Thinking of moving to Tri-Cities area of Washington, Any info would be appreciated (Seattle: places to live, housing)

[coltoncity]

i have to agree with chocobot. It was quite depressing the dark brown landscape. Not desert sand colored and not green, dark brown and dusty. I was disappointed, I had high hopes for the area. but like I said I have a friend who absolutely loves it there.

[mobilemindstationaryreality]

Yeah, Coltoncity is right. It's an ugly area nature wise but some people just like that.

[CarmenNDale]

My husband and I are ballroom dance instructors and we also do monthly social dances for the general public. We have been to the Tri Cities but as someone else wrote it's hard to get enough information in a short span of a couple of days trip. We are hoping to move to that area between now and 2010, but we would be forever greatful to anyone who could give us information on the following: In your opinion which is the better place to live and why (Kennewick, Richland, West Richland). We are 55 but young for our age and we want to find a place that would welcome having ballroom dancing in their community. How would we fare? Where in your opinion is the better housing? Which are the bad (gang) areas? (Don't want to go there by accident!) Which is the better community for ballroom dancing? Please write with your honest answers. Anything we learn about these areas would help us to prepare our plan. Thanks so much!

[Stevenml155]

Hi, I'm from Cali and moved to the Tri-Cities from LA area in 1999 - stayed here for 5 years and job moves brought me back to So Cal for a year or so in the San Diego area. My wife and I were happy to get back to the Tri-Cities. I've lived in Seattle, Spokane, Wenatchee and Tri-Cities. Tri-City weather cannot be beat, most temperate in all of WA state, lots of sun (which is key for me), not a lot of rain and little if any snow in the wintertime (I'm an avid golfer so if it snowed a lot here I wouldn't stay!). Warm dry summers and excellent wineries all over the place. It is way laid back and people are pretty friendly (not as friendly as So Cal though - thought I would never say that but having just been down there and now back here I was pretty shocked at a lot of peoples attitudes here!). I love the way it looks here, as the westside is beautiful but at the expense of 9 to 10 months of disgusting weather and rain - very depressing. Even my wife who is from Seattle said she never realized how gray and depressing Seattle area was until she lived in San Diego - now she has to have the sun as well -- again Tri-Cities is where it's at! The job market is heating up here - lots more opportunities for well educated folks in the $70K + year range. The business climate has changed so much for the better in the two years I was gone I was amazed at what's been happening here! It's not the fastest growing place in Washington state for no reason! All this is my opinion, obviously I'm sold on the place!

[Sml33]

I work at local hotel and am use to this question. I have been here for two years and love it. I am from small town in northeast Washington though. I grew up in mainly Washington. Tri-cities has a small town feel. Everyone knows everyone. Can be a pain but also a piece of mind. Lots of water sports. Central location in Washington. Less than four hours to seattle or Spokane. We have shopping but little night life. Lots of beautiful wineries and great golf courses. The housing market is still great. Actually currently buying and great priced housed in town. On the edge of town is mainly msnufactered homes unless you want to spend $200,000+. Either way great investment with the way area is growing. Make sure you have irrigation rights if you are purchase out of town. Low crime rate. Especially in Richland. Prices are not too good to be true, for now. Jobs- mainly engineer, scientist, nuclear anything, and a lot of trades. Can't even fill the journeymans for lineman, electricians, etc. If you are in medical it is greatly expanding. Kennewick general and kadlec are expanding. Both great facilities. Also have good schools. They do well on WASL testing. Small class sized. Althletics are big. Pretty safe. Weather can be extreme. 20-30s in winter and 85-100+ in summers. Hardly any snow. When it does snow its usually gone by afternoon of next day very windy though. Last week was 35mph. It seems there is always at least a breeze. In summer play movies every Saturday at a park (like a drive in but sit on grass) and family friendly. Almost every weekend there is a street dance, play or something going on. Nothing in the winter though. Do some research. Advice- call local hotels and visitor convention. They can be a great deal of help and what they can't answer they can at least refer you to someone who can.

[Ron House]

Hello
We moved here to Richland some four months ago. We live in the Horn Rapids area outside of town.
All I can say is I LOVE it and would never go back to Southern California.
I agree with every positive comment

Ron House

[Moon Waffle]

Like any area there are goods and bads to the Tri-Cities:

Weather is great; can't be beat in the northwest. 4 seasons, little precip, hot summers, relatively mild winters. The dust and wind is horrible though, and people suffer from allergies they never knew they had before moving here.

