Longview Washington ?????

[jordan33]

I have to say, I live in Longview now, and it's not as bad they are makign it seem. It's really location, if your family is lower income then yea you'll be living in a bad town. But if you can afford a house over 150,000 then you'll be fine. The "highlands" area is where the trouble is at, not everywhere.The highlands is 100-500 blocks of 15th-30th and 33rd. That me seem likea lot but it isn't, some good places are mint valley area and the 50th area.

[washinton native]

Originally Posted by kriswlz

... The people in the Pacific Northwest are not as initially friendly as the people in CA. ...

talk about nailing it on the head. those darned folks from battle ground and longview are rarely as friendly as you folk from san francisco, los angeles and oakland, where outgoing, love-your-neighbor attitudes rule.

[coltoncity]

Originally Posted by kriswlz

I live in Battle Ground WA. I find many of the residents judging anyone who is not white. You have to realize they don't like Hispanics and they don't like Russians. We don't have a large Black population here so i don't hear a lot of complaints about blacks. My guess is an educated Black would be more accepted than a Hispanic who speaks little English or a Russian.

Just this comment should tell you to stay away!!! (Camas does stink like the dickins though)

[gc8181]

I know the last posting was back in 2006, but I would like more information on Longview, WA.

Husband is in medical field and I am in finance. We currently live in the heart of Philadelphia, so getting around is fairly easy. Husband has job offer in Longview, WA (st. John?). I'm guessing from the previous posts that the reason why his offer is so high is probably b/c no one wants to move out to Longview.

If he takes this job, we will be renting for buying a house would be too "permanent". What apartment complexes are in the safer part of town?

We have been hearing lots of pros and cons from individuals and we're having a hard time deciding whether this place is for us or not. For example, the racist factor of the town. we are asian, and if people are ignorant and discriminatory towards blacks and hispanics, then i'm sure they're not tolerant towards asians too then....

How hard is it to find a job in the finance industry in longview? Is it safe to assume that i will probably be looking for a job in Portland, OR? Which is about 45 min south?

Do residents in longview, live there due to the no state income tax and shop in OR b/c there's no sales tax?

Heard the scenery is lovely, but we're not too thrilled about the cloudy/rainy weather. How bad is it?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[mountain_angel_1]

In Longview it rains a lot, cloudy pretty typical Washington weather if you don't like rain or cloudy overcast days then it is not for you. I have lived in a lot of places I would consider Longview to not be high on the list of places you must visit or live just my opinion but I would say that the town does live up to its reputation of drugs, high std's, low income families, theft, dirty smelly. On the good side if you have money lots of money then you can shelter yourself from most of it where you live and a 150,000 isnt going to cut it, good food choices, traffic not so bad, country is available but still close to town. Jobs retail, medical, food servers that's about what I see available.

[moonmaiden]

I lived in Longview for 4 years and Kelso for 1. While the towns certainly are not all bad, you definitely need to keep in mind that what was said about the drugs and crime is very true. Stay away from the 'dirty thirties' area which is the street area combining the 30-39 ave - not all bad and some efforts are being made to clear it out and upgrade things a bit. The town is a very pretty town and the majority of the people are fairly friendly. It's not very cosmopolitian - my son is gay and he was attacked several times.....those that are not 'white' are discriminated against to a certain extent. Mainly black and hispanic, asian not so much. the main thing you want to realize tho is that if you are in the mid to upper levels of income, and stay out of the streets at night - and make sure your kids are well supervised if they are in their teens - it's not that bad of a place. I was a juvenile parole officer tho and the drugs AND sex offenders were pretty rampant both in Cowlitz and Lewis Counties....just be careful!!

[FunTimes]

With your background in finance i would say that your best options to gain employment would be in Vancouver or Portland. If you can avoid working in Portland that is better because you will not have to pay the income tax. You are correct about running across the river for certain big ticket items.

Longview and Kelso like anywhere else have good and bad areas. There has been a drug problem to a much larger scale in the Longview area. Some options would be to move south into other towns close to the freeway such as La Center, Ridgefield, and Northern Vancouver. This would be in the middle for each of your commutes if you had to work in Portland. From North Vancouver close to the freeway to Longview would be about a 20-25 minute commute.

Your options for apartments is better of course in Vancouver rather than the other cities. In any of the cities you can find homes for sale or rent. The farther south the more expensive they would be. Longview has been a cheaper home market so I would assume the rents would be lower as a result. Longview's housing market has seen a close to a double digit appreciation for 2007 as the prices close the gap with the Vancouver housing market. With every increase I would guess that rents will follow shortly behind.

[Julie_Baldino]

Originally Posted by diggitydot

I absolutely second this.

I absolutely 3rd this! The racial issues diminish when you get closer to the Portland area. I live in Washougal... which is a relatively small town... but there are not issues like that here.

It's also not necessarily that expensive to live here. You just have to have the right agent. Let me know if you need any help.