Small Town Washington? (Seattle, Spokane, Walla Walla: how much, house prices, to buy)

[naturelover17]

Hi everyone! My family and I are currently living in California, but would eventually like to get out. Just for the record, we're not stereotypical Californians who surf, live in LA, or own an expensive home. We're currently looking at Washington and Oregon, but don't really know where would be the best spot for us. We like small towns of around 10,000 people, in or near the mountains, four seasons, with a hospital, grocery store(s), and within commuting distance of a four-year college. We're conservative, so we don't need anything in the way of nightlife, but we'd prefer outdoor activities (hiking, etc). We're looking to buy a 3br 2ba house with a few acres, hopefully for around $250,000, so I know that'll limit the area severely. We don't need to be on the outskirts of any large cities, but we'd like to be within a few hours' drive of a decent sized town. I'd be really grateful if anyone had some input.

Thanks in advance,
Elaina

[j_k_k]

You are the poster children for the Spokane area. There are four-year universities in Spokane and nearby Cheney, good hospitals, four seasons, enough hiking to last you a long time, and about 4-5 hours from Seattle if you have a mind to go to the nearest NW equivalent to the Bay Area. Finding some acreage shouldn't be a problem on the outskirts of any small town in that region. It is near plenty of mountains. As long as you can bring yourself to equip your ride with studded tires for winter driving, and learn good methods, you'll probably fall in love with the area.

[mayfair]

I'm not sure how large Elllensburg is, but it has a University, four seasons, is near the mountains, and has a small town feel.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

You are the poster children for the Spokane area.

I second jkk's motion Elaina! Based upon your wants, the greater Spokane region should be high on your search list.

[naturelover17]

Thanks for all the input! I was reading some other posts, and Colville, Wa, came up. Does anyone know much about this town? When does the first snow usually come and when does the Spring thaw start typically? Is it dreary most of winter? About how many sun does this area get throughout the year? I looked up the stats on this website, but it doesn't seem to be too reliable. It's way off in elevation and when it starts snowing and how much snow certain towns I'm familiar with actually get. 0_0 Thanks for any information.

[RogueRiverRat]

naturelover - Please be sure you take recommendations from ordinary folks and not realtors.

Based on your desires, I'd look in Southern Oregon ... off I-5, from Medford to Grants Pass. House prices here usually are pretty high, but are within your reach now.

If you'd like more information, please feel free to PM me.

[509]

Originally Posted by naturelover17

Thanks for all the input! I was reading some other posts, and Colville, Wa, came up. Does anyone know much about this town? When does the first snow usually come and when does the Spring thaw start typically? Is it dreary most of winter? About how many sun does this area get throughout the year? I looked up the stats on this website, but it doesn't seem to be too reliable. It's way off in elevation and when it starts snowing and how much snow certain towns I'm familiar with actually get. 0_0 Thanks for any information.

We lived in Colville for five years in the 1980's. My wife hated it. I spent all my time fishing and hunting. Disadvantages: poor library, poor schools.
Advantages: 75 miles to Spokane. Close to Canada. Lots of small towns in Canada just across the border. We spent weekends in Spokane going to shows and going out to dinner. Just made it part of our routine once a month. That was nice.

Weather: First frost usually late September. First snow anywhere from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Almost always snow on the ground by Thanksgiving. Melt out by mid-March or so. Mud season was almost always in March. Last frost probably in mid-April or so.

Go take a look. I would prefer Medford for the weather. But Oregon's tax structure is brutal.

If your coming from an urban area I would almost try a small city first. It might meet your needs. Rural living is not for everybody.

Lots of clouds in winter. Some summers were fairly cool and cloudy.

[springshades]

Just narrowing down by the 3 descriptions mentioned: 4 season (I'm assuming the standard east coast style hot summer + cold snowy winter is what this refers to), near/in mountains, and commuting distance of a 4 year university.

In the state of WA.
For number 1, that means Eastern WA.
For number 2, that throws out the center of Easter WA and the South Center of the state (Tri-Cities area). West part of Eastern WA has the Cascades, NE has the Pacifics + Rockies, East has the Rockies, SE has the Blues.
For number 3, the main college towns I can think of in the left over areas are Spokane (Whitworth, WSU Branch), Pullman (WSU Main), Walla Walla (Whitman, Walla Walla Univ), and Ellenburg (Central)

Depending on whether by "commute" you mean once a week or every day... that leaves you with the Greater Cle Elum/Ellensburg area, suburbs and towns around Spokane (in particular, there are quite a few small towns running east on the I5 corridor into Idaho), greater Walla Walla area, Pullman, and Lewiston, ID + nearby towns.

Side note on Medford. It's a bit borderline on the 4 seasons. 3 of them are there, but it doesn't get quite cold or quite snowy enough to fit many people's description of a true winter. Perhaps if you lived far enough away at a higher elevation.

[naturelover17]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! I'm looking into the greater Spokane area, maybe a bit more north closer to the mountains. My family and I are going to be purchasing a house (nothing fancy, mind you) somewhere in that region, hopefully where we can get some sort of job.

[Luke9686]

Wenatchee is a nice town of about 30,000 people, near the mountains. It's about 30 miles from the wonderful town of Leavenworth Washington. Google it, those are two awesome places.