does Spokane "feel" like a big city? (shops, cabin)

[wildflower82]

Originally Posted by rgb123

haha. Thanks guys. The offer is in Spokane, so it's Spokane or bust. by bust I mean stay in San Antonio.

Guess we were to busy with the F U Money and forgot you were trying to move for a job, litle side-tracked!!

I moved to Idaho, and the area is much colder than Northern CA. The adjustment at first is tough for some, but you soon get use to the cold. Nothing like four seasons. At least it doesn't get that cold from what people are saying. Seems like people who have left want to go back, it is beautiful up there. There's nothing like the outdoors, if your not an outdoors person, you will soon become one, if you move to Spokane.

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by 3~Shepherds

Guess we were to busy with the F U Money and forgot you were trying to move for a job, litle side-tracked!!

I moved to Idaho, and the area is much colder than Northern CA. The adjustment at first is tough for some, but you soon get use to the cold. Nothing like four seasons. At least it doesn't get that cold from what people are saying. Seems like people who have left want to go back, it is beautiful up there. There's nothing like the outdoors, if your not an outdoors person, you will soon become one, if you move to Spokane.

I am definitley an outdoors person! I am getting a lot more excited, I had a horrible day at work today, and the new company is working on the details of my offer. It's going to be one of the greatest FU moments in my career. I feel bad even saying that, like I could jinx it...

It seems like a milder winter than the winters I grew up with. Admittedly, I tire of them by early February, but I'm a big girl now and can mostly afford weekend getaways....it seems like even a trip to Seattle might be a nice respite from a cold winter? I know it gets cold there too but probably not nearly as often right?

[wildflower82]

Originally Posted by rgb123

I am definitley an outdoors person! I am getting a lot more excited, I had a horrible day at work today, and the new company is working on the details of my offer. It's going to be one of the greatest FU moments in my career. I feel bad even saying that, like I could jinx it...

Just put your hands behind your back and cross your fingers when you say it and you should be fine........I least I always heard this works. Wishing you luck.

It seems like a milder winter than the winters I grew up with. Admittedly, I tire of them by early February, but I'm a big girl now and can mostly afford weekend getaways....it seems like even a trip to Seattle might be a nice respite from a cold winter? I know it gets cold there too but probably not nearly as often right?

Doesn't look like much snow from the site reference I gave you earlier, but it does look like it gets in the 20's in Jan. I found you just have to dress for it. I soon found out my California clothes did not keep me warm in Idaho. Gloves and lots of gloves. Boots are good love boots. Hard to find ones that don't look like your husbands or an Eskimo. I have often thought of taking up being a boot maker.

Looks like they only have an average of 11 inches of snow that not bad. 171 sunny days. Get aways are what most due, the only problem can be the roads, seem like if you are not dealing with the icy roads you have flooding roads. Winter and Spring in the West can be treacherous and unpredictable.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by rgb123

It seems like a milder winter than the winters I grew up with. Admittedly, I tire of them by early February, but I'm a big girl now and can mostly afford weekend getaways....it seems like even a trip to Seattle might be a nice respite from a cold winter? I know it gets cold there too but probably not nearly as often right?

Like I said in an earlier post, winters in Spokane can be relatively mild...but they can be some buggers, too. Enough snow to collapse buildings. Really. How much snow did Spokane get 2 years ago? 6 or 7 feet? Most of it in one month. The huge gray snow piles in parking lots are quite attractive. I've seen 30 below there as well. Hopefully, you won't see those kinds of winters.

Yeah, Seattle can be a respite from the cold, but that time of year it will probably be dark, gray, and wet. 40 degrees in Seattle always seemed much colder to me than 40 degrees in Spokane.

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by skinem

Like I said in an earlier post, winters in Spokane can be relatively mild...but they can be some buggers, too. Enough snow to collapse buildings. Really. How much snow did Spokane get 2 years ago? 6 or 7 feet? Most of it in one month. The huge gray snow piles in parking lots are quite attractive. I've seen 30 below there as well. Hopefully, you won't see those kinds of winters.



[b]Yeah, Seattle can be a respite from the cold, but that time of year it will probably be dark, gray, and wet. 40 degrees in Seattle always seemed much colder to me than 40 degrees in Spokane

well...hopefully this adds to the fun factor!? I love extreme storms....it's the day in day out rainy drizzle of seattle that would probably drive me nuts! The thing I miss most about Illinois is the crazy thunderstorms you can see rolling in from miles away, and snow days


yes, a crisp December day with snow is nicer in Chicago than a wet, rainy 40 degree day in March there too, I get that.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by rgb123

well...hopefully this adds to the fun factor!? I love extreme storms....it's the day in day out rainy drizzle of seattle that would probably drive me nuts! The thing I miss most about Illinois is the crazy thunderstorms you can see rolling in from miles away, and snow days


yes, a crisp December day with snow is nicer in Chicago than a wet, rainy 40 degree day in March there too, I get that.

