Spokane, what's it like? (Seattle, Clarkston: vacation, lease, job)

[ameri-kiwi]

Can someone give me some general info. on Spokane and your honest opinion? I may take a job there that involves alot of air travel but I know nothing of the area. I'm originally from Washington (D.C.) and have lived in Michigan for 8 years and am trying to see if Spokane is a place I'd like to live. I could also live in Portland, OR; it doesn't matter where I live for work as long as it's in the Pacific Northwest and near a major airport. My potential new employer specifically mentioned Portland and Spokane.

So far in my research (only just started) Portland seems expensive, arrogant, and very tough to find a job if my new one doesn't work out. I'm not calling Portland expensive and arrogant, that's just what some who live there say.

Is Spokane a decent place to live? I would hate to live in New York City, but I don't want to live in the sticks, either. I hear Spokane + the city next door in Idaho totals about 600,000 people, so that sounds like a happy medium. How's the Washington state economy? Anyone have any gripes about Spokane? Cost of living and qulaity of schools, and quality of life, OK or no?

Thanks in advance!

[Treefriend]

Spokane is dirty. Cold in the winter too hot in the summer.

Here is a little slide show I did on Spokane from this summer

YouTube - The Friendly Ghost from East of the Mountains...

[scirocco22]

*heh* interesting vid, treefriend. I enjoyed it!

But to be fair, Spokane does have some nice areas ...places that are clean and nice to live in.

ameri-kiwi, please do a search in this forum about Spokane. There have been several threads here in the past that have had quite a heated discussion on the pros and cons of the Spokane area. Yes, most posts seem to focus on the cons but like I say, no major population center is absolutely bad in its entirety.

[allforcats]

Scir, nice to see you back! Take a little vacation?
And what's that tricky little gizmo under your handle -- ♂♀*†∞ ?







So as not to pull this thread off topic, I've copied your post to the "Other Topics" forum and responded there:

Scirocco's moniker ...Ben Casey? who he?

[Treefriend]

Seriously, I know you can't tell much from that Youtube slide show, but
Spokane is not a great place...at least from my point of view.

I used to live in Clarkston and Spokane was the "Big City" but even then
it seemed cold and dirty.

I was there in August and I see they have spruced it up a little, but
it's main drags all look like Aurora Avenue North. Car lots. Fast food joints.

If there are cool things there, they keep them hidden.

Also, it was hotter than he!!.

Here is a picture from !-90 heading east into Spokane from August, 07...

[WendyK]

where's my friend Kena who always has a balanced response to these type of posts? Isn't there dirt everywhere? I don't think of Spokane as dirty but I don't live in a dirty area either....it's all relative to what you're looking for and where you want to be. I think every town in America is going to have "dirty" areas.
Just had a great evening downtown at Wild Sage for an excellent dinner and then to the Bing Crosby Theater for a production of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" which was a farce of Florida trailer park living based out of a NYC theater group.
You get what you look for....and there is a lot of good here in Spokane. I'll be here 10 years this year and the only thing I would want to get away from is the cold winters, at least for a week or two just to warm up during the winter. The rest of the year is awesome!

[MichaelJones]

ameri-kiwi

portland is great but study the area well with a realtor in choosing the area to live in you will never regret going to portland spokane is a little remote
too much to do in portland it is just closer to everything that could be considered fun to do

don't let st helens blow up on you and when you get there go to gearhart by the sea then take off to seattle for the weekend then the next weekend go skiing

then go fishing then hiking then club to your hearts content

if you are single watch out the are a lot of fake chicks looking for a successful person to suck the blood from you

i would suggest bringing your own girl as the oregon chicks are a bit squirmy and some are found wearing bark or hemp for clothes .......whew

i suggested they check the calender after all it is 2008

i found a country girl here in ohio and i am taking her with me everywhere i go

god bless a country girl

[kena]

Kiwi,

By the general factors you list, I think Spokane might fit what you're looking for. In terms of size, Spokane is large enough to have most bigger city amenities (good restaurants, emerging nightlife, music, shows, etc) without having some of the drawbacks (cost of living, traffic, etc). Spokane has many very nice areas and neighborhoods. If you like outdoor activities, there are great parks, hiking, golf (cheap nice courses), fishing, skiing (water and snow) etc. I watched the video posted in this thread and found it interesting but I would hold off making a decision based on a montage of road and business signs. As an aside, and I know this is controversial, the Dick's in Spokane is superior to the Dick's in Seattle (more selection and made to order). If you have more specific questions, we can try and help you with more specific answers.

Good luck on your search.

[fy10fyr]

Originally Posted by Treefriend

Seriously, I know you can't tell much from that Youtube slide show, but
Spokane is not a great place...at least from my point of view.



Here is a picture from !-90 heading east into Spokane from August, 07...

I see what you mean. Coming from Seattle, what a shock to actually have sunshine and warm weather in August.


Oh the Horror!!

[Treefriend]

Actually the summers in Seattle are great.

Spokane is so dirty and gritty the 105 degree heat seems
even more oppressive.