Job market is fairly good. It mostly revolves around Hanford which means high-paying jobs with lots of disposable income. There is a lot of farming and food processing. Most of the rest is support jobs for the community.

Shopping/dining is very weak for the size of the area. There are much smaller towns with more offerings (Yakima, Idaho Falls, etc.). It is slowly improving, but very slowly. And it won't catch up to where it needs to be because generally speaking people here don't like to spend money. Those who do will normally just drive over to Seattle or Portland for real offerings in these areas.

Affordability/cost of living is VERY good. You can't believe the type of home you can own here for so little money. And we really haven't been hit by the housing crash. It has slowed down, but I don't see a huge inventory of homes for sale.

Culture/nightlife is virtually non-existent. Sorry but those are the facts. We get little in terms of theater and events, have very little in the way of museums, and the nightlife scene is pathetic. Especially considering the size of the area. If this is an important factor for you, I can't think of a worse place to be.

People are extremely friendly and at the same time don't seem to get in each other's business. Those I know are genuinely good people trying to be good neighbors. The people are a huge plus for the area.

Outdoor activities, especially in the summer, are great. Endless water activities. Great system of trails. There is a lot to take advantage of in this area. The mild winters mean you can do a lot in winter months (golf, etc.) that you couldn't do in many other areas.

The only other thing I'd add is that the Tri-Cities, because it is virtually four small cities that border each other, has no real sense of community. There is no centralized downtown, and little effort is made by all cities to collectively come together and do things to bring a sense of pride and unity to the community. This has always been a huge drawback to me and I don't see any way it ever leaves the area. Not when you have four cities all competing for attention.

[mustang34]

Originally Posted by Husky42

I'd consider moving back if it wasnt for Pasco and its horrible crime rate.

Actually Kennewick as a higher crime rate, also the crime is mostly located in the East side of town. West Pasco is much safer and newer.

Originally Posted by Moon Waffle

The only other thing I'd add is that the Tri-Cities, because it is virtually four small cities that border each other, has no real sense of community. There is no centralized downtown, and little effort is made by all cities to collectively come together and do things to bring a sense of pride and unity to the community. This has always been a huge drawback to me and I don't see any way it ever leaves the area. Not when you have four cities all competing for attention.

This is true. Consolidated the Tri-Cities would become the 4th largest city in WA. But their is so much competition between the cities. If it were one city so much more attention would be recieved. It would attract large industries, more diverse commercial, more rec., services would be better and more residents would come. I suppose to some this would be bad, but I like the big cities

[kharis]

Originally Posted by CarmenNDale

My husband and I are ballroom dance instructors and we also do monthly social dances for the general public. We have been to the Tri Cities but as someone else wrote it's hard to get enough information in a short span of a couple of days trip. We are hoping to move to that area between now and 2010, but we would be forever greatful to anyone who could give us information on the following: In your opinion which is the better place to live and why (Kennewick, Richland, West Richland). We are 55 but young for our age and we want to find a place that would welcome having ballroom dancing in their community. How would we fare? Where in your opinion is the better housing? Which are the bad (gang) areas? (Don't want to go there by accident!) Which is the better community for ballroom dancing? Please write with your honest answers. Anything we learn about these areas would help us to prepare our plan. Thanks so much!

________________
I grew up in TC and currently live in NY. TC isn't to bad in the gang area. the likelihood of you finding the areas you would get in trouble in aren't all that high. There has been alot of building taking place in TC in the last several years, Richland and West Richland have grown alot. The area between Richland and Kennewick is still nice. As for dancing. I learned square dancing when i was young, know there are circles for swing, but havent found evidence of interest in ballroom. I believe the university campas nearby may offer some classes. I've been looking into this because the man i married in NY is a ballroom instructor as well. we are hoping to spend summers in TC teaching, so i've been trying to research the success rate. So far, i'm just plain not sure. we intend to try this summer and see what happens. i hope you are successful! ohh, TC has received alot of people who are moving in from Cali. if TC natives aren't interested, cali imports (for lack of a better term) might be. They usually move to Richland, and lately West Richland. I think. I'll double check my facts with family who still live there and correct myself if i'm wrong.

[kube00]

You think Pasco has bad crime go look at Yakima...sunnyside...Grandview