Bellingham

Imagine a slightly less gentrified slice of Portland, OR, broken off and towed 250 miles to the north. Welcome to laid-back Bellingham, a green, liberal and famously livable settlement that has a distinctly libertine, nothing-is-too-weird ethos. Mild in both manners and weather, the city is an unlikely alliance of espresso-sipping students, venerable retirees and all-weather triathletes, with brewpubs on every corner.