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Topic: Thoughts on Bellingham (Read 3148 times)
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kkriley19
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I am currently living outside of Boulder Co and my girl and I are thinking about moving to Bellingham. I was wondering what the communities thoughts are on Bellingham and the access to the mountains for backcountry/ski mountaineering? Any thoughts on somewhere more conducive to what I am looking for? I am an HVAC technician, so I do need to be somewhere that will allow me to pay the bills.
Really excited about this site and fantastic stoke. It seems like you all have a great community of folks and I would greatly appreciate any advice that you all can offer. Thank you.
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cascaderider
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Bellingham is the only place my wife and would move to if we had the opprotunity. Great community vibe all around. Baker is about 90 mins away and has a vibe equal to Bellingham with easy access to surrounding mtns. Cant say enough great things about B-ham. One thing to keep in mind, you may not see the sun for 4 months. Like anywhere in Washington, greybird and straight rainy weather is common throughout the winter. Good luck to you guys!
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ddk
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Gotta agree - Hamsterville is a great place – I kinda want to live there again and have thought about it a lot. I went to college at Western way back when, meet my wife there, have many fond memories. Bellingham is close to lots of outdoor options, Mt. Baker and the North Cascades, great northern Puget Sound access, the San Juan’s are not to far away, Canada – almost to many options to list, pretty much everything with really really big mountain options. North Cascades highway is supposed to open up later this week which means lots of really big backcountry skiing options for a long time still this year again. B’ham is a college town with lots of activities….Not the weather that Boulder has (wife went to the Rolf Institute and really liked being there – I’ve like visiting). Bellingham is still a relatively small community for the Puget metropolis
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Scotsman
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The locals will try and steal your girl friend are are very secretive about their backcountry stashes and dismissive of Seattle skiers ...they even call one of the standard backcountry runs the Seattle Chutes because it's full of visiting Seattleites that mob it while they are skiing untracked powder in their secret locations.
But seriously...great town and my son is at college there and loves it, both the town and easy access to magnificent skiing and mountain biking. If I didn't need to make big bucks to pay for my expensive habits...I'd move there as well.
However...the economy can be tough and Bhmam like a lot of places had suffered its share of economic woes. HVAC technician sounds like a pretty good gig so you may be alright.... I'd call a few potential employers( google!) and ask them what the prospects are for a person with your skills.
I moved here 10 years ago from Santa Fe and consider the PNW the best place on earth despite the repressed and passive/aggressive natives.
Good luck.
worth 2 cents.
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lernr
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My wife and I are currently happy in Bellevue / Seattle and would not want to move to B-ham, despite all the good ski and other outdoor potential. On the other hand, if we were still in FL, we'd move there asap 
Don't know too much about Boulder but from what I've heard, it's a really cool place. Visiting B-ham a couple of times, I don't know why you'd want to go there from Boulder. Also, a friend lived in Boulder and moved to B-ham for work. He bikes but doesn's ski, and I don't think he liked it. Now he's in Issaquah.
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gravitymk
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Guess it depends.
Like Boulder, B-ham is a school town, and has pretty quick access to a lot of different things to do. Outdoors, Skiing, water sports (for the boaters) climbing, cycling (mountain, freeride/DH and road). I think it's less pretentious than Boulder and perhaps a little more balanced?
I lived in the Boulder area twice.
I worked in Boulder but chose to live in Nederland instead.
Restaurants and brew houses aside, I didn't actually care for Boulder all that much, but that's just me.
As an alternative suggestion, and possibly better for employment (that said, I have no clue what the market is here for an HVAC tech) maybe take a look at Issuaquah? On Seattle's East side, there is quick access to daily riding, and you are right off I-90 which will have you in the mountains in under an hours drive. From a lift access point of view, it's a reasonable drive to Steven's and Crystal, and a short drive to the Summit/Alpental. These same zones offer a lot of options for ski touring as well. Also access to climbing, rivers, etc... Probably not as progressive as Bellingham, it does offer good access to the mountains with a lot of options.
