Moving to Chewelah with High School aged kids (Spokane, Bellingham: how much, houses)

[MarieHan61]

My son and his wife are planning on moving to Chewelah next year. They have two kids age 16 (boy) and 14 (girl). They have always lived in a city environment on the NW side of WA. I’m concerned what this move will be like for the kids. My dad moved me and my siblings from S CA to the middle of nowhere in OR so I know what it’s like to be uprooted in high school and leave the only life you’ve known.

I’m wondering what the high school is like. My grandson plays sports so that should help. My granddaughter likes to be involved in leadership. She is also very artsy and dances to her own best. Of course my main concern is how much of a problem drugs are in the school and the community. This whole fentanyl situation worries me daily.

Anyway, I’d love to hear feedback, especially from those of you who live there and have kids in the school system. Also, is reliable high speed Internet available?

[CrazyDonkey]

What's the rationale for the move? Job? Housing values? Cultural?

NW WA (Bellingham?) is ridiculously expensive, but with limited job/income potential.

[Hemlock140]

Chewelah is 45 miles NW of Spokane, and only 2,600 people live there. It's truly in the middle of nowhere. I have only passed thru once years ago so can't comment on it other than that, and it's not very likely that someone living there will see your post. I would be very surprised if there are many of the typical amenities, or activities for kids there, hopefully I'm wrong.

[StealthRabbit]

Fortunately they are in Washington, so they don't HAVE to attend HS, they can go to college for FREE*!. There is a Community College branch in Colville (22 miles north)

https://scc.spokane.edu/Become-a-Stu...-Running-Start

* free during 11-12 grade, but you can just pay minimal tuition prior to that if kids can pass entrance exam (very easy)

Our kids did fun jobs (ski and golf instructing and ESL tutoring) during HS years and also did a 106 mile daily commute to attend college and still participate in HS sports.

Works for many kids, not all.

Yes, the small town will be a challenge, but that's how we grow and become responsible citizens.
Encourage kids to become involved in community services and volunteer organizations. (multi generational).
In our small town, We fed homeless, worked in rehab, volunteered at schools, attended senior needs, did community fund raisers and our kids were also sponsored into Search and Rescue and local Law enforcement as cadets.

Kids don't need to be 'entertained', they can be mentored by parents and neighbors... Ours learned to build furniture and even designed and built their own houses before HS. There are benefits to NOT being in a busy city. Annually we would attend a High School display of 'projects' done by students statewide. The projects from the small town kids were amazingly ornate, and beautifully done. They had the time and mentoring to invest in learning and demonstrating their acquired skills.

[texasdiver]

I don't think we can link to other review sites, but google "niche chewelah high school" and you will pull up a lot of information on the local HS. It looks pretty mediocre frankly.