How is Spokane if you specifically want to move for land? (Seattle: sex offenders, house)

[Kalisetsi]

I'm looking for a good fit location for my family. We are Native American with young kids and CA/NY urban backgrounds but not looking to replicate that. It seems like to me that many people coming to Spokane from other places compare city to city on here? Where for my family, the beauty of the (greater) Spokane area would be the chance to own 5-20 acres in our budget. Work is not an issue. Mostly its the property and nature.

But we are also trying to find someplace with at least decent schools (average is okay, good is better, crappy is a no-go) and some city amenities and ideally an environment where my kids can grow up not being the only Native kids and not being in a cesspool of bigotry. Of course, the rub is that half the time when you find a community with some other Natives, often there is already significant friction between Natives and surrounding non-Natives, not to mention the other Natives aren't necessarily accepting of a family not from their tribe, which is a bummer....nothing is ever perfect. Even if we have to be in a school district without other Natives, we still want to avoid a 95-99% "one type of person" population where my kids will really be the odd ducks out.

I can certainly see how if you are on under 1 acre in a house and not really into outdoors activities that weighing life in one city versus another would be much more dependent on the city and its people and its amenities. But I'm curious about any thoughts on whether the scale tips more pro-Spokane when land is maybe 65%ish and the city is 35%ish. Are people who come to Spokane more for the land and end up on acreage any happier with their choice versus those who do not?

Oh, I should mention for perspective I'm originally from Northern CA, have also lived many years in So. CA, Manhattan and Eastern Long Island NY, and my husband is from Brooklyn and Long Island NY. We have been living in a very rural area between Lexington KY and Cincinnati OH for about 3 years (my parents are originally from KY/OH). We love the land....lol... and that is it. We are about 75 minutes away from city amenities. With young kids that is further than we'd like to be. My husband loves to hunt and prepare for the apocalypse, in many ways like a big brown redneck, minus the racism. I work online doing marketing...all the time, as I have my own business. We basically come together on zombies, language preservation, and our kids...lol. Cold and snow do not worry us. Meth heads and sex offenders do, a bit. Is it legal to use electric fencing to keep them out? (half-joking...sort of). Other areas I'm looking at in our price range are Camas/Washougal near Portland, Olympia/Tumwater, Sequim/Port Angeles/Port Townsend, and Poulsbo/Seabeck/Bremerton/Port Orchard areas. Spokane definitely offers more land for the price, and looks beautiful!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks in advance.

[WendyK]

I sent you a private message with some info about this post

[texasdiver]

All the other areas you mentioned are on the wet side of the Cascades. and anything within distance commuting distance of Portland and Seattle is going to be a lot more expensive. Spokane is the only place that will give you four seasons and drier weather. If you are looking for places more like Spokane, then instead of Western Washington and Oregon you should be looking at Idaho and Montana.

[PS90]

As far as being accepted, I don't think that you will have any problem anywhere in Washington. I can't speak as to how accepting the Native Americans in our state are of people from other tribes, but I can say that there is a large Native American population here - they are concentrated in some areas more than others (Omak, for example), but I think there aren't many places (in Eastern Washington, at least) that doesn't have a fair number of them.

Even if there aren't a large number of other Native Americans, I don't think that you would have a problem with acceptance. People in the PNW, in general, are very accepting - or at the very least, don't really care what race you are. There are places in Central Washington with quite a bit of racial tensions, but that has more to do with Hispanic influx than anything to do with Native Americans. I grew-up very close to Omak, which borders the huge Colville Reservation, and I don't remember any significant racial tension there.

As far as land in Spokane, there are areas around the outskirts, such as Mead, Newport, or Deer Park, or maybe Post Falls, ID, that might work for affordable land. I would have to defere to others from those areas as to school quality, though.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Sherman Alexie's novels and short stories will give you a (probably) fairly accurate depiction of modern life as a Native American in the Spokane area, on and off the reservations.

I'd also suggest you expand your search into North Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene area, with easy access to Spokane for city amenities (30 minutes, weather permitting).

Good luck! It's a beautiful, friendly area.

[Kalisetsi]

Thanks to all for your input. @WendyK I replied to your message and thanks again.

@PS90, are you able to be any more specific about which areas have racial tension over Hispanic influx? Growing up in Northern CA, the reputation of PNW being more accepting is a big draw. I'm just wondering if there is a geographic point at which that tendency ends and the trend tips in another direction. Do you know if there are any particular outskirts areas that I'd want to avoid?

@texasdiver, yes I'm aware Spokane climate is very unlike the other areas I mentioned. I like both. I have looked at Idaho and Montana and find them both gorgeous.

@Clark Fork Fantast thank you for your suggestion. I'm trying to remember reading Alexie's works...I think they are fictional or semi-fictional, but you are probably right about the area influencing his writing.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by Kalisetsi

Thanks to all for your input. @WendyK I replied to your message and thanks again.

@PS90, are you able to be any more specific about which areas have racial tension over Hispanic influx? Growing up in Northern CA, the reputation of PNW being more accepting is a big draw. I'm just wondering if there is a geographic point at which that tendency ends and the trend tips in another direction. Do you know if there are any particular outskirts areas that I'd want to avoid?

The areas of Central WA with the highest level of Hispanic density are in the areas with large amounts of agricultural income. Orchards in Yakima and Wenatchee, and the large expanses of cropland in the Columbia Basin have resulted in migration of low-skill workers, both Hispanic and otherwise. And in actuality, the trend of large numbers of Hispanics moving-in has dropped quite a bit in recent years, so the tension may be lessening somewhat.

But certainly in Yakima, Wenatchee, Othello, Quincy, Malaga, etc. - cultural differences and gang implications (whether real or implied) have resulted in a covert, but clear, amount of isolation and lack of acceptance on both sides.

The natives (i.e. white people) harbor feelings of resentment because the Hispanics don't seem to want to assimilate into the culture that they have moved into, and the Hispanics harbor resentment because they don't feel accepted.

Sad but true.

Having lived in Wenatchee for a few years on two separate occasions - I witnessed much of that myself. Admittedly, I felt that resentment myself - from specific incidences such as when the Hispanic community held a big celebration (I don't remember what for) on 9/11, despite having been cautioned beforehand that it probably wouldn't go over well with the community to celebrate on such a somber day, to problems with my wife being hired because she was passed over for someone whose first language was Spanish.

But again, to reiterate, the Native Americans that I know (including when I lived in Omak) have had no such cultural clashes that I have ever seen.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Sherman Alexie's novels and short stories will give you a (probably) fairly accurate depiction of modern life as a Native American in the Spokane area, on and off the reservations.

Except that Alexie hasn't lived in Spokane or visited the rez in years, and is now another rich guy in Seattle who wears three-piece whiteman suits...

[Kalisetsi]

@Yeledaf LOL no comment....

@PS90 thank you for the additional information