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Man, the attitude of people I've encountered here is like trying to describe a unicorn that swooped down and spun me around, dropped fairy dust and passed gas. I can give a laundry list of details and u won't know half of it. It's unlike anywhere I been. The characters are out of a movie but from real life scenes that u can't make up. I'm not arguing, I hope u freaks are happy with the city it's become.
How am I a freak or the one with the unrealistic attitude? I've mentioned too many times to count that I'm clearly concerned about all the issues mentioned here as a resident and property owner- and someone who's sunk all my time, money, and energy into making this my long-term home. I shouldn't have to start every sentence or mention of Bellingham with a crime story or some sort of confession about how terrible it is to be here. In my opinion, the community is fantastic, and the positives strongly outweigh the negatives, despite a rise in crime and homelessness.
The hostility in this forum (and embodiment of the "deep freeze") seems to come from locals who hate growth and don't like outsiders, and people like you who troll every Bellingham post and try to dominate threads to try to scare everyone off and make sure everyone knows how miserable you view it to be. But the truth is that for many people, it's much more complicated than that. There's apparently no place for nuance for some, apparently, and when addressing me you and several others here cherry pick my words to draw conclusions, rather than acknowledge differences in perspective.
My comment about hoping that you find a place that better suits you was sincere. Life's too short to spend a long time living somewhere that you can't stand. For the life of me, I can't figure out why some of you are still here if you find it to be that bad!
Guy was arrested in Wilmington NC. These cartel like dealers are operating big in whatcom county. Seems like an attractive place for them because of the big appetite and few consequences.
One of the big problems is bail and the way bonds work. The one guy had $16K+ in cash on him, judge sets bail at $190K. 10% of that he's got a bail bond and he's out. Probably only a single day's worth of dealing $$$. Arrested 39x before and he's probably out already. No need for a bigger jail, just put a rotating door on an old phone booth it's all we need with this joke of a state justice system.
One of the big problems is bail and the way bonds work. The one guy had $16K+ in cash on him, judge sets bail at $190K. 10% of that he's got a bail bond and he's out. Probably only a single day's worth of dealing $$$. Arrested 39x before and he's probably out already. No need for a bigger jail, just put a rotating door on an old phone booth it's all we need with this joke of a state justice system.
It looks like a built in cost of doing business, just like rogue companies who are sued regularly. WA has a lucrative pay to play program.
How am I a freak or the one with the unrealistic attitude? I've mentioned too many times to count that I'm clearly concerned about all the issues mentioned here as a resident and property owner- and someone who's sunk all my time, money, and energy into making this my long-term home. I shouldn't have to start every sentence or mention of Bellingham with a crime story or some sort of confession about how terrible it is to be here. In my opinion, the community is fantastic, and the positives strongly outweigh the negatives, despite a rise in crime and homelessness.
The hostility in this forum (and embodiment of the "deep freeze") seems to come from locals who hate growth and don't like outsiders, and people like you who troll every Bellingham post and try to dominate threads to try to scare everyone off and make sure everyone knows how miserable you view it to be. But the truth is that for many people, it's much more complicated than that. There's apparently no place for nuance for some, apparently, and when addressing me you and several others here cherry pick my words to draw conclusions, rather than acknowledge differences in perspective.
My comment about hoping that you find a place that better suits you was sincere. Life's too short to spend a long time living somewhere that you can't stand. For the life of me, I can't figure out why some of you are still here if you find it to be that bad!
I think you should copy-pasta a discretionary warning before all your Bellingham posts saying warning I fled to here and was abused as a child therefore take my views with precaution... Just kidding, relax.
Today in the news I read Bellingham is getting rid of off street parking in favor of bike lanes. This includes Cornwall and Eldridge. It's just another thing Bellingham had going (reasonable parking) but has to screw up. I guess the council members have to drive up a budget and pick low hanging fruit to appear useful. Soon bicycles will have to be registered. Seen this before in NYC.
