Couple looking to leave So. Cal for Spokane. Sounds great in theory, but people make it sound bad? (Seattle: low income, homes)
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Well, that certainly describes me in Spokane in the early 1970s. Of course, to my crowd "acting crazy" meant getting loaded/hammered in downtown bars during Expo 74 and everybody taking off their clothes and dancing until dawn after the straight customers had gone home at two a.m.
I love it when people tell me things are better now than in the hippy days...
Yes, you are right......the modern day, tweaked out zombies take it to another level.
Spokane does have a lot of crazy people. There are homeless people everywhere begging.... I refuse to even go to spokane to hang out anywhere after dark. My husband and I had a very bad expereince down town one night at the knitting factory last summer I thought my husband and I were going to die- we got beat up VERY badly to the point that we had to go to the hospital and we were robbed. After seeing how the police treated us about the whole thing (they blamed us saying we got what we deserved and we should have known to avoid that area since it is a bad part of town). Not only will I never set foot into the knitting factory concert house again ever but we decided that since the cops wont protect people when they need it we will avoid Spokane events at night completely. We only go to Spokane when we have to. I also feel sorry for some of my friends who live in Spokane because they live in fear of being robbed or that their vehicles will be robbed while they sleep.
Spokane does have a lot of crazy people. There are homeless people everywhere begging.... I refuse to even go to spokane to hang out anywhere after dark. My husband and I had a very bad expereince down town one night at the knitting factory last summer I thought my husband and I were going to die- we got beat up VERY badly to the point that we had to go to the hospital and we were robbed. After seeing how the police treated us about the whole thing (they blamed us saying we got what we deserved and we should have known to avoid that area since it is a bad part of town). Not only will I never set foot into the knitting factory concert house again ever but we decided that since the cops wont protect people when they need it we will avoid Spokane events at night completely. We only go to Spokane when we have to. I also feel sorry for some of my friends who live in Spokane because they live in fear of being robbed or that their vehicles will be robbed while they sleep.
Wow. Let's review here: you went to a knitting show, got beat up, went the hospital, and were robbed (by the nurses)? And the cops told you you were the problem? Assuming that alcohol and/or attitude was not a factor on your part, it seems that you need to move someplace safer. Yakima, maybe. Or Tacoma.
Wow. Let's review here: you went to a knitting show, got beat up, went the hospital, and were robbed (by the nurses)? And the cops told you you were the problem? Assuming that alcohol and/or attitude was not a factor on your part, it seems that you need to move someplace safer. Yakima, maybe. Or Tacoma.
Or Detroit.
Checking the Spokane Police Department Crime Map for the past year the closest robbery to the Knitting Factory is 3 blocks down on 1st and Jefferson. Quite a few assaults occurred near the KF but still about a half block away over on Lincoln. I've been to shows there and the crowds and police presence make it a bad place for criminals to be, but heh...it could have happened the way she said it did.
Was thinking of moving to Spokane from SLC, but "Spokane's 89 'days' of sunlight" was the deciding factor NOT to move there. ( Will keep looking for geolocially-interesting place that is warmer and sunnier! Lived in Whatcom County in W WA and discovered that SAD is real after I got it...
Was thinking of moving to Spokane from SLC, but "Spokane's 89 'days' of sunlight" was the deciding factor NOT to move there. ( Will keep looking for geolocially-interesting place that is warmer and sunnier! Lived in Whatcom County in W WA and discovered that SAD is real after I got it...
You are off on your number of days of sunshine for Spokane by over a hundred according to this data from NOAA and here too. Anyway, you generally do not move North in the search for warmth and sun
I think Yuma, AZ is the sunniest place in the US last time I looked. The rest are in CA, NV, NM so there's that.
Last edited by aplcr0331; 01-16-2013 at 04:20 PM..
I've always wondered how NOAA calculated their sunlight data as I had also researched those numbers before moving. My experience in 4 years in Spokane was closer to the 89 days of sun.
Direct sunlight in the winter months was often about 15 minutes at dawn and 15 minutes at dusk when the sun briefly dipped below the cloud cover. Of course the sun didn't come up until well after getting to work and often was down before work ended, so many days felt very dark indeed.