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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"
Hunter S. Thompson
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Randy Beaver
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IMHO the holy grail of western wa is a living wage +20% job in bellingham. 4 seasons of phoenomenal fun. great great town. if you can stand the winters 
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The mountain might get 'em, but the law never will
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skier8484
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The locals will try and steal your girl friend are are very secretive about their backcountry stashes and dismissive of Seattle skiers ...
As a Bellingham local (for the last 5 years) I can attest this much is true. It's a sweet town for outdoor enthusiasts, and since you already have female companionship, you won't mind the fact it's completely devoid of non-college aged women.
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aaron_wright
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One thing to keep in mind, you may not see the sun for 4 months. Like anywhere in Washington, greybird and straight rainy weather is common throughout the winter. Good luck to you guys!
What about the eastern half of the state?
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Scotsman
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What about the eastern half of the state?
For the liberal elite coastal dwellers the Midwest starts at Cle Elem.
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Randy
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The Wenatchee / Leavenworth area has a lot going for it in terms of outdoor fun. Employment would be more challenging that Puget Sound City (Seattle/Tacoma/Everett) or B-Ham.
Politically Washington is a bi-colored state, as a very rough generalization -- west of the cascades it is a "Blue" state, east of the Cascades it is a "Red" state. But since there are so dang many folks living in Puget Sound City the state as a whole is a reliable "Blue" state -- which thankfully spares Washingtonians from most presidential campaign advertising.
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samthaman
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Bellingham is a cool town, but don't delude yourself it isn't that close to either skiing or climbing. If you're a mountain biker, trail runner, or water sports person (though not flyfisherman) you might be in heaven though.
I have no idea what the job situation is for your field, but its generally a pretty tough area to find work in.
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Jonn-E
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For the liberal elite coastal dwellers the Midwest starts at Cle Elem.
Now that's just a gross mischaracterization of 'Merica. "The West" actually starts at Ellensburg. Ellensburg marks the true start of the arid scrubland and has a rodeo to prove it. The West extends out to the great Rocky Mt. thrusts out of the plains, at which point the Midwest starts. Given that Boulder is basically on an apron of the last hill I'm willing to allow it into The West. 'Mericologists have been arguing for years about Denver; personally I consider it part of the Midwest. Cle-Elum and Leavenworth are in that no-man's land between The West and The Wet, where things are confusingly dry yet still green. Not enough suffering for people to want to actually live there.
And yes that does mean The West is actually east of the west coast.
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aaron_wright
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The Wenatchee / Leavenworth area has a lot going for it in terms of outdoor fun. Master of understatement.
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lernr
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I just chatted with my friends (Denver + Boulder Co, then B-ham, now Issaquah) and they said that Boulder and B-ham are actually pretty similar, just B-ham is smaller. They even offered tips on places to live, etc. if you decide to move.
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T. Eastman
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Sam is right on. If you climb and ski you will spend lots of money on gas since the goods are over an hour away at minimum. But, the ski season lasts forever if you are motivated.
If you are a climber, the Boulder area is the best metro area in the county. If you like working in the garden, Bellingham can't be beat...
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Jason4
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The snow is wet and sticky, don't pretend that it makes up for it just because we had snow and Colorado didn't this year. The mountains are small, especially when compared to the bountiful 14ers in CO. The air is too wet all year round and it's thick. We have really black dirt that stick to your shoes and track on the carpet, not like the dust in CO. The closest ski area to Bellingham doesn't even have high speed quads and only 8 slow chairs. Whistler is at least 3.5 hours away and it's 2.5 to Squamish for real big wall climbing. For being so close to salt water you still have to travel at least 1.5 hours to surf, kite surfing is a lot closer. The locals are a-holes and will steal your girlfriend (but we'll leave your wife alone). Finding a decent climbing gym is a challenge.
