Info And Pictures of Bellingham?

[longbeachnik]

I will be moving to Bellingham, Wa...by May of this year. What is the town like? Any good architecture, nightlife, art? Hopefully some of the Northwest forumers have some info.

Thank you!:)

[Phil McAvity]

When I saw your request, I thought, "man are you ever lazy! Why can't you find your own pictures of Belliingham?" Then, I went looking and found very few. Now I understand. The best ones I found were at; http://www.emporis.com/en/il/pc/?id=102924&aid=3&sro=1
and http://www.cob.org/visiting/photo-tour/index.aspx

For a city with a metro population of almost 200,000 people, it doesn't have the most impressive skyline though. There hasn't been much built there since the late 1920's so for some reason, things never really panned out for Bellingham the way they did for other Northwest cities.

For more info on your home-to-be, look here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellingham%2C_Washington#

[Fiat Lux]

Bellingham is a cool town. Unlike many other cities, Bellingham has two downtowns! There is downtown Bellingham just north of Western Washington University and Fairhaven which is to the south. The Alaska Marine Highway terminates at Fairhaven, which is also home to the Amtrak station. Fairhaven has a historic core with plenty of shops and places to eat.

Bellingham is a little over an hour from Vancouver, BC and an hour and a half from Seattle depending on traffic. It is also close to Mt. Baker and the North Cascades as well as the San Juan Islands so plenty of great outdoor recreational opportunities.

Here are a couple of aerials from Aerolistphoto.com:

Downtown Bellingham -

http://www.aerolistphoto.com/images/wa/bellingham/2007/WABHh070530D_024.jpg

Downtown looking south towards WWU & Fairhaven:

http://www.aerolistphoto.com/images/wa/bellingham/2007/WABHh070530D_015.jpg


WWU -

http://www.aerolistphoto.com/images/wa/bellingham/2007/WABHh070530D_117.jpg


Fairhaven on right, downtown Bellingham in distance:

http://www.aerolistphoto.com/images/wa/bellingham/2007/WABHh070530D_109.jpg

[Ripcurrent]

Bellingham IS a really nice town for the most part. Great parks, lakes, hiking/biking, kayaking, waterfalls and an hour and 1/2 from Mt. Baker Ski area which usually records the most annual snowfall of ANY ski area in North America.
Albeit.......many times the snow is more like concrete because of rising/falling freeze temps. that results in heavy, wet snow, rain, ice, snow again.......NOT so much the powder like further inland and the Central Rockies (Utah, Colorado).
Lots of dense forest, sasquatch sightings and too many RUDE Canadians that are everywhere!
But.......it IS a GORGEOUS area, raspberry capital of the US, Christmas tree farms, flowers, produce, berries, etc.
Only problem is.........for many, its so difficult to deal with 7+ months/year of gray, drippy weather with occasional windstorms that easily rival a Cat. 1 hurricane and all bets are off for anyone with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) to ever truly adjust. Mid-October through May can really get to 'ya but when the sun DOES show itself during this time........its like a gift from the Gods and puts a big smile on your face!
Canadians run the show there and they drive like idiots and tend to be quite rude more often than not toward Americans.
Its gotten fairly pricey and Puget Sound Energy charges ungodly rates!
HAVE LOTS OF MULA and you can really enjoy it!
Overall though, in Bellingham.....you have the full spectrum socio-economically speaking (homeless, poor, middle class AND filthy rich) so its very balanced and diverse.
Hope this info. helps some.

[davidj]

Many people are attracted to the city's culture. It still has a traditional, takin in slow, smaller-town feel despite having about 75,000 people. It is a college town (and very obviously a college town), and there's an interesting mix of people in the city. You have your old retirees (migrants from other cities in the region), your students, your hippies (as granola eating and earthy as the Pacific Northwest gets), alternative lifestyle folks and dorks (couldn't think of a better word), "locals" which includes the white-trash and meth-users (causing an increase in crime in the city), and your middle-class white collar workers who I have no idea where they all work, but represent the normalcy of the town.

I go to school in Bellingham, and I don't really like the city. It is a beautiful place, and it's location is not so bad (only an hour and a half and you can be in Seattle or Vancouver BC). The "taking it slow" attitude here is annoying because the city's not small anymore, people have things to do, but you still have your old grannys who stop at yellow lights, people who never go above 15mph in the downtown, and hippies and bicyclists who ignore their own safety and others by crossing in front of cars in a way that almost seems spiteful. Residents are probably as liberal and tolerant as you can get (though there are definitely 'locals' who've been here for several generations that are far right), but this has resulted in a very large homeless and meth-head population which is basically ignored or even encouraged by residents.

The city is not diverse. Much of it's diversity comes from the college, Western Washington University, with about 15,000 students and staff. Most are from around the state, and the school is FAR more racially diverse than the city itself, and sadly the school is still a rather white school. The town is about 88% white, 5% Asian, 5% Latino, 1% Black, 2% Native American. The people of Bellingham are tolerant but the city just doesn't have a lot of people of color. There is a common saying that Bellingham has "more serial killers than black people".

Bellingham in my opinion, is too boring and slow-paced. It is known as the city of subdued excitement. It's one of those places you go to live and you feel stuck.