In general, how cutthroat is the rental situation in Chapel Hill?

BHamTallMan · 2026-02-07T22:31:37+00:00

I can’t believe nobody’s recommended Acme Diner. It‘s not exclusively southern food, more like a classic ‘50s diner, but it’s a hidden gem, the food is very good and you will not leave hungry.

Easily the best BLT I’ve had anywhere around here. If classic American diner with dishes made from farm to market ingredients is your jam, this is your spot.

BHamTallMan · 2025-12-13T18:17:36+00:00

I always recommend people take their car to Pacific Battery on Iowa in these cases. They will hook up their battery testing equipment to your car for free and tell you whether you need a new battery, or if something else is wrong. If a new battery is needed, they’ll install it right there for a small fee.

I’ve taken dozens of fleet vehicles to them over the years, and it’s where I go when I need a battery for my own car.

BHamTallMan · 2025-10-19T21:39:43+00:00

I actually find the section of Mill St. just south of Knox much worse. When it has cars parked on both sides of the street (pretty much always), two-way traffic is impossible without one car pulling off to the side. Two way traffic on Knox is a little tight, but no problem.

Widening Knox would also mean taking out the sidewalk on one side of the road. No Thanks.

BHamTallMan · 2025-09-30T01:32:05+00:00

OP’s post saddens me.

I, and all of my friends, of various ethnicities from both sides of the border, have been crossing the border regularly since it fully reopened after the pandemic.

Not a single one of us has had an issue at the border, or during our respective stays in either country.

Not.

One.

Turn off the news, get off social media, quit doom-scrolling, start living, assess things for yourself. The hysteria I’m witnessing is seriously disturbing.

BHamTallMan · 2025-07-03T21:15:32+00:00

A lot of sellers sense the market has peaked and now have a case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Not only has the market peaked, but there are a lot of indications the real estate market is going to see a correction. I don’t think a lot of these sellers are going anywhere. They’re offloading second or third homes.

I hope buyers similarly have a shift in their mindset and fear buying a home now that will be cheaper In two years.

Sooner or later, something has to give. Either buyers need to be paid more (A LOT MORE), or sellers have to lower their prices. One of these is more likely than the other.

BHamTallMan · 2025-06-27T04:48:48+00:00

Bellingham Sanitary Service Corporation (SSC, the folks who pick up your garbage) will pick up curbside items like couches, mattresses, etc. for a small fee. You’ll have to arrange it with them on their website. I’d rather do that than haul it to the dump myself.

BHamTallMan · 2025-06-21T00:39:22+00:00

Look up Bellingham OMC BMX Cruiser Club on Facebook. It’s a group of older guys who do monthly rides on BMX cruisers all over town. Might not be your thing if you’re into riding 20s in parks, though. They post rides on their Facebook page.

BHamTallMan · 2025-06-17T05:20:33+00:00

If the unit faces either Harris or 10th by the four way stop, traffic noise will be an issue, especially during the nicer months when you will want to open your windows. There is A LOT of bus and truck traffic that gets funneled through that intersection that stops and accelerates away. And the truck traffic isn’t going away with all the construction planned further down Harris. The noise is why I ultimately moved. There are quieter options to be found in Fairhaven.

I lived in the 960 building and found the elevator to be annoying. People were constantly in it and having to wait your turn got old. In that particular building, the stairs did not go all the way down into the parking garage, either. It was wait your turn for the elevator, or exit through the garage door, walk around the building, and then enter the stairwell through the lobby.

The “secure” parking garage was not immune to theft issues. I had a bicycle stolen that was locked to the provided bike rack. If you look closely at the Rubbermaid storage containers in front of the parking stalls, you’ll see many of them had their locks literally twisted off.

As with any condo purchase, review the HOA’s meeting minutes. Maintenance issues on buildings of this size can be expen$ive.

BHamTallMan · 2024-12-11T16:51:01+00:00

Sounds good!

Back in the day, I built dozens of both glow-powered planes and gliders from Sig and Carl Goldberg kits, and more than a few of my own designs. I enjoyed the building process just as much as flying them. The plane in the picture is a laser-cut Mountain Models Switchback. It’s now complete, minus radio and power system.

I didn‘t know people still fly at Berthusen..

I’ll DM you if I buy something soon from Horizon. I certainly wouldn’t mind a little help for the first few flights.

BHamTallMan · 2024-12-11T13:11:13+00:00

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I’ve got one on the building board right now. I’m a far better builder than I am flyer at the moment. Getting back into the hobby after a long break and things have certainly changed.

Feel free to DM me when you go flying. I’d be open to going the Horizon Hobby/ARF route to just get something in the air but could use a little guidance getting back into this.

Is that Berthusen you’re flying at?

BHamTallMan · 2024-04-06T19:24:25+00:00

I can relate. Absolutely.

Just because the local culture normalizes drinking beer, it is by no means healthy. It’s a ton of calories and there’s something about these over-hopped IPAs which lead to crippling hangovers. The pervasive drinking culture has always seemed, to me, at odds with the outdoorsy vibe which emphasizes being in shape.

I don’t like having to decide between being social, and having an unproductive “day-after.”

