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NET INTERCHANGE is primarily public power sent OUTSIDE OF the Northwest, primarily to California. Notice that the wind power is shipped to California.
We have lots of carbon free electricity in the northwest, yet Governor Inslee and the Democrats insist on building more Industrial Wind and Solar areas to send electricity to California!!!
We are destroying our endangered shrub-steppe habitat lands to send electricity to California. Here is the latest project where the so called "evironmental" development is going to remove the topsoil from 5000 acres.
I think the answer to my questions is that "we have the best government money can buy". And the Corporations have bought Governor Inslee and the Democrats.
Lol I went to college in Humboldt County so perhaps my love of the deep, dank redwoods was born from that experience. We looked at Eureka and surrounding areas but ultimately it’s just a bit too downhill for me. I am comfortable with a bit of grit (lived in Oakland for 12 years) but I can’t do a downtrodden drug den as much as I can tolerate a few rougher neighborhoods or even a touch of homeless (which can’t be avoided anywhere these days).
Definitely prefer more accepting, community-minded folks over just the appearance of such. Intrigued by Mt Vernon and the general Bellingham/Skagit Valley area.
Lol I went to college in Humboldt County so perhaps my love of the deep, dank redwoods was born from that experience. We looked at Eureka and surrounding areas but ultimately it’s just a bit too downhill for me. I am comfortable with a bit of grit (lived in Oakland for 12 years) but I can’t do a downtrodden drug den as much as I can tolerate a few rougher neighborhoods or even a touch of homeless (which can’t be avoided anywhere these days).
Definitely prefer more accepting, community-minded folks over just the appearance of such. Intrigued by Mt Vernon and the general Bellingham/Skagit Valley area.
Then you will be intrigued by our community minded homeless encampment squalors conveniently located behind Winco, Home Depot and Walmart. Bellingham/Whatcom County/feds just had two big fentanyl drug busts. The only RE I could find in Bellingham/Whatcom County in your price point are in low rent areas either next to I5 or fixers uppers out in the county. Those lower priced SFH which are basically starter homes I can see are already pending.
You should probably stay clear of the I5 corridor: theft and drug rings make their way up and down this crime funnel. Personal property crime is way up in this area but murders have increased also. I would check out the Olympic Peninsula towns like Montesano. Or, Astoria, Oregon.
[Partner's] job prospect’s complicated but would ideally prefer to work in the photography industry
This is a delimiting factor that would argue in favor of living within driving distance of a job/population center: Seattle/Tacoma/Everett, Vancouver/Portland, Olympia/Lacey, etc. Small towns are nice, but there is a reason they are "small" (lack of jobs).
I'm sure the trolls will hate on me for saying this, and will do everything in their power to dissuade you, but you sound like you'd really like Bellingham, which is like a bigger Olympia, but with more college students vs government employees, and a little more independent/out there vs being being more closely connected to a large metropolitan area. There's also less of a punk feel, and more of an outdoorsy vibe in Bham. It's the only place where the Cascades meet the sea, and here's a good reason why there's a big ski/snowboard community here, and why mountain bike companies like Evil, Transition, and Kona are HQ'ed in the area.
Anyway, your biggest obstacles to living here or in any other city in WA are going to be the price and limited availability of reasonable housing, and the availability of high-paying jobs, if you don't have one locked up already. Prices are dropping, but demand is high here because many people like it.
Whatever you do and wherever you look into, make sure you visit everywhere you're interested during several seasons, to see if you're okay with it. And take the hater comments with a grain of salt. Bellingham itself is kryptonite to conservative curmudgeons- it's pretty artsy, much of it's quite walkable/bikeable, but the truth is that most urban areas tend to be more progressive and rural areas tend to be more conservative these days. For whatever reason, on this site, the trolls are very active about trying to discourage anyone from looking into this area. It's true that we encounter the same issues as any other city in the west, but it's also true that a lot of people love it here.
Last edited by bartonizer; 12-01-2022 at 06:03 PM..
We moved here from the Monterey Bay and it has quite a few of those things including redwoods nearby and the ocean. The art scene is huge there along with music festivals, etc... Biking is excellent with dedicated trails right along the ocean for miles. Multiple colleges right there and a marine life sanctuary. But prices are out of this world high!
What you have described is like a dream like location for the artsy (Hippy/Artsy/Creative scene/ active theatre), nature lover (more green, hiking, biking, near the water) who wants a thriving, vibrant community (welcoming to outsiders, perhaps?), not too big nor too expensive with a community college close by, etc... But not as grungy and drugged out as Humboldt.
Honestly, you described the best parts of certain cities throughout CA (Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel), CO (Aspen, Boulder), OR (Bend, Corvallis, Ashland), WA (Bellingham, maybe Olympia?). It's something someone dreams about and makes Hallmark movies of. In other words, it doesn't really exist with all of those attributes especially at lower prices. But even if money were no object, that ideal place doesn't really exist. Its more a matter of degrees depending on 'gotta haves.' You will need to make some concessions ultimately. Some of them may be bigger than you are willing to accept which you've discovered already in part through visiting parts of the OP.
