Living in Bellingham WA | The Pros and Cons 2024

Curious about living in Bellingham, Washington? In this video, we'll go over the pros and cons of living in this beautiful city in Northwest Washington, so you can decide if this is a place you could call home!
We'll cover everything from the cost of living to the outdoor recreation opportunities to the local culture. I know I missed some of the pros and cons, let me know down in the comments what you think they are!
I help people just like you relocate to Bellingham and the surrounding areas and welcome them to the city where I was born and raised. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if all you need is a recommendation on a great place to eat!
Connect Directly with me:
📲Call/Text - 360.303.2875
📧 Email - [e-mail]
🌐 Website - www.blakeyoutsey.com/
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:26 Pro 1 - Location
1:00 Pro 2 - Outdoor Activities
1:36 Pro 3 - Culture
2:51 Pro 4 - Everything's Close
3:10 Con 1 - Cost of Living
4:28 Con 2 - The Weather
5:25 Con 3 - Lack of Diversity
5:58 Con 4 - Traffic
6:39 Outro

[@robertmunroe3976]

This video is one of the best pro/con types I’ve seen for B’ham. I’ve been here for 8 yrs, from SoCal. The thing about the weather is not really the cold or the rain; it’s the feeling of claustrophobia. The gray sky clouds hang low and it’s rare to see the sweeping horizons that I grew up with. He’s right, most folks skip town for a week in Jan or Feb. He’s also right about the lack of diversity; in fact I believe we’re closer to 85% white. Proximity to Vancouver BC & Seattle do help, especially to experience more diversity. Our locals are friendly, in my experience. Decent place to live as long as expectations are managed.

[@blake.youtsey]

Thank you so much Robert I really appreciate that! That is some great insight as well!

[@kylesmith475]

Nailed it. My first year here I got spooked by some of these cons, but the pros are so nice that I’m not sure I’ll ever leave.

[@blake.youtsey]

Im glad you are loving it Kyle! Thank you for taking the time to watch!

[@JoshCrownWhatcomCountyHomes]

You’re spot on about the traffic. Super accurate vid !

[@blake.youtsey]

Thank you 🙏 🙏

[@Lokisqueen22]

There's more diversity here in Bellingham, than there is in Wenatchee, where i grew up. I relocated to Bellingham 2 years ago, and I love it here!

[@blake.youtsey]

100%, so glad you are enjoying it here!

[@Nusiam]

Great vid with pros and cons. Super excited ... Moving there in a few days from Las Vegas (Totally different vibe lol)

[@blake.youtsey]

Let me know if I can help you in you move in any way!

[@thatdirtbikekid1017]

Blake I loved this video. Tesla superchargers

[@blake.youtsey]

Thank you so much!

[@AltitudeActive]

Can you talk more about the rainy/sunless season? I love to trial run and do outdoor activities and can’t find a good response on what that looks like during those months and what those months are

[@blake.youtsey]

Absolutely, both my parents were Triathletes and both have trained and completed Ironman so I’ve seen what that looks like through those months. The short answer is that even though it may be gloomy, rainy, or dark. People still go out and train. My parents would put on the rain gear (ie jacket, those neoprene shoe bootys) and still go out. They trained in the morning before work so a headlamp and reflective gear is a must as well. The nice part is, there is only a couple of months where it is getting below freezing and those months aren’t quite as wet. Also I don’t know where about you live currently but rain is a little different here than other places I’ve lived because there isn’t often a downpour, it’s more drizzly throughout the day when it does rain. Overall, it’s really not as bad as people make it out to be, we do get sunny days periodically throughout the winter months that keep you going until the beautiful summers. A lot of the negative talk about it comes from people who love it here and are out in the rain in the woods having a blast and “don’t want more people to move here”. 😂 December- mid February are definitely hard because if you work a 9-5 it will be dark before you go to work and dark when you get home. But that’s when the headlamps come into play. The benefit to that is our summer days are extra long which is when you want to be outside the most.

[@daddysavvypatty]

Coming from Texas to go to college up there and now I'm lowkey rethinking my decision😅

[@blake.youtsey]

I definitely feel it 😂 I will say I’ve tried to leave a couple times to CA and FL but both times I end up wanting to come back for all the pros. What part of Texas do you live in?

[@dt58kc]

It's so funny that you list gray and dark as a con. Some individuals such as myself prefer that. Everyone is different and maybe thats just extremely rare in person.

[@blake.youtsey]

That’s a very great point, I was just talking to someone recently who was saying that exact same thing. I appreciate you pointing that out!

[@dt58kc]

@@blake.youtsey hey, thanks for the stream buddy! Keep up the great work!

[@hunterhopson8534]

Would you have any additional opinions on moving here as a remote worker?

[@blake.youtsey]

Absolutely, what are you most curious about?

[@akauknowbetta]

My biggest con of bellingham is BO(personal hygiene). Everyone smells

[@blake.youtsey]

Hahaha well the all natural deodorant is 17 dollars right now so that checks out 😂

[@julianwicker]

A lot was left out but plenty of good points. The only thing i dint really like here is the cost of rent as a late 20s person. And theres a pretty hoght crime rate. My house has been robbed and its just hard to deal with that.bita good to know where its safe to live in Bellingham

[@blake.youtsey]

Appreciate it! I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had that happen, I’m curious where in Bellingham that happened to you. Hard to fit it all in one video let me know what I should cover next!

[@blake.youtsey]

And yeah rent here is insane for the job market no doubt about that

[@bonificent76]

Haha, I wish my rent was that cheap!

[@blake.youtsey]

Where are you living?

[@bonificent76]

@@blake.youtsey Hawaii

[@user-ve5eu2es1d]

I mean wear more layers next to a fire

[@blake.youtsey]

😂 Not enough you don’t think?

[@zenpool1]

Hour and a half to Vancouver ?! What , are you walking ? ;-) Maybe if you're stuck at the Peace Arch... I'd have to list as cons , the homeless population being large for a city this size , the rapid population growth (It's not only the highways that suffer ) the cost of housing (I know people paying over $1000/mo. for a studio apt.) , and not being a great place for anyone with allergies to tree pollen , grass... I agree with the traffic . If you've been here more than a decade, you think this place has exploded . Of course , with every 5000 jump in population , which has happened in a single year , those people come in from SoCal and think the traffic's great in comparison .

[@blake.youtsey]

😂 That’s what google maps said, definitely depends on the border for sure. All very great points, I definitely agree!

[@brisky__]

This is probably a stupid question, but is it pointless to move up there from Texas who averages $20 an hour? Lived here all my life. Sick of the heat, sick of the politics, and sick of the ugly scenery lol.

[@blake.youtsey]

I don’t think it’s stupid at all. Why not at least try it? I moved to across the country to FL and ended up moving all the way back, so if it doesn’t end up working out at least you don’t have a 54 drive back home 😂

[@user-mb8vf9nv2d]

Culture? lmaooo

[@blake.youtsey]

I believe what you are talking about is diversity or the lack there of, which I talked about later in the video and is a separate aspect of a community. Hope that helps clarify!

[@ryanhansen8312]

We don't have a ton of diversity here. This is true. But unlike some states, we celebrate over 1,789,908,890 different genders...

[@blake.youtsey]

Very true, it is a very accepting place for the queer/nonbinary community

[@michaelluckmann9773]

Trying to determine the tone of this comment ....