Questions about Spokane (Seattle, Vancouver: homes, neighborhoods, theater)

[metrospokane]

Originally Posted by coldswan

I have looked more at the homes online around Brentwood Elementary School and although the homes are older, I love the tall trees and all the beautiful landscaped yards. Does this area sit higher up on a hill in the city? And do any neighborhoods have sidewalks? I don't know anything about Spokane as I have only looked at pictures so far but it reminds me alot of where I grew up in Vancouver,Canada. Is this area not a good choice or with a little work can we turn one of those 70's homes into a gem? Anyone out there want to share some thoughts on the subject.

One thing you should consider as you look around north Spokane is the future route of the North-South Freeway. It's currently under construction (C'mon $3.3 billion is a lot of money). Be an informed home/land buyer. More than anything else, this project will impact land values and land uses long into the future.

Project info can be found here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US3...rridor/Map.htm

Climate here is not at all like Vancouver, BC. Much more dry-I think we average around 18" of rainfall a year, but the pines are amazing around here...especially up north near the Little Spokane River.

[WendyK]

The neighborhoods near Brentwood elementary are good, well-established neighborhoods with (as you have seen) many homes built in the 70's. You probably saw some homes in Fairwood Park, which is one of the nicer areas - near the Spokane Country Club and Little Spokane River natural areas. There are some hills, although it's not an exceptionally elevated area. Lots of pines and most of the homes are on large lots. There are community parks and swimming pools available for residents to use with annual dues that are minimal (less than $300). Brentwood is in the Mead school district which is one of the preferred school districts in the Spokane area. It's also an easy commute to downtown and there are lots of shopping areas nearby (Fred Meyer, Albertson's, a new movie theater, restaurants, drug stores, etc...)
I am kind of fond of the 70's built homes in this area because they tend to have large rooms, solid construction and lend themselves to easy updates, if they haven't already been updated by the owners. Carpet, paint, and countertops are fairly easy updates. The more cumbersome projects would be eliminating "popcorn" textured ceilings, which were predominantly used in that era, and changing out some of the darker wood doors & trim that are sometimes found in the 70's houses.

[coldswan]

Wendy, I just found out from looking on another forum that you are a Windermere agent. No wonder you are so informed about every area in and around the city. Your info is so informative for us outsiders. We live in a
70's special in Anchorage, and my husband has done all the updating from removal of wallpaper, popcorn ceilings, to the old dark wood doors. He loves a challenge so that doesn't scare us. As for the street and highway changes to the Northwest will they run right through that area around Brentwood School? Are the listings on Windermere indicative of the market or is this slim pickens because its winter? I am going to come down there probably in February sometime and stay with a friend in Veradale area. She is the Scholastic Bookfair lady that goes around to all the schools and I was the rep here for six whole months until they downsized. I would love it if you could take me around to some homes and really get a feel for the area if it isn't too much trouble. I am open to many different careers options at this point as I haven't used my teaching degree for awhile but enjoy sales now and also real estate is a passion of mine. Know anyone who could use a really good commercial insurance agent? That's my husband's profession. Thanks, hope to hear from you.

[AJY]

Originally Posted by longingforthewest

We are thinking of moving to Spokane. On paper, it looks like the perfect city for us. I am looking for some information on neighborhoods and schools. I have 3 kids, ages 6, 3, and 1. I would love any advice or suggestions you have for me!

What would a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home cost to purchase? to rent?

Which neighborhoods are considered good family neighborhoods with strong schools?

Are there any good neighborhoods intown that would be good for a family - one where you could walk to shops, restaurants, parks, etc?

How is Spokane for bicycling?

Do you have kindergarten or preK funded by the state? And is kindergarten full or 1/2 day?

Thanks for all your help!!

I just really hope you like lots and lots of clouds with a very unattractive city to go with those clouds. Yuck!

[metrospokane]

Enjoy the clouds!

[coldswan]

Thanks MetroS,
Coming from Alaska we don't want to lose the winter altogether just not six months worth! The skiing picture was great and the pink sky is just like ours here, so it makes me want to come check Spokane out.
We cannot have outdoor pools in Anchorage due to the severe cold weather (too hard to maintain I guess). I have looked at many pictures of not only community pools, but private pools and waterparks in Spokane so that is a huge plus for us with children. When does the snow melt down there? Is it gone by March? Ours is still on the lawn until mid May! Ugh!

