Advice for Move and Driving to Work Near Kahlotus (Kennewick: affordable house, employment)

[squidchief]

Hello all. I'm looking at a potential long term job opportunity on the Snake River just south of Kahlotus (Monumental dam). Thanks to the military, I've lived in almost all areas of the country except the North West. (New York, Maine, Virginia, California, central Missouri, etc…) but never a place in near-desert conditions.

I'm looking at a Google satellite image and I see a lot of desert, no vegetation-no green to speak of and practically no place to live that has at least a super Wal-Mart, Lowes/Home-Depot, movie theaters, auto stores, restaurants, etc...that is within a reasonable distance of that potential job. That being said, I am not a social night owl, I'm basically a married homebody, and don’t wish for much past what I listed.

I see the "tri-cities" to the west but that is a 50-60 mile one way commute and Walla Walla is 85 or 97 miles one way, depending if you travel west or east from there. I was hoping to keep my commute to 1/2 hour or less but that doesn't look possible if I don't want to live in near-isolation of civilization (no offense meant to the good people of Kahlotus, Wastucna, Connell, etc...).

I guess what I’m ultimately asking is if I found the only area to live in that I’d be happy at is in or near the tri-cities, what would my daily commute look like? Is it easy driving, arduous, mind-numbingly boring, drunk driver fodder, etc…

Any advice or perspectives would be welcome. Thank you!

[M3 Mitch]

For most of the year the drive is pretty easy, roads not crowded. We do have occasional snow, and fog this time of year is common. If you lived on the western edge of the Tri-Cities, you would have a pretty easy commute. The road to Walla Walla is somewhat slower and I don't think the extra time spent commuting would buy you "enough" better living conditions.

Keep in mind you go shopping one or two times a week, but go to work at least 5 days, so IMHO I'd go with something closer to work rather than closer to shopping.

Check out Kahlotus, it might be OK for you.

[squidchief]

M3 Mitch - Thanks for the reply. An offer may be forthcoming but I'm really trying to find out as much as I could about the area so that I can have a fair idea where I'd be moving to. Of course the best option would be to go there and spend a few days but it's almost 2000 miles from where I live now and time/money to do that is not an option.

But again thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

[kanhawk]

I used to live in that area and I think you'd find it pretty isolated and boring to live in Kahlotus. It is not technically desert but rather semi-arid grassland with canyons and rolling hills. Like M3 Mitch said you could live in west tri-cities, Pasco for instance, and you can drive hwy 395, a four lane freeway up to hwy 260 then on over and it's not a bad drive. Very light traffic all the way. You could even take a paved back road to the dam that might be quicker.

Here's a couple of photos I took of that area a year ago and it gives you an idea what the countryside is like.

IMG_2149 by kanhawk, on Flickr

IMG_2152 by kanhawk, on Flickr

[squidchief]

Kanhawk,
Thanks for the pics. It does give me a much better idea of the general geography. I appreciate the effort!
Still no word from them and still undecided on whether or not to make the jump if offered.
But again, thanks.

[j_k_k]

If you've never seen a photo of Kahlotus, prepare to be underwhelmed. Looks like a high percentage of salvaged trailers and old buses every time I go past.

One from our hosts.

[squidchief]

Thank you all for the replies. I did not get the position here but I'm still looking for something in the eastern WA, eastern OR, Montana, Idaho, or Utah areas. I know, a large area but if I'm going to move 2000 miles west then I want there to be awesome geographic scenery nearby!

[fstwrtr]

Love the pictures.. oh how I cant wait till spring!!!

[squidchief]

Well, well. You just never know what the future holds. The original job outcome has changed, so now I’m Washington bound in approximately 2 months. Thanks for the replies from M3 Mitch, kanhawk, and jkk, I have a running start on some area basics. I have some initial questions that would help continue shaping my knowledge of the area. The saying of “you don’t know what you don’t know” applies here which I’d like to minimize.

It seems like the Tri-cities would be a better choice from having better employment opportunities for the spouse and choices of more and possibly newer houses. Mainly for this reason is why very small towns like Kahlotus far from the tri-cities likely won’t work for the family. So if the focus is going to most likely be on moving in or near the tri-city area, the next question is where.

Would like to stay sub 200k if possible without it being a fixer-upper nightmare. I’m coming from a very low cost of living / affordable house prices area so my perceptions of what 200k can buy me in my future new town might be off-base. Yes I'll be making ample use of online realtor sites to start to get a feel for what is out there.

I can see that Pasco is the closest to where I’m commuting to, but is there something(s) about Kennewick or Richland that would make the few extra miles worth it? Also Richland is probably pushing the limit on how far I want to commute.

I’d be looking to buy a house that would be in a dog-friendly area. What I mean is a house that is not crunched up against other houses, not on main or heavily traveled roads, ½ to 1 acre would be nice unless that made the property taxes prohibitive, and where my dogs occasional barking won’t instantly be ticking off neighbors living right on top of me. If this is only doable on the east or north outskirts of Pasco/Kennewick, then that is probably ok.

One other question, would having a carrier-approved cell phone amplifier be something that is desirable to and from the areas east along the Snake river?

Thanks for any feedback provided!

[squidchief]

If anybody could provide some good input to the questions I posed, it would be greatly appreciated!

I may have as little as 6 weeks to make this move.

Thank you!