Questions about Spokane (South Hill, Pacific, Country Homes: neighbourhoods, public schools, property tax)

[LibOrg]

Soupguru: well, we must have passed each other this past week! We were in Spokane from the 4th through the 10th for our second visit, and are now convinced this is "the Place" for us. We drove to the top of Mt. Spokane also. Incredible views from there. We visited all the great wineries, ate at some great restaurants, toured several areas looking at houses. If I could, I'd move tomorrow. What a wonderful city. Also, 1 1/2 hours you're in Canada (drove there), 30 minutes to Idaho and another hour to Montana (drove there, too). It's close to everything. We're going to be Spokanites in about one year from now. Love the place and love the kind friendly people. Hated having to come back to Texas yesterday.

[photogoddess]

Liborg: Welcome, welcome!! The time will go by fast and before you know it, you will be here!

[dldavis]

Hello All, I am from Orange County in California. My town is inbetween San Diego and Los Angeles. I am no longer able to handle the prices, amount of people, traffic and very left wing thought process (hollywood). My job will allow me to move anywhere. I was narrowing down Spokane but now have a few reservations after reading pages and pages of blogs. I still have high hopes for Spokane. Here are my questions:

I want to live outside of the city limits and up to 30 miles away. My job base will most likely be the airport. I have had to live in an apartment for years due to our housing costs. My hobbies are fishing, hiking, gardening, reading, bike riding and want 2 dogs since I have had to be dog deprived since living in Orange County Apartments. My questions are: What cities do you recommend outside of Spokane up to 30 miles away? Also I noticed alot of people on this site are from Colorado and Montana which I am also looking into so if you have any suggestions in those cities as well that would be great. I am a single woman making 50k so I am on a pretty tight budget. I do not wish to have neighbors close as I have had to live with that for years now and really need space. I love to drive and need a city and that within a 4 hr. or so drive can be in the mountains to camp, fish and explore. Thank you for all responses in advance. - Diane

[photogoddess]

Diane,
others might be able to answer your questions better than I, but since no one has yet to comment I can give you some ideas to look into-I just moved here myself so I have limited knowledge on the area.
Airway Heights is close to the airport-it is also flat, and you might not be able to find acres between you and your neighbor but it would be close to work.
Cheney is out a bit farther and is a college town. You might be able to find a bit more space between yourself and others but I am not sure.
Medical Lake is small and might have a bit of land to spare
To the east are Post Falls and CDA in Idaho.
Seattle is the closest big city and is about 6 hours away from Spokane.
Bozeman MT is really pretty, small town and very dog friendly. Everyone seems to walk there, and dogs are commonplace in downtown.
Fort Collins and surrounding areas in Colorado are nice, and close to Denver.
I hope others chime in with their opinions!!
Good luck

[LibOrg]

Photogoddess,

What about out south on 195, the highway to Pullman. We drove through there; lots of open spaces, farmland, a few small towns. She'd have access to the airport via 195.

Also, thanks for your encouragement. We like the Qualchan area, and will probably by in that area next year. Which part of town did you decide to live in?

[photogoddess]

Liborg: I forgot about that section coming in from Pullman-very pretty and very accessible to the airport!
We are in the Shadle area-I have heard (and HOPE this is the case) that the HS is good. It is weird though that since we have moved to the North side, we don't get to the South Hill at all. We sort of stay on this side, although to be quite honest we have been really busy-I hate moving and the unpacking seems slow at best!
we did look at quite a few areas before deciding on Shadle and it seems a good fit for now.
I had to look up Qualchan because I hadn't heard of it (remember I am still a newbie!!) but it looks like it is on 195 before you get to the Spokane/airport split? Great views coming in to Spokane from there-I would like it there too-far enough out to enjoy the scenery yet close enough to go to town without a problem. We had High schools to figure in so some of the areas we would like would be out for now, but who knows where we will end up after the kid is out of HS and we no longer have to worry about the district!
Again, good luck with the move to Spokane-I hope you like it here!

