Bellingham or Edmonds or elsewhere for retirees? (Seattle, Shoreline: houses, school)

[KCW70]

Our grandchildren and their parents live in the Seattle area. We are considering moving to be nearer to them. Which reasonably affordable areas would welcome New England natives over 55 who want some good restaurants and nearby sailing?

[Seacove]

Edmonds, Mukilteo, Whidbey Island, Kitsap Peninsula... If budget is not a factor, Kirkland, Mercer Island, West Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Ballard...

There's a lot of sailing here and annual wooden boat festivals in Port Townsend in September and Seattle in July, plus the Seattle boat show in late January and Seafair in July.

[Hemlock140]

My parents retired to the Sequim/Port Angeles area. A friend from CA retired to Bellingham but they only lasted a year because he didn't like all of the rain and being a college town, found it hard to make new friends their age. I would not consider Edmonds "affordable" for the average retiree, but we don't know what your budget is like. The closer to Seattle and jobs the higher rent/home prices. Of course, that is also where the great restaurants are, and Edmonds would be suitable if it fits your budget.

If not oppose to being a ferry ride away from your family, I would consider Poulsbo, Port Orchard, and Sequim. If you want some seclusion and more rural
setting, look at the very affordable towns of Quilcene and Brinnon, both great areas for sailing. Unfortunately they do not have much in the way of restaurants, just 3 in Quilcene that I know of, all decent but not
anything special.

[CrazyDonkey]

Depends how close you want to be to your grandchildren and your budget. You said they're located in the "Seattle-area," but where in the area can matter, since travel times can be significant due to traffic.

[perigee]

I'd say Seattle hands down.

A big strike against Bellingham is their healthcare. I live up here and now that I'm dealing with elderly parents and their medical needs, it can take months (yes months) to see a specialist. Outside of the long wait time, all the medical professionals and the hospital staff are amazing and very knowledgeable, but even with that a couple of times they had to send my father down to Seattle for operations. If you would of asked me a couple of years ago if healthcare providers would be a factor in where I would want to live I would of laughed, but I guess I'm now realizing that no one is getting any younger

As for sailing I would again side with the greater Seattle area. In Ferndale, just north of Bellingham, you can find 'reasonably' priced (sub $500k) waterfront houses with a dock (I would post a link, though apparently they block them) but Seattle has more boating events, google Seafair and opening day, heck at UW's stadium they even have a dock.

I love Bellingham, grew up here, moved away, came back, but I'm getting ready to sell and build in the eastside of Seattle, even though my cost of living will be higher down there.

Oh and as someone who went to school in Boston, if you're anything like me, it'll take awhile getting use to having the ocean on the wrong side of the continent. I would be walking north and be like, wait, am I walking north, the ocean is on the left...the left!?! And I'm sure you'll be amused when the city grinds to halt because of a couple of inches of snow, when in New England that wouldn't even cause a school delay.

Good luck with your move!

[perigee]

*headdesk*

I don't know if I meant to say isn't on the left or if it's just so hardwired in me that if you're facing north, the ocean should be on your left that I can't even type anything else

[KCW70]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. Our family members live in Shoreline. We love downtown Edmonds,but it is really pricey for us. Bellingham appeals to us, but good healthcare is increasingly important... We visited Sequim. It took forever to get there and there didn't seem to be much of a downtown. I guess we just need to look around at more places, including Ferndale, Brinnon, and Quilcene.

Any New England style houses ( capes or saltboxes) anywhere? Just wondering.