Don't let anti-Bellingham/Whatcom County threads and posts fool you. Bellingham/Whatcom County is AWESOME!! (apartment complex, to live)

[E Roy Slade]

around 1963 even then i think i read blacks going to Bellingham were refused rooms at YMCa etc and sheriff just drove them out of the county

whats with a crummy jail?the people are saying"dont do crime youll wind up in an overstuffed jail"?the voters keep voting a new one down...because theyre so "liberal"

surrounding counties refuse to take the overflow of our most precious imports -criminals

do other counties ask to take overflows?i doubt that

a liberal place would just build the jail and get rehab for some and house the hardcore until theyre shipped to walla wallla etc

there are some people who are incurable schizo or some malady

usa or whatcom has them here?or seattle at least,,,then theres geel belgium mentallly ill -you can google that wheres its real liberal or was

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/20...ll_301246.html

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by E Roy Slade

around 1963 even then i think i read blacks going to Bellingham were refused rooms at YMCa etc and sheriff just drove them out of the county

whats with a crummy jail?the people are saying"dont do crime youll wind up in an overstuffed jail"?the voters keep voting a new one down...because theyre so "liberal"

surrounding counties refuse to take the overflow of our most precious imports -criminals

do other counties ask to take overflows?i doubt that

a liberal place would just build the jail and get rehab for some and house the hardcore until theyre shipped to walla wallla etc

there are some people who are incurable schizo or some malady

usa or whatcom has them here?or seattle at least,,,then theres geel belgium mentallly ill -you can google that wheres its real liberal or was

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/20...ll_301246.html

How do you know why a new jail keeps getting voted down? If B'ham is anything like Seattle was for around 40 years, they're voting it down because they're too cheap to pay for it. Seattle voted down a light rail transit system connecting its far-flung neighborhoods north to south from the late 60's, when first proposed, through the 80's, and into the 90's, IIRC. The majority of voters didn't want an extra tax to help pay for it.

How long have you been living in Western WA? Do you know your subject, or are you just making things up as you go along?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by jertheber

Yeah, in the southern climes the summer heat can be brutal and certainly would be more of a concern than the summers here in the Pacific NW. Most of those newcomers I've met here in the last decade have expressed their curiosity about the severity of our rain and cloudiness in winter, they were hearing the tales of winter social isolation, constant rain, gloomy dark days, and the ever present dampness that seems to be rotting everything in its path. I think many are surprised that we don't have "bad" winter weather like that of the midwest or northern New England.

On being cooped up in summer:
The last three years we've been feeling somewhat cooped up with the AC running and the BBQ grill sitting idle, the heat has also become an issue for those who are living in the older homes and apartments that didn't need AC when they were built, but times are changing and the NW summers are definitely much warmer. Here's hoping for a long cooler fall..

Around Seattle (I can't speak for B'ham), social isolation is part of the cultural package. People just aren't sociable, not outgoing or friendly. That famous Seattle Freeze is in play, irrespective of the weather. If people want to socialize in rainy weather, there are plenty of indoor venues for that, including specifically for singles.

People in older homes can have A/C installed; just switch out their old furnace for a more efficient and compact furnace/A-C combo. Some houses still have old oil-burning furnaces, though. Other houses are all on electric baseboard heat. Still, there are wall-mounted A/C units that are easy to install.

I lived in Seattle a long time. I don't remember winters of constant rain, at all. I remember being out and about in the winters, occasionally skiing, but also exploring small towns, or hanging out at PP Market or checking out museums, going to Volunteer Park, Discovery Park, etc. "Cooped up" did not describe my winter experiences in Seattle. In summers, I would de-camp to the Bay Area from late June through August, to avoid the annual heat wave. That's nothing new.

But this is the B'ham forum; I don't know if B'ham gets the same level of high temps as Seattle does in the summers. I would think it stays cooler, due to the cool breezes coming down from Alaska/Canada, and also up the Straight of Juan de Fuca from the ocean. I would think B'ham would stay cool, like Port Townsend, and other towns on the northern part of the Oly Peninsula. I think B'ham's winters are more severe than Seattle's, due to that same cooling phenom from up north, and more rain, so i've heard.


Still, the greenery is nice. You can't have greenery without rain. You also can't have a reliable water supply and hydropower without rain and snow...

