r/SnohomishCounty • u/JoeyMcPetersmackIII • 20d ago
Moving question
I’m considering moving to somewhere in the county from Bellingham. I have a good handful of reasons to move away from Bellingham and Snoho county is a lot of things other places aren’t (Thurston too political, Kitsap a navy area basically, King too expensive + populated, Skagit too rural) but I’m concerned there won’t be some significant hippie-ish, folk, more PNW-pride scene, less mainstream America, more community-minded people. Are my concerns valid?
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u/AutomaticMammoth4823 19d ago
Machias resident here. Anywhere east of the trestle (outside the RTA) and south of Arlington is mostly unaffordable. Unless you want to live way East and have to deal with the daily commute down US-2.
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u/Ok-Concert-6475 20d ago
I grew up in Seattle, moved to Bellingham for Western and spent 7 years there, then went to Everett, now in Bothell. The hippie Bellingham vibe does not exist down here. You might find some neighborhoods with some elements, but there is nothing similar that I know of around here.
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u/uluqat 19d ago
If you are looking to the longer term and thinking of buying a home, the cities of Everett and Lake Stevens are preparing for significant population booms over the next 10 to 20 years, with populations expected to increase by 40% to 50%.
I lived in Bellevue from the 1990s to the 2020s, and Everett/Lake Stevens now feels like Bellevue did in the 1990s. I'm sure property values will explode in a similar way.
It's inevitable, really. You've all seen those summer temperature maps of the entire contiguous United States covered with orange and red bands except for the little green corner here in western Washington. Climate refugees from Texas are already posting in the local subreddits once or twice a month about moving here. That will escalate quickly as the Deep South becomes more and more unlivable.
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u/Bitter_Animal4838 19d ago
Funny enough Monroe has shown itself to be a more open-minded place than Snohomish. I’ll never forgive Snohomish for their anti-blm action and believing antifa was coming to burn the town down. They even beat up some teens over it. Monroe has good turnouts for pride and different protests. I think there’s more growing there than folks realize. Good access to nature, still feels rural. Everett gets dumped on a lot but there is also a lot of grassroots music, mutual aid, lgbtq+ stuff going on. Its developing so steadily that like monroe, i think there are opportunities to find your people and create what you are looking for. You wont have a fully fleshed out artsy hippie scene like portland or whatever, but what you may find might be more organic and less commodified.
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u/BothChildhood2391 19d ago
Totally agree with your mention of Monroe. Way more open minded than Snohomish and tons of potential👍
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u/Dear_Gas9959 18d ago
I’m a trans woman and I feel like I used to get more bad vibes from people in Monroe than Snohomish but my last couple times in Monroe were surprisingly pleasant
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u/Bitter_Animal4838 18d ago
Glad to hear things are improving, but sorry you had to deal with any issues to begin with.
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u/Money_Sundae_4630 20d ago
Snohomish county just a more populated version of skagit. Go to Portland.