I think you should copy-pasta a discretionary warning before all your Bellingham posts saying warning I fled to here and was abused as a child therefore take my views with precaution... Just kidding, relax.
Today in the news I read Bellingham is getting rid of off street parking in favor of bike lanes. This includes Cornwall and Eldridge. It's just another thing Bellingham had going (reasonable parking) but has to screw up. I guess the council members have to drive up a budget and pick low hanging fruit to appear useful. Soon bicycles will have to be registered. Seen this before in NYC.
LOL, Snowman, I'm not the one acting traumatized. Quite the opposite. Look, the issues brought up on C-D are often legitimate, I think the problem I have is with people painting a very one-sided view of the city- and I think that there's often the insinuation that the issues only exist here....
I'll readily admit that my wife and I have been fortunate enough to have moved here, saved up, and bought a house when it was MUCH more affordable than it is now. And it was exactly the type of spot we were interested in-we wanted walkability, bikeability, and close access to things like hiking, biking, and winter sports. Also, we love the food truck and brewery scene, and Bellingham is a craft beer mecca- we literally live across from a brewery and have a total of 7 in my neighborhood. So I'm a bit biased- but as you can imagine, other people who like those things really, really like Bellingham, too. Again, it's not for everyone- I get it. If you didn’t like some of the hobbies or interests I have, it might not be all that appealing to you.
In terms of the negatives-I hate how expensive housing has become. In fact, it's probably the single biggest issue that I'm passionate about, which may come as a surprise to people like you and RK. I hate it because high prices prohibit a diversified economy and population, and limits who can actually afford to be here long-term. And I'm not a big fan of taxes. Trust me, we just built an addition on our house and our taxes have more than doubled since we've lived in our house...and I would say that if we were just looking at Bellingham- or anywhere in the west- for the first time, it may be beyond our budget.
BUT, that doesn't make me hate the place, and I think that's where some of the disagreements on these threads come from. And things like crime and price of housing have skyrocketed everywhere, especially since COVID. Literally everyone in every city could be posting about these same topics, but for some reason the Bellingham posters make it sound like they only occur here. Again, that does NOT mean I don't care about them- I want more police on the streets, harsher penalties for criminals- especially repeat offenders, and I would love for there to be less homeless people, though the "solution" is not simple or cheap, and the problem itself stems from many different variables.
Regarding bikes, as an avid biker I have mixed feelings. Bike lanes are often a good idea, but not in every location, and I think that for some of the new places, it's going to be a big inconvenience - but mostly for homeowners. Eldridge is a good example. But I don't think it will affect parking much. I'm familiar with where all the new lanes are going, none of them would affect visitors or business customers, unless you live in an RV. And I'm pretty sure they created bike lanes on Cornwall to break up the RV shanty area down by Glass Beach, which I'd think you and some of the others would approve of... which is a pretty clever move by the city. Fair warning about regulation and registration of bikes, though. I would not be a big fan.
Overall, I also think some of the arguments here are over what we view the purpose of City-Data to be. For some, it's a place just to gripe, butI think of it as a place to provide a little more information to people who may be interested in relocating here. Though, as much as I get attacked for sticking up for Bellingham, I never really even post much in the way of details, and I don't start threads cheerleading for the place, I merely provide a different perspective- usually only chiming in when things are really one-sided or mischaracterized. If it was a thread about the pros and cons, I’d gladly list both. But just 100% negative posts all the time is over the top, and not fair to people people researching the area. People looking into relocation should obviously visit several times and check multiple sites; I’d wager that they care more about how Bellingham compares to where they came from than how it compares to someone’s childhood recollections!
I hope this makes sense to you. I fully understand why some people wouldn't like it, and yes, it's unlike any other place I've lived in. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's also totally fair for people to gripe or post about the negatives. But I also think it's fair for me to counter and post what I personally like about living here, along with many others who still DO love calling Bellingham home.
