Bellingham, Washington

University town located on Puget Sound with sweeping view of San Juan Islands and snow-capped Cascade Mountains, minutes away from one of the world's great international cities Vancouver BC, environmentally aware, politically active, great place to raise a family, outdoor recreation opportunities all year long, not too hot in summer, West Coast property still affordable...but most do not want more people to move here. It's a lovely size for a city, and minutes outside city limits are beautiful farms and forests. Developing over 137 acres of waterfront property donated by Georgia-Pacific which over the next 25 years will transform the downtown and waterfront areas.

I have lived in 3 other states. I have traveled the whole US. The quality of life in Bellingham supersedes all the others. There is absolutely no end to a better quality of life up here. Yes it costs more to live here and the housing is higher than other places, but it is a better place to live, work, and play than all the other areas I have been to. My husband and I live much richer lives up here in more ways than one!

I was just reading through the comments and I am shocked to see all negative ones about Bellingham. I moved here almost 6 years ago from Ohio and we LOVE it here! The people have always been wonderful and kind, and the climate is great. Sure the cost of living is a bit high, but with Minimum wage so high it is manageable here. I will agree that most of the locals shun growth here, but that is to be expected. We are already at capacity and still growing in leaps and bounds. The main problem with the area are the Canadians that come down and have no clue how to drive here and cause accidents and traffic headaches.

One of the most beautiful places on Earth.Mid size college town with great access to lots of outdoor activities.Mountains, hiking, and even the ocean.Just a short drive to Seattle for all of those big city amenities. And if you really want some culture just minutes to a whole other country... Canada

I love living in Bellingham. A common typo of mine is Belongham. Purely accidental, but truth. I endure the wet dreary winters, autumns and springs for the amazing summer. There is beauty everywhere. Water, mountains, outlying pastures, cute downtown, funky neighborhoods. However, the job market is TERRIBLE. It is becoming unaffordable to live here and have any hopes of ever paying off our mortgage, or have a quality of life that does not revolve around the sheer expense of living, commuting and working here. I've lived here 11 years and I love lovelove it. Considering relocating to another part of the country to avoid waking up in 30 years only to realize I did not have time outside of working my butt off to actually enjoy the quality of life this beautiful, unique town affords. So sad! Californians and big money retirees... go away

I'm a born and raised, 6th generation, resident of Bellingham. I've seen a lot of places and Bellingham still ranks near the to, esp during Bellingham summers. The geography is a bay rapped around by a hill or two. These hills have many beautiful view homes, nothing built after 1950, and most built before the Depression. At opposite ends of town are two more ports, one with the Alaskan Ferry Terminal sports a tiny, real, 19th cent town. On the other a bluff with even more victorian mansions. Great place to live, unless you NEED the sun or if you are too ambitious. Bellingham is Northwest at it's core. Until 1950 or so most citizens felt that Western Washington was their country. We received news about New York and Peking with equal disinterest. The world forgot us, and we forgot it. There is a gut disbelief in success. Developments and new stores are viewed with suspicion. They secretly believe that the university there belongs to them, like a lake or something, ("doesn't every town have a college?"). People come here expecting action, and wonder why no one is smart enough to have thought of this before. This attitude wears newcomers out. Yes, they are crazy. Life is slower. They accept the poor as people, but are less sure about the rich. Recently, retirees hoping to "house-up" again, discovered Bellingham. Their friends who inherited the big bucks discovered Port Townsend. The town lacks business, housing is cheap, soo retirees come; some locals feed, the rest complain about the impossible housing situaition. Last point. Most people here aren't here by accident; most chose to come, many work to stay. There are a few special towns around the Sound; Seattle, Tacoma etc, and Bellingham is one of them.

Beautiful but locals don't want new residents - 5/10/2007 Having lived here for 15 years I can say the natural beauty is incredible. You also have a diverse mix of political persuasions here. In the county most people are very conservative and in the city most are liberal to very liberal. The one thing conservatives and liberals can agree on is that they don't want people moving into their community. Liberals are very anti-growth of any kind. Conservatives fear that they will eventually lose their small town/farming lifestyle. After 15 years we still feel like outsiders and are on the verge of leaving

Bellingham, Washington - 1/17/2007 Bellingham has very low expectations so living here is easy. It's easy to get too comfortable here and wake up one day finding that you've stayed too long. You don't burn out in Bellingham, you rust. You can dress like a slob and fit right in. Misfits and alternative lifestyles and means of living are accepted here. Wear a suit and you'll be the odd ball. People here are not materialistic which is refreshing. Bellingham is a retirement/college town so people 25-50 will find it hard to meet people their own age and work on their career. There's very little money floating around. Lots of homeless, beggars, lots of students fighting for the same minimum wage job. Real estate is expensive but rents are cheap. Everyone here seems to be liberal and environmentally conscious but there are no smog inspections for vehicles and the bay here is polluted with mercury. People don't fish or swim in the bay. Long summer

days with sunset after 9pm. Lack of sunlight can be a problem in the winter when the sun "sets" at 4pm (you can't see the sun though), rains constantly and everything stays soggy for months

