Newport, WA...anyone with 1st hand info? (Spokane: real estate, sex offenders)

[esselcue]

I am investigating possible smaller-towns for retirement next year and keep coming across fairly good real estate deals in or near Newport. My actual search has been in Idaho, but if the sitaution is right, Newport would be a possibility. Anyone have any information regarding cost of living, medical, schools, etc?

[allforcats]

Hi Essel.
Here is the City-Data page of info on Newport:
Newport, Washington (WA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

This appears to be informative:
Town of Newport in Pend Oreille County Washington

I'm sure you've found the Newport-Oldtown C. of C. site:
Newport-Oldtown Chamber of Commerce (http://www.newportoldtownchamber.org/index.htm - broken link)

And their info regarding medical services:
Newport-Oldtown Medical Services (http://www.newportoldtownchamber.org/MedicalServices.htm - broken link)

Public services info:
Newport,City of Newport; Newport, Washington; Newport, Pend Oreille, Washington

This is a superb tourism site but might contain info you don't have yet:
http://www.experiencewa.com/v5/poi/poi.aspx?poiId=951 (broken link)

Hope these help!

[xrdh]

I have lived in a rural area of Newport for 13 years now. It is beautiful in the spring and summer, but so is N. Idaho. It is hot, but not very humid in the summer, just like N. Idaho. We get WAY too much snow in the winter, ditto N. Idaho.

What Pend Oreille County does have is cheap electricity. The electric bills in our county are at least half of what they would be in neighboring counties, thanks to our co-op dam project. Our property taxes are good, for the state of WA, too. I believe that about 70% of all of the land in Pend Oreille County is either county, state, or federal forest, so it will never grow very big. Good police service, low crime, friendly, mostly conservative people. An added bonus is that there are no poisonous snakes native to the Pend Oreille Valley.

There seem to be less trashy looking homes that are visable in WA versus ID, perhaps because ID has questionable building permits, if any. Sandpoint is not very trashy, though. Police services are not very good in Bonner County (N. ID) and people can get away with starving and mistreating their animals because the sheriff's office can't be bothered with them, for the most part. WA is much better, in that respect.

Newport has a hospital, but I wouldn't go there unless I was in severe pain or thought that I might die before I could get to Spokane. Sandpoint has a hospital that some I know are happy with. I have no personal experience with it.

You will want to check into the difference in taxes between living in WA and ID. WA has no income tax but they make up for it in other ways. Our Democratic govenor has been toying with the idea of creating an income tax for WA residents on top of what we are already paying. The lists are confusing, but every state tax list that I have seen ranks ID as having less overall taxes than WA. WA usually ranks from 9 to in the teens as worst taxes, where ID usually ranks in the 20s. Check into which state offers tax breaks to seniors, too.

Every year, about this time of year, I search the Net looking for another place to live. We have had 5 feet of snow so far and there is more in the forecast. The older I get, the harder living with the heavy snow becomes. I have horses, too, and I just work to take care of them and don't get to ride them for, probably, 4 months out of the year. If you just want to have a house in a neighborhood, you might not be too inconvenienced with the snow, except to shovel your roof during the off years that the snow gets really heavy, like this year (and last year).

Hope this helps, and if you find the perfect place, please let me know, I'll be right behind you!

[shanatse]

I've lived in this area for the past 30 years. We jokingly tell people we have 4 seasons... mud, dust, fire, and snow. July 4, among those who live here, is considered something of a religious holiday where we pray that all of the city people coming out to the woods to celebrate with illegal fireworks won't burn down our homes. It's also considered a dangerous time for home gardeners because the temperature tends to drop radically during this time just long enough for frost to kill the tomatoes and peppers starting to fruit.

This area does offer affordable housing compared to the rest of the country but property taxes have doubled in the past year due to move-ins paying ever higher prices. Jobs are few and unless you plan to commute to Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, or Sandpoint, have enough of a nest egg set aside so money isn't a concern.

Because Newport is a small town and competition is less, costs for basics (groceries and gas) are higher than in the larger cities. Finding local people to repair electrical or plumbing can be challenging and most companies in Spokane will not send anyone this far for small jobs.

Expect winter conditions for 4-6 months out of the year with snow depths at 2500 feet to be anywhere from 3-7 feet. Extreme cold (as low as -30) can settle in for as long as a week during winter. This area offers a wide range of winter recreational activities including shoveling your roof and digging out your driveway.

If your needs include organized entertainment (movies, concerts, etc.) or more than the basic health care, plan on driving a ways. If however, you prefer a quiet lifestyle with simple needs and can handle the physical challenges, this area may be a fit.