Wanting to move to Spokane

[skinem]

The "newcomer avoidance" comment kind of surprises me. Soooo many people there are not from there due to the Air Force base there. Not just current service members, but so many of the AF folks choose to retire there. Towns like that are usually very welcoming to new people, or at the least, where you are originally from is immaterial.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by skinem

The "newcomer avoidance" comment kind of surprises me. Soooo many people there are not from there due to the Air Force base there. Not just current service members, but so many of the AF folks choose to retire there. Towns like that are usually very welcoming to new people, or at the least, where you are originally from is immaterial.

I'll respond since I said something about that, though I did say slight.

I don't think the AFB has that much influence on the city/area as a whole. It's not like tens of thousands of active service members are populating Spokane, a few thousand at most.

I will agree that where one is from is immaterial on a direct person-to-person basis, I never got any snickers or comments, and very few inquiries about it. When people found out I was from Colorado -- it was like, "Cool, next topic," as if it didn't matter either way, which I liked. Most things like that seemed to not matter to Spokanians.

But, try getting a rental property with an out-of-state (excluding NID) phone number. Try getting a call back from a landlord. (I wouldn't have even tried to get a job with a non-509 area code) This could just be an assumption on my part, but there had to be a reason I had so much trouble finding a place when I first got there, like I wasn't even worthy of a phone call.

Another example, my boss had to take me around town and introduce me to all of our business associates, because (according to him) apparently I wouldn't be trusted if I showed up without them "knowing me". I had to do the same thing with any new hires as well, and they'd let me know about it if one of our guys showed up without an introduction!

For the most part, people were pretty cold until they saw me about a half a dozen times. Then they were nice as heck!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the social situation in Spokane. That's one of the reasons (of many) I'm dying to go back. I've "known" people here in Denver for years, but know nothing about them, because for the most part people here are so darn introverted. In Spokane, even people in stores and out in public are friendly 99% of the time, and again, I can't say the same thing about here.

If one is willing to stick it out, and take Spokane and its people for who they are, they'll be pleasantly surprised on what they'll find, and someday in the future I'll be proud to call myself one of them again.

[Raelyn28]

Amen to all of this David. I find that the area that I am in (Tulsa) is extremely hard to get to know anyone. I really miss Spokane. I also remember that at one time I was considering a Real Estate degree in Spokane and I was told that it would be hard to get established until I was in the business for several years. There is a trust thing going on there. I do feel it is my home and would go back in a minute... I doubt if that will ever happen with the job market the way it is...

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

I'll respond since I said something about that, though I did say slight.

I don't think the AFB has that much influence on the city/area as a whole. It's not like tens of thousands of active service members are populating Spokane, a few thousand at most.

I will agree that where one is from is immaterial on a direct person-to-person basis, I never got any snickers or comments, and very few inquiries about it. When people found out I was from Colorado -- it was like, "Cool, next topic," as if it didn't matter either way, which I liked. Most things like that seemed to not matter to Spokanians.

But, try getting a rental property with an out-of-state (excluding NID) phone number. Try getting a call back from a landlord. (I wouldn't have even tried to get a job with a non-509 area code) This could just be an assumption on my part, but there had to be a reason I had so much trouble finding a place when I first got there, like I wasn't even worthy of a phone call.

Another example, my boss had to take me around town and introduce me to all of our business associates, because (according to him) apparently I wouldn't be trusted if I showed up without them "knowing me". I had to do the same thing with any new hires as well, and they'd let me know about it if one of our guys showed up without an introduction!

For the most part, people were pretty cold until they saw me about a half a dozen times. Then they were nice as heck!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the social situation in Spokane. That's one of the reasons (of many) I'm dying to go back. I've "known" people here in Denver for years, but know nothing about them, because for the most part people here are so darn introverted. In Spokane, even people in stores and out in public are friendly 99% of the time, and again, I can't say the same thing about here.

If one is willing to stick it out, and take Spokane and its people for who they are, they'll be pleasantly surprised on what they'll find, and someday in the future I'll be proud to call myself one of them again.

[jcc533]

How many hospitals are in Spokane or even any Large Medical Corporations with Emergency Care Clinics? And can you give me the names, please. I would like to look on their websites and see the job availability in my field of medicine. Thanks !

[fy10fyr]

4 hospitals in the city proper, Deaconess is run by Empire Health Services, and has been having financial trouble for the last few years. Sacred Heart and Holy Family are operated by Providence. Sacred Heart is the 2nd largest hospital in the state, and is the trauma center for the region. There's also the VA hospital in Spokane as well.

http://www.deaconessmc.com/Pages/Home.aspx

http://www.holy-family.org/

http://www.shmc.org/

Rockwood Clinic is the largest outpatient clinic in the region.

Rockwood Clinic, P.S. - Home

There's also Valley Hospital in the valley, and Kootenai Medical Center in Cd'A.

Good luck.

[southhill]

Coming from Calif., the Eastern portion of the state is very different from coastal ranges - much drier, and there really is a lot of cold snow, a good 4-5 months of it is warm clothing weather, and a good 2-3 months of shoveling out the driveway weather.

Folks are friendly, schools are good, economy is generally lagging the rest of the state, with exceptions of course.

Good luck, it's a beautiful area, low or no traffic, and if you like the outdoors, nothing beats it.