Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle, Everett: where to live, garden, safer)

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

So, you want only residents within Bellingham's borders to pay for solutions to problems that extend well beyond the city limits? Just because a homeless person is camping in Bellingham (where the "services" are) doesn't mean he/she came from there, say, rather than from Blaine or Deming, for instance.

These are problems that require a county, state, and federal response.

They pretty much have to or else live with the problem.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by mayfair

They pretty much have to or else live with the problem.

It is not a single problem. Cities, at best, can ameliorate and mitigate the problems, but cannot solve them by themselves.

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

The residents are part of the problem. Just for starters, one of the homeless camp residents was interviewed and said he loved Bellingham, there was even a "Weed and Pizza for the homeless" gofundme in Bellingham that delivered it right to the camp. "I don't even have to get up or work".....its enablement on a massive scale.
Bellingham residents, the city, and WA state together have opened the proverbial skyscraper sized bag of chips on the beach and the seagulls are coming from afar to get in on the action.

Ah yes, the common decision to go without shelter in exchange for $10 or $20 worth of pizza and weed.


It's not enticing anybody to be homeless, but it's making a tough situation suck a tiny bit less.

[rkcarguy]

Change of subject, but still very relevant to the Bellingham/Whatcom County area.
Enter WRIA1:
This is the "Water Resource Inventory Area 1". More legislation rammed down our throats aiming to inventory, meter, establish senior water rights, and charge market rate for the estimated $4+Billion in water that is used annually without "control" in Whatcom County. This will have huge negative implications for the farms of Whatcom County as well as those with the newest water rights. Bellingham, who draws the entirety of it's water from the Nooksack indirectly through lake Whatcom, will also be in the spotlight. A little known fact, when comparing Bellingham's peak water use to the Nooksack rivers lowest flows (typically both in August), Bellingham would run the entire river dry in excess of ~30 minutes a day. With the salmon "calling the shots" this does not bode well for the availability and affordability of water.

[rkcarguy]

December 23rd, 2023 was finally our last day in Bellingham.
While our immediate area was a nice little spot mostly immune from the multitude of issues that plague the city, the way that the homeless/crime/drug problem and lack of affordable housing affect nearly every aspect of daily life simply is not missed. What conveniences do remain, in comparison, were not worth all the negatives. Friends of ours that also moved out recently called Bellingham "Baby San Fran", appropriately.
I was born here, and have been through the areas many ups and downs. The willful decline to an Everett-like existence in just a few years has been shocking. Visiting a place where we used to roll down the hill in the grass as kids it's now littered with trash, needles, feces, and aggressive vagrants wandering around in zombie-like stages of addiction and mental illness.
"I don't know if you noticed, this isn't exactly home anymore".
Farewell.

[saturno_v]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

December 23rd, 2023 was finally our last day in Bellingham.
While our immediate area was a nice little spot mostly immune from the multitude of issues that plague the city, the way that the homeless/crime/drug problem and lack of affordable housing affect nearly every aspect of daily life simply is not missed. What conveniences do remain, in comparison, were not worth all the negatives. Friends of ours that also moved out recently called Bellingham "Baby San Fran", appropriately.
I was born here, and have been through the areas many ups and downs. The willful decline to an Everett-like existence in just a few years has been shocking. Visiting a place where we used to roll down the hill in the grass as kids it's now littered with trash, needles, feces, and aggressive vagrants wandering around in zombie-like stages of addiction and mental illness.
"I don't know if you noticed, this isn't exactly home anymore".
Farewell.

Where are you moving? I'm afraid things are not that different all along the western part of the west coast all the way to California.....

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

December 23rd, 2023 was finally our last day in Bellingham.
While our immediate area was a nice little spot mostly immune from the multitude of issues that plague the city, the way that the homeless/crime/drug problem and lack of affordable housing affect nearly every aspect of daily life simply is not missed. What conveniences do remain, in comparison, were not worth all the negatives. Friends of ours that also moved out recently called Bellingham "Baby San Fran", appropriately.
I was born here, and have been through the areas many ups and downs. The willful decline to an Everett-like existence in just a few years has been shocking. Visiting a place where we used to roll down the hill in the grass as kids it's now littered with trash, needles, feces, and aggressive vagrants wandering around in zombie-like stages of addiction and mental illness.
"I don't know if you noticed, this isn't exactly home anymore".
Farewell.

Hey, rkguy, I am sorry that you had to leave what you thought of as home, believe me when I say that I understand how you feel about needing to do that.

I appreciate your honesty about your surroundings. I know that posters get chastised & swatted for that, even though the original purpose here was information about relocation.

So, I hope you stay in touch on this forum & I wish the best for you & your family.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

December 23rd, 2023 was finally our last day in Bellingham.
While our immediate area was a nice little spot mostly immune from the multitude of issues that plague the city, the way that the homeless/crime/drug problem and lack of affordable housing affect nearly every aspect of daily life simply is not missed. What conveniences do remain, in comparison, were not worth all the negatives. Friends of ours that also moved out recently called Bellingham "Baby San Fran", appropriately.
I was born here, and have been through the areas many ups and downs. The willful decline to an Everett-like existence in just a few years has been shocking. Visiting a place where we used to roll down the hill in the grass as kids it's now littered with trash, needles, feces, and aggressive vagrants wandering around in zombie-like stages of addiction and mental illness.
"I don't know if you noticed, this isn't exactly home anymore".
Farewell.

Everett? You're on Everett's case now? What's wrong with Everett? People on the Seattle forum continue to recommend Everett neighborhoods on relocation threads.

[mayfair]

Everett has nice parts and very bad parts such as around Casino Road. And it has homeless druggie/crime problems in certain areas. I know people who moved out of the bad areas because of crime and they got tired of it.

It also has areas that are just neighborhoods and not bad at all.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Everett? You're on Everett's case now? What's wrong with Everett? People on the Seattle forum continue to recommend Everett neighborhoods on relocation threads.

I remember Everett from way back, when I visited a friend who worked at Boeing there. It was beautiful, lots of woods. Yes, that was long ago. Now I avoid it if I’m on I-5, it’s nothing to aspire to.