topeater

My husband and I will be visiting Washington October 6-13. I used to visit quite often, but that was 25 years ago (except for Seattle which we visited last year in combo with Vancouver). In the past, I've spent time in Bellingham, Whidbey Island and Orcas Island.

This is basically a scouting trip as we are looking at places to retire that are culturally rich, have inspiring outdoor places and a place to escape the summer heat that we experience in Texas. We both love cloudy skies and rainy weather. I think the only difficult part of living in the NW could be the early sunset in the winter, but that's got to be easier than dealing with triple digits for most of the summer!

We are thinking about spending our first 2 nights which gives us 1.5 days in Bellingham and our last 2-3 nights in Seattle. I thought Bellingham since it has the university might fit our list and would be more affordable than Seattle. Is that true? That gives us a couple of other nights to decide what to do. We will have a car, but probably turn it in when we get to Seattle unless we stay somewhere other than downtown. (which brings up other questions). I also have heard that Tacoma is becoming an alternative to Seattle. I've never been there, so what do you think?

We thought the other couple of days we would stay on one of the islands just for a different view. I understand that people are leaving Whidbey because of the new jets making too much noise? Is this true? Are there ferries that leave Bellingham to go to specific islands or would we need to drive to Ancorates? Any suggestions? We would like this part of the trip to be restful with some light hiking.

We stayed downtown last year when we were in Seattle, so this time, we thought about staying in another area. Any suggestions? We would like an area that has restaurants that are within walking distance and to just soak up the atmosphere. If we have a car, we would like to look at different neighborhoods. I googled neighborhoods in Seattle and there are a lot! Which are your favorites and why?

As you can see, at this point, I'm a bit all over the place, so I definitely need some help narrowing things down. Thanks for any suggestions.

Gardyloo

I'll offer some answers or opinions, not in any particular order. You'll need to google some things.

Bellingham IS less expensive than Seattle but so is most every other place in Washington. Winters tend to be a little colder and snow is more frequent owing to the winds that come down the Fraser River valley in Canada.

There are no car ferries that leave Bellingham (except the Alaska ferry.) To get to the San Juans or Whidbey you'd have to drive to Burlington then west on SR 20 to Anacortes or Deception Pass.

Noise from the jets on Whidbey is worst around Oak Harbor and possibly down toward Coupeville. The southern end of the island - Langley, etc. - won't have any problems.

You could sample Bellingham and Whidbey by driving south from the (marvelous) historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham - down scenic Chuckanut Drive (SR 11) then on to Whidbey via Deception Pass. Maybe spend the night on Whidbey or (very cool) the Silver Cloud in Mukilteo - http://www.silvercloud.com/mukilteo/ - right next to the Whidbey ferry dock. Have a look at the cute Mukilteo lighthouse, maybe watch the sunset from the driftwood-covered beach next to the lighthouse, or from Ivar's, a local seafood restaurant, next door to the Silver Cloud.

Tacoma is indeed up-and-coming; I especially like the area around Tacoma's "old town" along Commencement Bay near the (fab) Point Defiance park and Vashon ferry. Housing prices are considerably lower than Seattle for similar properties.

You might also look at Olympia. It has an attractive downtown area, a couple of colleges nearby, some terrific city parks, and lots of cultural/arts activities going on all the time.

In October I'd keep the car in Seattle (as much for weather protection as transportation) and maybe stay someplace around Lake Union, the University District or Lower Queen Anne. Have a look at the Silver Cloud hotel on Lake Union, the Maxwell hotel in Lower Queen Anne, or the University Inn in the U District. All of these have cheap or free parking, free shuttle buses, and are in interesting parts of town. By all means tour around - we are indeed a city of neighborhoods, and nice ones at that. Don't miss West Seattle, across Elliott Bay from downtown, for terrific views, lots of funky restaurants and bars, etc.

Probably only further complicates things rather than simplifying them. Sorry.

