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You would probably love our location and land, the house not so much. Six acres with old second growth evergreens, several ponds, a creek we can see and hear from the house, a twelve minute drive to the downtown library, close to parks and trails. But, it is a gentrifying area that we will soon be priced out of. Take our equity and move where? Maybe we will cash out and go on a very long cruise.
We can’t subdivide as it is zoned R5 (minimum 5 acres). I think we may qualify for senior exemption in 2024 as our income is not keeping up with the median (currently over $70,000 n Whatcom County). We do have a small home business that can be expanded to generate more income but SSA does not keep up. Savings goes to repair and maintenance. Our latest assessment jumped 38%. Hopefully, others did too so the next tax bill won’t be so alarming. We can’t do much about homeowners insurance as it is tied to assessment. Just learn to budget and be even more frugal.
We can’t subdivide as it is zoned R5 (minimum 5 acres). I think we may qualify for senior exemption in 2024 as our income is not keeping up with the median (currently over $70,000 n Whatcom County). We do have a small home business that can be expanded to generate more income but SSA does not keep up. Savings goes to repair and maintenance. Our latest assessment jumped 38%. Hopefully, others did too so the next tax bill won’t be so alarming. We can’t do much about homeowners insurance as it is tied to assessment. Just learn to budget and be even more frugal.
Wow, that's sounds rough since you are already at the smallest lot size and zoning limit. While living in CA, I was helping a retired widow with her yard in Carmel. Her husband, now deceased, had built their home himself when land was much more affordable while in the military. It was their dream home which she lived in with him for many decades. Living now on a very limited fixed income, the only way she can still remain is due to the fact that her home cannot be re-assessed based upon Prop 13. I don't think she cares that she sits a multimillion dollar lot. It's her home she built with her late husband where she too would like to spend the rest of her days in peace. Once sold, the new taxes will jump up exponentially. But until then, she can remain as she was. I don't know if WA will ever adopt such tax exceptions for long-term residents, but many think its about time.
Wow, that's sounds rough since you are already at the smallest lot size and zoning limit. While living in CA, I was helping a retired widow with her yard in Carmel. Her husband, now deceased, had built their home himself when land was much more affordable while in the military. It was their dream home which she lived in with him for many decades. Living now on a very limited fixed income, the only way she can still remain is due to the fact that her home cannot be re-assessed based upon Prop 13. I don't think she cares that she sits a multimillion dollar lot. It's her home she built with her late husband where she too would like to spend the rest of her days in peace. Once sold, the new taxes will jump up exponentially. But until then, she can remain as she was. I don't know if WA will ever adopt such tax exceptions for long-term residents, but many think its about time.
Derek
We tried but it was either struck down by courts or legislature. Most parcels in our area are 5 acres, a few a bit larger but some smaller lots were grandfathered in when we had a rezone from one house per acre to one per five. I am glad that your widowed friend didn’t have to leave her long time home. May she live a long time.
We enjoy visiting Vancouver, BC, more so than Seattle. When we visited we were very struck by its beautiful architecture, scenery and cleanliness compared to most US large cities along with the friendliness of the locals. The difference was noticeable to all of us almost immediately. We stayed in local families' second unit and they were great folks as were othered we met. There is a cultural difference in relation to the lack of Seattle freeze factor. It's similar to what is experienced when visiting the South, for example, and then returning to the PNW.
One could probably make a case why they like one over the other depending on their preferences. However, by most metrics used, Vancouver, BC is normally ranked higher than Seattle in terms of overall livability as an international city. I know Washingtonians who have gone to university there and greatly preferred it to WA options. And, of course, some work there as well. Bham is almost a suburb of Vancouver BC. There's also some fun cultural differences to experience between the US and CA, hey?
And there are many more rating it as a top international city.
Derek
Speaking from my own experience.
Vancouver BC is no friendlier than Seattle. It’s also very hard to live in BC and have a decent life these days. Housing has become astronomical and many of the people who own homes are not even Canadian. Investors have ruined this city. Finding a good paying job is also quite the challenge. Cost of living is much worse compared to Seattle and there are not as many good paying jobs.
Fact is quality of life is much higher in Seattle.
If you are reasonably educated you can make a much better living in the Seattle area. There is many more opportunities in the tech/engineering sector and supporting jobs for middle class people.
From street level Vancouver BC is architecturally beautiful and clean. But don’t be fooled. There is a dark underbelly of drugs and addiction. Those quality rankings are skewed towards people who are super wealthy and these days Vancouver has become a playground for the rich and famous. Vancouver is a fun Disney Land for visitors. The proximity to the wilderness is great, but it’s been heavily commodified towards the rich internationally.
