Climate and life in Tri-cities?? (Yakima, Kennewick: real estate, 2009, loan)

[needing more]

Whats the climate like there? Av. snowfall and temps thru-out the yr? How long is the growing season??
Conservative? liberal? Hows the economy? Whats the terrian look like around that area?

Looking at the city for a possible move.. Fill me in on life there??

Thanks!!!

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by needing more

Whats the climate like there? Av. snowfall and temps thru-out the yr? How long is the growing season??
Conservative? liberal? Hows the economy? Whats the terrian look like around that area?

Looking at the city for a possible move.. Fill me in on life there??

Thanks!!!

Hot, dry summers. Cold, fairly dry winters. Windy blustery falls. Glorious spring, the only time when the hills are somewhat green rather than their usual sand-tan.

The area thinks it's conservative. It isn't, and wouldn't know conservatism if it woke up in bed with Barry Goldwater after a long drunk. But as to US politics, the area leans Republican. In particular, it leans pro-nuclear, naturally, because nuclear would mean Hanford jobs. If you want to watch Tri-Citians become animated about anything, suggest either breaching the lower Snake Dams or assert that nuclear energy is the bane of humankind.

Economy's pretty good, kind of bucking the state's trend.

The terrain looks brown, except where irrigation has enabled ag to thrive with wheat, orchards and vineyards. But because of irrigation, the place is bountiful with a local surplus of great ag products and by-products. There might be fifty wineries here, might be more.

Life here is either deadly dull (if you crave external stimulation and chaos) or blissfully peaceful (if you crave freedom from external stimulation and chaos). It is either intellectually bankrupt (if you yearn for new ideas beyond those considered by physics Ph.Ds at PNNL) or intellectually vibrant (if your idea of intellectual wealth is having a lot of physics Ph.Ds). It is either terribly dangerous and violent (if you are from Washtucna) or one of the safest, most comfortable places in the Northwest (if you are from virtually any other Northwestern city of comparable size, or any with a significant gang problem of any size). It is either religiously intolerant (if you are the sort of person who considers the existence of any form of Christianity in your area as a personal assault upon your senses) or extremely tolerant (if you have your beliefs and respect that others have theirs, and want to co-exist without fighting).

If you're looking for a thriving, vibrant green/sustainability/PETA commune where cruelty-free, free-range childrearing is practiced, don't count on it. If you're looking for good neighbors who keep their noses out of your business but will loan you their miter saw once they get to know you, count on that.

Finally, bear in mind that I'm not at all typical of Tri-Citians. I was not raised here and do not have inherent local biases and absorbed views. I am fundamentally iconoclastic and have a bias toward distrusting majority conclusions, because I think most majorities get dumber the larger they get. Thus, you should not take what I say at face value without other confirmation. Others will soon be along to tell you how full of beans I am, and how distorted and myopic is my view of the Tri-Cities (even though I spend a lot of time praising it and stating how glad I am to live here). That will give you a broader view of the region, which I think is a healthy thing.

[M3 Mitch]

Well, first take a look at the "data" side of C-D, look up either Richland, Kennewick, or Pasco, any one will do, and take a look at the stats (D'oh..) Not saying that to be mean, but, there it is for you all laid out in black and white.

JKK really summed it up well.

It depends on where you are coming from. I personally like the physical climate.

You didn't specifically say if you wanted to live in town or not, if not, you can find country properties of various sizes out towards Benton City, and on into Prosser. We actually live out past Prosser in the boonies by choice.

The Tri-City area proper, particularly Kennewick, seems to me to be dustier than out down the Valley, where we are.

Like most of the West, most people here have a pretty Libertarian outlook, if you don't mess with them they won't mess with you. That's less true in town than it is in the country, nach.

Technically this is a steppe, rather than a desert, it can green up some in the spring, there are picturesque hills surrounding the valley, but there is some bare dirt around and trees only along rivers or where people water them.

The economy is better than most of the rest of the state, and way better than most coastal cities.

What can I say, I like it, your mileage may vary.

[Moon Waffle]

"Whats the climate like there?" 4 seasons. Very hot summers with temperatures easily in the 90's and sometimes 100's. Lots of wind. Very dry. Not much snowfall or rain. Winters are cold but usually in the 20's or 30's.

"How long is the growing season??" I would guess April through October.

"Conservative? liberal?" This is a very conservative, predominantly Republican area.

