Pros and Cons of Yakima (high school, local, football)

[rayzonn]

I have lived 30 miles away from Yakima for 22 years. I go to yakima alot for shopping etc. Yakima has some surrounding places like Ellensburg that are very nice places.I know many people work in yakima but live in Ellensburg..Its a great place

[yke51]

Originally Posted by 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.

The Yakima-Chestnut-Barge neighborhood, currently applying for historical designation, has a mix of homes built before WWII, mostly in the 1920's.

[M3 Mitch]

Maybe I posted this before - but if one person came into Yakima from the Northwest medical section of town, and another came up First Avenue from the South end of town, and then met downtown to discuss what they saw, they might wonder if they were really in the same place - The medical part of town is really pretty upscale, while the southern and particularly south near the Interstate section of town is pretty rough looking anyway.

That said I have friends that live in Yakima proper and they would live outside the city limits if they had it to do over. The city is not very well run, a lot of crony-ism from what I have heard. I don't know enough of the details to make a court case out of it, I prefer living out of town anyway so don't have any incentive to research it..

[yke51]

As for schools, I'd say Davis, followed by Ike would be your best bets for a good education. Even though Davis is predominantly low-income and minority, it has the advantage of the IB Program. It's similar to the AP program, except the subjects students test in are taken for two years, allowing more in depth study. The program's evaluation methods aim to develop critical thinking skills compared to AP, which can reward simple rote memorization on its multiple choice tests.

Schools like West Valley, East Valley, and Selah may do better on the WASL, but this is largely a result of their large demographic advantage. I've heard from people who went to these schools that kids and teachers there didn't have very good attitudes toward learning.

As for the two main private schools (Riverside Christian & LaSalle), they tend to be pretty insular. By the time HS rolls around most of those kids have been going to school together for years. Both are pretty small, and dont offer too much in terms of Advanced classes. (Riverside only offers 3 levels of Spanish.)

I couldn't tell you too much in terms of younger kids, I'd guess that the YSD would be pretty hit and miss for elementary schools. Alot of it probably depends on the neighborhood. The YSD has open enrollment for high schools, so both Ike and Davis are a self-selective group. Davis tends to have more kids go to Ivy League schools and Stanford than Ike. (And Ironically, probably more kids in prison as well.)

[kickerofelves]

Well if you're a single guy and like pretty Mexican girls Yakima is pretty much a gold mine. I passed through earlier today and spent the afternoon there...wow! (And I like blondes generally.)

OK, that wasn't a school district spot report, neighborhood sketch or a jobs status overview, but I know some of you out there will appreciate it...you know who you are.

[jertheber]

Here's the thing about Yak that no one wants to say. It was, at one time, a central gathering point for farming equipment sellers, farm educational extension programs, farm labor, and anything else that figures into farming. Did I mention it was all about farming?

In the 60's the local population was beginning to shift, Mexican workers were staying long after the crops were taken care of, their children were attending local schools, the local populace became upset, this was not in keeping with the town's history.

It is this large Mexican population that has been at the heart of Yakima's troubles for a long time. The white population of town had looked upon these transplants as a temporary work force, and, treated them with indifference, as these farm workers hung on after the harvest, things began to change.

Low pay and lack of benefits, took their toll on the Mexican's who stayed. Service work was limited to household cleaning jobs in the 60's, so now, Yakima was not confined to a two tier economy, the Mexican's were now constituting a third group of laborer's competing with the lowest paid white folk's.

This, coupled with the fact that the Mexican's were of a very different culture when compared to their white neighbor's in town, has brought about a great divide. They were'nt of the fundamental Christian persuasion, they were comfortable with their poverty, they were very clannish, and spoke a different language. They were however, hard working and sharing folk's, who prospered from their culture.

Today Yakima is beset with all the problems that are common to economic and ethnic diverse communities, poverty is widespread, job oppertunities are not the best, Mexican's are still seen as a threat to the well being of the white populace. The code words for Mexican, are, "crime", "run down areas", "drugs", and a host of others that seem to suggest a not so upfront bias against the local Mexican population.

All through the last three decades these sentiments have been the mainstay of opinions formed by whites in the valley, and not without reason, the Mexican population has it's roots firmly set in poverty and deprivation, crime seems to flourish wherever poverty exists, you don't find a lot of Meth on Mercer Island. Welcome to the American dream, the mythical melting pot really didn't exist as historians of late would have us believe. This situation that exists in Yakima is proof that we haven't learned much from our own past, moving there is always a personal choice that has to be made with ALL the facts. The fact is, this is, and has been for decades, a town divided.

[pluckyduck]

I have a job offer in Yakima and need to know where I can find a good affordable place to to rent. Yakima seems alot like Fresno, CA which is where I am coming from. I see this is a valley has alot of vineyards-Fresno is pretty much the same. How is the cost of living over in Yakima? California is not cheap!

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by pluckyduck

I have a job offer in Yakima and need to know where I can find a good affordable place to to rent. Yakima seems alot like Fresno, CA which is where I am coming from. I see this is a valley has alot of vineyards-Fresno is pretty much the same. How is the cost of living over in Yakima? California is not cheap!

Shouldn't be hard to find. I don't think very many people would pay big bucks to live in Yakima. Cost of living is pretty low.

[M3 Mitch]

I think you will find plenty of apartments available. You may or may not want to live inside the city limits, from what I hear the surrounding countryside has less crime.

What part of town would you be working in? Do you want an apartment or a house to rent? Since you are from CA I guess you do have at least one car, right?

Single, married, kids? Some schools there are a lot better than others, but don't push me for details, I don't know 'em.

[skygravel]

Yakima always makes me laugh. The welcome signs when you enter city limits claim it's "The Palm Springs of Washington." I've never been to Palm Springs. If Palm Springs is a gang infested dump, then I guess those signs are accurate.