Moses Lake Decision by tomorrow (Spokane, Walla Walla: high crime, houses, neighborhood)

[XNC]

Please help! We are moving Thursday to my husband's home state of Washington. He has to decide by Tuesday if he's going to accept a position in Moses Lake or if we are going to wait for another assignment somewhere else in the state. Originally we were hoping for the Spokane area but this opportunity came up first.
I'd been really excited about Moses Lake until I learned that it has only about a third of the rain we get here in arid Arizona, and three times the crime of our current town, which is twice the size.
We were really looking forward to having a grass lawn for the kiddies without all the enormous effort it takes here... is that possible in Moses Lake? Are there trees? Can we expect a high water will to have grass and trees? (by high I mean over $100, like it is here, and that's for a very conservative patch of grass) Are there mountains in the distance or is it pretty much flat? Does it feel like a high crime place? We can leave our doors unlocked here without a second thought...
Is there a neighborhood where we should focus with our five children? We've seen a few houses a long the lake that excited us... Or an outlying area that's not too far of a commute?
Any input would be most welcome!
Thank you!!

[Michelle S.]

I just read your post, and find we are in a similar situation. My husband is considering a job offer. We are excited, but hesitant about the area. Could you share with me what your experience has been thus far? We have four young children. I was looking for a YMCA, but couldn't find one. We are also home schoolers. So I am eager to find contacts along that line. Thank you for any help you can supply me.

[NCWmark]

The Moses Lake area can get hot, that's for sure... but make no mistake about it, it is possible to grow a grassy yard. I think, in fact, that probably 95% of people do have grass yards.

No pictures of Moses Lake yet, but here is a link to some NCWpics.com pictures of Ephrata which is about 20-25 miles away, and the terrain is much the same.

This photo is taken near Wenatchee, WA.



One thing people should know about Central and North Central Washington. While it can get hot here in the summer, with all the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River, this is probably one of the most irrigated (see photo below) areas in the entire United States. There are man-made lakes and widenings from the dammed up river everywhere... great for irrigation and recreation... not to mention VERY affordable power bills.



Again it is hot and dry... but lack of water is not usually a problem at all.

[chris]

what did the OP decide to do?

[XNC]

Thanks for your responses... I've just now gotten back on-line as it turned out the home we rented had broken phone lines! We drove straight thru from AZ to Walla Walla... about 20 hours... and then got up the next morning and drove to Moses Lake, just to check it out. It was so much greener than I expected, at least where yards were concerned... definitely more grass and trees than where I was raised in AZ! However, although we liked the area much more than expected, we fell in love with Wenatchee and waited at the in-laws in Walla Walla for nearly a month until there was an opportunity for my husband here! We settled in East Wenatchee because the views of the mountains and LOVE it here!