Bellingham WA vs. Eugene OR (Seattle, Vancouver: house prices, to buy, school)

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by ctr88

My guess is Eugene has the better airport.

Bellingham has an international airport, with flights by Alaska Airlines, Delta, American Airlines, Alegiant Air, Emirates, KLM, Air France, Empire, Ameriflight. In 2013, Bellingham had 596,000 passenger departures, while Eugene had 434,000.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/plannin...planements.pdf

[JackLonsdale]

I wonder why they call it an "International" airport? Is there an international destination -- maybe Cancun? BLI may have more passengers, but that's due to its emergence as a low-cost alternative to YVR. Lots of vacationers and families flying on Allegiant to Arizona, Disneyland, or Hawaii. Eugene is better tied into the major airlines (United, Delta, American) even though it relies too much on SFO as a hub, thanks to the United factor.

So BLI wins for vacations, but EUG is better if you're flying for work.

[west seattle gal]

Because it flies to Canada.

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by JackLonsdale

Interesting thread and comments from 509 and bartonizer.

My take: Eugene=mini-Portland (it says so on the sign outside of Sizzle Pie). Bellingham=mini-Seattle.

Beauty: Go with Bellingham. The Salish Sea is spectacular, as are Mount Baker, the Cascades, the Islands, the Chuckanuts, etc. The downtown is definitely better organized, with better preservation of heritage architecture. Eugene has its own kind of sublime beauty, like the green rolling hills in the city's southern section, but it doesn't really stack up to Bellingham's vintage Pacific Northwest scenery. Eugene's downtown is fun but aesthetically a mess.

Outdoor activities: It's a tie. Bellingham is close to Baker, the Vancouver ski hills, Whistler, Stevens Pass. Eugene has Mt. Bachelor. Bellingham has all of the ocean sports. If you are into fly fishing, however, Eugene is surrounded by mountain-fed streams with trout. More importantly, Eugene is Track Town USA. It has lots of trails for running and cycling in and around town.

Cost of housing. Eugene for sure. Bellingham's housing market is VERY competitive.

Crime. It's hard to tell, and I don't have the statistics. But Eugene's criminal class strikes me as generally friendly.

Culture. Eugene has its own culture due to being relatively isolated. Bellingham does to a lesser degree; however it does have relatively quick access to Vancouver. Neither city is particularly "diverse" or multicultural, but the university-town environments do bring cultural energy to the cities.

Airports. Eugene has the edge. Eugene flies direct to Portland, Seattle, Denver, SFO, LA, San Jose, and Salt Lake City. That's pretty impressive. Bellingham's key flights are to holiday destinations plus Seattle. There used to be a BLI-Portland flight as well. But Bellingham's restaurant inside the gates is way better than Eugene's.

Overall vibe. Tie. You need about six months to -get- the Eugene vibe. It's really a different world from the rest of the Pacific Northwest. You're closer psychologically to California than you are to Washington State, which explains all of the Californians pouring into the University of Oregon. Eugene is absolutely gorgeous in the fall, and there's nothing like a Ducks game in October at Autzen Stadium. But Bellingham has that true Pacific Northwest feel, especially downtown and in Fairhaven.

A few variables that haven't been mentioned: Eugene's air quality is really bad due to grass seed farms and, ironically, pollen from the sheer amount and variety of trees in what is essentially a bowl-like valley. Bellingham's air quality is very good. Eugene is a sports town - you have Ducks football and basketball, world track events like the Olympic Trials and Prefontaine Classic, and Emeralds single-A baseball. As far as the people go, Eugene is definitely friendlier than any other city I know of in the Pacific Northwest. However, Portland is a long and boring drive from Eugene. It's a better weekend trip than daytrip, in my opinion.

My recommendation: If you have allergies -or- need to be close to the ocean -or- like the idea of access to Vancouver/Seattle, go with Bellingham. If you absolutely dread the rain but can tolerate fog and clouds, go with Eugene. If you haven't lived in the Northwest before, be very careful about diving into either city, or at least have an open mind about the unique cultures that exist there.

Awesome post!

[ctr88]

Pac 12 sports and a single A baseball team is a nice plus for Eugene.

