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I enjoyed reading through this thread. I lived in Bellingham as a WWU student for 3 years from 2015 to 2018. I grew up in San Jose, CA and went to WWU on the Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship which made it more affordable than attending a UC school down in California. Compared to the CA Bay Area, Bellingham seemed like a very low-cost place to live. I assume many other people (students, retirees, middle-class) hailing from the likes of California and Seattle saw it the same way I did.
But I feel like in just the past couple of years the cost-of-living has skyrocketed. It wasn't long ago I was renting a room for $350 or a studio apartment in Happy Valley for $650. I just found out that the same apartment less than 2 years later rents for almost $1,000. The local wages just aren't keeping pace with that drastic of an increase and it's going to leave many people (students as well as the middle class) far behind...
Bellingham was a great place to live for a college town experience but I'm glad I didn't try to stay there after graduation, it's lacking as far as well-paying jobs go. I liked all the local cultural and recreational opportunities (Lake Padden, Pickford Film center), loved walking down to Fairhaven and the Bay from Happy Valley each evening, those aspects of the city can't be beat. Ever since graduating, I've lived in the Twin Cities in Minnesota for a year, then San Jose for 6 months, then most recently moving to Oregon and getting a job in the mid/south Willamette Valley region which is *currently* much more affordable for me. I can rent a 2-bedroom apartment here for half the cost of what my brother pays for a studio in San Jose. The income-to-COL ratio here seems like it'll actually be realistic.
Each of these places I've lived has had a different sort of culture-- I've found people to be much friendlier in Minnesota with a lot more diversity than in Bellingham. Then moving back to San Jose I thought I'd like living in the place I grew up but quickly realized, looking at it as an adult, it's transformed into a more high-tech, competitive and materialist culture that is too split between the "have's" and "have-not's"... not for me! Especially since I could be fairly certain I'd be in the "have-not's" category since I work in the public sector. This is the direction I see NW Washington going in the next few years, following along with Seattle and SF Bay Area's trajectory.
Now living in the Willamette Valley where the population is economically and politically mixed more so than somewhere like Portland or Bellingham. 10 years from now, Eugene and Salem might go the way of Bellingham... if and when that happens it may be time for me to move on (likely away from the coastal corridor). Or I might find myself lucky to be well-established enough to stay put.
Places like Bellingham are unfortunately becoming somewhat of a "bubble"-- not quite sure what it is, maybe the extreme liberalism, high taxes, gentrification, university in town. I'm curious to learn more about the possible links between liberal vs. conservative politics, and how that relates to an area's Cost-of-Living. I just know Bellingham is not a practical place for the middle and working class to live anymore, and that's a shame. I would love to go back for a weekend visit to Bellingham but have no regrets not attempting to stay there after college.
I think the largest things holding Bellingham back are it's NIMBY residents, Landlords, and over-reaching environmental regulations (sorry I value our ecology too, but a mud puddle that's dried up 8 months of the year and only breeds mosquitoes the other 4 isn't a wetland). Every IMPLANT wants to be the last one in, close the door for everyone else and wave their walkers/canes in protest at every new planning and development meeting despite the area having an absolutely starved housing market. Corporations and mega-landlords snatch up family homes and transform them into student bunkhouses because they can get $500+/head per month and cram 2 students into each and every room. Then its become a viscous circle of ever increasing real estate prices and tax evaluations as everyone fights over the existing real estate. I agree that we're on a path to SF and maybe even White Rock (B.C.) values where homes are all $1 million plus. Bellingham is already less than 20% behind Seattle's cost of housing index, despite having almost HALF the average family income.
I have explored Oregon as well and have a friend and Uncle there. Oregon gets it's tax fix through income taxes (which are no longer deductible from federal btw) instead of the high property taxes like we have here. I ran the math and it seems like it would be about the same for me. Lower income people will pay less taxes though and could certainly find rents more affordable.
I think the only real solution is to give up on the coastal areas. I used to cringe at the idea, but in the words of one of my co-workers that was struggling here to fund putting his kids into college and the high costs of living (property taxes) and moved to Arizona, "It's not so bad when I go from my air conditioned house with a pool, to my air conditioned luxury car, to my air conditioned office.". The equity in their Bellingham home afforded them to cash out the Arizona home and a couple new cars, the kids are in college, and they have plenty of extra money to take vacations and road trips. "The only thing I miss is the fishing".