Gardyloo

Meant to add, while you're "shopping," so some research on Port Townsend and Poulsbo.

Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula, is a very pretty Victorian town with a very active arts scene. Its weather is better than Seattle as it's in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains, as is the northern half of Whidbey.

I'd also look at Poulsbo, which is a picturesque little town on the Kitsap Peninsula (very big on its Nordic heritage) with easy access to the Bainbridge Island ferry into downtown Seattle.

suze

Favorite Seattle neighborhoods (listed approximately in order starting closest to downtown):

Capitol Hill
Queen Anne
Fremont/Wallingford
Roosevelt/Ravenna/Maple Leaf
Ballard
West Seattle
Columbia City

All have shops and restaurants walking distance, depending exactly where you decide to stay.


This map is pretty good. Hover your mouse over the areas on the map and the names will pop up.
http://www.areavibes.com/seattle-wa/neighborhoods/

happytrailstoyou

My suggestion: Make a list of what is most important to you in a hometown, and use it to guide your search.

If Seattle fills most of your requirements, Whidbey Island won't (and vice versa).

HTtY

topeater

Hey, thanks for all the quick replies and giving me some direction.

Gardyloo, you didn't muddy the waters, you actually gave me direction in my investigations! We thought about visiting Olympia as my husband did a month long locum tenen there about 20 years ago and really liked. He stayed at a B&B close to a park/forest and rode his bike everywhere. I didn't think we had enough time this visit to include it cause I don't think I can get that close to that area and not explore more. I stayed at Lake Quinault Lodge many years ago in late September and remember the drizzling rain and the smell of hiking in the woods. Of course, the large fireplace and bar at the Lodge made me feel like I had stepped back in time and were a joy!

Thanks Suze for the link. I'll start investigating tonight.

Probably only someone from the southern part of the country would ask this, but do most of the housing in this area have air conditioning? We stayed at Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino last September and they have no a/c and it was hot. After the first night of sleeping with our door open, we both had sore throats and were stuffy. I think all of our years of sleeping with the windows closed and a/c, our bodies are not accustomed to pollens or whatever in the air. Isn't that just awful?

suze

<do most of the housing in this area have air conditioning?>

Nope. I don't know a single person who has AC here in Seattle. I mean I'm sure someone must (ha-ha) but I don't know them!

Fodorite018

A/C is not common, but many more homes are either being built with it installed or people are having it installed. The east side gets warmer, so that is where I see a lot of this. We have a portable a/c unit in our condo (on the east side), and our DD in Ballard has one as well.

The jets at Whidbey are not much different from the past. The big thing is that more people have moved there, and many did not know what they were in for, and so started complaining. As Gardyloo mentioned, the noise is basically around Oak Harbor/Deception Pass.

As for where to stay that is walking distance to restaurants and such, definitely take a look at the Ballard area. Tons of great restaurants, and lots of great shops, the locks, etc. It is an easy bus ride into the heart of downtown. If you are there on a Sunday, absolutely visit their farmers market, which is year round and very good!

Gardyloo

I have a window a/c unit in my bedroom that I use few times each year. My house is old, elevated and south-facing, so it gets nuked on sunny summer days.

If I were installing a new furnace I'd probably give serious consideration to a heat pump, mainly for the possible energy savings, but also with an eye to central a/c as a future option.

marvelousmouse

A/c is really uncommon in Bellingham. Make sure any house you look at has good screened windows for cross breezes. Even businesses- it's actually pretty common for restaurants to have fronts that open rather than a/c. The only type of business that reliably has AC is a chain hotel.

On the bright side, you usually only want a/c for maybe 2 weeks in the summer. Those same 2 weeks are the only weeks it's warm enough for me to swim outside so I don't spend a whole lot of time inside then.