Visitors think it is great!!! For ordinary middle class Canadians it’s not so great anymore. The soul of the city has been sucked out.
In conclusion Seattle is more industrial and gritty. But Seattle also has quite a bit more creative talent and opportunities for those who are willing to work hard. If you want to start a company or do something weirdly creative you are more likely to find success in Seattle. Seattle is just as close to amazing wilderness areas.
In the end Seattle is a better place to start a career and form a family.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer
While I think many agree with that sentiment and may also vote in that direction when given the opportunity, the current reality of the situation for xPlorer48 and many others like him in Bham such as rcarguy and his friends and family is that they really are getting priced out, bottom line. Many, according to these locals, have already moved out or are planning to do so in the near future. Understanding they are in a community of like minded locals who have lived there a long time, I'm sure they've seen it firsthand as well as considered these options long and hard.
Regarding subdividing the land or selling everything off, it's likely the results will still be the same anyway. That is, the new buyer/owner/developer will turn around and make a fortune with no qualms at all turning the land into tiny lots for all the newcomers who pay a premium to live there.
... it's philosophically the best use of the land vs. wide open plains. ...
Precisely what the assessor stated, as they took or family ranch, and later turned it into a MTN bike park.
Best, and highest use is to grow houses, not cows. We'll tax your rangeland, as if it were houses, then snatch it away in a tax sale, then convert it to a public park, because no one can afford to develop it (no excess water, or services, and too steep for homes). Zero of our WA properties is eligible for splitting (and neighbor lots run from 6-240 acres), but we're still taxed as if any millionaire buyer is waiting with cash to buy it on the spot, for top dollar, in any condition.
Same in Whatcom county.
Like it, pay it, or leave.
There comes a time, when paying it, is no longer feasible, as you need to feed your family first, or your income hasn't been insufficient for 30- 40 years, and you eventually deplete personal assets and savings. You've sold the youngest child, and are only left with a very large tax bill. Then there is a forced eviction followed by an auction. Btdt, I know precisely how that feels.
It hurts. The trees and landscape you dug, planted, nurtured from seedlings..... And the home you built from scratch, is gone to the highest bidder. For peanuts or plenty.... But it is no longer yours to go to sleep in. It's gone, as it will be when all hacked up by developers from foreign land and regions. That's how we do it in America. It's FREEDOM. (For those with the resources to capture and KEEP it). Some day, they too might lose it to the highest bidder.
Precisely what the assessor stated, as they took or family ranch, and later turned it into a MTN bike park.
Best, and highest use is to grow houses, not cows. We'll tax your rangeland, as if it were houses, then snatch it away in a tax sale, then convert it to a public park, because no one can afford to develop it (no excess water, or services, and too steep for homes). Zero of our WA properties is eligible for splitting (and neighbor lots run from 6-240 acres), but we're still taxed as if any millionaire buyer is waiting with cash to buy it on the spot, for top dollar, in any condition.
Same in Whatcom county.
Like it, pay it, or leave.
There comes a time, when paying it, is no longer feasible, as you need to feed your family first, or your income hasn't been insufficient for 30- 40 years, and you eventually deplete personal assets and savings. You've sold the youngest child, and are only left with a very large tax bill. Then there is a forced eviction followed by an auction. Btdt, I know precisely how that feels.
It hurts. The trees and landscape you dug, planted, nurtured from seedlings..... And the home you built from scratch, is gone to the highest bidder. For peanuts or plenty.... But it is no longer yours to go to sleep in. It's gone, as it will be when all hacked up by developers from foreign land and regions. That's how we do it in America. It's FREEDOM. (For those with the resources to capture and KEEP it). Some day, they too might lose it to the highest bidder.
It was hard watching developers clearcut our adjacent forest where wildlife roamed and local kids played making forts, etc... through an untamed section of Clark County. A lot of the neighbors who owned homes nextdoor to the forest decided to sell and move further out since it would no longer be the same.
I can imagine for the landowner it was very difficult and not an easy decision to sell most of his forest land like that. Nor easy to watch the clearcutting of all those trees.
In places throughout WA where selling off part of the land is not even an option due to zoning or other restrictions, the state appears to be forcing owners out via taxation. And yes, that does seem unfair which is worth fighting for through legislative means. While at the same time as we get older we have also learned the hard way that life isn't fair and so difficult choices sometimes have to be made given the current state of the state.
Maybe there are still avenues to remain and fight for the land without getting depleted of personal resources due to taxation.
Vancouver BC is no friendlier than Seattle. It’s also very hard to live in BC and have a decent life these days. Housing has become astronomical and many of the people who own homes are not even Canadian. Investors have ruined this city. Finding a good paying job is also quite the challenge. Cost of living is much worse compared to Seattle and there are not as many good paying jobs.