I think the largest things holding Bellingham back are it's NIMBY residents, Landlords, and over-reaching environmental regulations (sorry I value our ecology too, but a mud puddle that's dried up 8 months of the year and only breeds mosquitoes the other 4 isn't a wetland). Every IMPLANT wants to be the last one in, close the door for everyone else and wave their walkers/canes in protest at every new planning and development meeting despite the area having an absolutely starved housing market. Corporations and mega-landlords snatch up family homes and transform them into student bunkhouses because they can get $500+/head per month and cram 2 students into each and every room. Then its become a viscous circle of ever increasing real estate prices and tax evaluations as everyone fights over the existing real estate. I agree that we're on a path to SF and maybe even White Rock (B.C.) values where homes are all $1 million plus. Bellingham is already less than 20% behind Seattle's cost of housing index, despite having almost HALF the average family income.
I have explored Oregon as well and have a friend and Uncle there. Oregon gets it's tax fix through income taxes (which are no longer deductible from federal btw) instead of the high property taxes like we have here. I ran the math and it seems like it would be about the same for me. Lower income people will pay less taxes though and could certainly find rents more affordable.
I think the only real solution is to give up on the coastal areas. I used to cringe at the idea, but in the words of one of my co-workers that was struggling here to fund putting his kids into college and the high costs of living (property taxes) and moved to Arizona, "It's not so bad when I go from my air conditioned house with a pool, to my air conditioned luxury car, to my air conditioned office.". The equity in their Bellingham home afforded them to cash out the Arizona home and a couple new cars, the kids are in college, and they have plenty of extra money to take vacations and road trips. "The only thing I miss is the fishing".
State taxes are still deductible, they are limited to $10k now however.
The standard deduction doubled, so for me it wasn't necessary to itemize anymore. If you're earning bigger money and had more deductions you'd be able to deduct that additional $10K (maybe $2,500 back?) if I'm understanding correctly.
I enjoyed reading through this thread. I lived in Bellingham as a WWU student for 3 years from 2015 to 2018. I grew up in San Jose, CA and went to WWU on the Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship which made it more affordable than attending a UC school down in California. Compared to the CA Bay Area, Bellingham seemed like a very low-cost place to live. I assume many other people (students, retirees, middle-class) hailing from the likes of California and Seattle saw it the same way I did.
But I feel like in just the past couple of years the cost-of-living has skyrocketed. It wasn't long ago I was renting a room for $350 or a studio apartment in Happy Valley for $650. I just found out that the same apartment less than 2 years later rents for almost $1,000. The local wages just aren't keeping pace with that drastic of an increase and it's going to leave many people (students as well as the middle class) far behind...
Bellingham was a great place to live for a college town experience but I'm glad I didn't try to stay there after graduation, it's lacking as far as well-paying jobs go. I liked all the local cultural and recreational opportunities (Lake Padden, Pickford Film center), loved walking down to Fairhaven and the Bay from Happy Valley each evening, those aspects of the city can't be beat. Ever since graduating, I've lived in the Twin Cities in Minnesota for a year, then San Jose for 6 months, then most recently moving to Oregon and getting a job in the mid/south Willamette Valley region which is *currently* much more affordable for me. I can rent a 2-bedroom apartment here for half the cost of what my brother pays for a studio in San Jose. The income-to-COL ratio here seems like it'll actually be realistic.
Each of these places I've lived has had a different sort of culture-- I've found people to be much friendlier in Minnesota with a lot more diversity than in Bellingham. Then moving back to San Jose I thought I'd like living in the place I grew up but quickly realized, looking at it as an adult, it's transformed into a more high-tech, competitive and materialist culture that is too split between the "have's" and "have-not's"... not for me! Especially since I could be fairly certain I'd be in the "have-not's" category since I work in the public sector. This is the direction I see NW Washington going in the next few years, following along with Seattle and SF Bay Area's trajectory.
Now living in the Willamette Valley where the population is economically and politically mixed more so than somewhere like Portland or Bellingham. 10 years from now, Eugene and Salem might go the way of Bellingham... if and when that happens it may be time for me to move on (likely away from the coastal corridor). Or I might find myself lucky to be well-established enough to stay put.
Places like Bellingham are unfortunately becoming somewhat of a "bubble"-- not quite sure what it is, maybe the extreme liberalism, high taxes, gentrification, university in town. I'm curious to learn more about the possible links between liberal vs. conservative politics, and how that relates to an area's Cost-of-Living. I just know Bellingham is not a practical place for the middle and working class to live anymore, and that's a shame. I would love to go back for a weekend visit to Bellingham but have no regrets not attempting to stay there after college.
Thanks for chiming in- it's interesting to hear different perspectives on this thread. Your post reminds me that a person's particular station in life has a lot to do with their take on a place, and it's very relative.
