PSA: If you're thinking of moving to Bellingham, don't! (Seattle: house, neighborhoods)

[FJhg]

Originally Posted by kynight

Seeing how environmentally friendly WA is leads me to believe the water supply and other resources are fairly scarce compared to the east coast, is my assumption true for WA?

I don't think we are particularly strapped for water due to the massive amounts of snow in cascades that accumulate and melt into reservoirs every year, and the 5 months of pretty steady rain is probably helpful too. Eastern Washington can be different though, rain doesn't get past the cascades as much so it's basically a desert in many parts so not sure how they fair with droughts. Eastern/Western is basically like two different states. Someone else can probably chime in who is more knowledgeable about water resources. I know Washington gets like 70% of its electricity from renewable energy one of the most in nation, mostly from hydroelectric.

[kynight]

Originally Posted by FJhg

I don't think we are particularly strapped for water due to the massive amounts of snow in cascades that accumulate and melt into reservoirs every year, and the 5 months of pretty steady rain is probably helpful too. Eastern Washington can be different though, rain doesn't get past the cascades as much so it's basically a desert in many parts so not sure how they fair with droughts. Eastern/Western is basically like two different states. Someone else can probably chime in who is more knowledgeable about water resources. I know Washington gets like 70% of its electricity from renewable energy one of the most in nation, mostly from hydroelectric.

70%, sounds impressive, I didn't know. I saw many wind turbines.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by FJhg

I don't think we are particularly strapped for water due to the massive amounts of snow in cascades that accumulate and melt into reservoirs every year, and the 5 months of pretty steady rain is probably helpful too. Eastern Washington can be different though, rain doesn't get past the cascades as much so it's basically a desert in many parts so not sure how they fair with droughts. Eastern/Western is basically like two different states. Someone else can probably chime in who is more knowledgeable about water resources. I know Washington gets like 70% of its electricity from renewable energy one of the most in nation, mostly from hydroelectric.

This is changing, though. THere's been less snow in the Cascades and the Olympics in recent years, due to the warming climate, and spring melt-offs happen earlier, so the snow doesn't last as long into the summer, when it's needed. This is one thing that's contributed to the fires in BC. WA State needs to increase water catchment ability, to be able to take better advantage of the rains that will replace the snowfall. Some California water districts have already begun adding catchment capacity.

WA State also need to start converting some of the flower production in the extremely fertile Skagit Valley to food production, so that it will be well-positioned to take up the slack, when agriculture in California collapses due to water scarcity. There needs to be a vision for the future, and forward planning, in a changing world.

[Baldy]

In the last 10 years, Washington state has legalized homosexual marriage, pot, allows liquor to be sold in stores (thanks to evil costco sponsoring the change), expanded support for "homeless" people 200%, and raised taxes to support all the above.

Bellingham has a property tax that averages $150.00 per year per home to support the panhandlers that line our streets.

WWU is a liberal college that does employ a lot of liberal people. If you aren't a flaming liberal, forget it. Beyond that, the students support hundreds of bars, pot stores, and ghetto housing.

Most of my friends are long gone. There are many, many homes for sale in and around Bellingham and Whatcom County because of Conservative Flight. 51% of all houses are rentals. 51% in a town of 90,000 and a county of 200k.

11 years ago, we were a working class town struggling, but it was cool. No longer cool.

Oh, yeah...Bellingham and surrounding areas get water from Lake Whatcom Reservoir. Lake Whatcom has homes lining its shore and open swimming and boating for all. You can fish out the hypodermic needles on warm summer days! But the drinking water is safe! According to the liberal city and county governments, anyway.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Baldy

In the last 10 years, Washington state has legalized homosexual marriage, pot, allows liquor to be sold in stores (thanks to evil costco sponsoring the change), expanded support for "homeless" people 200%, and raised taxes to support all the above.

Bellingham has a property tax that averages $150.00 per year per home to support the panhandlers that line our streets.

WWU is a liberal college that does employ a lot of liberal people. If you aren't a flaming liberal, forget it. Beyond that, the students support hundreds of bars, pot stores, and ghetto housing.

Most of my friends are long gone. There are many, many homes for sale in and around Bellingham and Whatcom County because of Conservative Flight. 51% of all houses are rentals. 51% in a town of 90,000 and a county of 200k.

