Thoughts on Bellingham

For the liberal elite coastal dwellers the Midwest starts at Cle Elem.

Now that's just a gross mischaracterization of 'Merica. "The West" actually starts at Ellensburg. Ellensburg marks the true start of the arid scrubland and has a rodeo to prove it. The West extends out to the great Rocky Mt. thrusts out of the plains, at which point the Midwest starts. Given that Boulder is basically on an apron of the last hill I'm willing to allow it into The West. 'Mericologists have been arguing for years about Denver; personally I consider it part of the Midwest. Cle-Elum and Leavenworth are in that no-man's land between The West and The Wet, where things are confusingly dry yet still green. Not enough suffering for people to want to actually live there.

And yes that does mean The West is actually east of the west coast.

The Wenatchee / Leavenworth area has a lot going for it in terms of outdoor fun. 

Master of understatement.

I just chatted with my friends (Denver + Boulder Co, then B-ham, now Issaquah) and they said that Boulder and B-ham are actually pretty similar, just B-ham is smaller. They even offered tips on places to live, etc. if you decide to move.

Sam is right on. If you climb and ski you will spend lots of money on gas since the goods are over an hour away at minimum. But, the ski season lasts forever if you are motivated.

If you are a climber, the Boulder area is the best metro area in the county. If you like working in the garden, Bellingham can't be beat...

The snow is wet and sticky, don't pretend that it makes up for it just because we had snow and Colorado didn't this year.  The mountains are small, especially when compared to the bountiful 14ers in CO.  The air is too wet all year round and it's thick.  We have really black dirt that stick to your shoes and track on the carpet, not like the dust in CO.  The closest ski area to Bellingham doesn't even have high speed quads and only 8 slow chairs.  Whistler is at least 3.5 hours away and it's 2.5 to Squamish for real big wall climbing.  For being so close to salt water you still have to travel at least 1.5 hours to surf, kite surfing is a lot closer.  The locals are a-holes and will steal your girlfriend (but we'll leave your wife alone).  Finding a decent climbing gym is a challenge.

That said, I've lived in Bellingham longer than anywhere else in my life and travel a lot for work.  When I have time off I'm happy to spend it close to home because there is still so much for me to do here.  The job market is tough though, I'm happy to have the work that I have because it keeps me close to home and pays for the toy.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who posted, really appreciate your thoughts. Keep em coming. It sounds like, from the posts, that driving will definitely be required, however it is over an hours drive for me to get anywhere from boulder except the beautiful Indian Peaks (which have terrible access in the winter and long approaches in the spring). My main interest is skiing though and it sounds like from this site you can ski all year round, which would be a dream come true for me as that is my true passion. In terms of 14ers out here, except for the San Juans and Sangre de Cristos, they are really not very challenging mountains and more oversized hills that are not very technical. Some fantastic classic ski decents in the spring though that are only safe for about two to three months if they are in. Whats the gas prices like in Washington on average, pretty high? Once again thank you for your thoughts.