That said, I've lived in Bellingham longer than anywhere else in my life and travel a lot for work. When I have time off I'm happy to spend it close to home because there is still so much for me to do here. The job market is tough though, I'm happy to have the work that I have because it keeps me close to home and pays for the toy.
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kkriley19
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Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who posted, really appreciate your thoughts. Keep em coming. It sounds like, from the posts, that driving will definitely be required, however it is over an hours drive for me to get anywhere from boulder except the beautiful Indian Peaks (which have terrible access in the winter and long approaches in the spring). My main interest is skiing though and it sounds like from this site you can ski all year round, which would be a dream come true for me as that is my true passion. In terms of 14ers out here, except for the San Juans and Sangre de Cristos, they are really not very challenging mountains and more oversized hills that are not very technical. Some fantastic classic ski decents in the spring though that are only safe for about two to three months if they are in. Whats the gas prices like in Washington on average, pretty high? Once again thank you for your thoughts.
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cascaderider
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Washington State seems to have some of the highest priced gas in the nation with Bellingham having even higher prices than major nearby cities. I think there is a huge refinery in Birch Bay just north of Bellingham too. Not sure why the significant price increase. I'm sure someone on this site may know why. Again, good luck with everything! BTW, after my first post last night about your Bellingham questions I told my wife about your questions. She graduated from Western, lived there for 4 years and had good times in B-ham. We sat around talking about all the cool things in that town and surrounding area. I think you started something in my household. I also just heard the other day that Bellingham airport has the lowest airline prices in the country.
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Jonn-E
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Not sure why the significant price increase. I'm sure someone on this site may know why.
Taxes, mostly.
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T. Eastman
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Proximity to the BC border gives a fine reason to adjust gas prices upward...
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dberdinka
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Hmmm......
I've lived in Bellingham for 20 years now. Maybe I'm jaded but it's really not that great.
The weather blows a majority of the time (supposedly it's ranked as the cloudiest city in the US)
Skiing and climbing are not close by at all.
The job market is and always has been mediocre
Culture is lacking and social networks are reticent (blame the weather and google "Seattle Freeze")
The North Cascades in mid or late summer are amazing but damn the summer can be short!
The Front Range weather, combined with a seemingly better economy and ridiculous access to all sorts of outdoor activites seems like a shangrila in comparison. I'd go in a heartbeat if I could convince my wife to move away from family. If all that matters is faceshots on storm days make the move but if you're balancing or planning on balancing family, career and other interests stay put, you got it pretty damn good.
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James Wells
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The things that can make Bellingham great are situational. If you are all out for mountains and want to live right in them and ski out the door after breakfast into sunshine, there will be better places. If you like all of: the ocean, the mountains, and a right-size town for raising kids, I think it's hard to beat.
The compression of the distance from the ocean to real mountains is pretty great if you value it. We have 15 minutes to the bay going west, and 75 minutes to a Baker trailhead to the east, with numerous parks in between.
Yes, employment is pretty tough around here especially compared to cost of living.
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« Last Edit: 05/11/12, 08:17 AM by James Wells »
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peteyboy
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14 years ago it came down to Boulder or Bellingham for me; I've never regretted my decision as I think Bellingham is the best small city for people with our/these interests to live in if you need to work and raise a family. If you have a better job market, you get more urban congestion. Surprisingly, no one has yet espoused the stability of the maritime snowpack, a factor not to be ignored.
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markharf
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I tried Boulder fifteen years ago but ended up in Bellingham. Boulder's too dry for my taste, too hot, the mountains lack significant glaciers, the backcountry skiing is sparse during avalanche season and again during summer and fall.... Plus the sea kayaking, seals, orcas and salmon are a thousand miles away.
For Bellingham you need a degree of tolerance for gray skies and drizzle. Boulder is perfectly suited if you climb rock and don't mind the fact that the only significant bodies of water are reservoirs. I'll say I also liked Boulder more socially, but then again the cost of entry (i.e. housing purchase) seemed ridiculous.
Horses for courses.
Mark
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