Retiree Question about Possible Move (Spokane: how much, house, tax)

[suaz]

Spokane sounds ideal for me. Cost of housing, outdoor recreation, etc. Everything but the snow. I’m single and would be moving alone. I can’t see myself out there with a snowblower. Can you hire people for the season to do this? Is it very expensive?

[alan west]

yes you can and it depends on the size of your driveway

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by suaz

Spokane sounds ideal for me. Cost of housing, outdoor recreation, etc. Everything but the snow. I’m single and would be moving alone. I can’t see myself out there with a snowblower. Can you hire people for the season to do this? Is it very expensive?

A snow blower? What happened to good old-fashioned shovels? How deep does the snow get, in Spokane? I shovel my own snow off the driveway. I also use a good, old-fashioned rake for leaves on my property. I hate blowers--the noise, the gasoline fumes. Obnoxious things. Doesn't anyone apply good, old-fashioned elbow grease to simple chores anymore?

[Upthewazzu]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

A snow blower? What happened to good old-fashioned shovels? How deep does the snow get, in Spokane? I shovel my own snow off the driveway. I also use a good, old-fashioned rake for leaves on my property. I hate blowers--the noise, the gasoline fumes. Obnoxious things. Doesn't anyone apply good, old-fashioned elbow grease to simple chores anymore?

I bet you really hate those new-fangled horseless carriages.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

A snow blower? What happened to good old-fashioned shovels? How deep does the snow get, in Spokane? I shovel my own snow off the driveway. I also use a good, old-fashioned rake for leaves on my property. I hate blowers--the noise, the gasoline fumes. Obnoxious things. Doesn't anyone apply good, old-fashioned elbow grease to simple chores anymore?

It’s not the depth of snow in Spokane; it’s the frequency. I am sure the Spokanites on this board will affirm that it is not unusual for us to receive three or four inches (downtown; make that five or six up on the South hill) several days/nights in a row. When you have a single driveway and two cars, as we do, that necessitates first clearing the snow from the outside vehicle, shoveling a clearing on the driveway to move it to, shoveling the snow that has piled up on bith sides from having cleared the car, then shoveling the remainder of the driveway, then shoveling a space four or five feet into the street so that when the snowplow finally arrives to clear the roadway, it cannot pile up a four-foot high berm of ice that blocks the driveway, and must be pickaxed jnto smaller, but still heavy, chunks. Facing this chore five or six dark early mornings in a row, during our five-month snow season, can tax even the fittest individual. For a seventy-two-year-old man, it is seriously daunting.

Do I use a snowblower? No. Are there mornings when I envy my neighbors who do? Most assuredly.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by suaz

Spokane sounds ideal for me. Cost of housing, outdoor recreation, etc. Everything but the snow. I’m single and would be moving alone. I can’t see myself out there with a snowblower. Can you hire people for the season to do this? Is it very expensive?

Yes, you can and we do. We have a driveway on a steep hill and when we bought the house my husband said he’d be hiring snow removal folks.
After 14 years of him plowing and snow blowing (with our tractor) our quarter mile driveway in very snowy north Idaho up at Priest Lake...we felt entitled.

For our driveway, it’s about $25 a pop. But it’s a longish and steep driveway.

[suaz]

Mistyriver, how much do you usually spend per winter season if you don’t mind me asking?

[kitty61]

The people I would hire are teenagers that will do the job with a shovel. In my case it costed $25 - $30. Yes there are teenagers who are very reliable and courteous.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by suaz

Mistyriver, how much do you usually spend per winter season if you don’t mind me asking?

$600 to $1000.

But since our driveway is steep with a curve in it and we don’t want the mailman or anyone else slipping and falling or cars sliding down it. So we have it done probably more frequently than we would if it were a more normal driveway.

[suaz]

Thank you!