You won't get the type of thunderstorms you get back east or down south in Spokane. I can remember one in the Spokane area that approached what I've seen in the South. You get a lot of dry thunderstorms (fire-starters) there...a lot of "heat lightning" or "sheet lightning" (depending upon who you talk to...) type lightning---cloud-to-cloud type...light flickering in the sky, but not a whole lot of violent frequent cloud-to-ground type storms.

I have friends or family visit me during the spring or summer and most are just awestruck at the severity of the lighting and the amount of rain that can come down in a short time...

[Count David]

Originally Posted by skinem

You won't get the type of thunderstorms you get back east or down south in Spokane. I can remember one in the Spokane area that approached what I've seen in the South. You get a lot of dry thunderstorms (fire-starters) there...a lot of "heat lightning" or "sheet lightning" (depending upon who you talk to...) type lightning---cloud-to-cloud type...light flickering in the sky, but not a whole lot of violent frequent cloud-to-ground type storms.

I have friends or family visit me during the spring or summer and most are just awestruck at the severity of the lighting and the amount of rain that can come down in a short time...

Spot on, but I will add:

The most severe thunderstorm I've ever had the pleasure of being caught in, occurred south of Spokane in the Palouse just north of Pullman, on an overnight trip to/from WSU. Nothing like pitch black skies, rain that makes seeing out your windshield impossible, and just enough lightning to illuminate the deer that is about to jump out in front of you. We get pretty strong T-storms here in Denver, but not like that. I'm glad I survived that trip.

I will also say that was the one and only T-storm we had in my 5 months there.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Spot on, but I will add:

The most severe thunderstorm I've ever had the pleasure of being caught in, occurred south of Spokane in the Palouse just north of Pullman, on an overnight trip to/from WSU. Nothing like pitch black skies, rain that makes seeing out your windshield impossible, and just enough lightning to illuminate the deer that is about to jump out in front of you. We get pretty strong T-storms here in Denver, but not like that. I'm glad I survived that trip.

I will also say that was the one and only T-storm we had in my 5 months there.

Yup, they aren't common. The worst one I saw in the Spokane area was west of town toward Reardan...driving home one night across those wheat-covered ridges on dirt roads with lighting bolts bouncing around close. My vehicle was the tallest thing around ...it was a little unnerving.

But it didn't compare to some I've seen in Mississippi and Tennessee...those'll make you suddenly religious, especially if you're caught outside.

[GroomN]

Lemme break it down for you.... Seattle equals massive rain. Spokane equals massive snow in "most" winters...not all. Last year was mild but for several years, not mild. This year (look up Accue Weather) the forecast is for a harsh winter but late start on it, Jan or so. But it will be harsh. Currently we are having more rain than usual. We have BAD winters. Sometimes they are so long, it's like they go into spring so it's like 9 months and by the end you are so cabin fevered out... and if you think you are going over the pass to get to seattle its a long drive so, better plan on air travel...providing they are not grounded. Work is also hard to find right now... times are tough here financially REALLY tough. People are getting cut back , fired laid off, etc all over... they are not getting raises, they are taking reduced hours, reduced wages etc. That said, I have lived here 14 years and I came from San Diego. Spokane is NOT a big city at all. If you need city and a lot of culture you will get bored. If you are content with the same movie theaters, the same restaurants ... etc you will not get bored. Its not small town... but it's not big city. We are getting more crowded and there is quite a lot of traffic regardless of the time of day, though not as heavy /thick as major cities which are horrendous traffic, I sometimes worry we are headed that way. Winter travel can be really bad... especially on highways. Many many people end up off road accidents or in ditches etc. Snow removal is not always up to par. Ice..is frequent. But, this area seems to be growing in population, and has grown in area also. What is now named Liberty Lake, and Spokane Valley are their own towns, but they are essentially "part of" spokane and until recent years , until they began building more, they were Spokane. Now they are their own cities. It takes approx 40 minutes or so, to drive from the "north" end out to Idaho... and you can drive approx 30 or so minutes ... in each direction that is how long the city is and how wide..approx. But, it is much longer in winter. Winters here suck. As to outdoors etc..you do have some stuff to do but to be honest, after you do them a few times you do get a bit bored but you can have that probably anywhere. I'm an outdoor person and I find that living here..I don't get to be outside nearly as much as I like because of the weather.

[skinem]

Wow, GroomN, I hate you feel so housebound in the winter.

I'm an outdoors guy as well, and rarely let the weather stop me and my friends from doing what we wanted outside. Granted, it may take a special kind of person to enjoy the outdoors in winter, but with proper prep and precautions, no problems.

Winter camping (yes, it's possible to be comfortable) gives a whole new perspective to the outdoors with a lot of different scenery (ever see how much steam comes off an elk herd on a winter day? In the sunshine, it's beautiful.). Downhill and crosscountry skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, sledding.

I do understand that many don't like the winters, but you said you're an outdoor person. I guess you mean you're not a cold-weather outdoor person?

That's why sooooo many Spokanites have some pretty elaborate indoor hobbies...