Questions about Spokane (Seattle: relocation, budget, travel)

[st33lcas3]

Originally Posted by bamn29

I am new to this "forum" stuff, can someone please give me their opinion on "Green Acres" in Washington State. We are thinking of moving to that area, but know very little about it. Have an 8 yr old son, so must consider the schools very carefully as well as weather and people personalities. Thanks

Ahh, Greenacres. I spent my teen years there. It's changed quite a bit since I lived there 18 years ago. Many new subdivisions, the Spokane River has been overtaken by the Centennial Trail, much more traffic and many new strip malls. It used to be so quiet.

The schools around there are good. They are part of the Central Valley School District. I went to Greenacres Jr High and Central Valley High School (Central Valley High School - Spokane Valley, Washington - WA - school overview) , both great schools.

Weather is decent, hot in the summers, cold in the winters. If you live near an open field, expect the winds to chill you even more. It's close to the Idaho border, so fishing and camping are an hour away if your into that sort of stuff.

People are generally friendly, at least where I grew up. Times have changed though, so perhaps someone living there now could give you a better idea.

[bamn29]

Originally Posted by st33lcas3

Ahh, Greenacres. I spent my teen years there. It's changed quite a bit since I lived there 18 years ago. Many new subdivisions, the Spokane River has been overtaken by the Centennial Trail, much more traffic and many new strip malls. It used to be so quiet.

The schools around there are good. They are part of the Central Valley School District. I went to Greenacres Jr High and Central Valley High School (Central Valley High School - Spokane Valley, Washington - WA - school overview) , both great schools.

Weather is decent, hot in the summers, cold in the winters. If you live near an open field, expect the winds to chill you even more. It's close to the Idaho border, so fishing and camping are an hour away if your into that sort of stuff.

People are generally friendly, at least where I grew up. Times have changed though, so perhaps someone living there now could give you a better idea.

Thanks for your info, 18 yrs is a long time though. I am curious though about the "hot" summers and "cold" winters. I grew up in So. Cal, lived 8 yrs in Las Vegas, Nv and have been in No. Texas for 5 yrs. I don't think the heat in Washington can compare to those. Anybody have any current experience with Green Acres, and also Liberty Lake. We did drive around part of the Liberty Lake area this summer and found it to be beautiful, however, I am concerned about the people there, I've heard things like " Wisteria Lane", Keeping up with the Jones, any comments ?

[bamn29]

I see you live in Libery Lake. What are the people like there ? Is it really " Keep up with the Jones's" and " Wisteria Lane " ?

[st33lcas3]

Originally Posted by bamn29

Thanks for your info, 18 yrs is a long time though. I am curious though about the "hot" summers and "cold" winters. I grew up in So. Cal, lived 8 yrs in Las Vegas, Nv and have been in No. Texas for 5 yrs. I don't think the heat in Washington can compare to those. Anybody have any current experience with Green Acres, and also Liberty Lake. We did drive around part of the Liberty Lake area this summer and found it to be beautiful, however, I am concerned about the people there, I've heard things like " Wisteria Lane", Keeping up with the Jones, any comments ?

I haven't lived there in 18 years, but my parents are still there and I visit them at least once a year so I've watched it change.
Summers get warm as Spokane is in a high desert region, temps into the 90s aren't uncommon with 100+ degree days happening as well. There is little humidity so it will feel like your back home in Vegas. Winters tend to cycle. One year it will be mild, the next it could produce three or four feet of snow. It generally gets below freezing for most of the winter though whether it snows or not.

Oh, and yes Liberty Lake is still very 'keeping up with the Jones'. That will never change.

[bamn29]

Thanks, that is what I needed to know, guess I can cross Liberty Lake OFF my list. I will keep checking on Green Acres !

[bamn29]

Since you go up there at least once a year, can you tell me anything about Veradale ? Thanks !

[deadbydesign]

Hey everyone,

I am new to this board and have read most of your posts here about Spokane. I will get right to the point.

I live in South Florida (Around the Boca Raton / Coral Springs area)
I hate it here. I have lived here my entire life and cannot stand to be blanketed by endless inferno any longer.

Now I have friends in both Seattle and Spokane Washington. Since I have never been to a place that experiences all four seasons I think Washington would be good for me and my girlfriend. Our lifestyle seems to go hand in hand with it.

Now I was REALLY set on Spokane (I was really aiming more towards Spokane Valley more then Spokane itself) I had seen pictures of nice apartments for next to nothing and excellent photos of scenery and all sorts of other really neat things. Now, after I read most of the comments on here and looked at the crime rate I was really irked. I brought up the concern to my friends in the area and they kind of laughed and said that they have never had any issues or seen any issues that would be cause for alarm. What I have seen and heard thus far is divided. When you guys say Crime and rundown areas.. Are we talking Miami / West Palm Beach Florida rundown? Or just houses that are not upkept? Also I am extremely concerned about the bum situation. My saftey is not a concern as I am trained in many forms of unarmed and armed combat and I never leave home without protection. My issue is my girlfriend and the forceful rape stats I have seen. We would like to start a family here and I do not want to be contained in a high crime zone (especially since the shockingly high stats I have seen are kind of outrageous for such a small area) Also we both have manager positions at Lowe's and our company is more then willing to transfer us to Spokane so employment is not a problem for us. Now of course we have plans to visit the area this January to get a first hand look on the place, but again, I really would like to hear the streight up facts about this place from someone that has been to Florida or another metropolitan area that can distinguish and perhaps properly interpret how good and bad Spokane REALLY is.

