small towns or suburbs with cute little main streets? (Bellingham: real estate, crime)

[Guineas]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Agreed, I'd throw in Wallingford, Bryant, Phinney Ridge, North Fremont, even Montlake. All of those can have "neighborhoody" vibes, lots of kids around, good schools with access to coffee shops, restaurants, etc.

QA too. Seattle neighborhoods are what makes Seattle awesome.

[CoastieTX]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

I've lived in Bellingham three times and have never felt unsafe.

The high property crime rate for Bellingham proper (71) is almost certainly largely due to the high number of students attending WWU (16,000+), who are concentrated near downtown. Bellingham metro's property crime rate (43.1) is lower than the state average (45.9). (From Best Places.)

Um, college kids don’t typically commit strings of car prowls. Or operate open-air drug markets and stolen bicycle chop-shops near rundown RVs. They’re not typically found passed out inside people’s cars or on back porches, committing burglaries, lighting downtown buildings on fire, or leaving needles, feces and trash everywhere.

This is a dishonest attempt to trivialize our massive homeless/drug problem and suggest the associated crime is on the level of typical college shenanigans.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by CoastieTX

Um, college kids don’t typically commit strings of car prowls. Or operate open-air drug markets and stolen bicycle chop-shops near rundown RVs. They’re not typically found passed out inside people’s cars or on back porches, committing burglaries, lighting downtown buildings on fire, or leaving needles, feces and trash everywhere.

This is a dishonest attempt to trivialize our massive homeless/drug problem and suggest the associated crime is on the level of typical college shenanigans.

They shoplift, vandalize/deface, get drunk and break things, etc. I'm not saying they're responsible for
all, or even most, of Bellingham's property crime, but they are definitely a good part of the reason why it is as high as it is. Blaming everything on the homeless is misplaced. Every urban area has a homeless problem, so it cannot be an argument for why Bellingham has more property crime than other urban areas.

A homeless count found that there were ~700 homeless in Bellingham. Even if it found only one out of three actual homeless (2,100), it would still be dwarfed by the number of college students (16,000+), the vast majority of which are concentrated in or near areas where property crimes are highest.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by CoastieTX

Um, college kids don’t typically commit strings of car prowls. Or operate open-air drug markets and stolen bicycle chop-shops near rundown RVs.

Yeah, from what I hear the college kids' bikes get stolen and end up in those chop shops. The locks get cut in broad daylight. It isn't other kids doing it.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by CoastieTX

Um, college kids don’t typically commit strings of car prowls. Or operate open-air drug markets and stolen bicycle chop-shops near rundown RVs. They’re not typically found passed out inside people’s cars or on back porches, committing burglaries, lighting downtown buildings on fire, or leaving needles, feces and trash everywhere.

This is a dishonest attempt to trivialize our massive homeless/drug problem and suggest the associated crime is on the level of typical college shenanigans.

Yes, this is true, most of the college students are taking classes remotely. They are back in Seattle. Our daughter lives near the college and I can finally find a place to park nearby. And, there are quite a number of recent prowling and thefts mentioned on Next Door. Even Edgemoor. Besides, those in college would be smart enough I hope, not to ruin future employment opportunities with a criminal record. Students party; they don’t steal. Some of you apologists for the homeless are trying too hard.

[mjdboulder]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Yes, this is true, most of the college students are taking classes remotely. They are back in Seattle. Our daughter lives near the college and I can finally find a place to park nearby. And, there are quite a number of recent prowling and thefts mentioned on Next Door. Even Edgemoor. Besides, those in college would be smart enough I hope, not to ruin future employment opportunities with a criminal record. Students party; they don’t steal. Some of you apologists for the homeless are trying too hard.

Wouldn't it be quite a trek for homeless or others to prowl in Edgemoor? It seemed to me you'd need a car, or ride your bike quite a bit to get in there...

[CoastieTX]

Originally Posted by mjdboulder

Wouldn't it be quite a trek for homeless or others to prowl in Edgemoor? It seemed to me you'd need a car, or ride your bike quite a bit to get in there...

The homeless aren’t the only thieves. There’s just a lot of thievery here, and it’s been that way since I’ve been here (February of 2007). I had a coworker that bought a nice house up on Parkhurst and while moving in, someone took a bunch of skis and snowboards out of his open garage as soon as it was left unattended. And that’s a nice neighborhood away from the downtown core, just like Edgemore is.

If you go to the Washington Trails Association website and read the trail reports for all the hikes in the Chuckanuts, you’ll find report after report of vehicle break-ins at the trail heads. If they’re willing to drive a few miles down Chuckanut to do that, why wouldn’t they hit Edgemoor, also along Chuckanut, as well?

On a different forum, there was a discussion about a small fire in one of our buildings downtown (the Bayou on the Bay building). All the apartments above the restaurant were burglarized as soon as the tenants were told they have to temporarily move out. Just like that, the thieves took advantage of a bad situation.

If you call your insurance company, ask them what will happen to your car insurance rates if you move up here. Mine went up considerably, and I was coming from South Texas. I found that unbelievable.

Even though I don’t live in the Sunnyland neighborhood, I’m a member of their Facebook page. If they grant you access, it makes for some interesting reading about the frequency and severity of property crimes here.

We don’t have a lot of violent crime here, but the property crime rate, homelessness, and drug problem are the worst I’ve ever seen in a city this size.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by mayfair

Yeah, from what I hear the college kids' bikes get stolen and end up in those chop shops. The locks get cut in broad daylight. It isn't other kids doing it.

Shoplifting is by far the most numerous property crime and easily outnumbers bike thefts ten to one. Both homeless and college students do it.

[mayfair]

Bike thefts are a big issue. Tons of bikes in the area with college students using them as transportation. There are bike chop shops and it's dangerous to reclaim your bike. https://kgmi.com/news/007700-belling...n-bike-thefts/

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by mjdboulder

Wouldn't it be quite a trek for homeless or others to prowl in Edgemoor? It seemed to me you'd need a car, or ride your bike quite a bit to get in there...

Well, they ride *your* bike. Or motorcycle, or your car.

I drive by a homeless camp on my way to work every morning. Last week, there was two bicycles at one of the tents. I was thinking to myself "ok that's obviously how they get around and break into cars and homes in different areas". This morning the bicycles are "getting smaller and smaller"....so they are obviously stolen as well and they are selling parts.

2020 statistics are going to show a massive spike in crime, when they are reported. It's easily visible, and that is only what I see....
CoastieTX's comment about the crime vs. city size is a real thing. Bellingham isn't that big. If I take CrazyDonkey's 700 homeless population guess divided by square miles of city, it's 22 homeless per square mile along with a crime rate per square mile that is ~2.5X the national average. Something needs to be done.