[freebiker]

I am moving to bellingham this summer. I would like to live somewhere 10-15 miles outa town, near good trails, water and peace and quiet. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Whats yer take on deming, acme or galbriath mtn. Whats the real estate like? Something up toward baker would be cool but I will be commuting to the hospital in bellingham so distance needs to be kept to the min <20 min drive.
thanks

 

[Monte]

I am moving to bellingham this summer. I would like to live somewhere 10-15 miles outa town, near good trails, water and peace and quiet. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Whats yer take on deming, acme or galbriath mtn. Whats the real estate like? Something up toward baker would be cool but I will be commuting to the hospital in bellingham so distance needs to be kept to the min <20 min drive.
thanks

Most all of the trails are on Galbraith. There are some on Chuckanut Mt., and some on Blanchard Mt. There are houses going up right on Galbraith right now, I don't know the prices. Out of town up the Baker Hwy will get you toward peace and quiet, but for a <20 minute commute you won't get far out of town. The Baker Hwy turns into a city street and goes right in front of St. Joe's.

Monte

 

[teddypower]

Check out Sudden Valley. Cheaper housing and the road into town goes right past Galbraith. About 20 minutes from the hospital.

Ted

 

[Bigwheel]

I was living in a rural area in CO and we recently moved to B'ham to get closer to it all and avoid spending as much time in a car as possible. So far it is working out great and being able to ride bike anywhere and everywhere is definately a plus for where we are at, both the wife and I, at this point in our lives. Along with a goodly amount of other folks that we see out and about doing the commuter thing.

The trade off to living in town is the peace and quiet aspect. There are cars here and trains too that love to toot their whistles at all hours. I-5 and the busier streets definately make for some racket. There are some parts of town(s) that are more insulated than others from this but really for the most part I guess you get used to it.

Our main goal was to get as close to the trails as possible and still be within easy access of the downtown area. We achieved that via tracking properties online through the MLS and googlemap mostly. The one place that really caught my eye for location x 3 was right next to a large park that was also very close to the entrance to the Galbraith trails from the north side and about 2 miles from the waterfront. We took a preliminary trip to the area to find a place to land and after looking at several other places we went to look at the one I had bookmarked and ended up buying it eventually as it was the best deal we saw at the time. Couldn't be happier with it for our needs, although it was an older house and needed a few upgrades which I was able to do with my own skills.

The trails on Galbraith are really the cream of the crop here however and being able to ride to them without shuttling will mean even less time in your vehicle. One area that I think might meet your criteria is to look for property in the Yew St. vicinity as it gets country out that way pretty quick and it is on the west side of Galby. You would have to cross town to get to the Hospital but you would still be close enough to even commute there via bike once in awhile if you were in to it.

But if you want peace and quiet at home you will have to pay the price of noise and congestion while in your vehicle I guess. Good luck and when you get here let's ride!

Oh yeah, the average price for a home last year here was like 330k. However they figured out that was a pretty skewed figure due to the amount of high dollar homes that changed hands throughout the year. The market is soft right now however and lots of inventory it seems but waterfront will always go higher. It rains enough that you get plenty of water by osmosis and there are lakes, rivers and the bay close at hand. You might want to monitor the Bellingham Herald site and also their is a Craigslist for Bellingham also.

 

[freebiker]

Big wheel and teddypower, thx for the responses will research your suggestions when I have time. AGAIN THX

 

[Monte]

Big wheel and teddypower, thx for the responses will research your suggestions when I have time. AGAIN THX

Not a problem. :skep:

 

[geolover]

You might check out Ferndale. Quiet-er, cheap-er and not a bad commute to Bham. Good views of Baker. Better chance of getting some property.

Plus, you're even closer to Vancouver. :thumbsup:

 

[Bigwheel]

Not a problem. :skep:

Hey, I thought you had sound thoughts on the matter! Galbraith is great and I can't wait to go up there and not get lost or worry about getting lost sometime......I do admit I haven't been utilizing it as much as i should here the last month or so but I have been getting lots of interurban riding in.

 

[freebiker]

Thx for all the replies. Will take them into consideration. Still gotta sell my condo in Big Sky.

 

[Bhaltair]

Ferndale = yucki-er as well. Smells like manure around farming season and has a lot of undesirables there.
It is cheaper though. Bellingham's property value has increased dramatically.

 

[freebiker]

Just spoke with a friend last night who spent some time in bham and he was saying that he knows a lot of people that have lived in bham, but most don't stay. Is this just a coincidence, or is it just the socky weather and/or small town economy that drives people away? Oh by the way, how is galbraith when it is wet, is it muddy and unrideable or does it drain well, any bentonite(heinous clay) it must be alright to ride otherwise it wouldn't be so popular and commonly recommended?

