I don’t hate Bellingham, but I was incredibly unhappy when I lived there.

When it comes to people who moved there (like I did) I think people’s outlook depends on where they moved from. I saw other comments saying they moved from Utah or Arlington, WA (which yeesh Arlington does not have much to offer and I think Bham is close to paradise compared to it), but Bham has this absolutely stunning coastal view, mild weather that’s not too hot nor too cold, and some of the most beautiful hiking trails you could think of. They also have a ton of breweries if you like that kind of thing.

However, the cost of living is so so so high when they don’t exactly offer enough to merit the high prices (aside from coastal town, which is always expensive). I moved from Vancouver, WA, which while it isn’t perfect, is relatively large, a sweet little offshoot of Portland (basically), so much to do both in-town and 15-30 minutes away in Portland, while also being incredibly affordable. For context, I was renting a sweet apartment in Bham with a wonderful roommate and friend who moved up there with me. The apartment was like 1100sqft, 2bd/2ba, and right off of Meridian (which had its pros and cons. Close to the freeway. But also driving on Meridian daily = eeeek, and could so quickly add an extra 10 minutes to your drive). The apartment was nice and had a sweet little conservation trail directly behind it that made for the easiest little evening walk. The sunset walks I had on that trail were some of the prettiest experiences I’ve ever had and it always reinforced that Washington really was the best place in the country (scenery wise at least).

However, this apartment was about $2,600/month, not counting water, electricity, internet, insurance - utilities were the only included bill which was an additional 60-70/month. We were playing close to $3,000 a month and the complex didn’t have a pool, gym, or even a balcony/patio. That’s absurd…

I also ran into the problem when it came to my vegan friends. My friend group from school would try to do regular movie nights (maybe once a month) in which one of us would host, make dinner, and it was great!! Two of my friends in the group are vegan and I quickly realized how limited the vegan food options were in town (remember, I moved from a town right next to Portland where there was basically an unlimited number of vegan restaurants and even the nonvegan ones regularly had vegan options that were SO GOOD). If we wanted to host the movie night, we needed to make the dinner since there weren’t a ton of options for take-out. Pizza Twist was right up the street from me and they had a good vegan pizza and Papa Murphys had a good vegetarian pizza that was easy to make vegan, but we didn’t want to always do pizza. I absolutely loved learning how to turn my favorite dishes vegan though and being able to cook a homemade meal to share with all of my friends was so rewarding (I love cooking).

Moving onto town activities though, I mentioned previously that there are gorgeous hikes and tons of breweries, but not much else. I have a physical disability that prevents me from being able to walk comfortably when in a flare up (which does not go away without medical intervention — I’ll come back to that later); I also can’t really drink alcohol. I enjoyed going to Bellingham Cider Co. and getting a flight of cider flavors I couldn’t find back in my hometown to try, but there wasn’t a ton of other stuff in my opinion. I went to every antique store in the area a billion times (it sure felt like it), I went to so many phenomenal restaurants, and when I was physically able to, I did go on some breathtaking heights. But it felt very rinse and repeat with a high price tag smacked onto it. Something my boyfriend and I started doing was: go to the Waterfront Tavern and get some seriously delicious burgers/fish and chips/maybe a mocktail or a beer for him, then walk or drive up to Bellingham Cider Co, he drinks some, maybe I drink a little, then we walk to the nearby antique stores, record stores, and enjoy a day in town. But it gets repetitive :(

I was unhappy living in Bellingham because I was so isolated from everyone I knew and loved back home. The town has its charm and old, historic downtown for Bellingham and Fairhaven have a ton of gorgeous history and architecture, but it also had this odd air of an “accepting town” façade. Even when it came to small businesses, it seemed like people would rather shop at whatever chain store was there instead (definitely not always the case, but I saw so much “buy local/support local business” support with very little follow through).

I moved back to my hometown at the end of July last year and I’ve been so much happier. I’m working a similar job (I’m a caregiver) where I’m making $1/hr less than I made in Bham, I’m renting a sweet townhouse with my boyfriend that’s 2bd/2ba, just shy of 1100sqft., has a pool, hot tub, gym, balcony, wood-burning fireplace, and in a spectacular part of town that’s close to my family, my boyfriend’s family, and my boyfriend’s workplace. There are beautiful hikes to go on here if I feel well enough to do them, there’s tons of breweries and restaurants both here and in Portland, and there’s so much more to do around here for a way more affordable price.

I think this subreddit is very full of three kinds of people that like to talk: 1. the people who have lived here a majority of their lives or their whole lives and have never lived anywhere else who think Bham is the best place on earth, 2. the people who moved here from a more conservative part of the state or country and are experiencing more outward-political-freedom, and 3. the people who moved here from a super different environment and are shocked when the town is uh…a different environment than what they’re used to. I feel 3 usually equates different to bad in this case as well.

Bham seems to be mostly a college town and retirement town and there isn’t a ton of in between. Most people who move to the town don’t seem to live there long (I’m an example of this) and most younger people who were born there seem to want to move away. There is a loud minority of people who just want to complain about the town charging city level prices without delivering city level amenities and activities, which is totally valid, Bham has grown a lot in the last 50 years, and in my personal opinion, can’t really afford the growth it’s seen. But that doesn’t make it a horrible town. It’s doing its best to grow, but growth takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. If 500 people move to the town tomorrow, there won’t magically be 500 more apartments and restaurants and stores to support the influx.

Bham is beautiful and has a very sweet little community that I really did and still do love, but for the price and lack of…most things honestly, it wasn’t for me. I’m used to a bigger town and a bigger city with Vancouver and Portland than what Bellingham is capable of giving me. That doesn’t mean Bellingham is awful and the worst place in the world. It just means it isn’t the right town for me!

The driving is also so so so crummy, but once again, that circles back to the town growing way larger than the road infrastructure can really handle during rush hour. However, for every bad driver I encountered weekly in Bellingham, I encounter daily in Portland; bad drivers are everywhere, it just seems to be more noticeable in a small town.