More jobs are needed for a balanced community - 6/30/2006 While I consider Bellingham to have the finest quality of life of anywhere I have been, good paying jobs are scarce. A recent influx of well-off retirees and urbanites fleeing Seattle have raised house prices beyond the price that the average working person can afford. Unless the job situation improves, Bellingham is in danger of becoming a boutique community for the affluent, and will lose much of the charm that made it desirable

Beautiful, moderate climate, expensive but might b - 9/5/2009 Bellingham is a very nice town in a beautiful area. There are numerous city parks and many things to do nearby. For sports recreationists, it is paradise! Skiing, kayaking, fishing, biking, it does'nt get better. But it comes at a cost, cost of living is very-very high and wages are low! During the winter it rains and rains and rains and on rare occasion it snows. During the summer it rains, and sometimes is sunny and may have a few days in the high 80's and is sunny in the low 70's but only for a month or so, then rain and 55-60 degrees pretty much the rest of the year. The coldest it gets is about 15-20 above for a rare day or two. People in the area are generally friendly and very quite diverse and liberal. Definitely a melting pot of differing beliefs and types of people. If your a conservative, fellow cohorts might be hard to find. Shopping, theatre and other amenities are very good, concerts are slim to none however as there is no event center (insert whine here). It is a short drive to Seattle or Vancouver BC for just about any shopping or cultural ammenity. If you can stand the rain and like cool temperatures, are liberal you will like it here, if you don't keep looking. (Just an opinion

Nice Weather - 4/1/2009 It rains often but the rain is usually a mist rather than a downpour. The downside (for me) is no thunderstorms. Being from the midwest I really miss them. Weather is cool and comfortable almost year round. There are very few bugs Crimes and Jobs - 1/31/2009 Crime is up in Bellingham, WA and jobs are dropping like fly's. Your Job report on Bellingham is way off how old is this report? Since early 2008 the area has been on a steady losing skid. at least 3 major furniture retailer's closed their doors in 2007 along with two other major retailer's saying good bye to Bellingham, even the Restaurant chain that had been in Bellingham for decades, the "Black Angus

Restaurant" closed it's door's late 2007 or early 2008 saying the business climate was not getting any better in Bellingham, a lot of long time employees were stunned. Let's see, oh yea, Bob says the local Burger King on the south side of town closed two years ago and the Popeyes Fried Chicken place closed... it had only been opened a year...the long tome centerally located KFC closed over a year ago..the owner Bob says gave a "B.S." reason for closing saying something that is rent was going up, the building still sits empty over a year later. A retail business mall they started planning for 3 1/2 years ago and finished last year..a beautiful looking set of buildings my freind says...have no announced tentants to this very day and apparently none in the near future to be announced. Ther list goes on and on over proced housing higher utilities costly food, marginalized healthcare due to lack of competiton, University students announcing they will be leaving the local school because they want the "Full University Experience" which means attending a cllege football game on a crisp fall day to cheer on their school...a truly American experience..I'veben there to cheer on my team on those fall days. The local University which a month or so ago won a Division 1 football Bowl game and has played football for at least 100 Years hascut the discontinued the program and layed off all the staff. The local Aluminum Plant continues to layoff it's employees and independent retailer's are falling by the wayside. My friend Bob say's he believes that Bellingham's slow decline actually began back in the 80's when it seemed that ever highly placed elected official, i.e. mayor... who after leaving office took a job with a major developer in the region that they interfaced with while in office...sort of like all the high ranking retired generals who become consultants (for what Eisenhower called the "industrial military complex") selling over priced weapon systems to their buddies still in the armed services where the cycle just seems to repeating itself. But back to the point, the job market in Bellingham is SHRINKING...FAST...it is not growing

Weather - 9/7/2008 If you move to Bellingham, be sure that you like months of cold rain and wind. The area is so beautiful in summer, one can be seduced by it. Sometimes it doesn't get nice and warm until JUNE. One year we had 8 weeks of fair weather and then the rain started again. After 5 years we had to leave - it just got too depressing in winter. Wonderful people though, great food, and very scenic. Great jobs for those in healthcare

We found this place years ago, and decided right then that we would someday leave the South and move here. We did just that 6 years ago, and nowhere on Earth have we found such beauty and serenity, as well as the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful and positive people we've ever known. We consider it a privilege that they have welcomed us into their lives. People here are genuine. Ben & Dee P.S. Thank you for the beautiful song. It brought tears to our eyes.

I spend a month in Bellingham. Decided that I'll move there someday. Such amazing place and people.

Great song! Really great! Thank you. But for anyone thinking of moving here, a warning: This is Unemployment City, and it NEVER STOPS RAINING. We only had about two weeks of summer this year.