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

As 509 mentioned, Olympia is nice, but it's definitely part of a big metro area so less of an individual feel or flavor to us. Plus, Bellingham just feels a little more happening- I like the setup of the city more, as well.

We love Bend and almost impulsively made the move, but it was too much like where we came from (Glenwood Springs/Carbondale CO) and had a similar separation/challenges to getting to a major city. Plus, like you, we wanted a little more greenery and a real town. I love the Ponderosa forests around Bend but we decided that we wanted to be surrounded by green with access every once in a while to an arid climate, rather than vice versa. IMHO, Bend feels a little like a bigger CO mountain town overrun with Californians and less like it's "own city."

Regarding transportation, The Airporter Shuttle runs many daily trips from Bellingham to Sea-Tac, and the Quick Shuttle runs a number of daily trips to Vancouver Int'l. Vancouver is substantially closer to Bellingham, but you do have to go through the border, which obviously adds some time. And then back through customs when flying in and out of the US, which can be a pain. That said, my wife's co-workers do it regularly. And I must say- we've been able to find reasonable flights out of Bham- sometimes connecting through Seattle or Portland, and personally I think it's worth $50-$100 more per flight for the sake of convenience. In addition to flights, it's a simple train ride or Bolt Bus to Vancouver, Seattle or Portland from town.

I can see why 509 prefers Eugene, as access to more sunshine is important to some people. It was our #1 concern moving from CO. BUT in the two years we've been here, it hasn't been the concern we thought it would be. At all. Maybe it's a byproduct of climate change, but there's been more variability than we imagined. And, though anecdotal, we've experienced more socked in weather in the Willamette Valley than we have here on the side of the Salish Sea. The Olympics often act as a rain shadow, and even many days that go down in the books as cloudy have amazing sunsets. The more noticeable thing to us is how much further north it is here, so we're more affected by the longer days in summer and shorter days in winter than we are by the weather. Again, it was our main concern when selecting this location, but it is generally not an issue to us.

Regarding outdoor activities, again I'd say that 509 just likes desert more, in which case Eugene has closer access to the south and west. The ruggedness of the Cascades to the east of Bellingham makes desert access in winter a longer drive, but we love summer access to the Methow Valley and Okanogan region, which give us a (somewhat) similar feeling to the Oregon Desert... Overall, though, it just depends on your preference for more green or more brown, though it's tough to imagine a place having more recreational activities- mountains, sea, lakes, and trails all are within city limits. And really big mountains for hiking or snow sports are easily accessible through a quick drive on 20 to North Cascades National Park or on Baker/Shuksan via 542/Mount Baker Scenic Highway. And- I've got to say- when we do go away, we find ourselves taking the ferries out to the islands (or even on to BC) more than we ever imagined. An overnight to San Juan or Orcas is a great little getaway.

One more thing- we actually prefer the feel of Portland to Seattle or Vancouver, but they are definitely more "world-class" cities than PDX. But again, I feel that Bham has more of a Eugene/Portland feel (and many Seattleites say that it reminds them of the old vibe of Seattle) so we find ourselves sticking around town more than we expected.

Thank you, really informative post. In general some really terrific posts in this entire thread!

[JackLonsdale]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

Because it flies to Canada.

It does?? There's a shuttle bus that goes up to Vancouver. I guess that counts? No actual flights to Canada that I've heard of.

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by JackLonsdale

It does?? There's a shuttle bus that goes up to Vancouver. I guess that counts? No actual flights to Canada that I've heard of.

Only small charter flights.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by JackLonsdale

I wonder why they call it an "International" airport? Is there an international destination -- maybe Cancun?

It's because they have international flights to BLI - KLM and Air France (which are commonly owned). BLI has a separate international terminal, which includes Customs, Immigration, etc.

Moses Lake also has an international airport, although it only handles cargo flights.

[NW4me]

I was leaning toward Corvallis as my retirement-home-to-be... the only concern was the air quality. That's not an issue in Bellingham (nor on the Olympic Peninsula, I imagine). Would anyone here like to comment on that choice? My priorities are 1) hiking, 2) hiking, and 3) hiking ;-) Actually, it's a little more complicated... my sister may join me up in the NW, and she'd like a classical/baroque chorale to sing in.