Relocation advice for the Spokane area (Seattle, Liberty Lake: to live, vs., move to)

[spotown11]

As a Spokane native who lived there over 2 decades, I have to say that a lot of these Spokane negatives are highly exaggerated. For example:

1. There are alot of fantastic smaller towns around Spokane that are actually fun (Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, Pullman/Moscow if you are younger etc)... And Spokane county has 500k people...not a TINY town by any means.
2. Perry district is up to about 3 blocks long now, has at least 3 good restaurants/cafes. Yes, still small, but considering this was dead zone 10 years ago it's made decent progress. They also have Brownes Addition which is similar. The South Hill actually has many nice neighborhoods and some of the best parks around. Northwest and far North Spokane have plenty of nice neighborhoods as well, if not exactly hip ones.
3. What city doesn't have a Division/Sprague? They are dirty in parts and have alot of petty crime, but you should be safe as long as you don't leave valuables in your car. There is a BIG car prowling problem in Spokane, but violent crime isn't that high, probably average for a city its size. You will probably still see thefts in these areas. But they have every store you might need (actually 3 Targets soon...) except for the really high end stuff. That's not what Spokane is about...it's not a showy pretentious place. That does not mean it is backwards, trashy, or uneducated. There is a crowd like that in nearly every city, but it's not the majority.
4. You can do pretty much every outdoor activity that doesn't involve an Ocean within 1-2 hours of Spokane. Skiing, hiking, mountain or road biking, windsurfing, boating etc...

Traffic in Spokane is nothing! Add 10 minutes to your trip at rush hour and you will be just fine! The outlying areas are peaceful, safe, and it is easy to get into town.

It's not all rosy however. I would definitely a job lined up, even as an engineer. It's still economically depressed and improving at snails pace. Winter can last through April and is cold, cloudy, and sometimes snowy. Summer can be hot, but is dry and rarely gets above the mid 90s.

[Eisernkreuz]

I'm going to try to help you out because I don't want you to have misconceptions about California, or the central valley in particular, before you move here on false assumptions. I lived in Davis, 12 miles west of Sacramento for 4.5 years in college, and I've been in Sacramento for 2.5 years now.

I'll start off by saying I hope you don't suffer from allergies. You will in Sacramento.

Originally Posted by Mounty

People drive fast because obviously they have jobs or purpose and are trying to get there unlike Spokane that is congested by jobless welfare leeches that just cruise in their beat up junk going from one discount store to another trying to cash in food stamps or get high or break into someone's car

Heaviest traffic days in Sacramento are when the welfare money/EBT cards get handed out. Good luck getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. Early 90s Buick Regals on 20" rims with $7.25 worth of gas inside, everywhere you look.

Originally Posted by Mounty

Sacramento on the contrary looked bright, colorful, clean and you guys have palm trees!

Hopefully you'll never have to go to Elk Grove, South Sacramento/Florin, Carmichael, East Sacramento, West Sacramento, Natomas or downtown Sacramento for that matter. Just wait until you see Richmond and Oakland on your way to San Francisco! Or stop for gas in Stockton on your way to Yosemite. Bring a bulletproof vest.

Keep it in that upper middle class suburban cookie-cutter neighborhood behind a freeway barrier and you're good. El Dorado Hills is really pretty, too. If a snazzy mall is all you need, you'll be all set there.

Originally Posted by Mounty

As far as Spokane goes, the real estate is dirt cheap here. $300-350k will get you a nice 4000sq ft house on a huge lot in one of the nicest neighborhoods on South Hill. I saw some $6000 sq ft houses in that price range, don't know the condition... but you get the idea. The city is not desirable, so that's no surprise.

The Pacific NW is going to be great in the coming years, when global temperatures change most of the landmass below the 40th parallel (North) into a nice big desert, with wildfires cleaning up anything left living. But even before that, I expect people are going to start cashing in their $400,000 1200sq. ft. 2bd townhouses in California and start moving north.

Originally Posted by Mounty

As far as outdoors go, there are lakes, rivers, mountains... But then again you have it all in Sacramento valley vicinity, I don't know what you're missing? Only I found the scenery 10x more picturesque in California. The hills, the colorful little towns, the mountains... and it's all extremely close. WA nature is kind of flat (with some mountains mixed in) and ugly/monotonous and all the small towns are extremely ugly and depressive. You have Yosemite/Seqouia parks, ocean, Redwoods, desert that can be visited same day.

I wouldn't say extremely close. Everything's actually quite a drive from Sacramento. Snow? Drive an hour and a half. Coast? 2 hours, 3 in the summer when the tourists are out smashing into each other on Highway 1.

Originally Posted by Mounty

The problem with Spokane is that there's no reason to go anywhere.

Same in Sacramento. All you can do when you leave the house is waste your money on stupid **** you don't need. Oh, there's a go-karting place in Rancho Cordova. Try not to get stabbed on your way there.

