Proximity to Vancouver a selling point when moving to Bellingham
Escapes to Bellingham are a frequent adventure for many Metro Vancouver residents, but the proximity to this side of the border is also a huge factor when people consider moving to the quaint Washington town.
Case in point: a conversation on the Bellingham subreddit earlier this week with someone asking for advice as they plan a move from Phoenix, Arizona, to the Pacific Northwest.
The original poster said it was the closest they could get to Vancouver or Seattle since they couldn’t immigrate to BC. Bellingham is slightly closer to Vancouver than Seattle.
“I want to be close to my favourite cities,” they said, adding later that being close to Vancouver is “my real goal here.”
“I’m just crushed because I can’t move to Vancouver (my favourite city in the world).”
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One responder pointed out the obvious benefit of Vancouver only being an hour away.
The thread highlighted some interesting similarities between Vancouver and Bellingham, such as the weather, the high cost of rent (although not as high as Vancouver), and the realities of poverty and a drug crisis.
“People are b***hing about the homeless camps and fentanyl,” one responder said.
The thread also revealed some interesting insights about Bellingham, such as one resident saying it feels more like a suburb than an actual city.
One resident cautioned against the idea that getting to Vancouver would always be convenient because, as many Metro Vancouver residents know, sometimes traffic could be unexpectedly high. Others recommended getting a Nexus pass to avoid the potentially long lineups.
There are other ways to travel to Vancouver from Bellingham and back, like an Amtrak train.
There’s a flip side to the conversation, though. While some value the proximity to Vancouver as a big city escape from the small-town Bellingham vibes, we’ve published many stories about how some Bellingham residents don’t enjoy the close nature of the two cities due to their feelings about visiting Canadians.
Pros and cons of Bellingham and Washington being close to Vancouver
Aprilflower/Shutterstock | Google Maps
Last year, the BC Ministry of Health announced that cancer patients in the province would have faster access to radiation treatment thanks to two clinics in Bellingham offering it. While this move mostly benefited BC residents, it still highlights the strategic ways both regions can collaborate.
One benefit for the state of Washington is the amount of money BC residents bring to it.
Earlier this year, Michael Woody, Seattle’s chief communications officer, informed us that in 2023, Canadian travellers contributed around $563 million to the US economy in Seattle alone.
Another advantage for Washington residents was evident just last weekend. When bigger musical acts or events come to Vancouver, it’s just a short drive away for Washington residents, as we saw for the concerts when Taylor Swift was in town.
One advantage for Bellingham residents is their ability to have their cake and eat it, too. Zillow says that rent in Bellingham is much cheaper than in Vancouver. So you could live in Bellingham for cheap, and just an hour away are all the things that make Vancouver great.
Another thread in the Bellingham subreddit from last year had folks responding to whether or not it was a big deal to go to Vancouver, with many suggesting that, yes, it was.
“We like going there for lots of reasons, including many great ethnic dining opportunities and a great metropolitan vibe, plus the setting on the River and up against the mountains is amazing.”
Bellingham residents are mostly the recipients of the disadvantages of this close geographical connection. The city is super popular for Canadian visitors who want to go shopping and take day trips. Some Bellinghamsters haven’t taken too kindly to how some Canadians act when they’re visiting places like Trader Joe’s.
Speaking of Trader Joe’s, in case you missed it, Bellingham is getting a brand-new location real soon.