11 years ago, we were a working class town struggling, but it was cool. No longer cool.

Oh, yeah...Bellingham and surrounding areas get water from Lake Whatcom Reservoir. Lake Whatcom has homes lining its shore and open swimming and boating for all. You can fish out the hypodermic needles on warm summer days! But the drinking water is safe! According to the liberal city and county governments, anyway.

Not true, re: WWU (& the UW, for that matter) only hiring "flaming liberals". That's ridiculous. Universities employ HORDES of staff for a variety of functions (groundskeepers, office staff, mail delivery people, etc.). If you're qualified, no one checks your political affiliation, if any; that's laughable.

I must say, I was a bit shocked at the density of housing around Lake Whatcom.

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Not true, re: WWU (or the UW, for that matter) only hiring "flaming liberals". That's ridiculous. Universities employ HORDES of staff for a variety of functions (groundskeepers, office staff, mail delivery people, etc.). If you're qualified, no one checks your political affiliation, if any; that's laughable.

Nothing funny about it. I live 10 minutes from WWU...I know my town. If you aren't a metrosexual male or a female with a swagger, forget about employment. The groundskeepers, office staff, mail delivery people, etc. jobs do not pay enough to live in Bellingham or anywhere near it. Those jobs aren't career path positions and McDs would offer a better deal.

I must say, I was a bit shocked at the density of housing around Lake Whatcom.

I have r.o. systems for my kitchen sinks and bottled water. If I use water for cooking pasta, etc., it gets well boiled.

Liberals have a very hard time seeing past the next pay period. Using Lake Whatcom Reservoir for recreation and ultra-expensive homes may have been a good idea 20 years ago, but not so much now.

They still allow construction on the reservoir shore. Very, very expensive homes built by Canadians with more money than common sense, mostly.

[rkcarguy]

"Using Lake Whatcom Reservoir for recreation and ultra-expensive homes may have been a good idea 20 years ago, but not so much now."

Our water quality is listed as "compromised" due to this. The main contaminant is phosphorous, and the lake is also low in dissolved oxygen. Phosphorous is typically found in fertilizers and detergents. At least the issue with sewage overflowing into the lake seems to be solved for now.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Nothing funny about it. I live 10 minutes from WWU...I know my town. If you aren't a metrosexual male or a female with a swagger, forget about employment. The groundskeepers, office staff, mail delivery people, etc. jobs do not pay enough to live in Bellingham or anywhere near it. Those jobs aren't career path positions and McDs would offer a better deal.

I have r.o. systems for my kitchen sinks and bottled water. If I use water for cooking pasta, etc., it gets well boiled.

Liberals have a very hard time seeing past the next pay period. Using Lake Whatcom Reservoir for recreation and ultra-expensive homes may have been a good idea 20 years ago, but not so much now.

They still allow construction on the reservoir shore. Very, very expensive homes built by Canadians with more money than common sense, mostly.

So not true (the bolded)! Quit the hyperbole. No one's fooled. The WA State university system has very good benefits.

Conservatives don't see past the next pay period, either. Short-term thinking has been the name of the game for a very long time.

Re: the underlined--more nonsense. I know people employed at WWU who don't fit your descriptions, and they've been very happy there.

[rkcarguy]

I also have known a few people that worked within the WWU system. It is not the cash cow some make it out to be. The state hires some professors for less-than full time so they can avoid having to provide them benefits. This is also on a limited contractual basis so they can also avoid paying more for people that would otherwise gain seniority and move up the pay scale, receive benefits, and the like.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

I also have known a few people that worked within the WWU system. It is not the cash cow some make it out to be. The state hires some professors for less-than full time so they can avoid having to provide them benefits. This is also on a limited contractual basis so they can also avoid paying more for people that would otherwise gain seniority and move up the pay scale, receive benefits, and the like.

It's true, though for staff, at least it's a steady job, and part-time staff do get full benefits. There can be budget cuts from the state, that cut back staff hours, but university staff have been unionized since the 80's sometime, so the universities are required to provide them with a full-time schedule, if they were hired on full-time. They have to find them a second part-time position in the system, to bring them up to full time.

IDK about WWU, but the UW is one of the relatively few schools nationwide, who make minimal use of adjunct professors, which is what it sounds like you're talking about. The higher-tier schools (like Berkeley) are 60-70% full-time tenure-track faculty.