Thinking of relocating to Spokane...Bad move or Good move???? (Seattle: crime rates, high school)

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by chiaroscuro

We in spokane (or anywhere small and 'tucked away') don't want MS-13 to feel comfortable in our city. We don't want 3 hours of gridlock, everywhere. We don't want parts of the city that police avoid, simply because they will be killed, no questions asked. We don't want a million different things, that you (as a california citizen) somehow represent. The idea is almost a subconscious one, but it basically goes: If too many californians move here, they will bring all the problems of california with them!

Those are exactly the reasons people leave California. Do you think they'd bother leaving if they wanted to bring all that crap with them?

[bitko]

NO. Bad Move. While the original post to this thread is nearly three years owld (June, 2009), No, Spokane, WA is an awful move. A bad move. A terrible and horrible move.

As the expression goes, if you like life West of the Cascades or Sierra-Nevada mountains, than no, you'll despise Spokane. Spokane, WA is the complete and utter antithesis to all the *good* things you like about the SF Bay Area, perhaps Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC. There is no color, opportunity, or anything. This hellish place is free of the culture and diversity you'd like in other cities. Chico, CA has far more to offer than does Spokane. Spokane has three Irish Pubs and none host Irish Traditional music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Spokane, WA is more expensive for housing, food, and gas than Vancouver, WA. There is no job market. I have three college degrees I paid for myself. It does not help. Unless you get a lobotomy.

Are you single and are moving here? Do you have aspirations of building a career and a family? Don't come to Spokane.

Do you have children and would send them to public schools? If you want a good education and a good environment for your children, go to Minneapolis. Don't come to Spokane.

I have been in this god awful, degenerate hell hole. This town is death. It is a cultureless crap hole, bereft of any opportunity like jobs, dating, and such. Spokane is death. The Winters are awful. There is no imagination. Spokane city and county continue a deplorable, even hateful relationship with WA-state and the U.S. Federal Gubment. The movers and shakers, such as the Cowle family (they own the stupid Spokesman-Review and the NBC affiliate, KHQ - equally stupid), keep outside investment OUT. There are 500,000 people here. Look up ANY census data. See how many people here are educated? The income per capita (per household)? School funding and classroom sizes?

Also, Spokane IS the scam capitol of the nation or not Eastern Washington. Everyone here is on the make somehow. I hate it here. I'll always hate it here. Every day.

I'll be happy when I live in a place with the things I want. Spokane has none of them. Spokane is DEATH. STAY AWAY!

I can only look forward to leaving this degenerate crap hole.

My 2p.

cheers,

dud.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by bitko

Spokane, WA is more expensive for housing, food, and gas than Vancouver, WA. There is no job market. I have three college degrees I paid for myself. It does not help. Unless you get a lobotomy.

Are you single and are moving here? Do you have aspirations of building a career and a family? Don't come to Spokane.

Do you have children and would send them to public schools? If you want a good education and a good environment for your children, go to Minneapolis. Don't come to Spokane.

I have been in this god awful, degenerate hell hole. This town is death. It is a cultureless crap hole, bereft of any opportunity like jobs, dating, and such. Spokane is death. The Winters are awful. There is no imagination. Spokane city and county continue a deplorable, even hateful relationship with WA-state and the U.S. Federal Gubment. The movers and shakers, such as the Cowle family (they own the stupid Spokesman-Review and the NBC affiliate, KHQ - equally stupid), keep outside investment OUT. There are 500,000 people here. Look up ANY census data. See how many people here are educated? The income per capita (per household)? School funding and classroom sizes?

I just moved to Spokane in May......

As for Spokane's housing being more expensive than Vancouver, WA:
Vancouver, WA (median listing price): $224,900
Spokane, WA (median listing price): $189,970

I have a job, but I brought it with me, and have no college degree, so I suppose I must fit in fine with all the other lobotomy patients.

My kid will be attending a Spokane Public School in the fall. The school scores extremely well, so I have hope for it and him.

Spokane has way more culture than I expected, but it isn't international or even big-city type culture, but a culture its own.

I can't wait for winter. Give me all the snow I can get.

Education and income aren't the only measures of a good place to live. I could care less how many degrees you (or anybody) have or how much money you make, it won't improve my quality-of-life. Life is what YOU make of it.

I think all you are really trying to say is that Spokane is full of uneducated people with no money.

I think all you need is a girlfriend. It might help your perspective a bit.

[RetiredChef]

Originally Posted by bitko

Spokane, WA is the complete and utter antithesis to all the *good* things

Oh Dear another person filled with anger and hate.

If you hate Spokane, then move – the less rage filled people in this city the better.

Then when you do move, let us know we will love to see your posts that you hate _____________ (fill in the blank of your new city.)

