I am from NYC and my husband is from nearby NYC. We are thinking of relocating to either Bellingham or Lynden, WA, as he may get a job transfer to Blaine.

I would love to move to Seattle, but we would be too far from his work. I am curious to know how any NYer's have done moving from NY to WA? I have lived in several different states and find cultures outside of NYC to be vastly different and hard to 'break into'. I've heard from a couple of NY friends, it's somewhat difficult to adjust to CA. Was wondering if anyone has moved from NYC to Seattle or other parts of WA state and what your experience has been.

Thanks much.

I moved to Seattle after living in NYC for 30 years; however, I was born in Seattle and lived here through high school before striking out on my own.

Blaine is closer to Vancouver BC (30 miles) than to Seattle (111 miles).

Unless you like small town life and rain, Bellingham would be the place to live. Lynden's population is about 9,000 and it is wetter than Bellingham by 27 inches a year! (Washington State has micro-climates influenced by "convergence zones" and "rain shadows.")

Bellingham is a college town of about 80,000 with a beautiful setting on Puget Sound. The weather is mild, and except for November and December, it rains much less in Bellingham than in New York City.

If you can see yourself being happy in a town of 80,000 that is a two-hour drive from a major city (Seattle), you should be happy in Bellingham. Of cities under 100,000 in Washington State, Bellingham is considered a desirable place to live.

HTTY

Bellingham's culture is quite different from Lynden's or other small towns. As a college town Bellingham is more liberal, younger, diverse. It's still a small town, but compared to other cities its size it has a lot going for it. One factor is that the local economy - shopping etc. - is more robust than you'd find in many comparably-sized towns, owing to a great deal of traffic from metro Vancouver crossing the border to shop - many things are considerably cheaper in Washington than in BC.

If your husband is working in Blaine, it would behoove you to sign up for the NEXUS program which expedites border crossings; doing so means you can be in Vancouver much more quickly than if you have to use the regular channels. And Vancouver will more than compensate for any shortage of "urban vibe" you'd experience in Bellingham. And how.

Indeed the "culture", as you say, will be vastly different in the Bellingham area.

However, it is routine that the only North American city listed among the top 10 most livable cities in the world... is Vancouver, Canada (53 miles from Bellingham).

As central Seattle is within 90 miles, perhaps one or the other would offer you just about anything you might want in the way of city life.

Now if I had to guess, one or the other of you will require LOTS of time to adjust at all - why just the relatively slow-walking pedestrians are bound to make you uncomfortable. There's a lot of nature to view around these parts, and plenty of it from central Bellingham.

If you look BACK from 15 or 20 years down the line, from a new life created for yourselves in the Bellingham area, you'd surely be quite content with having moved way out west.

Be sure to project what NYC could evolve to be in 20 years and then envision Bellingham being as pleasant as ever, with perhaps more population to bring forth some amenities that aren't quite there yet.

Well over the past 20 years New York has become more vibrant and exciting then ever. It is now the safest large city in the US. If it continues the same way for the next 20 years it will still be one of the capitols of the world.

I have nothing against the NorthWest - and I'm sure a lot of people would be very happy there - but I really don't think Vancouver has a lot of "urban vibe" compared to NY.'

Everyone makes different choices based on what's important to them - but insinuating that New York is somehow becoming more unpleasant - is, to me, simply a sign that someone really doesn;t like big city life.

Vancouver and Seattle are great cities with spectacular natural settings; however, living in Seattle, I miss the seemingly unlimited cultural resources of New York City.

Vancouver and Seattle compare to Montreal and Rotterdam, which have a lot of "urban vibe." I don't think anybody suggested they are comparable to New York City, London, or Tokyo.

Also, I don't read any snide remarks about NYC here.

HTTY

I very much appreciate all the input!
Helps me get a better picture of the areas. We will also try and plan a trip out at some point, for an extended stay.

I think you could move to Seattle or Vancouver without significant shake up to the lifestyle you are used to in NYC. But I don't think your question is so much about the Pacific NW in general or the people and attitude here, but more about small town living compared vs. an urban environment. THAT will be a huge change imo.

I did move to Seattle (not from NYC but New England) several decades ago and I love it here. But I wouldn't like the smaller town lifestyle personally.

Bellingham is a charming city, absolutely beautiful.

Many of us Pacific Northwesterners are transplants, from NYC (me), Asia, California, and so many other places. It's not uncommon upon meeting someone here to ask "where are you from?" meaning "where did you move here from?"

In Bellingham, you will be near Vancouver BC (which is extremely cosmopolitan; I must disagree with a prior comment) and not far from Seattle, which is a small city but has big city arts and culture like the symphony, opera and ballet.

The biggest cultural adjustment may be the near obsession that Northwesterners have with outdoor recreation. Cities empty out on summer weekends because everyone goes hiking or kayaking. It's just wonderful, a really fun and healthy cultural adjustment to have to make.

I would opt for Bellingham, and I would seek out cultural experiences in Canada rather than Seattle. Although we live in Seattle, we saw "Les Miserables" at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver, and whenever possible we go to Chamainus on Vancouver Island (beautiful ferry ride to Nanaimo both ways) to enjoy their dinner theater.

Wer have friends and family from the East Coast who think we are savages, way out west, maybe still wearing feathers and war bonnets; one member, who resides in DC and is a city man, came for an extended stay last summer and fell in love with the NW. Happens all the time..but big city it is not. Seattle is my home, and critics say it is the best of both worlds; culture when you want it, and mountains and water (lots of it) when you don't. You can get to wilderness country in an hour, ski resorts in less than an hour, and to the waterfront in 15 minutes, at least from where I live. What's not to love? Incidentally, several kids went to Bellingham Western Wa U, and loved it.

But we don't encourage anyone to come; getting crowded already.

I think I want to move to Bellingham now!

Well flygirl, if you move to Bellingham, just watch out for NYC congressmen with a particular interest in Bellingham college students.

TO the OP - see, Bellingham and NYC are forever connected by Weiner (in much the same way that DC and Bellingham are forever connected by the DC sniper)