Originally Posted by Mounty

Except unlike Sacramento that has 6 mild sunny/green months, we don't have them.

Negative, Ghostrider, the pattern is full. Sacramento has a March-October (sometimes even November) heat wave (90-110), with a couple of weird three-day long wet weather systems moving in, and then November to March is cold (low 20s overnight, 40s during the day) and as of late not very wet. So the entire place burns all summer.

Originally Posted by Mounty

Relaxing is something you will have to find within yourself. I feel more relaxed the more I enjoy the place. I felt super relaxed in Sacramento because it was beautiful, warm, sunny, spacious and it felt like I was on vacation. There was not much traffic anywhere, and the wind rustling the green trees surrounding beautiful modern buildings felt very relaxing to me.

Weren't you on vacation? Or visiting someone? Not representative of the endless drudgery of living and working here. There's traffic everywhere outside of whatever suburban utopia you were in. Wind rustling the trees surrounding modern buildings? What modern buildings? Downtown? How often are you going to be in Downtown?

[Eisernkreuz]

Originally Posted by spotown11

As a Spokane native who lived there over 2 decades...

Thanks for the post, I appreciate your balanced approach.

It seems like some people have misunderstood what Megan and I are trying to do with our move to Spokane (hi, I'm the fiance she mentioned). We don't derive any pleasure from a huge marble-encrusted mall or walking through a concrete jungle of a million people. Most of our activities happen on the weekend and tend to be outdoors, so since we're at home 5 or more days per week, we really wanted a large house and property that we can be comfortable in. A little garden work and dirtbikes when the weather's nice, a giant Kindle library for when it's not.

[LadyDonna]

A word of caution about Spokane neighborhoods. We are in a newer neighborhood up on Five Mile and I love the area. However, we are some of the oldest people in our neighborhood at the ripe old age of 60. The neighbors are very nice, but you don't have many people our age to do things with such as riding bikes or walking together. Most of the young families have children that play with each other and so they visit together in each others yards. Keep this in mind when you drive around the different areas of Spokane. Here is a website that might help you find the perfect place with acreage for a garden. Homes on Acreage - Residential Acreage - Home & Land - House & Property - The Exchange Weekly Paper, Spokane WA Good luck and welcome!

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Eisernkreuz

Thanks for the post, I appreciate your balanced approach.

It seems like some people have misunderstood what Megan and I are trying to do with our move to Spokane (hi, I'm the fiance she mentioned). We don't derive any pleasure from a huge marble-encrusted mall or walking through a concrete jungle of a million people. Most of our activities happen on the weekend and tend to be outdoors, so since we're at home 5 or more days per week, we really wanted a large house and property that we can be comfortable in. A little garden work and dirtbikes when the weather's nice, a giant Kindle library for when it's not.

Your expectations seem appropriate for Spokane. Addressing your comments specifically:

- The only marble encrustation here is in the cemeteries.

- The entire Spokane-Coeur D'Alene area (and it's a substantial area, size-wise) has fewer than 600,000 people.

- I'm no expert, but I would imagine that a large house with property probably costs much less in the Spokane area in comparison to other areas with similar amenities.

- A garden and dirtbikes in Spokane are certainly doable --- and you'll meet lots of kindred souls who enjoy those pastimes.

- "When the weather's nice"--- ah, there's the rub. The summers are glorious, but short. Spring and fall are hit-or-miss. Some years we have very little spring at all; some years it's overwhelmingly beautiful. Autumn can be a glorious pageant of colors that lingers on and on; some years it is a brief pause before the snow hits around Halloween. Winter, though, is gray, frosty, sometimes with heavy snows, gloomy, and (seemingly) endless...

- On the other hand, you'll certainly have no trouble building your Kindle library in Spokane.

[aplcr0331]

There's a great dirt bike/orv place right on the west side of town between Airway Heights and Spokane. My wife has a great garden with very amazing rose bushes. My mother has one of the most beautiful Lilacs in the city. Learn the flowers that flourish here and you will be happy. We have a great growing season.

I'm not much of a shopper either, so I find any mall a bore. Most women can find a thing or two in our mall's but there are not a lot of high end stores like Mounty stated.

If it's outdoors you like, then perhaps I can provide a counterpoint to the lacking of couture culture in Spokane.

I'll go back through my year.

Bloomsday - One of the countries largest timed 10K races.We get elite runners, wheelchair racers, walkers and families (me!)with strollers. It's a great time with over 40,000 people walking through Spokane. People wear costumes, there are numerous live local bands lining the route, watch out for Doomsday hill! Great fun.

Hoopfest - Worlds largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament. We get NBA players, professional teams from all over the country, college players, wannabes (me!) all playing basketball all through downtown. You have to see it to believe it. Fun for everyone even if you're not into Basketball.

