# Should Carnut Move to Bellingham, WA?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 4, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153 "2023-04-04T20:07:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 16\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/81 "2023-04-13T04:02:29Z")

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Supposedly, my wife and I will receive our renewed passports tomorrow. Supposedly.

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/82 "2023-04-13T15:06:09Z")

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Did you get a notice they were shipped? If so, maybe their systems are working again. The online status never changed, and we had no idea when they would show up. It was a surprise when we opened the mailbox and found them (different days - we paid for the expensive expedited process for one and it was faster than without, but still took 9 weeks to arrive).

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/83 "2023-04-13T16:16:51Z")

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I check USPS Informed Delivery every day. They were shipped on the 11th, and Informed Delivery says they are out for delivery today.

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/84 "2023-04-13T16:20:39Z")

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I guess I saw them through USPS as well, but nothing from mytravelgov. No emails, no change to status through online portal, nothing. And there were plenty of days you couldn’t logon. It was stressful for my wife who had tickets oversea. She had to cancel her trip and reschedule and it was a big impact for her work project.

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**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/85 "2023-04-13T18:02:52Z")

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> [@Ssounder](#):
>
> An Enhanced ID is all you need to cross into Canada and back.

Which I can get when I apply for the passport. Minnesota hasn’t offered an enhanced ID until just recently. As I will need to update my address on my driver’s license, I can apply for it when I go to change the address. But I don’t have it right now.

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**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/86 "2023-04-13T18:44:16Z")

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> [@carnut](#):
>
> I can apply for it when I go to change the address. But I don’t have it right now.

You need some paperwork. SS card, proof of address and proof of citizenship (e.g, birth certificate, notarized). But you will get it back a lot faster than a passport.

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**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/87 "2023-04-13T19:31:16Z")

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Thanks @eschereal. Already working on it. I need a couple of birth certificate copies because I’ll want one when I apply for SSI. Odd that I don’t recall needing them for previous passport requests.

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**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/88 "2023-04-13T19:34:04Z")

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> [@carnut](#):
>
> Odd that I don’t recall needing them for previous passport requests.

my memory is getting full, and I cannot decide what to delete to make room for more

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**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/89 "2023-04-13T19:49:45Z")

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Pretty much!

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/90 "2023-04-20T22:26:36Z")

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> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> On the other hand, just imagine how equipped Santa Fe would be!

Santa Fe is a fifteen hundred feet higher than Denver, so they do get 20 odd inches of snow a year despite the relatively low latitude. They’re probably at least as well equipped to deal with snow as any city west of the Cascades.

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/91 "2023-04-21T01:21:35Z")

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I like the Seattle area from what little I’ve seen of it, and living in Eugene I miss being near a big city.

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**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/92 "2023-04-21T15:41:01Z")

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Eugene is pretty damn big, as towns go.

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**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/93 "2023-04-21T15:58:48Z")

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Update on the postponed trip. I might have missed a bullet as Canadian border guards are now on a work slowdown as their union contract is up for renewal. The Vancouver friend who was originally going to fetch me across the border (or visit me if I couldn’t get across) belongs to the same union and is expected to toe the line, so she can’t cross the border by car right now as she is expected to stand behind the slowdown. I get it, but… we are both relieved that this is not an issue now.

I don’t see Santa Fe’s 20 inches of snow to be an issue for me as I know how to drive in blizzards. I’m more concerned about the altitude and my ability to breathe and keep my heart beating. I’ve had altitude sickness.

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/94 "2023-04-21T22:53:31Z")

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> [@eschereal](#):
>
> Eugene is pretty damn big, as towns go.

By Oregon standards, perhaps. To me “big” means comparable to L.A., Chicago, NYC, etc. I’m not hating on Eugene or Oregon, but I was a little disappointed to learn that no city in the state operates a comprehensive public research library (e.g. like the central locations of LAPL, NYPL, Chicago PL etc.). But I recognize we’re a small state, basically like Kansas only with Democrats, and being in a less urban setting does offer advantages in other areas of my life.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/95 "2023-04-22T00:29:26Z")

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> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#):
>
> But I recognize we’re a small state, basically like Kansas only with Democrats

LOL, I used to live in Kansas, and that’s an awesome description of Oregon. 😆

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**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-carnut-move-to-bellingham-wa/982153/96 "2023-04-22T01:56:25Z")

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My former boss grew up in Wichita. When he was 16, his family took a vacation to Colorado Springs. He looked around and thought, _fuck Kansas_. The next year he was in western Washington, making it on his own.

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