Spokane, Washington.

[melia_nicole]

Originally Posted by Symi81

Hi, I saw your post regarding Spokane. From the description you provided as to what you are looking for, I think Spokane might be a great fit.

I noticed somebody who replied to your post who wasn't too hot on the city of Spokane and especially downtown. I beg to differ. There has been, and continues to be, a ton of money being poured into downtown development. Riverfront Park and The Davenport Hotel and surrounding district are the prime examples. Downtown Spokane offers the best restaurants, hotels, arts, culture, bars, etc of anywhere in the entire Spokane region, no other area is even remotely close. Downtown Spokane is perfectly safe. Like all American cities, Spokane has failed to deal effectively with the downtrodden and homeless. The more neglected east side of downtown has some sketchy people and is the area you are most likely to find "scary" people, although this area is showing signs of life too and will likely improve dramatically in the near future.

The thing I LOVE about Spokane are the neighborhoods adjacent to downtown which offer traditional, American grid-style neighborhoods, mature street trees, with many historic early 20th-Century homes. Neighborhoods like Browns Addition, West Central and Peacefull Valley offer SUPER EASY access to downtown, but are also literally on the edge of the city with easy access to recreation like golf, natural area, parks and the Spokane River. These kind of neighborhoods are ideal for somebody looking for traditional American neighborhoods but also near downtown and near recreation/country/rural setting, etc. These neighborhoods have the traditional small-town feel that made pre-freeway America great.

The ignorant among us may refer to West Central as being ghetto or otherwise not desirable, I strongly disagree. West Central has been rediscovered with many new, young families and singles moving there due to the amenities I mentioned above and its affordability. West Central is the largest designated residential historic district in the state of Washington. If you're thinking about Spokane, do yourself a favor and research West Central, Browns Addition, Peacefully Valley, and other close-in neighborhoods. For a killer view, check out the Rimrock/Palisades area immediatly west of the Spokane but also close to downtown.

Areas outside the Spokane core are dominated by suburban sprawl and were built with little to no planning. Consequently, they lack character. No neighborhood business districts, completely 100% car-oriented, crappy to no sidewalks, big-box stores, strip malls, wide multi-lane arterials that eliminate the possibility of pedestrian activity, crappy restaurants, absolutely no arts and culturally void. Ironically, many people live in areas like this to escape the city when in fact, the urban neighborhoods I discussed above have a more rural small-town feel than the sprawling suburban developments outside the city core.

Hope this helps, feel free to hit me up with any questions.

Peace!

Can someone tell me why Spokane boast 260 days of sunshine a year and Coeur d'alene has only 146 when it is only 30 minutes away? I am moving in less than three weeks from Seattle which has an average of 58 sunny days a year and I need to know if maybe Coeur d'alene is the wrong choice for me since I CAN'T STAND THE CLOUDS!

[Symi81]

To answer the concern somebody had about bringing your daughter to downtown Spokane - dont worry!!!! Its perfectly family friendly and safe!!! The image is of the Davenport Hotel lobby, easily one of the nicer (perhaps nicest) hotel I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Do you think they would have a successful luxury hotel like the Davenport in an area that was not safe? Absolutly not.

To address the Spokane/C'dAweather question: First off, I find it hard to believe Spokane has 260 days of straight-up sunny days. Although I dont have any stats in front of me, I think somebody was exagerating whereever you read that. Its correct that Coeur de Lane gets less sun and more rain than Spokane. The reason is that CdA is backed up closer to the hills/mountains. Spokane is literally on the edge of the Columbia basin and is farther from the hills/mountains than CdA, and therefor has a drier climate than CdA. While forests around Spokane are DOMINATED by Ponderosa Pine, as you get closser to CdA you see more total trees, including Doug Fir (which require more rain than the Pines). Although Spokane is fairly dry (between 15-20 inches of rain annually), it is frequently cloudy/foggy in the winter, and also in late fall & early spring. Thankfuly, summers are dominated by the blazing sun! If you want hardcore sunshine in Washington, you need to be west of spokane but east of the Cascades. The Columbia basin gets 300+ days of sun per annum, especially in the low elevation areas near the Columbia River and in the Yakima valley. Hope that helps.

[Pcghost]

Quick correction to one of the first respondants. There are not a lot of "working-type democrats" here in Spokaloo. This is the Red center of a Red state with the strongest blue dot (King-Pierce-Snohomish) in the nation. Republicans rule Washington, as it is a farming region that should be no surprise. That is not to say it is as red as Idaho, but it is still quite red.

Don't regret deciding on C'dA over Spokane, they are virtually the same place in two states (think Minneapolis-St. Paul) growing slowly together. North Idaho is really beautiful and has better taxes. They get a bit more clouds and snow in the winter but again, the difference is not pronounced.

Having lived here thirty+ years, keep this in mind. Spokane has no real ghettos. I hear people call Browns Addition (a beautiful historic neighborhood) and the lower East-side (<14th Ave & Perry area) ghettos, but these are usually people who have never seen a real ghetto. We have people and neighborhoods spanning the spectrum (albeit a bit too white overall). If you have a bit of money or sold a house anywhere else to move here, buy on the upper (>34th Ave) South Hill if you really want nice neighborhoods and schools and such.

