Situated on bluffs overlooking Bellingham Bay, between Vancouver and Seattle, the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Bellingham’s beauty and accessibility are hard to beat. Awesome rain forests and 10,000 ft. Mt. Baker provide a truly stunning backdrop, and the small-town friendliness and mellow lifestyle make Bellingham a desirable place to call home. Click on a city name for more information about each community.

How to Choose a Whatcom County Community

As you hunt for a Whatcom County place to live, you’ll be looking for a neighborhood that suits both your personality and pocketbook. To help narrow your search, take a minute to evaluate your own lifestyle. 

• Do you have a busy schedule? If so, you may be happier if stores, your job and other necessities are close by, so you won’t waste precious minutes driving around. 

 

• Do you value quiet and privacy above all? Then maybe you should concentrate on suburban or rural areas. 

 

• Do you have kids, or do you plan to? Then the convenience and quality of schools and parks may become an overriding factor.

Bellingham neighborhoods are difficult to stereotype. Neighborhoods with a reputation for affluence often contain a few nice, affordable middle-class homes. In the more modest neighborhoods, you may find a bigger home at a better price. Don’t be too quick to rule out a neighborhood until you’ve taken a look around! 

Is the home’s value likely to hold steady or increase in the years ahead? A neighborhood’s character may be the key factor. The best source of information on a neighborhood may be your prospective new neighbors. After you’ve browsed through a home on the market, start up a conversation with the guy working in his yard across the street. You may encounter a grouch now and then, but Whatcom County is a friendly place, and most people will be glad to give you their impressions. 

If you’re a parent, find a neighborhood parent who can give you a frank appraisal of the schools your kids would attend. Find out if they’ll be able to walk, or if they may need to get up an hour early to catch a bus. Also: Will your kids have playmates their age close by? You can contact school offices to get the names of parents on local school site councils and parent-teacher associations.