Yakima (Ellensburg, West Valley, Terrace Heights: rentals, high crime, neighborhoods)

[s16bklvr]

Hi,
Currently applying for a job in Yakima and wondering if the crime is really that bad there, if so, why? Any other feedback would be appreciated.

[mlv311]

I can't comment on how bad the crime is, but I do know that drug trafficking is one issue affecting that area. Illicit drugs coming from Mexico are distributed through the Yakima Valley.

[Corsica2147]

Hi I am new to this forum so it would be great if anyone could provide as many information as possible. I am a 22 year old single lady who is attending college at ND. I have a job offer in Yakima and is having a hard time deciding whether or not I should accept the offer. I visited the town last weekend and was impressed with the environment and nice sceneric. The downfall are the lack of activities to do and high crime rate. These are the information I got after gooogling almost every site about Yakima. So if someone would like to provide me more information about Yakima and where is the best area to live it would be greatly appreciate. I would also like to know about leisure activities, weather, average rental coz I am a poor college kid, meeting new people at my age, etc just about anything! Once again thank you in advance for anyone who would reply my post! =)

[missyM]

I live in Yakima County. I have a friend in law enforcement that says the vast majority of calls come from the small area between 1st Street and I-82, and they are mostly nighttime calls. Due to roadwork, I shortcut through that area during daylight hours quite a bit.

As for things to do, there is the rodeo, Blue Man Group was here in Feb, we have the Capitol Theater for symphony and smaller acts, food, wine and music events, tons of radio and TV stations, a greenway for jogging, biking, walking the dog.....

[mabeek]

The best places to live are outside of Yakima, like Selah, Terrace Heights, East Valley, or West Valley. They are smaller areas with less crime and better schools than can be found in Yakima itself. I grew up in Selah and although there is nothing to do, it was quite safe and is a nice little town. Yakima itself has some really scary areas. There's a lot of gang and drug problems, and the city is really dirty and shabby in a lot of places. The schools within Yakima are not good, although there is an Accelerated program at one of them, but in general they are very sad. The Selah, East Valley, and West Valley districts have much better facilities and teachers. Personally, I can't wait to get away from Yakima, but I guess if you look hard you can find things to do, and if you try, you can avoid the bad neighborhoods.

[M3 Mitch]

Different parts of Yakima are different - I visit there all the time and never have any problem. Don't know about the schools, don't have school-age kids so I don't pay attention to that. The north and west part of town looks pretty good, is turning into sort of a retirement/medical community. The east part and the south part of town is shabby. You certainly don't have to live inside the city limits to work there. If you have a good job offer I don't see the town as so bad that you should reject it. Recreation is more outdoor stuff rather than high culture, although the Yakima theatre has had visiting classical musicians, etc.

If you can find the Yakima Herald online ads you can probably find rentals there.

[70Ford]

I posted about Yakima before. I still remember when I was at the Days Inn and I asked the young lady behind the counter where was a good place to live. She whipped out a red pen, drew a circle around 1/2 of the town..scribbled over that portion and said "Not there."

Yikes?

Yikes.

[Prple]

Ellensburg is a safe, clean, small college town about 30 minutes away from Yakima. You might also find that it would be a good place to hang out and meet people. I know some people commute back and forth between the two towns, however, it might be hard during the winter months.