Fact is quality of life is much higher in Seattle.
If you are reasonably educated you can make a much better living in the Seattle area. There is many more opportunities in the tech/engineering sector and supporting jobs for middle class people.
From street level Vancouver BC is architecturally beautiful and clean. But don’t be fooled. There is a dark underbelly of drugs and addiction. Those quality rankings are skewed towards people who are super wealthy and these days Vancouver has become a playground for the rich and famous. Vancouver is a fun Disney Land for visitors. The proximity to the wilderness is great, but it’s been heavily commodified towards the rich internationally.
Visitors think it is great!!! For ordinary middle class Canadians it’s not so great anymore. The soul of the city has been sucked out.
In conclusion Seattle is more industrial and gritty. But Seattle also has quite a bit more creative talent and opportunities for those who are willing to work hard. If you want to start a company or do something weirdly creative you are more likely to find success in Seattle. Seattle is just as close to amazing wilderness areas.
In the end Seattle is a better place to start a career and form a family.
+1
Could not agree more.
I would add that I do not find anything particularly beautiful or interesting in the architecture in Vancouver just like any other modern American city. It is clean, yes, but quite uninspiring and designed to pack inside as many people as possible. It is getting way overcrowded. I do not know if I would use the term "gritty" for Seattle either (yes, the parts taken over by the drug addicts and the homeless but Vancouver has East Hastings as well) more industrial yes (thankfully, meaning more high paying jobs). Seattle neighborhoods are nicer than the Vancouver ones for sure.
The natural setting in Vancouver is very beautiful for sure but the city itself is not world class by any stretch of imagination.
My own living in Vancouver, and hundreds of close friends still living there, and my frequent visits + the stats well support Vancouver BC as far more international than Seattle (or anything USA). LA and NYC are rated below Vancouver BC. (in stats, not some 20 YO 'something' influencer)
You do you (fantastic, be all over yourself!)
The stats and experiences are different. Surprise? Don't be. We all see life through a different lense. (especially me!)
I guess it depends on what one means by international. Yes, Vancouver has a higher foreign born populace than Seattle. Vancouver at 42 percent, and Seattle at 19 percent.
On the ground, I agree Vancouver feels much more cosmopolitan, than Seattle. Vancouver a more international city, Seattle a very American one.
As for being more international than NYC or LA, well again the foreign population of both those cities is around 33 percent each. Not enough IMO to be a noticeable difference in that regard, but NYC and LA have much larger populations and that impacts how one feels on the street. NYC and LA also have institutions such as art galleries, schools etc that have a much higher international reach than similar in Vancouver.
I would say that NYC and LA are more international in the sense that they have a much bigger impact on the world than Vancouver.
This though is about Seattle and Vancouver, and most reviews or people I've met and talked to from Seattle tend to agree that Vancouver has a more international vibe going on and most people from Vancouver find Seattle fun, and different, but not the same cosmopolitan feeling as Vancouver..
I guess it depends on what one means by international. Yes, Vancouver has a higher foreign born populace than Seattle. Vancouver at 42 percent, and Seattle at 19 percent.
On the ground, I agree Vancouver feels much more cosmopolitan, than Seattle. Vancouver a more international city, Seattle a very American one.
As for being more international than NYC or LA, well again the foreign population of both those cities is around 33 percent each. Not enough IMO to be a noticeable difference in that regard, but NYC and LA have much larger populations and that impacts how one feels on the street. NYC and LA also have institutions such as art galleries, schools etc that have a much higher international reach than similar in Vancouver.
I would say that NYC and LA are more international in the sense that they have a much bigger impact on the world than Vancouver.
This though is about Seattle and Vancouver, and most reviews or people I've met and talked to from Seattle tend to agree that Vancouver has a more international vibe going on and most people from Vancouver find Seattle fun, and different, but not the same cosmopolitan feeling as Vancouver..
Vancouver does indeed have a “international” vibe. But at the end of the day Seattle has a more objective global impact through industry and music. Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft etc…..In many ways Vancouver is a paper tiger.
Vancouver does indeed have a “international” vibe. But at the end of the day Seattle has a more objective global impact through industry and music. Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft etc…..In many ways Vancouver is a paper tiger.
Most of the world doesn't know that Amazon etc, have anything to do with Seattle. They just think U.S. for the most part.
Also even though the impact of those companies is huge, it doesn't really translate on the street.
Anyway this has gone way off topic, all because someone liked Bellingham because of it's easy access to Vancouver, which is a valid point.
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