"Hows the economy?" Good, all things considered. Certainly hasn't taken any major lumps like so many parts of the country. Homes are holding farily steady. When you have billions of dollars being pumped into the local economy through the stimulus package, it's only going to help.

"Whats the terrian look like around that area?" Brown, dry. Sagebrush or farmland. Very flat, with a few hills to one side of the cities.

[pw72]

I lived in the Tri-Cities for six years in the 90's. I remember a number of blinding dust storms, but some say those are not as frequent as the area becomes more developed. Not sure about that.

Hottest I can remember was 116 one summer. Normally, 90's and maybe a few low 100's would be typical during the summer. Winters tend to be grey, but because of the dryness, not much snow. The area is certainly the driest in Washington.

The economy, as others have pointed out, is doing better than the State as a whole, and it is also attracting more and more retirees due to the weather and relatively low cost of housing.

[rambrush]

The biggest problem during the winters is the inversion, the clouds hang low and the sun may not be visable for quite some time. There is also the fog that lays in and creates some problems.
The roads that are in place now enable you to live on the out skirts of town and get into town quickly which is a bonus.
But if you are into recreation there is plenty of spots to go check out.

[rymandev]

Well, except for this winter, one could hardly say our winters tend to be grey. We average over 300 days a year of sun after all. And if you'd been here any longer than, say, 15 years, you'd see a HUGE change in the "color". All the surrounding hills seem to be under cultivation, and green up beautifully during the spring. I'm looking out my window towards the Horse Heaven Hills and it's very green this morning.

The economy here is, as has been extensively reported recently, one of the top 5 healthiest of Metropolitan Service Areas (MSA) in the United States. It's also been positively placed on lists like Forbes, etc. and not just for affordability and "healthyness" but also livability. We've been exceedingly fortunate during this down-turn compared to just about everywhere else in the country. Real estate values are still incredibly affordable, and we'll probably see another small increase in values for 2009 somewhere around 3-4%... Just like we've pretty much seen for the past 10 years or so. I'll take 3% annual increases any day compared to 25% one year followed by a 45% drop the next year (SoCal, Arizona, Florida anyone?)

As I understand it, our area is actually classified as a semi-arid steppe. The hills and river-courses were carved out from the last ice-dam breach (something like 10,000 yrs. ago?) when, for a few days anyway, we were completely underwater except for Rattlesnake and Candy mountains' tips. If you are a geologist (which I'm not) this area is so exciting it borders on a sexual experience...

As for wineries, eastern Washington has 8 of the state's 9 Appelations, with over 200 wineries. That includes us, Yakima valley and Walla Walla in those numbers.

I guess when I came back to the area 4 years ago, having been gone for about 4, it struck me that it wasn't the desert wasteland of browns and shades of tans anymore. If you get far enough out the vantage highway its still a bit that way but, good lord, so much of the surrounding area is irrigated and growing something anymore that it seems more green than brown now.

I won't try to address the "liberal or conservative" question. I think one would answer based upon the particular group of people they work or socialize with. I'm pretty moderate, middle-of-the-road, and on some issues I suppose I'm conservative and others maybe liberal. Most people I work with and socialize with seem to be there as well. So, I won't try to answer that- it would be too much of a generalization I think. Live and let live, and I'll loan you my miter saw once I get to know you. Or maybe it's not mine and it's one I borrowed from j_k_k

[tcres]

Originally Posted by rymandev

As I understand it, our area is actually classified as a semi-arid steppe. The hills and river-courses were carved out from the last ice-dam breach (something like 10,000 yrs. ago?) when, for a few days anyway, we were completely underwater except for Rattlesnake and Candy mountains' tips. If you are a geologist (which I'm not) this area is so exciting it borders on a sexual experience...

If you hike up Badger Mountain there is a stone placed near the top that represents where the waterline was during the floods. It's odd to stand there and look out over the cities trying to imagine the entire area under water.

Even more unbelievable that the Wallula Gap, at over a mile wide, was too narrow for the water to pass through unrestricted.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by tcres

Even more unbelievable that the Wallula Gap, at over a mile wide, was too narrow for the water to pass through unrestricted.

I have always thought that the pressure of the water squirting out that must have been prodigious. With all that lake behind it and no other exit...

[tcres]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

I have always thought that the pressure of the water squirting out that must have been prodigious. With all that lake behind it and no other exit...

I cannot imagine.