Nowhere will have all of that and there will be an underbelly of 'not so greats' - the cons. You need to be brutally honest and learn about the cons as well. Gotta take off the rose colored glasses. Otherwise, you'll be in for a big surprise! For example, it may be more unwelcoming to outsiders or simply just artificially friendly. The art scene is lacking big time beyond a few local tourist shops, maybe a gallery. The biking may suck. The roads up here are terrible in many parts for biking, some without a shoulder even in the larger cities. Lots of drunk or 'out of it' drivers in monster trucks roaring down too narrow roads. My son likes to road bike and its scary out there. Places for your partner to work without dealing with customers? Sounds like he needs a WFH job like you but not interfacing with clients... There are lots of introverts up here who move from all over the country and world. Many like to keep to themselves and their own. Ever heard of the Seattle freeze? Don't take it personally. But coming from CA, its a different cultural scene just like living in the south is different and so on. That will take some time adjusting to and if an introvert, it may be harder to break through that local community. The artsy part will be harder to find near a college without spending an arm and a leg. Take a look at Ashland and Bend, OR. They aren't cheap either and you'll need to find a fixer upper. Same with BHam. Just gotta be real about it before considering making a big move.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 12-02-2022 at 12:45 AM..
If looking around Pt T, be sure to look beyond the town limits, to find cheaper properties: west of town you may find old farmhouses at lower rents or lower RE prices, and south of town there's Chimacum and Port Hadlock. Sure it's nice to be in town or nearby, but that will cost you, unless you get lucky (which also is possible: seek and ye shall find).
You may find an affordable property or two in the SE part of town near the pulp mill. Beware: aim to be as far from the pulp mill as possible. Most of the time the wind blows the stench out over the Sound, but on rare occasions, the wind shifts, and blows it into town either northward (toward Ft Worden) or NE.
RE: Astoria--a good co-op scene. Hospital nearby, but it's not fully-equipped to handle anything/everything. Gorgeous location, though. Seasonal/annual schedule of outdoor art/craft fairs. Affordable (for now, but it's starting to attract attention). There's a CC and an OSU branch nearby. Only downside: there will be smoke from OR wildfires. The location near the mouth of the Columbia (ocean breeze proximity) doesn't help with the smoke much, if at all. But wildfire smoke has become one of the hazards of West Coast living in general. Astoria's no different than any other location in WA or OR that you might choose (except for the OR coastal towns, but they have their own issues). Astoria's also near beach towns on the north coast. Caveat: check sea-level rise maps to avoid flood-prone properties.
Good luck! Give us an update, when you find something!
I am glad someone mentioned besides wildfires and their smoke also mentioning sea level rise maps. I have studied those. You do not want to live in Longview. Near there is Kelso and there are houses much higher up the hill; but the town can flood.
Astoria's prices went crazy (they were still somewhat affordable as late as 2017). Most of the houses in Astoria are very old and most of Astoria is prone to landslides except a couple of streets (and those are pricey).
If you're buying you want something with staying power. If I was young I'd head to Madison Wisconsin. Eastern Washington is nothing like Western Washington (same applies to Oregon). But, they have good source of water (unless the Columbia dries up like the Mississippi. I would go to the Great Lake States or parts of Maine or Vermont. Make sure you look at both FEMA Flood maps and Sea Level rise maps.
I am intrigued by Bellingham; but the prices skyrocketed there too.
In general I think the Portland area is more affordable than the Seattle area. If you go too far East then your big city is either still Portland or Spokane. Actually you might go scout out areas North of Spokane and let us know what you find (it might be affordable up that way).
I lived in Sandpoint in the 70's as a kid (absolutely freaking beautiful and a small town). Humongous lake. It was gorgeous; but, it was not a resort town back then.
You might consider Depot Bay Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon along with Eugene. I've noticed there's a good number of multi-family properties that come up for sale in Eugene. You could start with a duplex and that would be more affordable from a cash flow perspective and roll it into something nicer later on (or just keep the economical living with a renter on one side).
We moved here from the Monterey Bay and it has quite a few of those things including redwoods nearby and the ocean. The art scene is huge there along with music festivals, etc... Biking is excellent with dedicated trails right along the ocean for miles. Multiple colleges right there and a marine life sanctuary. But prices are out of this world high!
What you have described is like a dream like location for the artsy (Hippy/Artsy/Creative scene/ active theatre), nature lover (more green, hiking, biking, near the water) who wants a thriving, vibrant community (welcoming to outsiders, perhaps?), not too big nor too expensive with a community college close by, etc... But not as grungy and drugged out as Humboldt.
