What’s Your Favorite Thing About Living in Bellingham?

“What’s your favorite thing about living in Bellingham?” is the question that was posted in my Facebook group “Bellingham Living” by Selena, a new, soon to be resident of Bellingham. The answers were so diverse and heart felt I thought they would make a wonderful post in here as many of you are researching Bellingham and trying to decide if you’d like to make it your next home as well. Peruse the answers given here, or join Bellingham Living and find the post itself and read them there. This post is pinned to the top of the group’s feed.

• The weather. Seriously.
• Coffee!
• Being close to the water and the mountains and honestly the weather. Yes, the rain gets annoying, but I’d rather have it than 100 degree heat or tornadoes!!
• The rain
• The people
• The accessibility
• Water and mountains
• The trees! I’m originally from Tri-cities which is very desert like. Definitely the trees.
• The majority of the people
• Art!
• I love admiring all the cute old homes and gardens in my neighborhood. The walkability of our city makes for amazing urban hiking adventures.
• I don’t live in Bellingham but I go there very often, my mother lives there. What I love about Bellingham is his quietness. The traffic is “normal”, not too many cars. Many places to go, which I love. I live in Vancouver.
• Climate and geography
• Being able to paddle in the bay and hike a mountain in the same day!
• Waking up to the deer and eagles everyday, and all the glorious other nature we have surrounding us. Even in the dead of winter there is still green to be seen!
• Being so connected to nature.
• How green it is. Love the clean air too.
• The People!!! And the community how they come together to help each other. Especially the programs the outreach the volunteering to help people get back on their feet from whatever situation they’ve been in and there’s energy here still that is just it’s empowering and and it really reinstall my faith in human beings and life it’s entirety to come in be fortunate enough to move here 2 years ago it’s amazing place beautiful just beautiful in every way way.!!!!
• The varied and numerous outdoor activities available within a small radius.
• The cost of living and homeless people.
• The accessibility to the ocean. And mountain area
• The parks, Fairhaven, the restaurants and stores downtown, the farmers market, the water and trees.
• The trees/water!
• How little sun we get
• I don’t have anything I like anymore  but it use to be all the nice amazing people that lived here.
• The natural beauty!
• The serenity, being close to the border, and the farmer’s market.
• Near the water/trees
• The easy-going rationale of understated exuberance.
• I miss the days of the 60’s & 70’s. I do like our parks, proximity to water & the green.
• The shit planning that led to our public drinking supply being a recreational lake ringed by private property.
• Our trails system and all of the trees
• Hiking. Today is a beautiful day for a hike
• I was born in Bellingham but didn’t live here until I was 24. All my family from here. I was raised on the coast where it rains twice as much. Any place can have negatives, but with a mountain an hour away and the bay right here it is the best place I know.
• The summer weather, trees trails and islands/bay, access to BC Canada, the farmer’s market, and so many berries, fruits and farm stands!
• I have so many things that I love, too long for this post. I would like to make a shout out for our amazing water that we access through our homes. It is expensive, but I appreciate the glory of it every single day. We are very lucky and we have it better than every other state/city I have visited or lived in.
• Music
• The beauty of parks, mountains, water
• The views
• The brick buildings my ancestors the Chisoms built. Assumption, St. Paul’s. Fairhaven. Schools. Living in my neighborhood. Upper Iron st. Skating career at the roller rink, and old ice rink. The small town I grew up in then. Working the family business with my dad. Arco station, mechanic shops. My dad taught me alot about cars. All the friends I made through school. Living in skagit and whatcom County. Living in Birch bay now.
• The green, the rain, the trees, oh so many things! I love it here!
• Bellingham: where the people and the place are equally beautiful
• The people, especially the educators in my kiddo’s schools.
• The bay, rivers, mountains, and a real town
• Being near my family
• The Beautiful Everything
• The weather.No, seriously.I grew up in Aberdeen in Grays Harbor where it rained a lot. And I mean a LOT. And in Aberdeen, it doesn’t just rain a polite amount. It’s usually an apocalyptic downpour that happens on a daily basis. The ground is squishy and wet year-round and many of the houses have a noticeably bowed in roof because of it.When my wife and I moved to Bellingham in 1993 to start at WWU, we were pleasantly surprised at how much less it rains here and how often the rain is just a refreshing mist by comparison to our hometown. I always laugh to myself when people complain about rain here. Believe me, it’s nothing. Quit complaining and enjoy it.
• My wonderful friends I’ve made over 47 years living here. Summer weather that is not hot as hell. Very few bugs eating my flesh. Fresh strawberries. Views of sunrise and sunset from my house. Hawks and eagles flying overhead. Friendly people who smile and wave. Always seeing people I know when I am out and about. Live music in small venues.
• The natural beauty .there are so many beautiful places around here, the whole place. The close access to water. Trees, hiking. Etc
• Being surrounded by mountains, salt and fresh water. Close to the Canadian border. Music and brewery culture. So much more!!!
• For someone with some mild walking disabilities this area is wonderful for hiking. Nature is everywhere. Water, mountains, and islands. Shopping isn’t too bad. Food is great. We moved to Oregon but on our way back up. Nothing like Bham. I can always use more easy beginner hike ideas, anyone??
• The people, the food, and the beauty
• The ocean, hiking trails just outside of town, lakes, Beautiful drive to Baker, more trails…Just simply the beauty at every turn! Ocean and mountains in the same day!
• My job (I moved here for it). My house (finally was able to become a homeowner). This group (a lovely way to connect to the community; even more important during the pandemic). The various festivals (Seafeast, Scottish Festival, Downtown Sounds, Irish Festival, etc). Music scene. Art walks. Coffee. The waterfront (though I wish there was even more accessibility). Fun motorcycling roads (okay, that one’s a bit particular). Quite a few community-minded folks in the populace. The brewpubs. And so on. 
• There’s a fantastic vegan community here. Super friendly and very active. Lots of places have great vegan options and there are a number of vegan only restaurants.
• The people!
• The county!
• no fuss kinda calm quiet and pleasant chats are everywhere…Bellingham made me feel life is worthy.

The comments are still being written right now! I will add to this list as it grows, but I thought this was a wonderful testament to the wonderful place that it is!

Note: I did skip some comments that weren’t on topic or were especially negative. In full disclosure people complained about the cost of living, the homeless people, and having stuff stolen out of their vehicles. All are valid complaints.