[commstar]

With regard to my good friend from liberty lake, his response speaks volumes about the reason Liberty Lake is thought to be a town of spoiled people from somewhere else. Every year they have a city wide yard sale day. This a good time to really see into the soul of LL. The number of petty stuck up people who are residents of LL will amaze you. If you want to live on Mockingbird Lane and be a poser like Eric then LL is for you. IF Eric lives on Liberty like he asserts (probably secondary wf with a community beach- Liberty Ave kinda place) he does not even live inside the city limits of LL. Yep,The lake is not even in the city of LL. LL is a poser plastic town anchored by albertsons and safeway. should have been named 'Near liberty lake, wa'. posers in tract homes godbless you all.

My commentary about affluence was more a commentary on the povertyville service based economy that dominates this region. It is`a harsh economy where the haves screw the eyeballs out of the have-nots. There are very few good`deals here on much of anything particularly big ticket items like appliances and vehicles. no or limited competition here in town so gouge away. advice: goto seattle and buy or bring it with you. people have no idea here it seems.

tahoe gets more snow in a season than spocompton but none of the ice or 12 temps. a few weeks years it sucks here. the summers are wonderful though i must say and make the winter worth it if you are not a winter person.

please disredgard what the real estate agent said about how wonderful downtown is. it sucks. people are throwing money at big condo$ downtown on speculation as the city is giving away 10 year property tax moratoriums on them... no tax on a $1m condo= no brainer.

farmers do not equal republicans, ihave plenty of relatives who are farmers and they are dems due to all the farm susidies`from d.c. you are not a farmer and the last time you saw a combine or furrower in downtown spokane was when? more conservative than seattle is not saying much. oh yeah >34th is not downtown in my book. that steep hill keeps the homeless on the low lands which is why you moved >34th in the first place remember. 'character' cannot coexist with street urchins and dopers- you would the first to call the police if one appeared in your quiet corner of mayberry rfd. if i am wrong then move to within 10 of the public safety building. i dare ya!

spokane is a working class dem town. check out the city council sometime. liberal clowns all.reps live here but blue dog dems run the show.


rent for year or two, look around before you commit things are not all roses in spokane.

best wishes,
commstar

[Balco9]

Originally Posted by melia_nicole

Can someone tell me why Spokane boast 260 days of sunshine a year and Coeur d'alene has only 146 when it is only 30 minutes away? I am moving in less than three weeks from Seattle which has an average of 58 sunny days a year and I need to know if maybe Coeur d'alene is the wrong choice for me since I CAN'T STAND THE CLOUDS!

According to Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed Spokane has 86 clear days a year, 88 partly cloudy days, and 191 cloudy days on the average...

[lilblondsmurf]

Originally Posted by melia_nicole

Can someone tell me why Spokane boast 260 days of sunshine a year and Coeur d'alene has only 146 when it is only 30 minutes away? I am moving in less than three weeks from Seattle which has an average of 58 sunny days a year and I need to know if maybe Coeur d'alene is the wrong choice for me since I CAN'T STAND THE CLOUDS!

Are you kidding me!! We do NOT have 260 days of sunshine, more like 100 days if we are lucky. It is cold and damp a lot. Not as bad as the Seattle area, but we are not Phx or Cali, or Vegas, those are really the only places you will find that much sunshine.

[Dreama]

This is to Commstar: A lot <~~ Is spelled like this.
Spokane is very nice. Theres not that many homeless downtown.
Why don't you go help them? Learn how to spell then talk crap!

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by melia_nicole

Can someone tell me why Spokane boast 260 days of sunshine a year and Coeur d'alene has only 146 when it is only 30 minutes away? I am moving in less than three weeks from Seattle which has an average of 58 sunny days a year and I need to know if maybe Coeur d'alene is the wrong choice for me since I CAN'T STAND THE CLOUDS!

As a lonnnnnnnnnnnngtime Spokane resident, may I offer some friendly advice to you, since you can't stand the clouds?

Here goes: when you get to Spokane, turn right and head south. Don't stop until you get to Arizona.

[roneb]

Originally Posted by melia_nicole

Can someone tell me why Spokane boast 260 days of sunshine a year and Coeur d'alene has only 146 when it is only 30 minutes away? I am moving in less than three weeks from Seattle which has an average of 58 sunny days a year and I need to know if maybe Coeur d'alene is the wrong choice for me since I CAN'T STAND THE CLOUDS!

Basically, as you drive east toward Couer d'alene you are driving straight toward the Rockies proper. Any time you go west to east toward a mountain range, clouds will form with increasing frequency. That said, I think we might be dealing with a gray area here. What percentage of the day needs to be sunny for it to go in the record books as such? The difference between Spokane and Couer d'alene is not nearly as dramatic as your statistics would suggest.

[Pcghost]

To Comstar:

I lived >34th ave because it is where I was born. I have since lived on 18th and southwest blvd, Cheney, Reardan, and now Spangle. I choose not to live in felony flats because I am generally biased against the North side. I have also lived in much larger cities and know that there are no ghettos anywhere in Spokane. If you think otherwise fine, I suggest getting out more. Other than in the city I can count the Democrats I have met in the county on two hands. Look at the statewide election results if you want to see how Spokane county votes. It is getting more purple, but it is certainly not Dem.