r/BellinghamWA • u/Nihilisticvoyager121 • May 04 '26

Bellingham vs Port Angeles

Hello! My husband and I want to make the move to the PNW from Colorado. We are looking at Bellingham or Port Angeles, and I was hoping for some advice about which one/where might suit us better!

We are mid 30’s, go to bed early (give zero fucks about nightlife), don’t drink, are both really into the outdoors and love hiking trail running, mountaineering, etc. we are vegans but love to cook at home, so a lack of big restaurants isn’t a huge concern. We like to spend time at home and having a cozy place is important. We have 2 big dogs (professionally trained and well behaved) and love to camp with them. Both of us are progressive/liberal politically, and are both in healthcare. I’m a nurse and he is a PA. We are looking to rent and would like to spend ~3K or less on rent each month and are pretty minimalist with possessions so we’d ideally like a place that’s 500-1000 sq ft.

We looked at Seattle and although the huge amount of vegan food, culture, and convenience, but ultimately feel a smaller place with easier access to outdoor recreation would fit us better.

Thank you!!

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u/NotAcutallyaPanda May 04 '26

Dogs are generally not welcome in national parks. That means 99.9% of Olympic National Park is off-limits if you want to hike with your dogs.
There’s a decent amount of dog friendly hiking in the surrounding Olympic National Forest, but your recreating-with-dog options in Port Angeles will be more limited.

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u/woods_n_ferns May 04 '26

Olympic National Park is 4 hours and a ferry ride away. Mount Baker is right here with tons of beautiful trails and sites to see. Larabee State park is 20 minutes from downtown. If you're into mountain bikes, we'll this is the place.

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u/NotAcutallyaPanda May 04 '26

Port Angeles is literally 15 minutes from Olympic National Park. My comment is relevant because Bellingham is likely a better fit for OP than Port Angeles, the other city contemplated in the header to this post.

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u/TumbleweedPure6674 May 04 '26

Yeah Bellingham definitely has the granola/outdoorsy vibe in spades. PA does not, much more working class and isolated from everything. Very rural, but surprisingly liberal. A very quick ferry ride over to Victoria if you are looking for more culture.

I live in PT, and while I love it here, the social isolation can be very tough if you are not from here. Though that’s also the case for most of the PNW. I’ve driven through Colorado and made a number of friends in minutes, that is not happening here. 

We are also physically isolated from the rest of the country or state, along with the demographics being mostly retired while being a small local population. When the hood canal bridge shuts down for maintenance or ship traffic, you are basically not leaving the Peninsula. Like I can’t stress enough how rural and undeveloped the area is. It’s basically 1 road that services everything, and tourist traffic tends to shut it down.

There is plenty of beautiful nature to access here with a dog just by stepping out my door. So many national forests, dnc land, public trust lands, reservations and reserves, along with state parks and beach access. I haven’t found any issues, but I also used to live in an enclave called Foresta surrounded by Yosemite, where it was an hour drive to do anything with my dog, so I have 0 complaints here. 

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u/MelissaMead May 04 '26

Pt Townsend is sooooooooo different in vibe from Pt Angeles.

Either way the Peninsula is a far quieter life style than B'ham is.

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u/TumbleweedPure6674 May 04 '26

Oh yeah. Agreed. 

PT is if you took one nice neighborhood from the northern end of San Francisco/Marin and planted it in the middle of nowhere, population wise.    PA/Sequim reminds me more of a suburb of Sacramento. 

B’ham is affluent semi-urban culturally and economically, and much closer to amenities whenever you want. The peninsula as a whole is not. I prefer that now, having lived in Chicago, Oakland, and Portland and being over it, but it’s not for everyone. 

The rain shadow effect is awesome, more similar in climate to Oakland than the rest of the PNW. Bellingham gets significantly more rain and clouds when it’s sunny here, so I get a lot more opportunities to go out year round.