Anyone familiar with both Bellingham, WA and Boone, NC?

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

I enjoyed my time in Boone, but the town is composed predominantly of young college students, mostly undergraduates, and is surrounded by a lot of very conservative, non-college educated, very Southern locals. If you are older than your 20's, you may feel a bit lonely and isolated. Bellingham has more intellectual activity, people of all ages, and outdoor opportunities. If you want to stay in the NC mountains, look at Asheville.

Completely agree with this. After reading details (in the western NC forum) of the things the OP is looking for, clearly of all the NC locales, Asheville is the best fit. I don't understand his fascination with Boone.

[NW Crow]

Boone metro has about 12% of the population of Asheville Metro and there are a ton more people just south and east of Asheville. The choice is do you want to live in a midsized metro or a big town? Asheville was the biggest place by far on their list and they cut it.


Boone is cooler in temperature. Closer to local skiing. Less urban hipster. Less hectic.


I'd live outside either rather than in town. Visited both a lot in distant past and considered moving to both before going west. Either could be good (for the east) depending on age, employment needs, urban interests, political and cultural leanings.


Crime is way worse outside rather in Boone. For Asheville, the crime is way higher in town than outside.


Boone is pretty high on being a college town, like most of the other places on their extended list. Asheville is perhaps the least "college town" on the list.


The couple are 29 years old and want to open a "unique" restaurant or food truck. (When I used to go there, the cutting edge restaurant was a fresh soup & sandwich shop. Not sure how far it has changed.) Asheville has a city average age of 37 (national average) but the country outside is older (high 40s to make metro avg of 43). Boone, city avg age of 21, metro 29. That is a pretty big difference in clientele (tastes and spending habits.)


From NC thread it appears it is firmly down to 2, with Boone not Asheville.

[-rags-]

For those interested in a conclusion... After much deliberation, we have settled on Bellingham!

Now for finding a rental... If anyone has recommendations for local housing sources, please do let me know. We are currently stalking Craigslist with no luck so far. Looking for a pet friendly studio or 1BR/1BA at 1000$/month or less including utilities (yes, we realize this will be tough but it does seem very much possible). Ideally in a segmented home, "mother in-law", etc. rather than an apartment complex.

Thank you to all who commented here and/or DM'd me.

[Pahn]

I used to live in the Hideaway apartments on Whatcom St. They're pet friendly (or at least were years ago). Rents are quite affordable. Even a 2BR is well under $1,000. The location is walkable to Fred Meyer and downtown, which was a huge plus for me. I'd live there again.

Utilities are cheap. WA has some of the cheapest electricity in the nation.

http://roycegroup.qwestoffice.net/ro.../Hideaway.html

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by -rags-

For those interested in a conclusion... After much deliberation, we have settled on Bellingham!

Now for finding a rental... If anyone has recommendations for local housing sources, please do let me know. We are currently stalking Craigslist with no luck so far. Looking for a pet friendly studio or 1BR/1BA at 1000$/month or less including utilities (yes, we realize this will be tough but it does seem very much possible). Ideally in a segmented home, "mother in-law", etc. rather than an apartment complex.

Thank you to all who commented here and/or DM'd me.

I apologize-I started to get back with a lengthy answer, but the people of C-D and reddit kept beating me to the punch with my thoughts on everything. So......as discussed at length, vacancy is extremely low, so it's tough to find places, especially from a distance. But certainly not impossible, though you might want to get creative. For example, one thing I've noticed is that there are neighborhood discussion boards in multiple places, like NextDoor and FB. People on our neighborhood groups (Sunnyland) often discuss rentals, or put feelers out there, often before they get posted anywhere else, if they even make it that long. I'd check those places, and maybe in the areas you're interested in. And you may have to move to not-the-most-ideal spot at first, as it is easier to find a place to live once you're here. Let me know if you run into anything and I'll try to give you my take. In the meantime, congrats on your choice!

[kynight]

Yes please let us know how it goes as well.

I see very few similarities of Boone and Bellingham. Boone gets much colder in the winter and is much smaller and touristy.

My bellingham budget is also 1k, but I'm looking for an established rental community, 1 bedroom. I really hope there aren't many yuppies, even though I fit the description.