Pros and Cons of Yakima (Seattle, Everett: apartment, leases, how much)

[etonmymind]

Yes, I'd be interested in knowing, too. Because I've heard that Hispanic people do things like this, so, you know, the race of the woman was really relevant to the story.

Originally Posted by scirocco22

I'm curious about that incident. Would you be willing to elaborate?

Thanks.

--'rocco

[thisismemaria]

Pro: Close to Mt. Rainier so you can hike in the park every weekend if you want to.

[DoctorMom]

I'd be happy to talk to you about places to live, reputation of local schools, what the local medical community is like, etc. Yakima has a lot of good things going for it but I think it helps to have an idea of what it's like to live here before you make the big move

-DoctorMomaryder@pol.net

[CathFitz]

I hate to sound like a big city brat, but I hate it here. I am living here on a temporary relocation from Seattle until my husband is finished with school.

Pros:
Lots of sunshine
Hardly any rain
Little traffic
People tend to not be in a hurry (take that as you will!)
People will smile and wave at you for no reason

Cons:
Everyone drives really slowly
Nowhere to shop
Population not as diverse as I'd prefer it
Not a lot of bodies of water
Bad job market
Everything closes early
Only one cable company, hope you like them!
high Spanish speaking population, which is only a con because I can't communicate with them (


DO NOT LIVE:
Anywhere on the East side
On any street that is less than 16th. The higher the number, the better
the closer to the "city" the worse it is. it's not hard to determine upon visual inspection which places are bad to live.

LIVE IN:
Selah
West Valley, or any higher numbered street

[jjjmr02]

Gosh, I can't believe so many people dislike Yakima. We are a military family on orders here from FT Lewis, and we love it here. We live in the West Valley and after living in a perpetual rain cloud and traffic jam for 3 years on the west side, are loving the sunshine. Most people here are friendly, we've found comparable medical care to the care we received at MTF's (I had a baby recently at Memorial this summer, loved the hospital and the care). I guess being in the military for so long, we've just learned to make the best of wherever we end up, lol.

[inkwithgold]

I HATED this town growing up. HATE-D it.

It wasn't the weather, or the distance from major cities that bothered me as much as MOST of the PEOPLE living there. Seriously. Mostly Fundamentalist in more ways than one: narrow-minded, short-sighted, and judgmental. In fact, I recently met a couple from there while I was traveling, and again I got the 'vibe' I had so much disdain for as a kid: that sense of someone being outwardly interested in what you have to say but silently sizing you up instead.

Bah.

I'll take my City, or even (happily) Seattle over that p.o.s. little town. 'Nuff said.

[SagaciousKJB]

Originally Posted by jjjmr02

Gosh, I can't believe so many people dislike Yakima. We are a military family on orders here from FT Lewis, and we love it here. We live in the West Valley and after living in a perpetual rain cloud and traffic jam for 3 years on the west side, are loving the sunshine. Most people here are friendly, we've found comparable medical care to the care we received at MTF's (I had a baby recently at Memorial this summer, loved the hospital and the care). I guess being in the military for so long, we've just learned to make the best of wherever we end up, lol.

You know, about the only people I know saying Yakima is anything less than a pit are the ones living in West Valley. No offense intended, but it seems as if the higher-income families live out there, and it is quite different than living somewhere East of 16th Avenue.

I've lived in Yakima for 18 years, or to be more fair all of my life. There are things that I love and hate.

I don't particularly like anything about the city of Yakima, however Yakima county is a very beautiful place, rich in history, and lots of activities if you're an out-doors person. We have many camping grounds, some that are located just outside of the city, and we even have a nature park called the Greenway that stretches about 8 miles along the Eastern edge of the city.

However, inside the city of Yakima, it is not so scenic. The city is a variable patchwork of unmatching colors and illegible gang scrawl as local businesses try to combat graffitti. If you've got no money, you've got nothing to do in Yakima. I'd advise investing in some outdoor equipment like bikes or hiking gear so you can enjoy the outdoor activities we have to offer, because we only have three movie theaters and a couple of clubs--a handful of which you're likely to get mugged standing outside of.


Which brings me to my next point: Crime

A big portion of Yakima's crime is drug related. It's not even that uncommon to be next to a vehicle that wreaks of weed, take a look in the bag, and see garbage bags full of "something". Aside from the high amount of trafficking, the amount of drug use is quite high. If you're interested in keeping your kids drug free, just avoid Yakima at all costs. Thankfully it's not so much a problem that you see street peddlers, but seeing an intoxicated person on the streets is not a rarity.

One issue that goes a little hand in hand is the gang situation. Most of the gang members are teenagers in highschool or middle school, and never go beyond tagging and selling drugs, but you might find yourself in a little bit of trouble venturing down the wrong areas of town. Aside from that, gang-fighting is getting a little bit out of hand, with drive-by shootings starting to rise again after their fall in the 90s.

The job market is also pretty unfavorable, which in my opinion mostly effects the young people. And older crowd with more work experience under the belts might need to search for a couple of months, but you'd be damned lucky to get a job if you're 18 or under in under a year's time looking; then if you can't manage to keep that one, you're on the hunt again.


Education is terrible. if your kids haven't made it at least to middle school yet, don't enroll them in the YSD. Some schools in the West Valley and the smaller towns aren't too bad, but the inner-city Yakima schools are simply day-care centers.


Really, there are not a lot of "pros" when it comes to Yakima, at least not in my opinion. There are some benefits of living in one of the smaller surrounding cities; cost of living is a lot cheaper, the weather can be pretty nice, crime-rate is low out there. Over all I would consider somewhere such as Kennewick, Pasco or Richland, the "Tri-Cities" area.

[Leftyhound]

Seriously -- we absolutely love Yakima, and we weren't born and raised here. I'm from Pennsylvania and my husband is from the West Side (Puyallup to be exact). We met in Phoenix and after ten years got the heck out of dodge.

I have to agree, those with negative comments haven't been here in years and are focusing on a very small part of the overall picture here.

So, let me count the ways:

First, we live in the West Valley --- have a house three times bigger than we could afford just about anywhere else. Plus, the cost of living is such that I can stay home with our kids.

Two: The parks system is exceptional.

Three: We've had no problem finding playmates for our kids.

Four: The orchards and vineyards are beautiful.

Five: About an hour to Rainier National Park. Enough said.

Six: Traffic is not a problem.

Seven: It's a small enough town that if you want to get involved in the community, you actually can. You do have a voice here.

Eight: New stores, independent places, and culture -- tripling by the hour it seems.

Nine: Diversity, diversity, diversity -- it's a good thing, really.

Ten: When we need a big city fix, we're not terribly far from Seattle or Portland.

I could go on, but you get the picture.

I would say, one negative I would agree with is the "old guard" here tend to be closed off and very conservative. It's a problem that plays out over and over again in local politics. People are somewhat stingy with their resources: ie complaining about crime incessantly, but failing to pass a very small tax to put a significant amount of beat officers on the street. That's a problem.

[danabunny]

Are there historic neighborhood areas in Yakima that people would recommend? Are these areas by places such as grocery stores, restaurants, etc within walking distance?

[missyM]

The Yakima/Chestnut/Barge Ave area between 16th Ave and 32nd is in the process of being designated as such. It is an eclectic mix of affordable little bungalows, on up, mostly built in the 40's-60's. Lots of Drs, nurses, lawyers and other professionals live there. Franklin park is on the south edge, as is Memorial Hospital.

The same area, east of 16th is mostly medical, toward the area of Regional Hospital. There are a couple of cafes down that way, and more affordable homes. It is more of a renter-occupied neighborhood, but still very attractive.