Honestly, you described the best parts of certain cities throughout CA (Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel), CO (Aspen, Boulder), OR (Bend, Corvallis, Ashland), WA (Bellingham, maybe Olympia?). It's something someone dreams about and makes Hallmark movies of. In other words, it doesn't really exist with all of those attributes especially at lower prices. But even if money were no object, that ideal place doesn't really exist. Its more a matter of degrees depending on 'gotta haves.' You will need to make some concessions ultimately. Some of them may be bigger than you are willing to accept which you've discovered already in part through visiting parts of the OP.
Nowhere will have all of that and there will be an underbelly of 'not so greats' - the cons. You need to be brutally honest and learn about the cons as well. Gotta take off the rose colored glasses. Otherwise, you'll be in for a big surprise! For example, it may be more unwelcoming to outsiders or simply just artificially friendly. The art scene is lacking big time beyond a few local tourist shops, maybe a gallery. The biking may suck. The roads up here are terrible in many parts for biking, some without a shoulder even in the larger cities. Lots of drunk or 'out of it' drivers in monster trucks roaring down too narrow roads. My son likes to road bike and its scary out there. Places for your partner to work without dealing with customers? Sounds like he needs a WFH job like you but not interfacing with clients... There are lots of introverts up here who move from all over the country and world. Many like to keep to themselves and their own. Ever heard of the Seattle freeze? Don't take it personally. But coming from CA, its a different cultural scene just like living in the south is different and so on. That will take some time adjusting to and if an introvert, it may be harder to break through that local community. The artsy part will be harder to find near a college without spending an arm and a leg. Take a look at Ashland and Bend, OR. They aren't cheap either and you'll need to find a fixer upper. Same with BHam. Just gotta be real about it before considering making a big move.
Derek
To be honest Derek all those places really were dreamy if you go far enough back in time before the population doubled/tripled). CA's been expensive well, it exploded in N CA with the Dot Com / Silicon Valley stuff in the late 90's though there was a window in 2012 to get into some locations (like Napa Valley). The East Bay went bonkers also in the late 90's. A 2 br 2.5 ba 1,100 townhome we bought in Dublin CA in 1991 for 180k last time I checked is 850k.
Essentially going back in time...
To go back in time go to the Great Lake States. And pick up 2 houses for $400k and just wait 10 years because climate refugees will be fleeing the south and you will have the next CA in Wisconsin... The PNW was still a bargain back in the early 2000's.
To be honest Derek all those places really were dreamy if you go far enough back in time before the population doubled/tripled). CA's been expensive well, it exploded in N CA with the Dot Com / Silicon Valley stuff in the late 90's though there was a window in 2012 to get into some locations (like Napa Valley). The East Bay went bonkers also in the late 90's. A 2 br 2.5 ba 1,100 townhome we bought in Dublin CA in 1991 for 180k last time I checked is 850k.
Essentially going back in time...
To go back in time go to the Great Lake States. And pick up 2 houses for $400k and just wait 10 years because climate refugees will be fleeing the south and you will have the next CA in Wisconsin... The PNW was still a bargain back in the early 2000's.
Yes, the closest I've ever seen to that dream location was Carmel and Monterey. We raised our kids there and it was truly awesome. From the redwood forests to the Big Sur coast. The art scene is amazing as is the natural beauty. We used to walk to the Monterey Jazz Festival from our home. Locals got free passes to the Monterey aquarium. The art scene in Carmel with all the galleries is great. Ansel Adams and Edward Weston had galleries there. We used to watch whales breach right in front our house. After traveling the entire west coast from the Olympic Peninsula to the tip of Baja, I think Monterey and Big Sur are the best from a livability standpoint. That's not to say there aren't other areas of great natural beauty. But the community on the coast combined with all of that including its colleges and universities is really hard to beat.
There was a time it was more affordable, but not anymore. Our family migrated from the Great Lakes area to CA several generations back. They were done with the snow and cold after growing up in it. My grandfather was Canadian.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 12-02-2022 at 01:35 AM..
Yes, the closest I've ever seen to that dream location was Carmel and Monterey. We raised our kids there and it was truly awesome. From the redwood forests to the Big Sur coast. The art scene is amazing as is the natural beauty. We used to walk to the Monterey Jazz Festival from our home. Locals got free passes to the Monterey aquarium. The art scene in Carmel with all the galleries is great. Ansel Adams and Edward Weston had galleries there. We used to watch whales breach right in front our house. After traveling the entire west coast from the Olympic Peninsula to the tip of Baja, I think Monterey and Big Sur are the best from a livability standpoint. That's not to say there aren't other areas of great natural beauty. But the community on the coast combined with all of that including its colleges and universities is really hard to beat.
There was a time it was more affordable, but not anymore. Our family migrated from the Great Lakes area to CA several generations back. They were done with the snow and cold after growing up in it. My grandfather was Canadian.
Derek
Geez, those pesky Canadians!
I lived in Monterey from 1982 to 1984..stationed at Ft. Fog... . I lived in the Bay Area from 1988 to 2002 and still had access to Monterey. The place was definitely dreamy back in the 80's. Monterey would be a nice place to retire if one could afford it
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