To give you an idea of the rental market: a "good" studio apartment in B'ham is 700-800. Same studio in Seattle, at least 1200. I live near the university because I moved to B'ham for its walkability so I sacrifice space for location. But people like college professors who want a newer, larger house tend to live out in the county. From what I've seen- a neighborhood in town starts at 300k for a house that has probably been renovated. In Seattle, the starting point is more like half a mil for a shack.

Yards seem to be smaller than what I'm used to. It's easier to grow stuff, though- usually on accident. Garages don't seem to be common, even on single family homes- I've seen a few condo buildings built with garages, probably because it's a selling point. When I moved over here- well, I was excited to just have a parking spot. If I chose to "move up" in the world, I'd look for at least covered parking- the rain is rather hard on cars.

Since you mentioned allergies: whether you sleep with Windows open or not, you need to consider the ecology and climate. It's so green here not because people plant stuff. People spend considerably more of their time trying to kill or discourage plants. I thought it was weird that my landlord didn't water the lawn- it's because it rains enough that come spring, anything that died last summer is back with a vengeance. I was pretty wheezy for the first year. Now Bellingham doesn't bother me but when I go to the east side during harvest, grain and dust makes me sicker than a dog, and those never bothered me before. I'm from southeastern WA state, and the climate there probably has more in common with Texas than B'ham!

I love Bellingham and I'd choose it again over WI or Tacoma. Definitely over Olympia. But I love Port Townsend, and I'd consider Bainbridge simply because it would be nice to be closer to Seattle.

Another idea might be to look at the Oregon college towns- Corvallis, Eugene, etc. but Oregon is quickly catching up to Washington in price- some places even surpassing.

Feel free to post any other questions you might have about B'ham and I'd be glad to answer them.

happytrailstoyou

I don't know a single person who has AC here in Seattle.

You sort of know me and Gardyloo! I finally broke down and bought a/c for my west-facing bedroom this year, and I am enjoying it greatly. That room cooks on a day like today.

HTtY

topeater

Thanks Marvelous Mouse for your insights. I love parts of Oregon especially the coast, but because of their income tax, we were focusing on Washington. I'll check out Port Townsend and compare. We live in a fairly expensive city now which I think is comparable to Seattle. Luckily, we bought our house in Austin before the escalation in prices.

I am concerned about no a/c because even if those of you who have it only use it a couple of weeks a year, we are used to sleeping in a really cool room at night. I know it's wasteful and ridiculous, but that's what we do here. So, I guess we are looking at a newer build or spending a lot of money to a/c the house. Really, most houses don't have garages?

The difference between the NW and the south is really interesting to me. I so appreciate your insights.

What towns do you really like and why? Thanks you so much for your insight. We've spent a lot of time in France and I've read numerous books to understand French culture and learned so much about how to interact, but I don't think there are books about the differences between the NW and Texas, so I value your input. The differences are maybe close to the differences in France. I sometimes feel like a foreigner in Texas.

Fodorite018

topeater--We are like that too and like to sleep in a very cool room. Personally, I do not know anyone that does not have a garage unless they live in an apartment/condo. Garages are very common here. Some older homes may have just a carport, but that is a much smaller percentage.

Gardyloo

My (1921) house has a garage but I can't use it because it was designed for the Model T era, and if I pull my SUV into it I can't open the doors. Sort of defeats the purpose. I can't tear it down and replace it because it sits on the property line and a new garage would have to meet setback standards. So I extended the roof out over the driveway to make for a carport, which is fine. So good news, more storage. Bad news, more storage.

I also like a cold bed hence the window a/c. Many houses of that era have "daylight" basements, meaning full-height ceilings and windows that extend down to the foundation walls, in my case around four feet above the finished floor level. That means they're earth-sheltered hence they don't warm up much during even hot days. So I (and many friends and relatives with similar houses) just relocate to the basement during the hot days. Basement TV rooms/caves are very common. A couple of fans for the rest of the house and we're good to go.

