Possibly Moving to Tri-Cities from CA (Vancouver, Kennewick: sales, assessor, crime)

[Alohikea]

All the city's have affordable new housing and I live in Pasco in a house I had built (single lady if that tells you anything). Richland can be snobby-sorry but totally true! Kennewick I think is more dangerous than Pasco nowadays-sorry don't call parts of it Beirut for nothing. Our economy hasn't really had a bad time-new houses being built all over and jobs a plenty. Good luck.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Alohikea

All the city's have affordable new housing and I live in Pasco in a house I had built (single lady if that tells you anything). Richland can be snobby-sorry but totally true! Kennewick I think is more dangerous than Pasco nowadays-sorry don't call parts of it Beirut for nothing. Our economy hasn't really had a bad time-new houses being built all over and jobs a plenty. Good luck.

Kindly tell me an intersection in Kennewick that deserves to be called Beirut. I want to see this. I have to go out and about later and I live in south Kennewick, and can detour to the exact location. This I have to see!

[Alohikea]

We considered anything I think east of Washington and generally north of 10th is Beirut but now I think parts of it east of Olympia could also be considered (maybe mostly around Hawaiian Apts?). Not to say El Pasco doesn't have bad areas-most everything around downtown (there are some nicely maintained areas but not many). Couldn't tell bad areas in Richland but I know they're there!

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Alohikea

We considered anything I think east of Washington and generally north of 10th is Beirut but now I think parts of it east of Olympia could also be considered (maybe mostly around Hawaiian Apts?). Not to say El Pasco doesn't have bad areas-most everything around downtown (there are some nicely maintained areas but not many). Couldn't tell bad areas in Richland but I know they're there!

I drive through that area on a regular basis, as I live up on the hill between Washington and Garfield and often have occasion to pass through the area north of 10th. I have never seen anyone openly carrying a weapon, never witnessed an incident of violence, never felt frightened. I have lived at my current residence for eight years, and in the Tri-Cities for twelve.

[tcres]

Originally Posted by Alohikea

We considered anything I think east of Washington and generally north of 10th is Beirut but now I think parts of it east of Olympia could also be considered (maybe mostly around Hawaiian Apts?). Not to say El Pasco doesn't have bad areas-most everything around downtown (there are some nicely maintained areas but not many). Couldn't tell bad areas in Richland but I know they're there!

Huh? That seems a bit of an exaggeration.

[Namtubb]

I know nowhere is perfect, but still it sounds like the Tri-Cities are safer than any large town in California. How are the bad parts bad? As in you avoid walking there at night?
And by Beirut, are you referring to the Lebanese city? Pardon my lack of knowledge.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by Namtubb

I know nowhere is perfect, but still it sounds like the Tri-Cities are safer than any large town in California. How are the bad parts bad? As in you avoid walking there at night?
And by Beirut, are you referring to the Lebanese city? Pardon my lack of knowledge.

I can't think of a single area in the Tri-Cities I'd be afraid to walk at night. Now, part of that has to do with my being a) male, b) pretty burly and heavy-bearded, and c) able to speak Spanish if that should happen to matter. But of the above, the main one that would affect choices would be gender, because women always have to give a little more thought to where they walk at night--it's a survival skill for any city.

There are no war zones here. Muggings? I rarely hear of them. Every now and then someone will stick up a convenience store, maybe once a year a bank. On Halloween we had a bunch of vandalized cars. Any form of shots fired or high-speed chase makes the news, but many days there aren't any. I live just south of the so-called 'Beirut'. As I type, it's midnight. If I had someplace to go in that area, I'd go so far as to take my stereo faceplate and Ipod with me and lock the car. I wouldn't bring a weapon of any kind (and no, I don't give a rip what the law says about them, so this is not me just respecting the law). Even the flipping skateboarders detour carefully around people on the sidewalks here, which I can tell you they definitely didn't in Seattle.

Fact is, the thing that makes me most nervous is stray dogs when I'm out walking, but that's partly because I don't like dogs at all and get very nervous around big ones on the loose without owners keeping control of them. The other thing that makes me nervous is bored cops deciding to tail me at night, not because I'm doing anything wrong but because I don't have any faith in innocence to shield me from police harassment (nor in the law in general). If I were Hispanic or black I suspect it would be a bit worse in Kennewick that way, based on what I've seen, but at night they can't exactly make out your ethnicity.

[Alohikea]

It is not as bad as that-called sarcasm. But for a long time if you told people you lived in Pasco they would say how bad it is over there. Granted there are acts of violence but they are gang related and nowhere near what would be found in LA. We finally have enough residents in West Pasco to have better police patrols. But Kennewick does have their occasional murders that don't always seem to be drug or gang related. Remember that mother and daughter a few years back that were murdered and then that guy (murderer) I think was shot dead down near Portland. We have a good number of thefts and mostly I think it's drug (meth) related.

Tricities is a better place to live than most in Washington; although could do without the dust storms.

I would not worry too much about walking around my neighborhood at night; I lived in Honolulu for 3 months and had to walk at night through a neighborhood, under a freeway, up an embankment, and then walk a scary street to get to the hospital I worked at. Believe me I walked fast (could walk it in 30min) and kept my fingers around sharp ended suture scissors.

I won't walk my dogs without carrying a baseball bat because apparently people don't like to keep their dogs fenced in or chained. I have never had to use it but I would beat the hell out of any dog that attacked mine.

[MovinOutWest]

Since I moved here I keep hearing about how bad Pasco is and it always surprises me. Sure, downtown Pasco is a little run down but I've never felt unsafe there. But I attended a presentation recently by a local sheriff (Franklin County sheriff, maybe?) and now understand why people think that. About 20 years ago or so Pasco had one of the highest crime rates in the state and even in the country. But now it is lower than the state and national averages. The actual number of crimes is lower as well, not just the rate, meaning it's not just the addition of west Pasco residents to the denominator value of the rate calculation that caused the drop. But to locals who have been here for years, Pasco is still the dangerous place it was in the 1980's.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by MovinOutWest

Since I moved here I keep hearing about how bad Pasco is and it always surprises me. Sure, downtown Pasco is a little run down but I've never felt unsafe there. But I attended a presentation recently by a local sheriff (Franklin County sheriff, maybe?) and now understand why people think that. About 20 years ago or so Pasco had one of the highest crime rates in the state and even in the country. But now it is lower than the state and national averages. The actual number of crimes is lower as well, not just the rate, meaning it's not just the addition of west Pasco residents to the denominator value of the rate calculation that caused the drop. But to locals who have been here for years, Pasco is still the dangerous place it was in the 1980's.

Good analysis. One thing I've learned to watch for with longtime Tri-Citians is perceptions that won't go away no matter how outdated they are. There are local business, I believe, that make their living off this. They're mediocre--more habits than enterprises--but they are what people go to and recommend because that's what they've always done.