Welmer

I spent a couple days in Bellingham recently, and found it to be too small to be enjoyable in the way cities are, but too big to have small town appeal. The downtown is unfortunately situated directly east of its huge, industrial dock complex, which cuts downtown off from the waterfront. This is probably Bellingham’s fatal flaw: it is a seaside city without a downtown waterfront. I had to walk about a mile along the old railroad tracks to get to a small beach, which, once I made it there, did offer a very nice view. It is too bad that one cannot take a stroll along a commercial waterfront, as one can in most cities on the sea. However, if you like gigantic terminals that can accommodate full-size tour boats and huge port facilities, Bellingham’s downtown waterfront might be interesting. I’m not sure, but it looks as though an aircraft carrier might be able to dock at the main downtown terminal.

As a college town, Bellingham has its share of young people, but the night life is far from impressive. The trendiest place appears to be Bob’s Burgers and Brew, which is a fancy hamburger joint where all the local hipster types go to show off. The place is decorated as though it were a dance club, which it is not, but Bellingham people seem as though they might feel too self-conscious at a dance club, so this may be the closest they can come. Personally, I preferred the low-rent Horseshoe Café, which has a country feel and taste as well as a bar in the back, where the local hard drinkers nurse their drinks in darkness and privacy all day long. There was an Irish pub, called “Uisce,” but the place looked far too pretentious for its purpose, so I spent little time there. What’s the point of an Irish pub where the drinks are expensive and the people haughty and distant?

People in Bellingham take the “Seattle Freeze” to a new level. This demonstrates that the cultural tendency toward frostiness extends far past Seattle proper. Newcomers get suspicious looks — if you don’t fit in people appear to be wondering “what the hell is he doing here?” Good question, I think. Ethnically, Bellingham is very white/Northern European. There are some Asians due to the college, but hardly any blacks. One may see Lummi Indians, who have a reservation a short distance from town, from time to time. The people are not remarkable for looks or style, and it is difficult to discern what may be any distinguishing cultural characteristics they possess. I don’t think they can be blamed for this; American mass-culture has so thoroughly saturated the entire country that developing a distinct identity is difficult anywhere one finds a major highway. However, I did notice that the body-piercing parlor was doing a thriving business on a Friday evening.

Overall, Bellingham gives the impression that it would be “a nice place to raise a family,” but older children and adults would have to put up with being bored to tears, or if possible drowning their boredom with material goods or outdoor recreation, which the Bellingham area does at least offer in abundance. If you are looking for a fun town with unique attributes and a thriving cultural scene, Bellingham is not the place to go.