Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (foreclosed, expense, business)

[CalWorth]

^^^I think you’re still in the afterglow of “thank g-d I got out of the s*** of Oakland, this place is awesome”, so every place looks better than what you came from. I get it. Also, tourists don’t see what the locals do.

[04kL4nD]

Probably. I do see homeless/addicts by the freeway on ramps and in some of the shopping centers nearby, and it's sad, but my particular location is in the bright green zone on crime maps, whereas basically all of Oakland, besides the hills where the one percent live, is red and the overall grade the city gets is an F lol. Our Ring camera alerts are people mostly reporting lost pets or wondering "what that loud sound was", so I definitely sleep a whole lot better than I was before.

10 years ago, I would laugh at the prospect of living in suburbia, but people/times change and I soaked up enough "city living" for a lifetime, so yeah, I'm pretty happy with our decision.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Do you have a source for Bellingham's homeless population being 1,000 people? If that's actually true, I can definitely see why locals would be entirely fed up. That number seems incredibly high to me, but if there's data to support it, I really don't have any rebuttal.

In any event, I can sorta relate to your decision to leave for what you think are greener pastures. Oakland really became completely unlivable for us by the time we decided to move out of the Bay Area and up to WA. People have always said Oakland is a crime infested hell hole, but 95% of my experiences living there were positive and I honestly didn't think it would descend into the current state that it's in now. But things there really are so bad that I would never move back. It breaks my heart that a place that was my home for so long and defended so fiercely against criticism is now so awful that I don't even want to come back and visit old friends that I miss dearly. Wherever you wind up, I hope you feel safer and more at peace, but I can tell you that the problems Bellingham and Oakland have aren't unique to just them. They exist to varying degrees all over this nation, and if you relocate with a bad attitude and are on the constant lookout for negativity, you'll easily find things to worry and complain about. In other words, I don't blame you for wanting a different environment, but whatever personal problems you have that aren't caused by others are going to follow you around, no matter where you go, so there's that.

You lived in California. Of course Bellingham feels better. But it’s gotten much worse.

[xPlorer48]

Our OD rate per 1000 is higher than that of King County:

https://www.king5.com/article/news/l...hinger%2DDavis.

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by Thealpinist

You lived in California. Of course Bellingham feels better. But it’s gotten much worse.

Still waiting for data that Bellingham's homeless numbers are 1k...

EDIT: nm:

https://www.whatcomcounty.us/CivicSe...zed%20shelters.

Well, that's absolutely alarming and if I were considering a move there, I'd definitely think twice. I also wouldn't wait :checks notes: 17 years to move like the OP did though...

[mayfair]

Here's an article on the Walmart encampment for anyone who is interested. Bellingham is a weird mixed bag where housing costs have pushed lower income people into living homeless (car or tent) and those are mixed up with addicts and vagabonds who are just moving around living homeless. It's a big sad mess:

https://mybellinghamnow.com/news/297...s-encampments/

Plus, when you get a milder climate and lots of woods to camp in, you get hidden homeless that aren't counted, so the problem is always bigger than it looks.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Do you have a source for Bellingham's homeless population being 1,000 people? If that's actually true, I can definitely see why locals would be entirely fed up. That number seems incredibly high to me, but if there's data to support it, I really don't have any rebuttal.

In any event, I can sorta relate to your decision to leave for what you think are greener pastures. Oakland really became completely unlivable for us by the time we decided to move out of the Bay Area and up to WA. People have always said Oakland is a crime infested hell hole, but 95% of my experiences living there were positive and I honestly didn't think it would descend into the current state that it's in now. But things there really are so bad that I would never move back. It breaks my heart that a place that was my home for so long and defended so fiercely against criticism is now so awful that I don't even want to come back and visit old friends that I miss dearly. Wherever you wind up, I hope you feel safer and more at peace, but I can tell you that the problems Bellingham and Oakland have aren't unique to just them. They exist to varying degrees all over this nation, and if you relocate with a bad attitude and are on the constant lookout for negativity, you'll easily find things to worry and complain about. In other words, I don't blame you for wanting a different environment, but whatever personal problems you have that aren't caused by others are going to follow you around, no matter where you go, so there's that.

https://cob.org/services/housing/hom...stateofhousing

From COB themselves, they say 742 that are known... A herald article from a few days ago recorded 900 OD deaths here for the year of 2022, that's a lot. Homeless population control, sadly.
I've discussed the latter part you mention there many times with family. Almost all have left or passed away now but the stubborn few think I should be able to paint rainbows over it all and be ok somehow even when the areas issues have hit them hard too. I simply refuse to sit there like a frog on a hotplate as quality of life goes into the toilet. So many are that frog though, it's sad. I was for awhile. More though, probably a majority just came from somewhere else worse so it's ok I guess to them (I was in the post office when 3 women who were all from the same street in SF ran into each other lol). So honestly, my mistake for not leaving much sooner. Period. We're happy where we are now, but unless we go to an area with enough negatives that it's actually shrinking, it's always going to grow and with it comes more BS. With my mandated vaccination and resulting injury/disability, things are actually simpler now. Can't ski, can't hike or bike, can't go boating or fishing. So, work from home, a few places to shop and eat, and a hospital for imaging and coagulation therapy if needed again are all I really need. No reason to stay in Bellingham now when it's one of the most expensive and crime ridden cities in the country.
The bolded, I don't understand. As you see your area decline and understand why, you can stand up and say so. Gov't will of course ignore you and continue to line it's own pockets. Others may be warned though, and decide to go elsewhere. Heck maybe it saves a life or 10 years of another families life who would have had an awful time here. I've heard of people who moved here for state assisted housing and all the "trimmings", and now are on the street with a years long wait list for housing and food so expensive they are out of snap a week before it re-ups again.
Lastly, I have to laugh about "not even wanting to go back and visit". Some family is actually meeting in Florida this spring because most of them didn't want to come back here.

[MechAndy]

Hmm,
The last time we had a situation like this was The Great Depression.
Some are saying that the economy is doing good, but I don’t really believe that when I see the prices at McDonalds.
Some say it’s the influx of cheap fentanyl and acceptance of drug abuse, I can see that.
I think it is because of multiple issues that are not properly being handled by this leadership.
This administration owns this.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Still waiting for data that Bellingham's homeless numbers are 1k...

EDIT: nm:

https://www.whatcomcounty.us/CivicSe...zed%20shelters.

Well, that's absolutely alarming and if I were considering a move there, I'd definitely think twice. I also wouldn't wait :checks notes: 17 years to move like the OP did though...

Family was here so didn't have a choice. Some have passed now, many have moved away, now I have to WFH so it was time.
Bellingham is more or less the US left coast's end-of-the-line, and looks it.

[04kL4nD]

My point isn't that you didn't have valid reasons to remain, it's the you complained about it for 17 years. If you don't at least do a little bit of introspection, wherever you go next you will have the exact same issues.