Walla Walla Questions?????? (Kennewick, College Place, Pacific: crime, credit, homes)

[Wigglefish]

Ok, We are moving again. We are originally from the PDX area, but then we were transferred to ABQ, New Mexico for 1 year. Can't say I really liked living in ABQ. I guess I'm not a desert person. I love My NW Climate.
Now... we are being transferred to Walla Walla, Wa. Finally back to the NW.
I do realize Walla Walla is on the drier side of Wa, but how dry?
Is it as bad as New Mexico? Is there a lot of dirt and dust?

How about wind?
I'm wondering about allergies. I never had any problems with allergies in the PDX area, but once we had to move to New Mexico, my allergies were the worst.

What about Homeschooling?
I have a 7 and 9 year old that I home school. I see that 4-H is popular in the area. Are there any home school groups? I tried to do a search for groups but only found one.

Any Natural or Organic foods?
I know Walla Walla is pretty small compared to PDX and ABQ, so I know there isn't any Whole foods of Trader Joe's in the area. :P
Where does one go to buy Natural/Organic food in town?

Thanks for any help.
BTW...I love Walla Walla Onions and Wine!

[NWbyNW]

Walla Walla will not be the Pacific Northwest you are used too from the PDX. It is considerably drier, and in the summer there are sometimes weird occurrences of dust storms because of nearby farms. It is nothing like New Mexico. But overall, it is a fairly lush area around Walla Walla. Irrigations, streams, and rivers are the reason for the extra greenery around Wx2. Walla Walla has a historic downtown, and has many great historic neighborhoods.

Walla Walla is the hub of it's surrounding area having the most shopping, but even that is fairly reduced compared to other cities it's size. When you are in Walla Walla, thats it. There is really nothing else near you. You are the center of the universe, and everything revolves around Walla Walla. Chain stores have not done well in Walla Walla, and when they built an indoor shopping mall with chain stores, it failed and was just recently torn down. There is no Target, Costco, or Fred Meyer in Walla Walla. Just recently they got a Walmart at the south end of the town. For all the BIG shopping needs, you'd need to drive an hour and about ten minutes to the Tri-Cities and the shopping core of Kennewick.

You can find organics in Walla Walla. There is a scene there for that. Also a lot of wineries in Walla Walla as a growing tourism.

Walla Walla has three colleges, two hospitals, a sheriff's office, two police departments (Walla Walla, College Place), and fire departments.

I don't know about homeschooling, but I don't see why it couldn't be done?


Photo Credit: Walla Walla, Washington (AJM NWPJ) | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmstudios/4818367453/ - broken link)


Photo Credit: Walla Walla downtown | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafephoto/5058582243/in/photostream/ - broken link)

[Count David]

FWIW, WW has a Kmart.

[Wigglefish]

Well...at least it's not like New Mexico as You said.
Being In New Mexico for a Year, well....anything is better than NM.

SOOoO..Walla Walla isn't like the PDX area...oh well. I can always take a LooOong road trip to visit my friends in PDX. At least WW is GREEN and has farmers markets. No complaining here. As For shopping, I can do without BIG Corp. stores...as long as there are local shops I can buy from.
It's all about keeping it Local anyway...right? Keeping those jobs in those small towns.
They need all the help they can get.
The down town looks nice. Very Quaint. I've been trying to find all the different things to do in Walla on the web. Looks like the University has some activities to do for kids. And.... Walla Walla has a nice Library and Children's Museum.
I'm surprised there is no Onion festival. Only a Balloon fest? Walla Walla has the BEST sweet onions in the Nation. And believe me..I've traveled alot and I've tried many different kinds of onions, and nothing beats a Walla Walla onion.
Just wondering how organic they really are? Probably not. Well, If I die because I eat too many Walla walla onions, at least I die happy. :P

I'm looking forward to the wine tasting too.

As for the police departments...why do they need 2? Is there that much crime in little Walla Walla?

Thanks again for all your info. It's greatly appreciated.

[NWbyNW]

Originally Posted by Wigglefish

As for the police departments...why do they need 2? Is there that much crime in little Walla Walla?

I didn't mean they had a lot of crime. No, they don't have much at all. There is the county sheriff's office for Walla Walla county, since Walla Walla is the county seat of the county with the same name. Walla Walla has their own municipal police force. The neighboring town of College Place also has their own municipal police force, to better serve the colleges there. There is also a state patrol substation there that patrols the entire south eastern region of the state there. It's just typical law enforcement set up in the U.S., as would be seen in New Mexico in some areas. They all have different colored cars too to tell. But in short, crime is not a problem in Walla Walla. Don't even worry about it.


