Here’s a ( link) to a column by 24 Hours Vancouver’s Daniel Fontaine about his experience visiting Bellingham, particularly Bellis Fair and Costco.
It was an interesting read for me; it seemed to touch on some of the issues many Whatcom County residents are seeing each day.
Love the ending:
“My visit to Bellingham wasn’t a total bust. For the first time, I left those chaos-causing Canadians at Bellis Fair Mall and headed to the relative serenity of downtown. There was nary a Beautiful British Columbia licence plate to be seen and the shopping experience was much more pleasurable.”
From all of us south of the boarder, Thank you.
It could be much worse…we could be a border town near Mexico. That nightmare border has to be experienced to believe. Why the feds don’t station the military on every inch of that border is a mystery.
Mr FontaineDaniel
First of all, Bellingham is not a “port city” for long time, unless, you concider pleasure recreation crafts an users of the “port”
Secondly, perhaps you should drive to Richmond,
BC, on any given day, to see, how polite drivers of vehicles with “beautiful BC” place are,
or drive to Wisthler in the winter season to experience same…
Whatcom County benefits economically greatly, from visits by your “country man”, who are shopping here.
Some, who benefit from it, may not appreciate those shoppers, many do…
More do, that not, in my opinion, and many I am talking to…
If one dislikes crowds , there are plenty of land on both sides of the border to enjoy peace of quiet.
Admirer of that should avoid urban areas, such as Lower Mainland, metropolitan Seattle, or areas in between, becoming such….
There are options…
Thank you for this Daniel Fontaine. All we want are the manners. I for one could care less about the money because I cost more than any visitor has. As far as I know, this country and the people in it are not for sale: that is, excluding the politicians. They may be the same everywhere. No one sensible bases his economy on that of a foreign country. There is something the matter with those here who keep talking about money and those there who think we should bow and scrape for it. Artisan is a Canadian who could use some of your good will. He got really uppity on the site arguing about his bad manners before. You may hear from him again. Like every miserable person, he likes having the last word.
Artisan–it must really suck to be you
Artisan – the canadian who hates his own so much he defected to the U.S.
It is too bad artisian cannot write a short paragraph that actually makes sense. It tells me that Artisian is not real comfortable with the english language. Probably one of the Costco 25 gallon milk customers. That is better than the alternative, that He/She is plain illiterate. As far as substance Artisian’s paragraph is barren except for lies.
I for one think Canada is a great country and there are a lot of wonderfull people there. I don’t understand why there are so many here on a given day. If I was a businessman there I would try to do something about that.
Poeple….people…. Where is the hate coming from? This was a nice little piece (well written, Kelly) where the writer simply states that he notices the same patterns of behaviors in Canadian Shoppers at Costco as we ‘Hamsters do.
Take it as it is and chill out. Dang.
I find it interesting that this is still such a controversial subject. Bellingham is a beautiful city, and it’s difficult to keep it that way considering the sheer amount of individuals we receive from a diverse number of locations – not simply north of the border, but from inside the US, as well as internationally. We have a very multicultural University which focuses on diversity, and we appeal to many who wish to retire in the area. The difficulty we face is that we receive an influx of the rude and pushy who are seeking bargains, just as the rude and pushy are seeking bargains anywhere one may travel, including those who are our “local lovers.”
I agree, Kelly, that there are wonderful people everywhere. I also agree with Norski’s comment that “. . . those . . . who keep talking about money and those . . . who think we should bow and scrape for it . . .” is inappropriate, but we live in a capitalist society, and since Bellingham is sadly lacking a considerable amount of industry, outside of our refineries and the smelter, especially considering the number of people who are against the coal train which could generate more jobs, having travelers here from near and far does improve our economy, even if it does inflate our prices based on our cost of living in the area. It is give and take.
What we’re all looking for is a little common courtesy. That is something we won’t find as long as we continue the argument. Our prices are inflated. Our cost of living is inflated. Our jobs don’t pay enough to cover it. Our city is trashed because those who come here for better deals don’t care. Bellingham is a beautiful place to live with many wonderful opportunities for those who enjoy being active, and many well-educated locals are leaving because they can’t afford the cost of living. Those who choose to stay are upset and continue to argue, or they simply turn the other cheek and remain apathetic to the cause. Are we at a standstill? Do we simply love to argue because we are such an opinionated community that we sit on our hands and voice our opinion because we love to hear our own voice – and yet, we do NOTHING about it? And then, when we do something about it, it is so trivial, it does nothing…because we realize the importance of the bigger picture: a better economy, still more jobs, even if they pay less, it gives pause…and a wonderful reason for all of you to bitch.