My second option is Seattle or the surrounding area of Seattle. I am a musician and I am also a nature lover. For me either lifestyle suits my needs so I think I would be just as happy in Seattle or Spokane but I wanted Spokane only because I wanted to give the big city thing a rest for awhile but its not THAT big of a concern. I would like to know the pros and cons of Seattle as well. Weather is not a problem because I am the kind of person that wears sunglasses to open my fridge at 2am to get a drink so gloomy and dark days are greatly anticipated. Maybe someone can give me the low down on Seattle as well and a good / cost friendly place in that area I can live.. Again.. I am used to rough areas but I perfer not to live in an area that will endanger the safety of my girlfriend.

Also we like to go out and sight see / hit up bars alot but we also do not require the mammoth downtown of any downtown area ever built. Please give me some insight.. All in all I would really like to move to Washington but I just need to know what is best for security and cleanliness

[99203]

Bamn29,

Greenacres and Veradale aren't really places anymore. Back when the Spokane Valley was being established, there was a string of small towns, Dishman, Opportunity, Veradale, Greenacres, that gradually merged together. They were unincorporated until 2003 when everything between Spokane and Liberty Lake (except Millwood) was incorporated into the City of Spokane Valley.

Greenacres is the furthest out and there is still more of a rural feel to it. There's more space, not everything is suburban development yet. Otis Orchards is to the north of it and is even more rural feeling. You need to go a bit east (Liberty Lake) or west to do much shopping.

Veradale is the next "ex-town" in - going toward Spokane. It's very much the suburbs, with commercial areas along Sprague and on several of the north/south streets, especially Sullivan. The schools are Central Valley, which are well thought of. The homes were mostly built from the 60s to the 90s (although there's still construction going on, developments are still creeping up the hills to the north and south) The Spokane Valley mall is just off Sullivan at the freeway and there's a Wal-Mart. Valley General Hospital is in what used to be Opportunity, just a few freeway stops to the west. You're only about 20 minutes from downtown Spokane and people commute there or the other way to Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene.

[Mounty]

deadbydesign,

I was too interested in Seattle until I went there for a trip a few days ago to check the city myself. Now I know for sure I would hate to live there. It's way too congested for me, the downtown is very nice and clean but too small (compared to Manhattan) and somewhat lacking character, and the streets between avenues are way too steep climbing which will make you sweat like a pig unless you're in a very good shape, the humidity in the morning is terrible, and I found the rest of the city I drove through kind of faceless and most of the time ugly, way too congested and suffocating. It's a great city, it's just that I didn't like it, which to be honest was a surprise to me since I was really into it from what I heard from other people and saw on TV. I never regarded Spokane highly, but after visiting Seattle I appreciate Spokane A LOT more. It's quiet, spacious here, NO traffic, yet all the amenities are here. But on the bad side it's kind of empty feeling town, not really intellectually stimulating, unless you have great self-entertaining skills, you'll be bored out of your mind here. And if you're a musician, you might have problems finding play buddies or actual places to play. My neighbor who is a full-time musician, moved out to Seattle a few weeks ago because as he said there was absolutely nothing to do here for a musician. I highly suggest you visit both cities since there are many people who either love them or hate them, there's no unanimous opinion on them, and everyone will describe them from their own point of view/taste/bias/interests/preferences etc. And maybe you should consider some other options like Portland before you pack your bags.

[deadbydesign]

Well I am planning a visit for January so I can see what the winter is like in both areas. My main concern as I have stated before is the safety and well being of my girlfriend. Right now I will live anywhere but Florida. This place, at least in our mind, is an overpriced toilet. It is summer 365 a year (which if you are 100 years old is good but not for a 22 year old that has never seen anything else but run down cities and angry people from the North East). As I have said before, Spokane seems like the perfect place for us but my mother lived in Phillie with the Meth issues that plagued that town and she forewarned me of that problem. I know that no town is perfect and I am not expecting that.. I just want a semi-safe area that will no pose a constant danger for us. The way people make this town sound is that you are always in the line of fire (as if it is a warzone). I would also like to know the difference between Spokane and Spokane Valley. Not many people really talk about the valley area much and that is where I would move if I actually moved to that area. And is the homeless situation really THAT bad? As well as the theft crime? My girlfriend has an 05' mustang where as I have a piece of crap Corolla from 96' (Not that I am ashamed, lol) but we value our possessions that we worked our asses off for and I don't want that to be an issue either.. I would really appreciated a streight up low down on how it is out there. Should we really consider the outlaying areas of western washington? I am only asking because our budget isnt huge and I would rather not waste a trip on Spokane if it is not even worth the time or effort.