Spokefest - A great family event for bike riders of all ages. Most courses follow the Centennial trail, an awesome paved path that goes all the way to Idaho and beyond. Ride along the river in amazing scenery.

Pig Out in The Park - Just what it sounds like. Lots of local eateries bring down food and everyone...well pigs out. You can go down there like I imagine some posters on here do and just judge everyone you don't like be they fat, poor, tattoo'd etc. Or, you could go down and try some samples of great local food joints. Depends on your outlook.

First Night Spokane - A great New Years Eve Party downtown. There are bands, singers, dancers, magicians, artists a film festival and a bunch more. It's very kid friendly too, surprisingly. Great Fireworks display as well.

Those are the big ones that I have participated in. There's a lot more, from numerous fun runs, triathlons at many local lakes, great fishing. Really a lot if you are outdoorsy. We are about two hours away from one of the most highly regarded bike rides in the country. The Hiawatha trail. Amazing.

Snow Skiing? Spokane has more ski areas in a 300 mile radius that any other city of its comparable size in the country. Great day areas, awesome resorts, and amazing destination resorts too. We go to Canada a lot as they have truly great ski resorts. Banff, Red Mountain, Whistler/Blackcomb (largest ski resort in North America). Canadians are extremely friendly too.

Shopping at elite stores? No. Some of the best outdoor activities around? Yes, please.

I live in a nice area on the north side. Good schools, I don't have any tattoos and I've never been the victim of a crime. Is Spokane the best place in the world? Nope. But, it is a little hidden gem that me and my family love. I've lived in Huntington Beach, CA - Portland, OR - Twentynine Palms, CA - Biloxi, MS and Baltimore, MD. I've also, as a Marine, spent more than a year overseas in various countries...getting to know the local population to put it mildly, and I always come back to Spokane.

Any complaint about Spokane I've also experienced in every other city I've been too.

Spokane is what you make of it. Are you sour, dour and grumpy? Do you focus on the poor people around you and judge from your high horse? Well, there's plenty of people for you to judge and condescend to here. Do you like to live and let live and want to enjoy yourself and your loved ones? Lots to do in Spokane.

Good luck on whatever your decision is.

C

[Eisernkreuz]

Semper Fi, C

I'm a vet as well (army). Did some time in the Midwest (MO) and the southeast (NC) as well as the obligatory sandbox adventure. I was born in Europe so I've been all over that continent as well. There's a lot to be said for a quiet place you can call your own, anywhere you go. I've always been a big city guy, but as I get older, I realize I'm over it. I want a patch of land with maybe some goats and chickens and a pair of malamutes to regulate.

[BA2WA]

We're the OPs.

My wife thinks the Spokane area is perfect. I think it has much to offer, but I'm concerned about the length of winter --- it seems like a somewhat milder yet longer version of Western New York's (MUCH too cold for FAR too long). I don't know if I'm getting an accurate idea though from online statistics and similar info.

Any thoughts? Would there be someplace on the east side of the Cascades that might suit our wishes/needs/desires?

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by BA2WA

We're the OPs.

My wife thinks the Spokane area is perfect. I think it has much to offer, but I'm concerned about the length of winter --- it seems like a somewhat milder yet longer version of Western New York's (MUCH too cold for FAR too long). I don't know if I'm getting an accurate idea though from online statistics and similar info.

Any thoughts? Would there be someplace on the east side of the Cascades that might suit our wishes/needs/desires?

The winters are an issue. Learn to live with them, or become an embittered cynic like me.

On the plus side: keep in mind the easy access to North Idaho (the lakes are spectacular) and western Montana (Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, etc....), not to mention eastern British Columbia.

The areas closer to Seattle and east of the Cascades are Chelan, Okanogan/Omak, the Yakima valley, and the tri-cities. Chelan is remote and crowded in the summertime. Okanogan/Omak are quite small, but great if you like solitude and fishing. The Yakima valley is warmer than Spokane with milder winter, but pretty sketchy gang- and drug-wise. It also has a vibrant Latino community, if that's your thing. The tri-cities area is pretty much a set of strip malls in the middle of the desert.

Have you considered Walla Walla? It's worth a look: a gentrified small town with a prestigious college and a booming wine scene...

[Mounty]

It looks like you guys will enjoy Spokane more than Sacramento fo sure. Other than overly long snowless winters and scorching hot Sacramento-style summers this place might work for you. But I'd second 'nearby small towns' suggestion - Coeur'd'Alene would be my best pick. It's a 30-40 drive to Spokane, or if you get a job at Liberty Lake which has many companies that do engineering it seems, 20-30 minutes. Real estate is dirt cheap here, plenty of land to grow chicken and veggies and everything. I love the area by Riverview (goes parallel to I-90, south off it), the scenery is my favorite in the area and some nice houses. It's my summer weekly drive of choice (all the way to CdA).

I wonder why don't you move to Oregon, Portland area or Eugene?