Best and worst places to live in WA

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by dtuba

Nope I think you had it right the first time.

Yeah nothing better than having your car stolen 3 or more times a year or dodging used needles in the park around garbage can beach, sure beats the quiet safety of Mercer Island...just lol at hipsters. Oh wait, they have IPAs there!!!!

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[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Yeah nothing better than having your car stolen 3 or more times a year or dodging used needles in the park around garbage can beach, sure beats the quiet safety of Mercer Island...just lol at hipsters. Oh wait, they have IPAs there!!!!

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This thread keeps getting jump started, most recently by some guy from Blaine having a house built? That sounds nice enough, really. If I were retiring or wanted to live a quieter life, I'd give that a thought. Former boss of mine ejected Microsoft and retired to Bellingham area, he loves it for just those reasons.

One would probably start to feel more Canadian than American after awhile in Blaine, since I'd personally hop the border into Vancouver for my kicks most of the time. If there is any easy way from the border to downtown-ish...that's an unpleasant drive.

The original question was "best town in WA" (and worst). I have no idea the worst, but No. 5 in the US a couple years ago, per Money magazine for towns above 20K persons, was my home Kirkland. Between here and MI, my other choice, life is pretty close to ideal. Expensive, but as long as the beaucoup income keeps coming in, who gives a ___t. That's the bear trap, of course: odds of staying here after retirement are not promising, absent a major adjustment in lifestyle (which I can do, I've lived poor, but living poor among rich people sucks. Did that in San Francisco in my 20s, and promised never again).

Food for thought. Now I'm curious about the "worst" places in WA...in my not-super-extensive travels east of the Cascades, I've not seen any hell-holes yet.

[rkcarguy]

Bellingham snuck into the top 50 worst places to live in summer of 2016. The worst part is our median home value is up another $100k now, extending the average home value north of 8 times the average family income. This ratio is worse than many places in California for example. It must be realized that most *responsible* lenders will allow you to borrow about 3-1/2 times your annual income for a home. Sadly, this leaves 90% of the working folks here wondering where the other half of the money is supposed to come from.
People constantly argue with me "but it's so beautiful here with the mountains, bay, rivers, eagles, clean air, green trees etc", unfortunately none of those kick out extra cash to afford the working family a decent and affordable place to live here.


"50 Worst Cities to Live in:

50. Bellingham, Washington
> Population: 83,363
> Median home value: $303,900
> Poverty rate: 21.4%
> Pct. with at least a bachelor’s degree: 43.7%

Based on a range of economic and social factors and outcomes, Bellingham, Washington is among the 50 worst cities to live in. A typical home in the city is valued at more than $300,000, considerably higher than the national median home value of $181,200. While this suggests some level of prosperity among residents, compared to area income levels, area housing is not particularly affordable. The median home value is 7.3 times greater than the median income, making Bellingham one of the least affordable cities in the country.
The city’s population is relatively well educated — 43.7% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to a national share of 30.1%. While greater educational attainment typically leads to higher incomes, Bellingham also has a higher than average poverty rate. In Bellingham, 21.4% of residents live in poverty, far more than the national 15.5% poverty rate."

[dtuba]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Yeah nothing better than having your car stolen 3 or more times a year or dodging used needles in the park around garbage can beach, sure beats the quiet safety of Mercer Island...just lol at hipsters. Oh wait, they have IPAs there!!!!

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You can keep your boring, overpriced lilly-white rock in the middle of the lake. I'll stay in Seattle where the real people live, thanks.
Actually, scratch that. Seattle and Mercer Island can both suck it. I live in Tacoma now and have never been happier.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by Blondebaerde

This thread keeps getting jump started, most recently by some guy from Blaine having a house built? That sounds nice enough, really. If I were retiring or wanted to live a quieter life, I'd give that a thought. Former boss of mine ejected Microsoft and retired to Bellingham area, he loves it for just those reasons.

One would probably start to feel more Canadian than American after awhile in Blaine, since I'd personally hop the border into Vancouver for my kicks most of the time. If there is any easy way from the border to downtown-ish...that's an unpleasant drive.

The original question was "best town in WA" (and worst). I have no idea the worst, but No. 5 in the US a couple years ago, per Money magazine for towns above 20K persons, was my home Kirkland. Between here and MI, my other choice, life is pretty close to ideal. Expensive, but as long as the beaucoup income keeps coming in, who gives a ___t. That's the bear trap, of course: odds of staying here after retirement are not promising, absent a major adjustment in lifestyle (which I can do, I've lived poor, but living poor among rich people sucks. Did that in San Francisco in my 20s, and promised never again).

Food for thought. Now I'm curious about the "worst" places in WA...in my not-super-extensive travels east of the Cascades, I've not seen any hell-holes yet.

Some posts on here described Concrete as not so great, with no jobs and a lot of drugs and related crime. There are parts of Yakima that I can do without. Although I have several shops and restaurants in Yakima that I like to visit when I am in that town. If a couple of people scouting Yakima, one coming in from the south, one coming in from the northwest part of town, and met up downtown to compare notes, they would wonder if they were in the same place.

For me, personally, the least appealing location is actually Seattle proper - high costs that provide "benefits" I don't need or want, insane house prices, insane rents, insane crowding. And since I work in Nuclear, not IT, the only possible employer would probably be the shipyard, which is not that appealing to me either.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by dtuba

You can keep your boring, overpriced lilly-white rock in the middle of the lake. I'll stay in Seattle where the real people live, thanks.
Actually, scratch that. Seattle and Mercer Island can both suck it. I live in Tacoma now and have never been happier.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by pinebaron

We moved to Blaine in 2015 and our home has been under construction since 3/3/2017 and expected to complete by June/July 2018. My wife and son often complain about the weather when it rains however love it when it's sunny; we always look forward to long summer days.

Yawn.

[Jay F]

I have had a few friends visit me from out of state in the 5 years I have lived in Yakima. They knew little or nothing about Yakima, some never heard of it until I moved here. They never heard the negativity and I didn't tell them about it. I wanted them to form their own opinion. You might be surprised but they all liked it and had a positive impression.