New York to Yakima HELP (Seattle, West Valley: renting, insurance, crime rate)

[kz2]

My husband is being considered for a job in Yakima WA. I have read much about the area but there appears to be vast discrepancies in the opinions expressed. On one hand there appear to be many with issues related to crime, gangs etc…while others have wonderful things to say.
So some about us, we are a professional couple. My husband is a physician and I work in mental health. We live in NYC, so it is hard for me to gauge what are real concerns about crime etc. and what are really issues about ethnic /racial things etc… I am looking for some honest and educated advice…
I have also lived in other parts of the country including Atlanta, Boston, CT and Los Angeles if that helps you understand my experiences
Additionally if one decides to move there despite all…where is the best place to live…it appears that outside of twon is what most folks answer to that....what does that mean from a comuting point of view?
please any help you can give this city girl in translating the truth about Yakima would be helpful!
thanks
KZ

[allforcats]

Hi. I'm also a former NYC-ite, who now lives just outside Seattle.
If you Search for Yakima threads ("titles") on the Washington forum, you'll find many, many threads, thus lots of information from contributors. This is, for me, the most informative one. See post #45 with its fascinating marked map of areas of the town.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ns-yakima.html

BTW, have you checked City-Data's Yakima page for all the stats?
http://www.city-data.com/city/Yakima-Washington.html

[j_k_k]

The crime report on Yakima is not merely disguised racism. I'm white and my two cousins, just as white as me, were thugs there--the other thugs they hung out with were also mainly white. I speak Spanish and associate quite amicably with the Hispanic population, so this isn't xenophobia. Yakima's large Hispanic population does not make it crime-ridden; there are towns in the region with larger proportionate Hispanic populations that are relatively tranquil. My Hispanic friends in and from Yakima aren't part of any criminal element. I think what gives it a high crime rate is that for whatever reason, gangs have made it a haven. The same is true of a couple other towns in the region. For whatever reason, it's definitely not a low-crime zone relative to its size.

That said, I doubt the crime level would be thought considerable to anyone who's living in a city the size of New York, even granting that there have been improvements in recent years. The real issue would be where your kids (if any) grow up and what they're exposed to. As you know, the more bad company there is to hang out with, the more possible that becomes for children. If they grew up in a nearby smaller town they'd have less exposure to that.

If I lived in Yakima, there are areas I'd try to stay out of, but most of it's not like a war zone or anything. Nothing like a former co-worker from the Bronx described to me from his upbringing; nothing like my wife saw in Baltimore. I'd consider a car alarm and burglar alarm for my house. I would also certainly lock things up, get a house-sitter when I left town, and own a weapon and know how to use it. But I probably wouldn't apply for the permit to pack it around town, nor pack it illegally, whereas if I lived in a very large city where the thugs are professional and sophisticated and quite ruthless, I'd go armed 24/7 law or no law--with both concealed blades, chemicals and firearms.

If you commute, you will need to develop skill at driving on snow and ice. If you know how to do that, you won't have a big issue. I'd suggest making a pilgrimage to visit the place first and see for yourself.

[judiepc]

We moved to Yakima 25 years ago after living years in San Francisco and Seattle. There are pros and cons to living here. It is a very tight Republican and conservative community with only one known elected Democrat, the county treasurer. There is a large Hispanic population which many seem to lump together as being a problem. There are a lot of gang problems, but it seems to me the hostility is mostly against other gangs. We have always lived in the town and prefer it to living further out. When we retired we moved to Europe for 2 years and traveled and planned on moving to the Coast. When we returned and delt with the traffic and rain, we returned to Yakima.
We are currently renting (as we plan another 1 year stay in Europe before settling down permanently) a large 1915 brick home on the "wrong side" of town, have some Hispanic neighbors, have some questionable neighbors and have a food bank and a house for homeless kids about a block away. We have never had any problem here with gangs, theft, or damage to anything we own although sometimes get some graffiti on the fence.
What keeps us here. 4 seasons, a lot of sunshine even in spring, winter and fall, no traffic hassles, reasonable housing costs and we do have a lot of friends in the area. Summer we have the farmers market, there are some decent plays put on at the Capitol and Warhouse Theater, Seattle and Portland are not too far away, mountains for hiking are only 45 minutes away. Ever place has good and bad.
If you like new houses the East or West Valley areas. Is you like the older two story homes then the area between 16th and 40th avenue have some beauties and most of this area has a lot of Drs., lawyers and professionals!

[GameHog9]

From NYC to Yakima? Ive been to NYC, the crime there is much worse compared to Yakima. Then again youre comparing a city of 8 million to a town of 80,000. Yakima actually has a lot of crime for a town of its size. Thats the big complaint about it. Also, get ready for a big change, especially in the scenery. I miss the trees of Upstate NY . Commuting will not be a problem, there is no traffic in Yakima, or in eastern WA for that matter. Best of luck

[M3 Mitch]

If you move into the NW section of town, or, as I usually suggest, live outside of Yakima proper, say in Selah, you probably won't have any problems with crime. IMHO the Yakima County Sherrif's dept. does a good job controlling crime in the county, the Yakima PD less so. I think you'll find the cost of living and tax situation better in Yakima than NYC. You will find you are more dependent on a car here than in NYC.

Frankly, if your interviewing for the job is not finished, take a couple of days at the end of the interview to scope out the area. Otherwise I'd suggest it's worthwhile for the both of you, if at all possible, to come take a look.

There are a lot of good outdoor recreation things near Yakima, good skiing about 1 hour's drive away, Seattle is about 2 hours away. Culturally it's not NYC but do have the Yakima Theater where they have concerts, recitals, there are several first-rate restaurants, personally I like visiting Yakima. The summer is warm/hot, dry, I greatly prefer the weather here to NYC area.

For what you are paying for housing in NYC, you can easily afford the best house in town.

Unfortunately WA is not the best place regarding malpractice insurance costs, but it's probably better than NY. I'm not a doc, so don't know for sure. I do know that in the Tri-City area we have a hard time attracting doctors, have heard it's partly the above.

Yakima is turning into a medical center in it's own right, it's not Memphis, but it's sort of tending that way, and it's turning into somewhat of a retirement magnet.

Good luck on whatever you decide!

[j_k_k]

Anyone else find it very amusing Yakima styling itself the Palm Springs of Washington? The El Paso of Washington, perhaps.

[kc2sweet4ne1]

I know that I won't go there by myself and when my husband goes with me, he carries his concealed weapon.

[GameHog9]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

Anyone else find it very amusing Yakima styling itself the Palm Springs of Washington? The El Paso of Washington, perhaps.

I know! Every time I go through that town, Im thinking "THIS is the Palm Springs of Washington?!?!" Good God, whoever came up with that must have had a blind eye and a milky film over the other ... what the hell theres no laughing smilie ??? Oh whatever. HAHAHA

[509]

Originally Posted by GameHog9

I know! Every time I go through that town, Im thinking "THIS is the Palm Springs of Washington?!?!" Good God, whoever came up with that must have had a blind eye and a milky film over the other ... what the hell theres no laughing smilie ??? Oh whatever. HAHAHA

I thought it was funny......until I had to get a motel room in Yakima on a summer weekend. Seems everybody comes east from Seattle to dry out.

I heard that some Yakima residents that winter in Palm Springs put up a billboard outside of Palm Springs that said "Welcome to Palm Springs, the Yakima of California".