Moving to Bellingham as a young married couple? (Seattle, Vancouver: apartment, insurance)

[awesome11]

Hello,
My husband and I are university students (he's a grad student and I'm an undergrad). We are thinking of transferring from Saint Louis, MO to Western Washington University in Bellingham. Reading some of the other posts, I'm concerned that the cost of living may be too high for us, and that we may not be able to find jobs or internships (but maybe the university provides its students with job opportunities).

Is Bellingham a good place for a young married couple in college?

Thanks!

[rkcarguy]

I'd have to say it will depend on your field of work, but yes, generally we have a high cost of living to income ratio here. The last time I checked the index we were 1.19(meaning 119% of average) for cost of living, while our mean income was a touch below national average at .989..
Regardless I wouldn't leave one job until I had another no matter where you are headed.

[StealthRabbit]

My kid had no trouble finding jobs in Bellingham, but they weren't great. Lots of competition for work, but it is a decent area with some diversity in economy. You are missing berry season, as you can work like a dog and make enough to squeak through the yr. I would try to get summer fishing jobs in AK (NOT fish PROCESSING jobs!) . You can make enough in 6 weeks to live comfortably for a yr.

There is a variety of living situations and affordable too. (just not cheap). I would find a basement or garage apartment with a senior citizen, and do some cooking for them! This could be a winner for both. As a married couple you might enjoy this more than being in an apartment situation with college kids. You can inquire at community senior services, senior activity centers, churches, Craigslist, senior newspaper...

[superman71]

Bellingham would be a good place for a grand and undergraduate couple. If you're plugged into the University, you should be able to make friends there. There's a good nightlife here and if you have a hub where you can meet other people your age, you should do fine.

Jobs are harder, like someone said, and it depends on your field, what you can/want to do. Construction, warehouse, forklift work is abundant here. Social services, not really.

You can get a good two bedroom in the $750 range, or a one bedroom in the $600.

There are a ton of people here in their 20's. It thins out considerably in the 30's to 40's.

If you live along a bus line, you really don't need a car and can save on gas/insurance/etc. If you're outdoorsy this is an amazing place to be for camping, kyaking, etc. I am not outdoorsy, but I keep hearing this and I can see if around me. Lots of outdoors people.

There's almost nothing in terms of culture. We have an independent movie house and one museum and that's about it. It's not like Seattle with arts and culture events everywhere, all the time. That's a real drag for me, but if you're not into that stuff, then it's not big deal and Seattle is 90 minutes away, Vancouver BC is even closer.