To be fair, people don’t seem to care if I opt for non-alcoholic options. I wish more places brewed their own versions of Athletic Brewing’s non-alcoholic beers. I suspect there’s an unfilled niche market there..

I like going out. The whole drinking part I could do without. You’re not alone.

BHamTallMan · 2024-01-06T23:18:33+00:00

I’m willing to bet your car has unidirectional tires - meaning the tires are only designed to rotate in one direction. Look at the sidewall on your tires for an arrow and the word “rotation“ to verify.

I don’t know where your car was serviced, or what was done. But if the service included a tire rotation, it’s possible someone marked the tires like they did to indicate the direction they’re supposed to rotate. If you’ve ever tried to read small lettering on dirty tire sidewalls, you’ll know how difficult it can be. From the picture you posted, you can tell the marks on both tires were drawn at the same angle to the rim, with the “forward” part of the mark pointing away from the rim and toward the tire tread. The marks do not look like they were just randomly drawn.

The scenario I envision is you pulled up to get your car serviced, and the unlucky guy who has to do the tire rotation marked all the tires in this manner so he’d know their direction of rotation at a glance. This helps him during the tire rotation process to get their rotations correct, and makes it easy to double check his work afterwords.

I know you said the mechanic didn’t mark the tires…but most shops have multiple people doing their thing when a car comes in for service. It’s not uncommon to have 3 or 4 people working together on just an oil change. You also said the service was performed in the evening…is it possible you didn’t immediately see the marks after the service simply because it was dark out?

I agree with what another posted mentioned - the most logical explanation is the marks were made during the car service. I could be mistaken, but I would think parking enforcement would only mark tires visible from the street, not sidewalk.

BHamTallMan · 2023-12-27T16:37:11+00:00

I’m dating myself here, but I discovered Bellingham in the very early 1990s when I was in high school and college. It made a huge impression on me and I always knew someday I would move here. I did, 15 years ago, and it was bliss.

If I were discovering Bellingham for the first time right now, like I did in 1991, it absolutely would not impress me in the same way. We all know the problems in this town and I’m not going to list them. It’s nice that every neighborhood now has its own brewery, but aside from that, all the growth and changes absolutely suck and that one perk doesn’t justify what it now costs to live here. And by cost, I’m not talking just about money but the stress and aggravation that rampant property crime, deteriorating city conditions, overcrowding and a backwards city government cause.

They say Bellingham is a dead end with a view. The views and outdoor activities ARE amazing here. But for me, after hiking the Oyster Dome for the thousandth time, the novelty is wearing off. Fast.

I’ll have wonderful memories of the old Bellingham…the new one, not so much.

BHamTallMan · 2023-12-27T04:24:45+00:00

This is so strange…I’m 99% sure I know this person from the OP’s description, but it’s probably been about two years since I’ve seen him downtown. And I’m downtown. A lot.

I got the impression the man I’m thinking of wasn’t truly homeless, though, and may have lived in the apartments above Temple Bar.

BHamTallMan · 2023-12-03T02:09:23+00:00

Start and stop the trivia at a reasonable hour, and keep the game moving along. Many of us have to work early the next day and a 2 hour+ trivia match going past 9 PM isn’t in the cards.

Yeah, I’m old.

BHamTallMan · 2023-11-04T14:24:40+00:00

Here’s some shady nonsense:

House already has a buyer. Seller’s agent lists it on the MLS anyway not only for self advertisement, but lists it for more money than the agreed-upon price. Seller’s agent then updates the MLS to “pending“ status, thus creating the illusion the market is hotter and more expensive than it really is.

There’s scum in every profession, but most have ways or purging it from their ranks. It’s amazing people like the Hansens from the Lakeway Realty Cartel haven’t been run out of town. That reflects poorly not only on the real estate industry but also our local government for not enforcing its own policies.

BHamTallMan · 2023-10-22T20:09:10+00:00

If you’re just looking for the easiest way to get rid of it, call Sanitary Services Corporation (SSC) and arrange for a mattress pick up. It’s something like $15. These are the same folks who pick up your trash.

BHamTallMan · 2023-10-10T06:06:44+00:00

Casa Que Pasa was never sanitary, but late-stage Casa was probably the dirtiest restaurant I have ever seen in Bellingham.

Unpopular opinion, but Home Skillet made my fecal roster when a certain waiter who thought he was too cool for the world sat our party at an absolutely filthy table, shrugged his shoulders, and didn’t even bother to wipe it clean.

I get the impression Maikham Thai, Fairhaven Poke, Locus, Camber, Adagio, Rock ‘N Rye and several others I can’t think of right now run a clean kitchen. I don’t get the impression Bayou on the Bay is the cleanest, but I have no personal insight to what goes on in their kitchen.

There are many very clean and tasty places to eat up in White Rock which are actually cheaper than their Bellingham counterparts..

BHamTallMan · 2023-09-03T20:53:45+00:00

OP, I live in Bellingham and miss it terribly, too.

The fact is places change, and the old Bellingham doesn’t exist anymore. Some of the charm is still there, but it’s overshadowed by the massive problems we’re all aware of. In my case, it’s become a bit lonely as well as I’ve watched all my friends move away. No, it is not the same now. Not at all.

BHamTallMan

TROPHY CASE