Even on the hottest days - which for us means 90F, almost never 95+ - the evenings cool off. It's VERY rare to have enough humidity to complain about, so I usually switch off the a/c in the middle of the night if not before, and the house is always cool in the morning.

topeater

Wow, little humidity and a high of 90 sounds like heaven. I didn't think about that area having basements especially being so close to the water.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I'll probably be back for more.

Kathie

All three homes I've owned in Seattle have had garages. My house it a bit newer (1928) than yours, Gardyloo, and I am able to park my car in it, but I don't have an SUV. We carefully measured before we bought our new car and getting in and out of the garage is like threading a needle. There is a lot of variation from area to area. Bellevue, which was a suburb of Seattle originally had suburban-type homes with multiple car garages. It has become more urban, but Bellevue homes still mostly have multi-car garages. Areas like Queen Anne are mostly older homes - some with, some without garages.

I've never had air-conditioning here in Seattle. I have a friend in Bellevue that has ac, and friend here in Seattle who had a heat pump installed, which gives them ac. But ac is uncommon here. Frankly there are only a few days a year when you need it. We say we have an air-conditioned garden as it is well-shaded by 50 foot Doug Firs, and has lots of Japanese maples and a small pond and waterfall. That's where we spend time when the weather is hot.

I have a sister who lives in Bellingham, one who lives north of Bellingham by the Canadian border and one who lives in Port Townsend. We seriously thought about moving to Bellingham or Port Townsend when we retired, but we are such city people decided not to. Both are places well worth considering for you. Also, near Port Townsend, look at Sequim, which many consider to have the "best" weather in the PNW. It's both warmer and drier than the surrounding areas.

marvelousmouse

I don't mean that no garage is standard for the region. I just meant that I haven't seen many garages in the neighborhoods I've lived in. If there is, it's a carport or something like gardyloo describes. (Gardyloo, so jealous of your storage. One can never have enough, and whoever built my place did not believe in closets, apparently).

The two neighborhoods I mostly have lived in here were built 1920s-30s and that's probably why. In comparison, where I grew up, most houses are newer than that, and the two car garage is pretty much a requirement for selling. The people I know here who have that don't live in town- they live in the more rural parts of the county.

And yes, it is gloriously cool at night I usually am someone who needs a cool place to sleep but a fan is normally enough. And what I really enjoy is that it rarely hits below freezing here in the winter, so it's sort of the best of both worlds.

topeater

Hi Kathie, what do you like about the city that you would miss in Bellingham or Port Townsend?

I keep reading about the traffic situation in Seattle getting worse. The same has happened in Austin and for me, it has really had an effect on the things I like to do in different parts of town. It used to be that you only had to be concerned about the traffic from 4pm-6pm, now it starts around 2:30pm. Austin really does not have mass transportation and our bike lanes are really sketchy. You have to be really brave to use them in certain areas and during high traffic times.

Where is Bellevue? I'm looking at the neighborhood map that size referenced, but I'm not finding it. There are a lot of neighborhoods!

Gardyloo

Bellevue is the biggest Seattle suburb, on the east side of Lake Washington.

View of downtown Bellevue from Seattle - http://gardyloo.us/20130429_5_Hs.jpg

marvelousmouse

Seattle has good mass transit. If you live in one of the neighboring cities, like Tacoma, and commute by car into Seattle, you'll get the brunt of the traffic. Then in the city, there are a few areas that get routinely backed up, but if there is an awful traffic delay, it's usually due to construction (there's a lot) or a bad accident. You can get between Bellevue and Seattle usually pretty easily on 520, but it's a toll bridge. But unless you are driving between like 9 pm and 4am, I think there is always traffic and chances of rolling slow downs.

There's fairly good access to anywhere on on the I5 corridor. Amtrak, private buses, even public transit between towns. You can technically get from Seattle to Bellingham on Public transit, although it's too time consuming for me to have tried. I moved to Bellingham mostly because they have an excellent bus system and I wanted to live within driving distance of seatac.