I think you're probably right that NW Washington is more likely to go (somewhat) in the direction of Seattle or the Bay Area, though I believe that COVID will likely change the employment landscape in unanticipated ways- some positive and some negative. It will work for some, and not so much for others. The area has already seen big job losses from manufacturing with Alcoa (aluminum) and Safran (airport cabins), as well as many small businesses. But I think that you and many other posters on this thread may underestimate the number of remote workers here who are bringing their own good jobs to the area. And there's a possibility- for better or worse- that Bellingham could be flooded by tech workers who are finally allowed to operate remotely, as weird as that sounds. For example, Amazon is operating under their contingency plan for working at home. But if they made a policy change and required a less of a physical presence from many of their employees, we may be very appealing to many Seattle-area residents....
I also believe that your generalization about lower priced housing is a little limited. I have a good amount of family and friends in both the Willamette Valley and east of the Cascades, and housing prices are definitely an issue in places like Eugene, Bend, Corvallis, and Ashland. I think the difference between your current area (I'm guessing you don't live in any of the cities I just mentioned) and Bellingham or Northern Seattle Metro exurbs is that there are a lot more small to medium-sized cities in Central OR, so there are more options for places to live, more inventory, etc.. it's worth pointing out, though, that those less-expensive places aren't hotspots for jobs.
So, is Bellingham that expensive to live in? Again, it's relative to where you are in life. Is it abnormal compared to other similar sized cities in WA, OR, the west, or even the country? Well, it is certainly more appealing than many comparable places, but many other places are or were encountering the same problems, and have been since the last recession. Would I agree that it's not a place for middle or "working" class? Yes, the middle class as we know it has been decimated over the last several decades-I take a little offense to the term "working class" because it's been commandeered to refer to only certain types of jobs, though. Is it frustrating to be a twenty-something starting out your career in a non-lucrative field to not be able to afford living in expensive towns and cities? Of course it is, and don't envy it. I've been through it myself.
The standard deduction doubled, so for me it wasn't necessary to itemize anymore. If you're earning bigger money and had more deductions you'd be able to deduct that additional $10K (maybe $2,500 back?) if I'm understanding correctly.
I also use the standard deduction, so I’m not sure what scenario would be best to itemize with. Just wanted to clarify it’s technically still there even though fewer people are probably claiming it now. I know the mortgage interest deduction could put some people there?
I also believe that your generalization about lower priced housing is a little limited. I have a good amount of family and friends in both the Willamette Valley and east of the Cascades, and housing prices are definitely an issue in places like Eugene, Bend, Corvallis, and Ashland. I think the difference between your current area (I'm guessing you don't live in any of the cities I just mentioned) and Bellingham or Northern Seattle Metro exurbs is that there are a lot more small to medium-sized cities in Central OR, so there are more options for places to live, more inventory, etc.. it's worth pointing out, though, that those less-expensive places aren't hotspots for jobs.
So, is Bellingham that expensive to live in? Again, it's relative to where you are in life. Is it abnormal compared to other similar sized cities in WA, OR, the west, or even the country? Well, it is certainly more appealing than many comparable places, but many other places are or were encountering the same problems, and have been since the last recession. Would I agree that it's not a place for middle or "working" class? Yes, the middle class as we know it has been decimated over the last several decades-I take a little offense to the term "working class" because it's been commandeered to refer to only certain types of jobs, though. Is it frustrating to be a twenty-something starting out your career in a non-lucrative field to not be able to afford living in expensive towns and cities? Of course it is, and don't envy it. I've been through it myself.
Thanks for sending over those articles! Yes, currently I live in the mid-valley southwest of Salem. But I will actually be moving down to Eugene fairly soon for a job. I was able to find a 2-bedroom apartment renting for $795 in town, which is several hundred less than the median rent but I did see multiple rental companies with units at that price point, maybe they're aimed at students... in my eyes affordable is affordable so works just fine for me! Compared to Bellingham, that's dirt cheap. Same as if you compare it to Bend, Corvallis, or Ashland. I'm thinking the size of the city definitely affects the available housing stock. Eugene and Salem are over that 150,000 population threshold and each have a neighboring city as well (Springfield/ Keizer). So they're bound to have a comparatively greater selection of housing than a more exclusive or remote smaller city. That's where the geography of Oregon's vs. Washington's population centers comes into play, as you said above. Oregon benefits from its very expansive valley when it comes to commute-able housing stock (can't afford Corvallis? live in Albany!), while NW Washington has much smaller valleys and more forest land separating locales.
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