Wenatchee? (Seattle, Walla Walla, Coulee Dam: homes, theater, high school)

[azlizm]

can anyone give me the good and bad on living in Wenatchee? We're thinking of moving to there shortly.

[mackinac81]

Maybe I can revive this thread.

I'm a new teacher looking for a job and Wenatchee caught my attention. I like outdoor stuff, mountains, water--and apples!

Can anyone in the Wenatchee area tell me what it's like out there? What are the schools like? Is there much community in Wenatchee? Are there things to do?

Any responses would be much appreciated

[AzDreamer]

I really like Wenatchee, but have only been there four times. There is lots of outdoors stuff to do there, lots of biking and the Columbia River is huge.

Here's a link to their online newspaper.

The Wenatchee World Online

[Treefriend]

Wenatchee is a desert.

[mackinac81]

Another question: What are winters like? Are they snowy and cold, or more rainy like in Seattle? I really like snow and cold, mostly for skating, skiing etc...It's also really beautiful.

[AzDreamer]

The winters are colder, drier and sunnier than Seattle's. It does snow but snow doesn't accumulate all winter like up in the mountains. There is an ice skating arena open late September through June.

Also, even though it might be too dry for some folks tastes, it's technically not a desert. There aren't any true deserts in Washington.

[509]

Originally Posted by AzDreamer

The winters are colder, drier and sunnier than Seattle's. It does snow but snow doesn't accumulate all winter like up in the mountains. There is an ice skating arena open late September through June.

Also, even though it might be too dry for some folks tastes, it's technically not a desert. There aren't any true deserts in Washington.

It technically is a desert. Deserts are defined as areas with less than 10 inches of precip and where evaporation exceeds precip. Wenatchee and large chunks of eastern Washington meet both definitions.

As an aside the "Great Columbia Desert" as it was called is the only desert to vanish without a trace from maps of the United States. After Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia Basin irrigation project was completed people forgot that it was jackrabbits, sage, and rattlesnakes as the natural landscape and not irrigated farms.

As to Wenatchee we moved here 24 years ago and never left. It was a much nicer place prior to all the growth in the 1990's and later. However, it still is a nice place....just with a lot more people concerned about looking good than doing good. We have had a massive influx of folks from Seattle with urban values move into the area.

The school systems are fair. The current school population is 40% Mexican and much of the resources are devoted to helping kids who do not speak English, etc. This means that the brighter students get the short end of the stick. This and gang activity at Wenatchee High School resulted in my daughter dropping out of high school. Fortunately, in Washington state the kids can drop into college and this is what she did. There was an article in the paper that some many high school kids are taking college classes that both the college and the high school are getting concerned for financial reasons.

School bond issues use to pass on a regular basis. They now fail on a regular basis. The state has changed the law so a super-majority is no longer required to pass a school bond...so this might change again. The retirees that have moved into the area are not excited about funding education for kids in the area. Not sure how this will play out in the future.

There is plenty to do in the valley with a strong sense of community. It was stronger in years past before the chain stores changed the local retail picture. But I suspect this is playing out throughout small cities in the country. The Wenatchee Valley is called a micro-metropolitan areas by the Census Bureau. Basically, it means we have one of everything, but only one and are not tied to any urban area.

There is a strong arts and theater community. Adventure magazine rated Wenatchee as one of the top "mountain" towns in the country recently. If ANY outdoor activities appeal to you...you can probably do them within 1 hour of Wenatchee. If fact, I cannot think of one outdoor recreation opportunity that is not available within one hour.

Downsides...Wenatchee has had the largest increase in home prices the past year in the United States. Homes are rapidly getting more and more expensive.

If you hate cloudy weather you need to plan on winter vacations during December and January as the valley gets socked in with clouds for days at a time. I believe our record since we lived here is sixteen straight days without sunshine one January. Springs are warm and windy. Summers are hot and sunny. Falls are perfect.

Hope this helps.

[mackinac81]

Sounds a lot like Michigan...with mountains. We're actually cloudier over here in the winter. So I think I can handle sixteen days. I haven't seen a sunset for at least a month and a half. Almost forgot what it looks like!

[AzDreamer]

Here's a link showing North American deserts. There are four and none in the state of Washington.

North American Deserts

[XNC]

I'm native to Arizona (the Prescott area) but now find myself living in Wenatchee. We picked Wenatchee after staying in the state for several weeks and exploring many towns. Walla Walla would be my second pick...
Wenatchee is amazing. Being from AZ I need mountains and Wenatchee doesn't disappoint. Living on the Eastern side of the river affords a most spectacular view!
Being from Arizona, I would never call this a desert, although every descriptive source for the region labels it as such. With snowfall factored into the annual precipitation and the many months of high humidity (despite being in the rain shadow of the Cascades) I have trouble calling this place arid... For example, I have a yard that looks like a park, full of trees that don't require human devotion to keep them alive!
Wenatchee is amazing for those with outdoor interests. As someone stated, every possible outdoor activity can be accommodated by the immediate vicinity. Being from a place with no public transit to speak of, I've been amazed to discover that you can use public transit to go skiiing or snowboarding, fishing on the Wenatchee, or even for a trip up to the amazing little town of Levenworth!
I've heard a lot of locals complain at the lack of shopping, but don't find it lacking at all. There hasn't been one store I've wanted that I haven't found. Plus there seems to be an amazing abundance of dining experiences, and a slew of taco stands, which is something I'd never experienced before.
Another great thing here is the library system, the likes of which I'd never heard of before coming here. Imagine the library taking cues from Netflix, and you'll have an idea. I think the system should be used as a model for the entire country!
The sense of community has been almost miraculous for our family! The people here are so helpful and generous, I am constantly blown away! Neighbors have brought us fruit from their trees and gifted us with snow tires and snow chains. Our landlord brought us a large amount of wood for our fire on Christmas Eve and my husband's new co-workers gave us an entire ham dinner - complete with 22 pounds of ham!
If you are coming from AZ and have children who are homeschooled or enrolled in one of the numerous charter schools there, be prepared for changes on that front.
However, I would recommend Wenatchee to anyone!