COMMENT BY
Norm from Bellingham, WA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Bellingham, WA
COMMENT
Blaine; secret!
Sitting on the border just before you cross into British Columbia, Canada is the small town of Blaine. Just to the south is Bellingham (pop about 75,000). The area "feels bigger" than it really is with good medical care facilities, good education including a state university, theater and cultural enticements. Part of this is due to a combination of tourism and thousands of Canadians that shop here because it is cheaper. However, be under no illusion that what makes this area great is the cost of living (it is high), or jobs (not a hot spot by any stretch of the imagination), or weather (it has the least amount of sunny days of anywhere in the continental U.S.! But we also have the snow board capital of America (Mount Baker), national parks, eagles, whales, lots of islands, fishing, crabs, rocky wind-swept beaches, and two major cities (Vancouver, BC and Seattle WA) within an hour. What makes Blaine excellent in all this is that cost of living is lower here than in Lynden, Ferndale, or Bellingham. Housing is much cheaper. People are wonderful and summers (July-Sept) are spectacular. Check it out!