north bonneville, washington (Washougal, Woodland, Stevenson: renting, home, unemployment)

[starzmom]

i am planning on moving this summer with my daughter and husband and was thinking of north bonneville. i would appreciate any information about the community, schools etc. We work from home so commuting/finding a job is not an issue.

[StealthRabbit]

(just had a potluck there a few hrs ago) nice community, especially the bike paths, and green space and daily views, demographics recently changed to retirees, as there just haven't been many jobs in the last 30 yrs in NB, and commute to decent jobs is not too reasonable either.

Schools are in Stevenson, which get mixed results, (BIG drug issues in Skamania county, but your kids don't need to be involved in that, if you have a decent family life and are involved in your kids activities and needs). A lot of local folks home school. Beware roaming around the woods in Skamania County, as there are booby trapped grow operations (some on federal lands) and some fairly paranoid rural dwellers who are not keen on visitors. It is an 'economically depressed' county, and has very high unemployment and very low paying jobs. (in general)

Can you possibly move to Trout Lake during school years?, more supportive, homey, good school. NB is pretty much a bedroom and retiree community, tho there are families too. (and Nice ones )

The town is really short on shopping and activities (beyond the local trails and golf course). For kids it will be challenge to keep them busy and occupied without hauling them back and forth to Stevenson. There is a small library with short hours., bigger one in Stevenson. Stevenson has a NICE indoor pool at HS, which they threaten to close every year, but lucky so far.

It is very rainy and windy, hopefully you are ready for that ! It is in 'The Vortex' of the Gorge (Cascade Locks to Washougal) Freezing rain, snow, sleet, and 80 mph winds are possible, and some winters very frequent. With a family I might be more tempted to look to Skamania or Skamania Landing, then Home Valley, Stevenson, and finally Carson. (I personally prefer less rain, so would not be happy till 20 miles further east (Underwood, WS, BZ Corners, Trout Lake)

If you need High Speed Computer to work from home, BE SURE there is a connection. I think NB has a T1, (due to Dam) BUT... most of the gorge is very poor, and no plans to improve (low population customer base = poor support and NO new systems) My connection is very spotty and poor. I have friends with satellite, but it is not consistently very good, and often not fast enough for a VPN handshake. I can't do any banking or bill pay, as it often times out waiting for a reply. Definitely no web audio / video / podcasts for me.

[starzmom]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. Helps a lot. i have since begun looking at Woodland and am planning on renting for a bit. Appreciate your help.

[deseraep]

I live in North Bonneville now. I'm 18 and just graduated from stevenson high.
As a young person, i can tell you that there are practically NO options for young people up here. My younger sister (and so many others) have had a hard time with bullying by the "locals".
I also lived in woodland when I was younger & loved it! That was when it just started growing, but it was so much better!