Everything You Need to Know About Moving to Bellingham
A lot of the people we work with are moving to Bellingham from somewhere else, and relocation is one of the things Derek is known for. So we have had this conversation many times, usually on the phone with somebody who has been here twice in August and is trying to work out whether it is a real plan.
This post is the logistics. If you want to know what an ordinary week here feels like, read Living in Bellingham. If you are already at the point of making offers, Buying a Home in Bellingham covers how that works.
Visit, and visit in winter
Everybody falls for Bellingham in the summer. The bay is blue, Mount Baker is out, and it stays light late into the evening. Winter is gray and wet and the days are short, and that is the version of town you will be living in for a good part of the year. Plenty of people love it. Some find out in their second February that they do not.
So come in the off season at least once before you commit. Drive the neighborhoods at five in the afternoon when it is dark and raining, and see whether you still like them. It is also a quieter time to talk to people, and joining a couple of the local groups and forums online before you come will tell you a lot about what residents complain about, which is more useful than what they brag about.
Pick the area before you pick the house
Bellingham is small enough that nothing is very far from anything, but the parts of town feel different from each other and people get attached to theirs. Fairhaven is the old brick district on the south end, walkable, close to the water. Downtown is where the restaurants, music and apartments are. Columbia has craftsman houses on quiet streets a few minutes from the center. Silver Beach is out on Lake Whatcom and feels more like a lake community than a city neighborhood.
We wrote a longer tour in Exploring the Neighborhoods in Bellingham, and there are fuller pages for places like Fairhaven, Edgemoor and Lake Whatcom. Our honest advice is to decide what you want your Tuesday to look like (walk to coffee, be on a trail in five minutes, have a garage big enough for the boat) and let that choose the area before you start worrying about the house.
Renting first
People ask us whether they should rent for a year before buying. It is a reasonable idea, and we say so even though it is against our interest in the short run. A year tells you which side of town you keep driving to.
The catch is that rentals here are in demand too. Western Washington University is a big presence, a lot of the rental stock near campus is geared to students, and it tends to turn over on the academic calendar. If you are going to rent, start looking well before you need to be here, and look beyond the blocks around the university.
Work
The local economy leans on healthcare, education and retail, with a smaller technology scene alongside them. Western is one of the largest employers in town. It is a small city, though, and the job market is the size you would expect from one. Many of the people we help move here are bringing their work with them, either remotely or as business owners, and it is a lot easier to sort the job out before the move than after it.
Schools
Bellingham has public and private schools, some alternative options, and the university up on the hill. We are not going to rank them for you. Which public school a house is assigned to depends on the address, boundaries do get redrawn, and the district is the only reliable source. If schools are driving your decision, tell us early, and check every address with the district before you write an offer.
Getting around
You will probably want a car, but you may use it less than you expect. The bus system is reliable, and a lot of people here ride bikes to work, helped by trails that actually connect parts of town to each other. From some neighborhoods the commute downtown on foot or by bike along the water is nicer than driving.
For getting out of town, Interstate 5 runs straight through, with Seattle to the south and the Canadian border and Vancouver to the north. Keep your passport current, because you will use it more than you think.
Buying from a distance
People relocating usually cannot fly in every time a house comes up. We are used to that. We walk houses on video, tell you what the listing photos leave out, and tell you when a place is not worth the trip. When you do come, we plan the days so you see areas as well as houses.
If that is where you are, tell us about your move, or read our tips for relocating to Bellingham first.