[orygun]

Originally Posted by dldavis

Also I noticed alot of people on this site are from Colorado and Montana which I am also looking into so if you have any suggestions in those cities as well that would be great. I am a single woman making 50k so I am on a pretty tight budget. I do not wish to have neighbors close as I have had to live with that for years now and really need space. I love to drive and need a city and that within a 4 hr. or so drive can be in the mountains to camp, fish and explore. Thank you for all responses in advance. - Diane

50K on a tight budget??? You will do well elsewhere!!!! 50K in Missoula, MT would sit you pretty well though you might not keep that salary there. Missoula is beautiful but more liberal. The Bitterroot south of there has space but decreasing all the time. Bozeman is more conservative but incredibly expensive. I think anywhere in MT is great.

[groens]

i'm so glad i found this forum! lots of good info on spokane! a bit up the thread, there was a lady looking to relocate to spokane from austin, tx, for the same reason my husband and i are looking to relocate (hopefully to spokane) from houston.
we've found some houses in cannon hill area and were wondering if that was a decent, quiet neighbourhood??? we love historic/old homes & from what we've seen, they're great & in our price range, and the neighbourhood looks gorgeous!
i do have some fundamental requirements for a neighbourhood to look for, was wondering if anyone could point us to the right zip code (or neighbourhood) to househunt in...
what we want:
1.) QUIET. where we live now, near downtown houston, is a horribly noisy neighbourhood. by noise, i don't mean normal hustle & bustle. what we don't want is booming music (bass/rap music) from cars or parties 24/7. we have literally resorted to wearing earplugs in our house here for most of the day (if not all day) because of the loud music from passing cars or house parties. it is unbearable.
2.) a decent neighbourhood where people don't park in their lawns, and do not think that every day is heavy-trash pick-up day.
3.) close proximity to artsy or art-minded people. we are not only relocating ourselves, but also our small business (we make custom canvas for artists, designers, or anyone-- and re-stretch paintings, etc.) ... would also like to be near an art supply store.
4.) minimal stray animals, and minimal dogs on chains. where we live now looks like a 3rd world country-- strays everywhere we look, and if they are not strays, they are on chains. i have been doing animal rescue for about 15 years now, and this neighbourhood has been the crux of those rescues since we moved here 6 yrs ago. it is sad & pathetic, and heart-wrenching! i get nauseous just driving down the street.
5.) whole foods market or other "alternative" grocer nearby. we are vegans.
6.) pet-friendly-- we have 3 dogs (all old) & 3 cats (2 are old)-- they don't ask for much... but i can't walk them in this neighbourhood due to the abundance of strays & loose owned agressive trained/fighting pitbulls (my neighbour has his pitbull loose often, one he said "would kill any other dog he sees on site"-- i haven't walked a dog since, rather have to drive to a dog park... that dog spends most of his time on a chain otherwise)
7.) low crime-rate. i'd like to be able to park my car on the street & have it there the next day. also, minimal gun-shots at night would be GREAT.
8.) AFFORDABLE! for us, our realistic budget is a house under 130K. we could afford more, but we want just what we need, nothing more.


any help on a spokane neighbourhood would be so appreciated! like i said, we found some places in cannon hill (did i spell that right???) but i don't know really what kind of neighbourhood it is.
i do accept emails from posters, so if you wish, reply on here or privately or shoot me an email.
thanks!
~~groens~~

[cwhiteinaz]

Most of my memorable childhood was in Spokane (spokane valley area).
I came to Phoenix AZ in 1997 for college and swore that I would be back in Spokane within hours of graduation. Well, I got married, got a job, got a house... and now it's ten years later.

My wife and I have been her 10 years for me and 9 for her. We are ready to leave the heat, pollution, and busy life of Phoenix. We have a 22 month old daughter and another child due in January. We hope to move next summer or fall.

We are doing a mini vacation this fall to scope out the area. We are really attracted to the south hill area and probably will stay in a downtown hotel (unless there is anything nice up on the south hill).