Photo Credit: Walla Walla (AJM NWPD) - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmstudios/sets/72157623216161778/with/4269855938/ - broken link)

Photo Credit: Walla Walla County Sheriff (AJM NWPD) - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmstudios/sets/72157623091635685/with/4266884632/ - broken link)

Photo Credit: College Place (AJM NWPD) - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmstudios/sets/72157629028135995/with/6766602343/ - broken link)

Photo Credit: Washington State Patrol (AJM NWPD) - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmstudios/sets/72157623206008184/ - broken link)

The balloon festival was actually started by my late-Grandpa many, many years ago.

[Wigglefish]

Thanks.I'm honestly not afraid of crime. I've lived in PDX and ABQ.. and I'm sure Walla Walla is more like a Leave-it-to Beaver kind of town. I'm sure there are "some" problems, it is a college town.
As for those Cop cars.... Looks like to police need to do some updating. They need some black GT mustangs or something. :P
As for the Balloon festival, that's pretty cool. They have a HUGE balloon festival in ABQ. Very pretty.
So YOU are the one I need to talk to about starting an onion festival huh? I have plenty of ideas.

[NWbyNW]

Yes, that is a good way of putting it. Compared to ABQ and PDX, it is like a Leave it to Beaver world there. Slower pace of life. But if you like the outdoors, you are a lot of opportunities within the Blue Mountains and other areas. Decently close to the Columbia River as well.

Well the Walla Walla PD did just get a brand new department, so they will probably be keeping those cars for awhile now.

There actually is a Walla Walla Sweet Onion festival. It takes place in July. I agree, nothing beats a Walla Walla sweet. But if you got ideas, I am sure the commission would love to hear about it.

Also incase it matters, there is no local news channel in Walla Walla. There is a local newspaper, the Walla Walla Union Bulletin. The local tv news from from the Tri Cities about an hour away. They have daily newscasts and talk about Walla Walla if needed, but they do give the forecast for it. The newspaper is daily and online. Also radio stations.

[Wigglefish]

Yes, I love the outdoors! The whole NW is a giant playground. My hubby loves to hike up Mountians. Mt. Hood was one of his favorites. Looking forward to exploring the forests near by and go camping.

Well..I'm sure the Walla Walla PD don't really need fast new cars with all that crime to chase after. :P

So Walla Walla does have a Sweet onion fest. Good to know. I couldn't find it on the web, so the advertising must not be that big???

As for the local News, it doesn't matter. I have a smart phone and it gives me what I need. Weather, news etc...

I also see that Walla Walla is a very religious/conservative town....or so it says on one of it's web sites. 89% of the population is Christian.

[NWbyNW]

Originally Posted by Wigglefish

Yes, I love the outdoors! The whole NW is a giant playground. My hubby loves to hike up Mountians. Mt. Hood was one of his favorites. Looking forward to exploring the forests near by and go camping.

Yes, there is plenty of mountain activities near and around Walla Walla. It won't look like it when you're there, but a short drive gets you to the Blue Mountains or the Wallowa Mountains. Also on the Oregon side are some neat mountain towns that look purely frontier, such as Sumpter. Some neat stuff. Also if you drive west of Walla Walla to the Columbia River gorge that separates WA and OR, it is absolutely amazing. Driving either the WA or Oregon side has it's perks. The WA side it smaller and has some quaint towns to explore like Stevenson and White Salmon, as well as some cool cliffside roads overlooking the gorge. The Oregon side it interstate, but worth a check as a few towns like Hood River or Cascade Locks, "Bridge of the Gods." It's the perfect route to get to Portland.

Originally Posted by Wigglefish

So Walla Walla does have a Sweet onion fest. Good to know. I couldn't find it on the web, so the advertising must not be that big???

I am not sure. I am sure locally it is advertised, or just well known to them.

Originally Posted by Wigglefish

I also see that Walla Walla is a very religious/conservative town....or so it says on one of it's web sites. 89% of the population is Christian.

Yes it is a conservative area, majority Republican. This is in part to the agricultural population, and the fact that they are not near a large urban metropolitan. Many great historic church structures in the city (many great historic buildings all around). Just peaceful Sunday mornings as people walk down the oak lined sidewalks to church. It is unique, and not something I have seen in most of America. It is very peaceful on Sunday's, but businesses like Walmart would still be open.

[Wigglefish]

Well..I guess we are NOT going to be transferred to Walla Walla now. Instead, We are going home to Orygun. With all this info, I would still love to visit. Thanks NWbyNW for taking the time to post all your insights.