PS – It’s not the city you hate – you inward, the hatred and rage comes from within.

Cheers.

[skinem]

Wow...just, wow.

I grew up in Spokane, left, and for the last 33 years have only been able to visit and I would give just about anything to come back. I've now lived longer in an entirely different state than I did Spokane, and I still consider it home.

Either I ran with a different crowd, or times have changed a lot, or maybe I have a rose-colored memory, but I don't remember hardly anyone who hated Spokane, couldn't wait to get away, etc. I'm always surprised at the volume and level of hatred that some people seem to have for the town now.

I know things change and that nothing stays the same, but it seems to me as a current outsider looking in and from the perspective of someone who knew well what the place was, that it is, by and large, better than it was. Virtually everyone I knew growing up had pride in the area and was happy they lived there.

As far as it being a good move for people, obviously that is hugely personal and varies from person to person. However, in my experience over the years, the one thing that cannot be changed that did cause more people to leave Spokane or not return is the winters. I know they can be mild, but they can be harsh. And the folks I'm speaking of particularly are mostly older people. The cold is tough on old bones and arthritis!

Is the town just that bad now? Is the seemingly common negativity really common, in other words is there a legitimate reason for such strong feelings? Is it just negative people who perhaps need to surround themselves with a different more positive crowd? Often such feelings are self-inflicted.

I was last in Spokane for about 3 weeks in Feb/Mar and even with the cold and snow, wasn't ready to hate the place. Still would like to move back.

[Hot Coco]

Well my post was not filled with hatred. It was based on facts on our experience there. We have since moved to the southern part of the country, and it's been over a year since leaving Spokane and have no regrets about leaving! And we LOVE our new state, and are getting ready to purchase another home. Spokane was just not our cup of tea.

[Deena160]

Originally Posted by bitko

I have been in this god awful, degenerate hell hole. This town is death. It is a cultureless crap hole, bereft of any opportunity like jobs, dating, and such. Spokane is death. The Winters are awful. There is no imagination. Spokane city and county continue a deplorable, even hateful relationship with WA-state and the U.S. Federal Gubment. The movers and shakers, such as the Cowle family (they own the stupid Spokesman-Review and the NBC affiliate, KHQ - equally stupid), keep outside investment OUT. There are 500,000 people here. Look up ANY census data. See how many people here are educated? The income per capita (per household)? School funding and classroom sizes?

Also, Spokane IS the scam capitol of the nation or not Eastern Washington. Everyone here is on the make somehow. I hate it here. I'll always hate it here. Every day.

I'll be happy when I live in a place with the things I want. Spokane has none of them. Spokane is DEATH. STAY AWAY!

I can only look forward to leaving this degenerate crap hole.

Does anyone else hear John Cleese's voice doing the Monte Python "Dead Parrot" sketch when you read this? :~) D

[Small and solar]

Hot Coco- you make a short and simple point... It may not be your cup of tea. I grew up in the NYC area and my family that left went to Los Angeles... To them the US is NY and LA with a vast waste land to visit for short trips (skiing and so forth) so Spokane is not for them, but my wife and I loved it, and loved the area to the north of it.. to each his/her own.

[mustangapril]

I lived in Spokane for 10 yrs then moved to Arizona in 2007. I HATED the winters there and disliked the traffic and it taking 30 min to go from one end of the city to another.

I loved the fact that Canada was close as well as Idaho and Montana. My hometown was only 2 hours away and if you like Seattle, it isn't that far either.

If people really have that much hatred, you really should move! Not everything said before me (negatively) was fact, it was also opinion.

A city is what you make of it AND your like or dislike to them depends on what YOU can tolerate and what you are looking for. For example, if you only like warm weather, such as myself, then you won't like Washington in general! If you love the snow, then Yuma, AZ is not the place for you!

[chiaroscuro]

Quick tip for anyone thinking of moving here. Get a cheap hotel for a few days and a couple bicycles, and bike around the neighborhoods you are prospecting. You'll cover a lot of ground (infact you can cover most of the city in a few days, it ain't that big), and you'll get a more ground-level feel for the neighborhoods than if you flew by in a car. You can also stop and talk to people who are walking dogs and stuff. Don't worry, talking to strangers is acceptable. Just be like "Hey we're from (NY, AZ, whatever, just don't say california), and thinking about moving here, what do you like/hate about this area?"

Caution: There are not many bike lanes, and only moderate bike-respect. It's not Portland, though it's slowly becoming more acceptable to bike everywhere. Stay off the busy streets and just cruise the quiet areas. The hicks with the huge monster truck and the balls hanging off the trailer hitch consider themselves masters of everything pavement, so if you try to act like a car they will probably cuss at you. Too bad we can't discriminate when giving people drivers licenses.