We are coming without our daughter and will be in town for only 3.5 days. WE want to maximize our time there... if there is a person on the forum who would like to help us think through the logistics, that would be great.

I want to show my wife
- Riverfront Park
- Manito Park and surrounding communities in the south Hill. We are definitely going to buy a home and are very attracted to the prices. We own in Phoenix and though Phoenix was affordable but are now gasping at the great prices in Spokane.
- We'd like to try a nice church on Sunday morning near downtown or South Hill
- What are other nice areas we should look at for potential home owning?
- Are their certain school districts we should look at?

We might even want to spend a few hours with a real estate agent to narrow down some neighborhoods. Looking online, most neighborhoods are in the afford-ability range. We love historic homes. We live in older areas of Phoenix with nearby walking to shops, restaurants, etc.


Thanks!

Corey

[mes3fils]

[quote=groens;1137483]i'm so glad i found this forum! lots of good info on spokane! a bit up the thread, there was a lady looking to relocate to spokane from austin, tx, for the same reason my husband and i are looking to relocate (hopefully to spokane) from houston.
we've found some houses in cannon hill area and were wondering if that was a decent, quiet neighbourhood??? we love historic/old homes & from what we've seen, they're great & in our price range, and the neighbourhood looks gorgeous!
i do have some fundamental requirements for a neighbourhood to look for, was wondering if anyone could point us to the right zip code (or neighbourhood) to househunt in...
what we want:
1.) QUIET. where we live now, near downtown houston, is a horribly noisy neighbourhood. by noise, i don't mean normal hustle & bustle. what we don't want is booming music (bass/rap music) from cars or parties 24/7. we have literally resorted to wearing earplugs in our house here for most of the day (if not all day) because of the loud music from passing cars or house parties. it is unbearable.
2.) a decent neighbourhood where people don't park in their lawns, and do not think that every day is heavy-trash pick-up day.
3.) close proximity to artsy or art-minded people. we are not only relocating ourselves, but also our small business (we make custom canvas for artists, designers, or anyone-- and re-stretch paintings, etc.) ... would also like to be near an art supply store.
4.) minimal stray animals, and minimal dogs on chains. where we live now looks like a 3rd world country-- strays everywhere we look, and if they are not strays, they are on chains. i have been doing animal rescue for about 15 years now, and this neighbourhood has been the crux of those rescues since we moved here 6 yrs ago. it is sad & pathetic, and heart-wrenching! i get nauseous just driving down the street.
5.) whole foods market or other "alternative" grocer nearby. we are vegans.
6.) pet-friendly-- we have 3 dogs (all old) & 3 cats (2 are old)-- they don't ask for much... but i can't walk them in this neighbourhood due to the abundance of strays & loose owned agressive trained/fighting pitbulls (my neighbour has his pitbull loose often, one he said "would kill any other dog he sees on site"-- i haven't walked a dog since, rather have to drive to a dog park... that dog spends most of his time on a chain otherwise)
7.) low crime-rate. i'd like to be able to park my car on the street & have it there the next day. also, minimal gun-shots at night would be GREAT.
8.) AFFORDABLE! for us, our realistic budget is a house under 130K. we could afford more, but we want just what we need, nothing more.


Hi,
I don't know if your budgeted price is really $130k or that maybe it was a typo but.....I don't think you're going to find what you're 'looking for' in that price range in Spokane. To live in a safe, quite, crime-free area in Spokane, where your car is safe (lots of vehicle theft there) you are going to need to 'up' your budget to over $200K or better.

I have been receiving email listings from the Spokane area for over a year now and you are going to have to spend ~$250k for a decent home in an area that would meet your 'specifications'.

The bad thing about Spokane is, there are many 'pockets' of good and bad areas intermixed. This is bad for ones who want to live where no one can park their car on their lawn. When we visited, we found a lot of this type stuff going on in the Spokane Valley area....especially 'Greenacres'.

The property taxes are also quite HIGH in Spokane, even higher than here in PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA. And that says A LOT.

Good luck in your home search in Spokane!