I've always wondered how NOAA calculated their sunlight data as I had also researched those numbers before moving. My experience in 4 years in Spokane was closer to the 89 days of sun.
Direct sunlight in the winter months was often about 15 minutes at dawn and 15 minutes at dusk when the sun briefly dipped below the cloud cover. Of course the sun didn't come up until well after getting to work and often was down before work ended, so many days felt very dark indeed.
Yes.....good question, who figgers(sp) those darn numbers.
I think that 10 minutes a day of sunlight qualifies as a "day" of sunshine.
Spokane seems just as dark and dreary as Seattle.....not as much rain....but the gloom is about the same.
Greetings everyone! I'm a "new user" to this site, but I've been lurking the forums for a while.
So here's the deal: my girlfriend and I have been living in Apple Valley/Victorville (Southern California) for nearly our entire lives and... well... to put it short, we despise it. The desert sucks. It's dry ALL the time, the two seasons of the year are always dry, and it's either 90-100 degrees or 30-50 degrees. Yep, only extreme summer with drought conditions, or dry cold winter that makes you hate the world. Very little rain, and snow maybe once every two years or so. It's awful. Not to mention that the scum of LA/Compton is being carted here by the dozen and relocated everywhere, so crime is abundant. I mean, multiple homicides, robberies, kidnappings, etc every day. Most people see it if they go to several places on one shopping trip. It's really sad. No jobs too. My girlfriend has applied to places all over the desert for a year, and nobody has offered her a position, yet how hard of a worker she truly is. >.< I've worked several different jobs, and as a result have managed to hold positions because of connections and experience, but without that, I too would have no place to work.
But, what makes NO sense, despite failing economy, CA's excruciatingly high taxes, and lack of a great environment to live (literally, this place has NO perks besides cool looking sunsets. Most people hate it here), rent, food, gas, etc are VERY expensive, moreso expensive than Spokane. We have done extensive research on Spokane and it's pro's and con's, but we can't seem to shake the place's beauty and allure. We LOVE snow. (yes, we are crazy. But we love warming up in cold environments. It's something we enjoy. ) And not to mention the four distinct seasons DEFINITELY has us hooked. We're used to unpleasant extreme weather and we despise it. (dry dry yuck)
What perplexes me is what so many people are saying about the crime there. I mean, we literally live in the ghetto. You can't take two steps without being harassed by someone asking for gas money, or for you to feed their children, if you're not picky about who you sleep with, etc. It's not great. Robberies happen in broad daylight, clubbed to death with their own things in their own homes, shootings abundant (and at most the schools), etc, etc, etc. Is Spokane anything near this? It sounds beautiful and peaceful, exactly what we're looking for. Nothing complicated, nothing crazy, no Hollywood or anything like that. Just a simple town to live in and start our lives peacefully. We love weather and practically worship outdoor activities (camping, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, etc etc) since we can't do much here. We're young but old fashioned, haha.
And jobwise, I currently work as a tech for Staples, but have also worked for Best Buy, a film restoration shop, and a software company. Staples pays decently well, and not to toot my horn, but I am pretty dang good at selling and fixing computers to the point where within only three months I've received two raises and promoted. I've been wondering if I could transfer out there, but I'm not sure. Are there many jobs for technicians? I have a lot of energy and I am very very good with all types of people, and I am also very good at working on all types of computers. And, this is probably hopeless, but is there any chance of starting a business there? I work on high volumes of computers here and earn staples a LOT of money, and my ability to work with people is pretty unparalleled here in the desert. I think it would be nice to run a small shop that people can rely on to have their machines tuned up by someone honest and who wouldn't snoop their data or try to scam them out of their money by making up problems to charge them with. Trust me, honesty sells and makes a lot more in the long run. (which is how I'm so successful there vs. their traditional sharks on the sales floor)
My girlfriend is looking for a job too, and hopes to find one out there, which, despite what I've heard, seems to be a lot better than what it is down here. And with her persistence and hard working demeanor, I have no doubt in my mind that she'd be successful in anything she does.
