is depends on how the loonie is doing, but even when the Canadians are filling the surrounding parking lots, it's still faster getting through security then SEA.

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by perigee

One thing to keep in mind with flying out of Bellingham is that you avoid the horrendously long TSA security lines in Seatac. BLI isn't a mini SEA, there aren't a lot of airlines flying in and out and it just barely qualifies as international. How busy it is depends on how the loonie is doing, but even when the Canadians are filling the surrounding parking lots, it's still faster getting through security then SEA.

This is a good point that security is faster at a small airport. And it's likely a much faster drive or cab/uber to the airport since Bham is a smaller sized city you are likely to live closer to the airport and not face traffic getting there (vs. if you live in say Edmonds or Bothell or Redmond, getting to Seatac can be a pain). Also I love small regional airports, they are so chill, laid back and low stress vs. the giant crazy mega airports.

Also on the weather, the average day time high July/Aug temps for Eugene are low 80's, Seattle mid 70's and Bham low 70's. Seattle is actually just right for me July/Aug, Eugene a little too hot in summers, and Bham maybe slightly too cool, but maybe OK. Bham's average temps throughout the year seem very similar to Everett from checking the data. It's interesting that Everett is only 29 mi from Seattle but is a few degrees cooler with daytime highs and night time lows throughout the year.

[CrazyDonkey]

There's a convergence zone between Seattle and Everett.

What Is A Puget Sound Convergence Zone? | KOMO

Interestingly, there is another, although weaker, convergence zone between Bellingham and Vancouver BC.

[pnwguy2]

True, and offers no weather advantage to Snohomish County, unless you like storms. Everett and even Lynnwood can get snow when it just is rain in Seattle. Likewise, thunderstorms and/or rain squalls are more likely up there. I don't know of any advantage to this weather pattern, other than it may do better in drought conditions.