Thinking of moving to Spokane (Seattle, Vancouver: house prices, transfer, neighborhoods)

[Coachjenn1]

[SIZE=3]Currently my husband and I live in Vancouver/ Portland area. My husband is a train conductor for Burlington Northern and is going to be in Spokane for the next six months training to be a train engineer, since Spokane will turn into his home terminal for 4 years we are thinking about moving there. Both of us are outdoor loving people. I would like to know the pro’s and cons of the Spokane area! What is the best area to live? What are the schools like, as we do have a two year old son and would want to be near good schools for him. We are lucky in the fact that my husband would have his job and I would actually transfer with my job and start working from home. The only sad thing is I would loose my high school gymnastics coaching job. If you know any high schools looking for a gymnastics coach, let me know![/SIZE]

[cheeser]

Although it's been about 7 years since I moved, Spokane is still a great place. I truly love the four seasons you will get there. About your questions, I can only speak for what I know and the schools certainly isn't one of them. If I were to move back to Spokane, I would look at the Cheney area, Spokane Valley, and the South Hill (closer to Qualchan Golf Course).

My sis-in-law lives in town close to Gonzaga and the neighborhoods around there don't impress me. Actually, another really nice part of town is just north of Downriver Golf Course (can you tell I golf?). There are some really nice houses in that area and it is clean. Whatever you decide, good luck to you. I am very jealous of your potential move.

[Coachjenn1]

Thanks for the information!!! Since we are lucky that we purchased our house five years ago before the big boom here in Vancouver, we actually have a nice amount of equity to cash out on when we move! So the housing prices are very nice insentive!

[kena]

You mention good schools, other than that what is important to you in a neighborhood? Generally, the schools on Spokane's south hill are good as are those in the Mead distrcit north of spokane and some of the valley schools. Spokane area voters are very good about spending on school construction and upkeep so most schools are in good shape. Teachers also tend to stick around for quite some time here (usually a good thing). That is a very broad generalization, however, and there are certainly exceptions both good and bad. If you have some more specifics people here will certainly try and point you in the right direction.

[vette-dude]

Best area to live in Spokane is actually depending on your life style and how close to city you wish to live...
We live in the Spokane Valley in a newer home...we are sort of in the country, but then again 10 minutes away from the Valley Mall and all the major department stores and theaters as needed . We were also looking in the Nine Mile Falls area this past year but decided it's too far away from the city, 30 minutes or so, but it does have it's advantages such as Long Lake or called Spokane River...for boating and camping, a beautiful park is near, but parks are all over Spokane... Speaking of trains, we seem to hear the trains alot .....a track is 1/2 mile or so from our property....

Good Luck on the transition...

[Coachjenn1]

I apperciate all your great information! We were acutally looking at homes in the Nine Mile Falls area also. My husband is huge into boating, camping and wildlife. My son and I are going to be visiting my husband some during the six months that he will be up there this winter. I am excited to see the area as I have never been there, but my husband whole family is from Spokane and he has grandparents that live there.

[Deena160]

Originally Posted by Coachjenn1

I apperciate all your great information! We were acutally looking at homes in the Nine Mile Falls area also. My husband is huge into boating, camping and wildlife. My son and I are going to be visiting my husband some during the six months that he will be up there this winter. I am excited to see the area as I have never been there, but my husband whole family is from Spokane and he has grandparents that live there.

What a great move to be near family and everything! We're hoping to move this spring, too. I have done tons of research on the schools--greatschools.com is a pretty good link. They give you a 1-10 rating on schools in their system based mainly on WASL scores. Most of the schools in District 81 or Central Valley rate above average.
I've been watching house prices in Spokane for over a year. The good news is that they seem to be dropping on par with the Seattle area(don't know how it's going down there in Vancouver?). We've been in our home 7 years, so we're kind of in the same place you are and hoping that we'll still be able to get a half decent price to be able to invest in a new home. Still, it'll probably be about $50K less then we were thinking we'd get a year ago. :~/ D

[Coachjenn1]

Yes the prices here in Vancouver have been falling, but we still would hope to get a nice price out of our place.

My only fear is that I have all my family here and my husbands parents are here also. But right now I am looking out my window at work and all I see is rain, rain, rain and wind! I am so tired of the rain.

[kena]

You'll certainly get less rain in Spokane (of course, you'll also get more snow). It is really not a bad drive between Spokane and Vancouver and it is a really painless flight between PDX and GEG. Good luck with the move!

[Coachjenn1]

Thanks for the information!!!! My best friend grew up in Spokane and said the South HIll is great! I know my husbands grandparents lived on Rock Wood Blvd. Wish we could afford that!