So anyone have any feedback? We really want to start over and get out of this horrible place. Spokane seriously sounds like the place we want to live. (and remember, we LIKE simplicity)
My wife and I once lived in Crestline, which as you know isn't too far from Apple Valley. We moved to our present area, you can read my profile to see it, in '05 mainly because our brother-in-law had gained a position in the town Baptist church as senior pastor and his wife convinced mine that Ione was the place to move to. Ione is 2+ hours NE of Spokane.
What I know of Spokane for those years and months since we moved are: The area is mainly democratic, the governor, state senators, government reps and such are all democrat; the state is constantly in debt and wishes to raise taxes as well as has asked the citizenry to be able to create a state tax on those making more than $250K a year, but thus far that measure has been voted down. With our last governor she and her personnel spent roughly $300K a day to run Washington; and I don't think that will change much with the new-inexperienced democratic governor.
I don't know what the job scene is like in Spokane, because we don't work. But there are numerous malls and areas that have your stores in them, thus finding work here for you should be easy. There's no (at the moment) State tax in Washington, and I, for one, hope that continues. Time will tell I guess.
As for a job for your girlfriend I think she would be able to find work as well. My wife has worked as a school bus driver both as a sub and now as a FT driver for 7 years. However for her to get up at 5 AM and go out into freezing temperatures to start an ice cold bus so she can warm it up to pick up the kiddies to take them to school, that's becoming a chore for her now, and although she is younger than I, I think it is a job she won't do much longer.
Weather wise. From May to Oct the weather here runs as high as the 80s, although it may taper off in the Fall months. From Oct to May (sometimes as late as June it snows and the volume depends on El Nino/La Nina out in the Pacific). Some times it has snowed constantly for 2 weeks at a time, and sometimes like this year it has not snowed as much - in fact during Fall it rained more than ever, hence the state name The Evergreen State. It is green here, lots of pine, fir, oak and other such forest. We live in the forest, have a game trail that cuts through (it always has) our property and thus we see deer, elk, moose, cougar, hare, beaver and the fowl (turkey and eagles plus) almost daily. It is different in Spokane though, but they do see these as well depending on where they live down there. More than often during Winter I hear / read in the paper of more than one moose being killed on the I-90 freeway.
We get to Spokane at least once a month or so, sometimes weekly depending on my appointments at the local VA, but it is still a 2 hour drive down. Oft times we will go to a nearby town for groceries and such. There's lots to do in Spokane, and it is probably similar to San Bernardino, if not Victorville by now, but not as hot. They do get snow in Spokane, and their road department attempts to move it on their streets. The neighborhoods in Spokane that we've been in, my wife does a lot of garage sales, all appear to be nice and comfortable, but then we don't visit or live there at night so we don't know what the crime is like or the noise factor. There is an AFB (Fairchild) W of town, in-numerous colleges and universities and there's lots to do there as well. We've never seen smog in Spokane, and I'm sure you see that a lot where you are when you get in Cajon and view down into the valley. One thing we love here is the smog free air - the sky can really get blue!
What else can I tell you? Just ask and will do my best.
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( Will keep looking for geolocially-interesting place that is warmer and sunnier! Lived in Whatcom County in W WA and discovered that SAD is real after I got it...
It's really sad. No jobs too. My girlfriend has applied to places all over the desert for a year, and nobody has offered her a position, yet how hard of a worker she truly is. >.< I've worked several different jobs, and as a result have managed to hold positions because of connections and experience, but without that, I too would have no place to work.
) And not to mention the four distinct seasons DEFINITELY has us hooked. We're used to unpleasant extreme weather and we despise it. (dry dry yuck)
It's not great. Robberies happen in broad daylight, clubbed to death with their own things in their own homes, shootings abundant (and at most the schools), etc, etc, etc. Is Spokane anything near this? It sounds beautiful and peaceful, exactly what we're looking for. Nothing complicated, nothing crazy, no Hollywood or anything like that. Just a simple town to live in and start our lives peacefully. We love weather and practically worship outdoor activities (camping, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, etc etc) since we can't do much here. We're young but old fashioned, haha. 
