Few people have heard of Bainbridge Island, a small city with around 23,000 people located in Washington. The island and the city, which have the same name, have received some attention for being a great place to live. In fact, CNN/Money named the city the second-best place to live in the U.S. on their 2005 list.
Bainbridge Island residents were huge supporters of Referendum 71, the Washington referendum often referred to as the “Everything But Marriage” bill that extended all of the rights of domestic partnerships to same-sex couples. This isn’t surprising considering that Bainbridge Island has a fairly large number of LGBT people. Many live in the Rockaway Beach/Winslow area. This neighborhood is fairly quiet, which many people love, but it’s just a short drive to Seattle, so there’s plenty of nightlife and excitement nearby.
As one might expect, the island isn’t exactly the cheapest place to live. Condos range from $328,000 to $1.175 million. Single family homes are just as expensive, ranging from $360,000 to $9.8 million.