Last edited by bartonizer; 10-27-2022 at 06:32 PM..
Childhood recollections? I think I'm able to realize and accept better than most that this area is going to continue to grow and have troubles. Some people just pretend there isn't any though when it's not true. It's how our state and local leadership is dealing with it that's creating so many issues. For example, back in the 2000's when we made #2 in starlings best places, we saw rapid growth in home prices (tripled), yet the job market was terrible because so many people moved here evidentially without lining up a job. I recall the haircut place I frequent had 68 applicants for a front desk worker job that paid $12/hour.
More than a decade has passed, most of the working class has figured out its a dead end here (scrape by paycheck to paycheck with escalating housing costs taking all upward income growth with no ability to save money) and left. Combined with Covid, the area is now unravelling like I've never seen before and it's affecting nearly every aspect of our lives. Restaurants are closing for lack of staff or have 1-2 hour waits and 1/2 empty tables because they only have enough waitresses to serve half the place. We went to swap out our modem for a newer one at "X" and the office was closed for lack of staff even though the automated phone system told us to go there and the hours it was open. Ferndale USPS was on K5 news tonight with massive piles of boxes and mail outside that isn't getting delivered due to lack of postal workers. People aren't getting their ballots and prescriptions. I mailed a check from Bellingham to a Ferndale contractor and it took 17 days to get to him. He thought we were flaking out on paying him, something I really don't want because skilled labor is so hard to find and backed up months. We've had a rash of shootings in the past week, a drive-by, and another shooting/murder at a Halloween party Friday night. A homeless felon in a motorhome went on a rampage and rammed 4 police SUV's. I'm due some follow ups from my procedure and my run in with the vaccine and there is no availability to even see a physicians assistant until after new years. Add in the ongoing homeless/drug/crime problem which there is no need to further reiterate on, and it really seems Bellingham is dying.
LOL, Snowman, I'm not the one acting traumatized. Quite the opposite. Look, the issues brought up on C-D are often legitimate, I think the problem I have is with people painting a very one-sided view of the city- and I think that there's often the insinuation that the issues only exist here....
I'll readily admit that my wife and I have been fortunate enough to have moved here, saved up, and bought a house when it was MUCH more affordable than it is now. And it was exactly the type of spot we were interested in-we wanted walkability, bikeability, and close access to things like hiking, biking, and winter sports. Also, we love the food truck and brewery scene, and Bellingham is a craft beer mecca- we literally live across from a brewery and have a total of 7 in my neighborhood. So I'm a bit biased- but as you can imagine, other people who like those things really, really like Bellingham, too. Again, it's not for everyone- I get it. If you didn’t like some of the hobbies or interests I have, it might not be all that appealing to you.
In terms of the negatives-I hate how expensive housing has become. In fact, it's probably the single biggest issue that I'm passionate about, which may come as a surprise to people like you and RK. I hate it because high prices prohibit a diversified economy and population, and limits who can actually afford to be here long-term. And I'm not a big fan of taxes. Trust me, we just built an addition on our house and our taxes have more than doubled since we've lived in our house...and I would say that if we were just looking at Bellingham- or anywhere in the west- for the first time, it may be beyond our budget.
BUT, that doesn't make me hate the place, and I think that's where some of the disagreements on these threads come from. And things like crime and price of housing have skyrocketed everywhere, especially since COVID. Literally everyone in every city could be posting about these same topics, but for some reason the Bellingham posters make it sound like they only occur here. Again, that does NOT mean I don't care about them- I want more police on the streets, harsher penalties for criminals- especially repeat offenders, and I would love for there to be less homeless people, though the "solution" is not simple or cheap, and the problem itself stems from many different variables.