[E Roy Slade]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

How do you know why a new jail keeps getting voted down? If B'ham is anything like Seattle was for around 40 years, they're voting it down because they're too cheap to pay for it. Seattle voted down a light rail transit system connecting its far-flung neighborhoods north to south from the late 60's, when first proposed, through the 80's, and into the 90's, IIRC. The majority of voters didn't want an extra tax to help pay for it.

How long have you been living in Western WA? Do you know your subject, or are you just making things up as you go along?

60 years

ask me anything-i know most of it

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

How do you know why a new jail keeps getting voted down? If B'ham is anything like Seattle was for around 40 years, they're voting it down because they're too cheap to pay for it. Seattle voted down a light rail transit system connecting its far-flung neighborhoods north to south from the late 60's, when first proposed, through the 80's, and into the 90's, IIRC. The majority of voters didn't want an extra tax to help pay for it.

How long have you been living in Western WA? Do you know your subject, or are you just making things up as you go along?

General public (liberal) consensus is that many of the homeless/criminals/druggies are victims of the "system" and should be allowed to roam free and create chaos and squalor without police putting a foot on their neck and hauling them off to jail. Others don't want to pay more taxes for a problem that should be already covered by our taxes...the amount spent on handouts for the homeless is growing by the square it seems, enough to build a huge WA State treatment/rehab facility I'm sure. Our property taxes have certainly gone up enormously as the state sits on a nearly $16 Billion tax surplus.

[E Roy Slade]

sometimes i think those people at homeless complex eat better than me plus i feel the crazy stuff of wa has drained most the life out of me

[E Roy Slade]

actually i think the whole USA is pretty much a disgusting joke and hardly livable as it used to be,but its the only country i have and its worth saving

its like being in a sinking ship and bailing out the water all the time and the dems refuse to see their errors and the republicans arent much either in some ways

Bellingham weather and scenery are great

[MechAndy]

I have a hard time believing that the “Seattle freeze” is a cultural thing.
I respectfully just ain’t buying it.

It seems a large percentage of people here are transplants.
I just googled it and the Seattle Times says 70% of the population are transplants.

Out of the 30% I’d wager less than half have that Nordic isolation thing going on.

It is just a city thing.
San Francisco is the same way.
Probably NYC too.

The wife and I laugh that people in the rural areas are too friendly.
Last week I stayed in the car with the pups while the wife went into Costco.
Two separate strangers came to the open windows and started talking about the pups.
One even put her head kinda in the car.
When the wife came back she had another person grab her by the ear.
We laughed about it on our way home.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

I have a hard time believing that the “Seattle freeze” is a cultural thing.
I respectfully just ain’t buying it.

It seems a large percentage of people here are transplants.
I just googled it and the Seattle Times says 70% of the population are transplants.

Out of the 30% I’d wager less than half have that Nordic isolation thing going on.

It is just a city thing.
San Francisco is the same way.
Probably NYC too.

The wife and I laugh that people in the rural areas are too friendly.
Last week I stayed in the car with the pups while the wife went into Costco.
Two separate strangers came to the open windows and started talking about the pups.
One even put her head kinda in the car.
When the wife came back she had another person grab her by the ear.
We laughed about it on our way home.

Actually, I've found San Francisco to be pretty friendly.

Back when I lived there, as i ventured out into some of the suburbs, I found friendly people. And people on this forum have confirmed, that the various suburbs (northern, south, east) do tend to be friendlier. But maybe as more transplants have moved in (70% is quite a statistic!), the "Freeze" has thawed a little. IDK. I don't think it's a city thing, because I've always found Bay Area cities to be friendly. But who knows, maybe now that there are so many transplants around the Bay Area, it's lost some of its home-grown friendliness?

[MechAndy]

I too find San Francisco and the outer areas friendly.
The people there however do tend to keep to themselves while shopping or getting from point A to point B.
I am one of those that don’t strike up a conversation with strangers in public areas like grocery stores, walking down the street or heaven forbid if I’m ever on a bart train.

This social “chill” of The City thaws out when people are not in the general public.

I find the people in the Outer East Bay warm enough and not overly too friendly.
I am comfortable with this.

Our area in Washington is almost overly friendly and these people mean well.
Maybe because of the percentage of retired transplants?
Maybe because I spent my career in downtown San Francisco?
It has to be the water .
Neary a week goes by that I don’t chuckle or smile to myself over it.