Wenatchee--is there anything negative about it?? (Seattle, East Wenatchee: relocating, agriculture, gated)

[drburcham]

Ever since I started looking into the possibility of moving to Wenatchee (central WA), I have been very impressed. In fact, part of me wonders why the whole country hasn't already started moving in! It's not huge, yet it's strong and growing, and is located in the beautiful valley of the Columbia river, with mountains on one side, and desert on the other. My husband and I are flying out to visit soon, with the intent of buying some land.

Is anyone on this forum from that area? What are your predictions for growth in the area? Just like everyone else, we want to buy that "undiscovered" piece of land that's affordable and will sky-rocket in value over the next 10 years.

My job is quite transferrable, but my husband is a computer/electrical engineer for Sprint and I'm not sure what opportunities he'll have there.

[wythors]

The biggest down side, like most small towns, is the job market. While it is growing, there's really not all that much there. Wenatchee is quite hot (100+ fairly regularly) in the summer and can be quite cold in the winter. If it matters to you one way or the other, the politics and social climate there are very conservative.

Short form: Nice place, but don't plan to get rich there.

[drburcham]

Thanks--yeah, I suspected the social/political climate would be more conservative than western WA. But, I live in KS right now, and I can hardly imagine a more conservative climate. (Our state has tried to prevent the teaching of evolution in schools, for crying out loud!)

Being from the midwest/Iowa originally, I appreciate the hot hot and cold cold. I think the job market is the one down-side that would hurt us the most. We're used to a high-level income here, but we'd have to get used to the idea that we'd make a lot less.

But in terms of child-rearing--this seems like a great place. We don't have kids yet, but I think I'd rather raise a family in central washington than suburban KC. I want our children to value the outdoors.

[Deep_Vee]

My brother moved over to East Wenatchee from this side about 10 years ago...he has never looked back. He and his family love it.

The only downside he mentions is that the cost of housing is going up pretty quickly over there...so it's not quite as affordable as it once was. But if you can find a good job...I think it's a great place.

[AzDreamer]

A friend of mine likes in Wenatchee and occassionally they have air quality problems. I don't know the details, but you would see the pollution levels go up during winter temperature inversions. Also there is a dust problem, typical of most places with an agriculture economy. You should be able to use google to dig up some news on this.

[chris]

I remember talking about pros/cons of wenatchee before... Here's the thread

Wenatchee

[marksind]

Don't know if it matters to you, but the school district in Wenatchee is apparently over 40% hispanic. That's what the chamber of commerce told us last year when we investigated the town as a place to move. There is a very large and growing Mexican population on the fringes and older parts of town. Much high-end housing (hundreds of homes) going up on the hill in East Wenatchee looking back toward town ($400 - $700k a year ago, probably more now). Last spring Wenatchee was one of the ten fastest growing towns in the U.S.

[CityGirl72]

I love it there

The only problem is the job market to us, there's no way we would find the jobs we have now, and especially for how much we make

[7.3 Liters]

I moved here a year ago from California and have never looked back. With the price of housing rising so fast I just wonder how the people here can afford it. I guess the county is becoming a retirement suburb of Seattle. For better or worse this place is booming.......

[BTKR]

I like to see what people think of this town. I have lived here all my life. Iam on the verge of leaving and moving to Las Vegas. I have to admit is going to be a drastic change but Wenatchee is a great place to live. I have had my ups and down but all in all Wenatchee is growing and growing, But it still has that small town charm. For ones that have lived here for a long time it seems like it never changes.
I have to say all it does it gets more houses thats all. Houseing has gone up but thats everywhere.
I'm looking forward to our move. Iam looking forward to the future to somewhere new but you know I will never forget Wenatchee.
For everyone that moves here I say to you Have a great time here. For you that are relocating and everything I say change is good.
You have picked a great town.