Regarding bikes, as an avid biker I have mixed feelings. Bike lanes are often a good idea, but not in every location, and I think that for some of the new places, it's going to be a big inconvenience - but mostly for homeowners. Eldridge is a good example. But I don't think it will affect parking much. I'm familiar with where all the new lanes are going, none of them would affect visitors or business customers, unless you live in an RV. And I'm pretty sure they created bike lanes on Cornwall to break up the RV shanty area down by Glass Beach, which I'd think you and some of the others would approve of... which is a pretty clever move by the city. Fair warning about regulation and registration of bikes, though. I would not be a big fan.
Overall, I also think some of the arguments here are over what we view the purpose of City-Data to be. For some, it's a place just to gripe, butI think of it as a place to provide a little more information to people who may be interested in relocating here. Though, as much as I get attacked for sticking up for Bellingham, I never really even post much in the way of details, and I don't start threads cheerleading for the place, I merely provide a different perspective- usually only chiming in when things are really one-sided or mischaracterized. If it was a thread about the pros and cons, I’d gladly list both. But just 100% negative posts all the time is over the top, and not fair to people people researching the area. People looking into relocation should obviously visit several times and check multiple sites; I’d wager that they care more about how Bellingham compares to where they came from than how it compares to someone’s childhood recollections!
I hope this makes sense to you. I fully understand why some people wouldn't like it, and yes, it's unlike any other place I've lived in. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's also totally fair for people to gripe or post about the negatives. But I also think it's fair for me to counter and post what I personally like about living here, along with many others who still DO love calling Bellingham home.
Bellingham sure embodies many of society's ills in modern times. This is a national and worldwide problem - addiction, anti policing laws, unavailable housing, unreliable jobs and a problematic workforce, over-reaction to covid to marginalize small business and health freedom, droughts and flooding with calls to suspend affordable energy in the name of climate change. Boy I opened a can of worms but let's be real. These ills are not only part of the northwest culture but also celebrated as good woke policy. To call it out is considered an insult to groups so instead of fighting crime we will decriminalize everything and call it safe and loving.
Well I enjoy those things, enjoyed them everywhere I lived. I don't drink beer any more but sure, Bellingham has beer and I hear there's coffee in Seattle.
Expensive housing is magnified here (as is Vancouver and London). I know a 31 year old who doesn't dream of owning a home. He did 5 years ago. Works for several years full time and studies several years part time, spent a few living with several roommates and lately he has upgraded to renting a room in a trailer with his coworker and coworker's wife. U can imagine how this helps his prospects of finding a serious partner. One local girl told me she won't date him because he's quote "colored" and her family wouldn't like it. I think young people here are woke because they saw these stigmas in their own family. This area was never remotely diverse until recently.
The bike lanes are good, especially ones on the big roads that stretch from one side of town to the next. Maybe if I ever need to cut my vehicle from my budget here I can use a bicycle as a commuter (kidding). Waypoint is now dead for the season. Is the canal / construction going to attract more cyclists?
its a cliquish town i think
rednecks ,or new dem libs who seem like fascists
homeless who just trust each other
its a boring carnival with no interesting attractions and it costs a lot
the lefty dems in Bellingham are really weird
Yeah. The dem libs have fascism in their eyes when encountered with other opinions.
Wow I can read that link all day. Whoever knew someone could write that much about Bellingham... And "Fernhell" lol....
Here?s another interactive experiment you can try. If you are in Bellingham, you can go to the shopping mall, Bellis Fair, or a crowded park like Boulevard Park. There, try to meet girls. In the mall, you will find that the only girls who will talk to you are the ones working there who are paid to help you find what you want to buy. The rest will ignore you in a stuck up manner, acting as though it were against the social rules to try to meet them. Even if you find girls sitting by themselves in the food court, they will tell you that they prefer to be alone, if you try to join them. How sadistically reclusive! Who likes to be alone while they eat?! In the park, when you greet them, they will put up a strong distant and defensive vibe toward you. They may humor you for a while, or talk to you if you have something in common, but they will cut the conversation short and make an excuse to withdraw and get back to their own business, which doesn?t include you. After a while, it becomes pointless to even try anymore.
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