I rarely speak out on such matters, but you’ve all irritated me. You’re all entitled to your opinion, and I’m entitled to mine. It frustrates me to go grocery shopping at 10pm to be able to purchase something that’s been restocked. It frustrates me to leave earlier than normal for work or later than usual to get home without the traffic. But, I can deal with it. Compromise. It’s like…a marriage.
Thank you Mr. Fontaine. Well written article. However some of us ‘Hamsters’ do appreciate the Canadian shoppers. Without them Bellingham would be a ghost town.
Many thanks Mr. Fontaine. Just one trip here does not tell the entire story of course, but does give a snapshot of the problem(s).
There are many in Bellingham that do not know or see the whole story either. For example “Marie Anti” seems to think the Bellingham would somehow die without the retail trade from the north. Costco, WallyWorld and their ilk may suffer a little, but most of the rest of us would do just great. Maybe Marie doesn’t drive either and doesn’t pay the 7 to 11 cent a gallon gasoline subsidy. She may not understand that neither Whatcom county or Bellingham see the lions share of the sales tax. And the list goes on.
Colin,
You should take it easy on ‘Marie’. It could be she only just transplanted here not long ago enough to realize that our community has actually thrived when the canadian dollar was only worth sixty cents and we didn’t have the “big box” stores that generally only offer generic items anyhow. I prefer to think of her that way as opposed to the alternative that she’s a complete idiot.
Bellingham would not be a ghost town without the Canadians because people who live in Bellingham would be able to shop here and not have to trek down to Burlington.
I grew up in Bellingham in the ’70s and ’80s. Canadians have always shopped in Bellingham. Border towns always have this issue. I now live in Canada and am one of the shoppers who regularly frequent stores in Bellingham. I don’t shop at Costco much as it is crowded even for me.
The Bellingham economy would suffer if Canadians didn’t shop there. Remember how Bellis Fair was a ghost town during a period in the 90s. All the people that are employed at restaurants, pubs/bars, hotels, and grocery stores, along with gas stations etc. all benefit from the influx of Canadian money. Shifts and hours would be cut back significantly if not for the Cheeseheads. I dine out in Bellingham regularly and generally tip very generously 15 -20%. People on the receiving end of those tips spend it in Bellngham. I am considerate and polite. Don’t kid yourselves B’hammers. Canadians add to your quality of life.
Totally agreed with what Lisa said. My daughter earned lots of money being worked as a parttime sales in Fair; her classmates even had much more work hours at Costco ’cause the store needs more staff to serve customers ( Canadian shoppers) at weekend. When things like this come, I would always say, welcome to shop, please come again and again, C shoppers.
I suppose the first thing would be to say that if anyone wants to be understood here, then maybe they should learn how to both spell and write. Let’s not lose our individual argument because we are stupid, no matter the opinion.
Next, as a former long-time bartender in Bellingham, I can put both views into perspective here.
For the people that work (rather than own a business) in Bellingham retail or service, and for the people who are simply local consumers…
Yeah, it is a complete inconvenience. The average (not all of them), Canadian shopper is a rude, complaining, crappy driving, inconsiderate patron running about with Canadian sweaters, bad mouthing the US, and demanding even cheaper deals. Yes they jam up Costco. Yes they have been known to fight at gas pumps, and yes they tend to tip like crap. OK Happy? There. I said it for you.
On the other hand, if any business owner in Whatcom county complains about too much money, then they don’t need their business. Whatcom county was a wasteland in the early 2000′s. I could barely make rent. Not all Canadians are obnoxious and inconsiderate anymore than all Americans are jerks when we travel. Our community thrives on Canadian business and always has. It is indeed a compromise because they live in the highest standard of living in the world. Any one of you people that says you wouldn’t love to save 500 to a 1000$ or more a month are either full of it or so rich that convenience is your only care. It’s expensive in BC and when you can save a lot of money for your family by trekking across the border, you do it. The only thing at stake her is a sense of entitlement and some inconvenience. Grow the hell up. Everyone love a deal. “Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
Is there a “bring your own bag” sign at the border yet?