[cspeaker]

Hi, there's so many posts here I'll admit that I didn't read them all so hopefully I won't be redundant. I just thought I'd describe my experience of growing up in Spokane. I lived in Spokane from the age of 6 (1979) until I was 24 (1997). As a kid I experienced a normal childhood, playing with children on my block. When I became a pre-teen\teenager I got very restless as did most of my peers. There was nothing for teenagers to do except go to parties. Drinking, pot and sex seemed to be the favorite pass-time for a lot of kids. Of course, this wasn't the route all kids took but it seemed to me that most at least drank sometimes. At one point there was a teen dance club called The Warehouse that kept us kids out of the parties and away from drinking but the city closed it down. At the time, a lot of people in Spokane were pretty racist but quiet about it. I had some African American friends who were good kids and whenever I was with them we were followed in stores, stopped by cops for no reason and other kids would make fun of me for having them as friends. I had friends of all sorts and I was only teased about the African American ones and never bothered by shop owners or cops when I was with my white friends. I'm sure that's not everyone's experience but it was mine and it was 20 years ago so hopefully things have changed.

As a young adult partying was no longer my vice. I went for drives in the country A LOT, I went camping and rock climbing and all that fun outdoorsy stuff as there is a lot of that to do there. I ended up leaving because there were no good jobs for us and we were tired of struggling to make ends meet. The housing market was in a slump so selling our house was unsuccessful. After 3 miserable and expensive attempts at renting our house out with option to buy we ended up foreclosing and called it a wash. The neighborhood was good when I bought the house but went bad during the years that I owned it.

Now when we visit Spokane it saddens me to see how it looks compared to my childhood. The downtown used to be bustling with lots of people and shops. The last time I went downtown a year or two ago it looked like a ghost town. I saw lots of used-to-be good neighborhoods look like slums now and I hardly saw a new car on the streets.

On the upside, district 81 (when I was there) was the best school district in the state. A kid will get a better education there in the public schools than in Seattle. Cost of living is low but job pay is low also and hard to find (when I was there). It's simple to find your way around as the streets are in a simple grid. There are lots of lakes around the outlying areas and outdoor sports like rock climbing is abundant. Check this website out for the best schools http://www.greatschools.net . The best schools will most likely be in the best neighborhoods.

The winters and summers are extreme but makes for beautiful and well appreciated falls and springs, although they are short lived. Snow usually melts in March and you get true April showers. It begins to snow around late Oct - Nov and it can be a lot of snow depending on the year.

Spokane is mostly a family town and if you give your kids plenty to do you can successfully raise teens who don't party. I had nothing better to do with parents who didn't check up on me. My biggest concern about Spokane is the dwindling economy and some of the people who stay behind in the growing undesirable neighborhoods. If you are going to visit Spokane for one week then I recommend you visit ALL the neighborhoods and decide for yourself if there are more good than bad ones. In the time that I was there the good neighborhoods were upper South Hill and beyond, NW Blvd area, (Shadle area), Country Homes Blvd area, Mead, 9 mile, the valley (now Valley City), basically most of the areas in the outer circle. The worst ones were the areas closest to downtown, east of downtown, and the Hillyard area, although I think Hillyard might be sprucing up a bit, not sure. I grew up east of Northtown and that area has gone downhill since then.

Sorry if all this is too much info but just thought I'd share my experience which was good and bad.

[WendyK]

Just thought I'd throw in a picture of a recent sunrise over the convergence of the Little Spokane River and Spokane River area.

[scott4`4]

Dont forget about medical lake and cheney areas. Lots of decent priced houses and good neighborhoods.

[jag56]

I'm planning to move to the NW and will be visiting Spokane end of Feb. or early March. Will I need snow chains? Anyone point me towards a reputable real estate company that wont mind showing me around town a couple years ahead of my move date? I know that sounds weird but, I'm going to be on the west coast anyway and would like to do some firsthand research