 

[Bhaltair]

It depends on the people. Prices are very high here compared to job availability. It's also a University town (Western Washington University) so there's a lot of competition that keeps wages lower. Housing prices have risen through the roof over the last 6 years. Many I know had purchased a home for 130K and now they're selling at at least 320K with wages not rising to compensate etc.
It does rain here a fair bit, but it's piddly rain. Comparing this place to Texas wouldn't be good because when it rains in the south, it drops 3 inches at a time, whereas in Bellingham it may rain 1/2 an inch for a longer period.

I've not ridden Galbraith but I know it's one of the most talked about places to ride here. My wife knows people that ride it often. I'll try to get more details after I purchase my bike this weekend and start getting the strength to ride it.

 

[freebiker]

bichin, thx for the beta, keep me tuned into your findings bhaltair
Are you recovering from an injury or something?

 

[Bhaltair]

Actually I've had a few things happen. Let's just say I used to be very active and really into southern gung-fu and hiking severe trails many times a week. A very bad auto accident cured me of most of that and then added on top of that being a father that got full custody and raising him on my own until I met my lovely wife who helped me along the way. Now we're getting back into shape and I'll be graduating at the end of Summer with my BA in Finance and I'll be able to afford the fixes of most of these issues. Because my field is finance I also know that I'll be on my keshter most of the day and want to find a good way to incorporate some of the things I love into a good exercise routine that becomes a pattern.
I'm extremely nature conscious and love our green lands here in Bellingham. I even went "paperless" at school and started studying and using tablet pcs as an alternative to paper-based books, notes and homework.
So although I'm a "noob" at much of this I also had years of similar fitness in the past.

 

[geolover]

Just spoke with a friend last night who spent some time in bham and he was saying that he knows a lot of people that have lived in bham, but most don't stay. Is this just a coincidence, or is it just the socky weather and/or small town economy that drives people away? Oh by the way, how is galbraith when it is wet, is it muddy and unrideable or does it drain well, any bentonite(heinous clay) it must be alright to ride otherwise it wouldn't be so popular and commonly recommended?

Galbraith is muddy when wet, but rideable. No swelling bentonite here. :thumbsup: Some trails drain better than others, but you can usually string some good singletrack together on even the wettest of days.

Rode this morning and things are clearing up a bit...still some snow on the trails and road climbs, but much better than even 2 days ago. Ughh, it's been a rough winter so far.

 

[fumanchuchu]

Ferndale = yucki-er as well. Smells like manure around farming season and has a lot of undesirables there.
It is cheaper though. Bellingham's property value has increased dramatically.

Second that, the further out of town you are the redder the necks, but its all beautiful out here.

The alabama and peabody neighborhoods are situated very close the hospital with interuban trails that can take you most of the way there, as well as all the way to the southside and galbraith mt. <10min ride 5 min drive from work, riding, and a bike shop. I used to live on moore st with a guy who worked at saint joes, his truck barely moved. This area also avoided some of the housing inflation, good neighborhoods with still reasonable prices.

 

[freebiker]

Second that, the further out of town you are the redder the necks, but its all beautiful out here.

The alabama and peabody neighborhoods are situated very close the hospital with interuban trails that can take you most of the way there, as well as all the way to the southside and galbraith mt. <10min ride 5 min drive from work, riding, and a bike shop. I used to live on moore st with a guy who worked at saint joes, his truck barely moved. This area also avoided some of the housing inflation, good neighborhoods with still reasonable prices.

Thx for the beta fumanchuchu

 

[updownride]

bellingham is a great town. get here before it gets even more expensive. bike friendly, family friendly, good schools, galby, mt. baker, san juans, seattle, vacouver bc, whistler, kona, transition, 5 good bike shops, cool downtown, alaska ferry, great parks, wwu, taco lobo, boundry bay brewery, ski to sea, bellingham traverse... I could go on and on.

 

[freebiker]

Sounds bichin updownride looking forward to checking it out, can't decide between there and salida colorado. Wife would prefer bham and the fam is in the nw not colorado. Decisions decisions.

 

[speeder3800]

Hey Freebiker!
I love it here. Moved up from SLC area 18mo ago and have ridden all thru the winter. Only to wet to ride when its actually raining. There is muddy stuff but easy to avoid. Housing is a bit high but not un-do-able. Come house hunting a few time to get a feel for the area. I didn't really like Sudden Valley area because of the lack of sunshine. It is on the north side of a mountain and in the middle of old growth trees. It's kind of like camping every day. Ferndale is a nice town but it kind of reminds me of "Foot Loose" Older small town. Geneva area is a good compromise and very close to the trail and town. There are a few areas with new homes just south of lake way between Yew and Geneva. Look on the maps for Birch street or Kenoyer St really close to every thing and good afternoon sunshine. If you have been in Co for a long time you really should find a neighborhood with a southern exposure or at least a good western exposure or you will miss that big yellow thing in the sky. Because it sits lower in the sky and it is a little overcast here. Expect to pay 300+ minimum for a house. The rental market is a good deal you can rent a newer home for 1500 bucks a month. Less than a mortgage. Also allows you to move around once you are familiar with the area.