Spokane info (homes, neighborhood, living)

[f14norm]

My husband and I are considering Spokane as an option when he retires. Question for those who live there....are the summers there warm enough and long enough that many people have backyard pools? If so, do they need to be heated? Also, it appears that there are many rivers and lakes around that area...warm enough for watersports on them? Thanks in advance for the answers!

[WendyK]

There are some people who have inground or above ground swimming pools in Spokane. Most of the inground ones will have some type of heater just to get the water warmed up in April and May. June, July and AUgust are hot enough that you wouldn't need to use a heater (unless you want more of a hot tub style pool). Many people take advantage of the lakes for water skiing, tubing and wakeboarding during the summer months. Days here will easily get into the 80's 90's and even low 100's during the summer. Night time temps drop about 20-30 degrees from the daytime temps, making for cooler enjoyable evenings.

[f14norm]

Wendy,

Thanks for the reply. That was exactly what I was hoping to hear!

I do have another question for you. I have read a fair amount of posts describing Spokane as ugly...would you agree with this statement? It's so hard to judge when you're reading others' posts because you don't know the author and whether they are a whiner or not. I have read quite of few of your posts and it seems you just offer good, objective advice...thanks for that!

[WendyK]

There are certainly some ugly parts of Spokane, probably like any city of this size. There are people of all economic status living here and some can't afford to keep their homes & yards as nice looking as they could be. There are also some industrial areas that aren't so nice to look at (near railroad tracks, heavy equipment, etc.) but you probably wouldn't see these areas on a daily basis unless you lived nearby. I guess what I'm saying, is that if you lived here, you'd probably find a neighborhood that made you happy and was aesthetically pleasing to YOU. Not everyone has the same tastes. I think if you made a visit to the area, you would see that there are many more beautiful areas than ugly areas.

[aeric67]

You won't see the pools in Spokane like you would in Phoenix, but there are definitely times of the year I wish I had one!

As for ugliness, I think Spokane roads force thru-traffic to flow through the poorer areas of town and, at the same time, the city and private developers do very little to fund privacy walls and such through those areas. But I would not say that means Spokane has more ugly/poor areas than other cities.

About the only time Spokane is really unpleasant to look at is in the winter when there is no snow on the ground and in the trees. At every other part of the year, it's quite attractive in general. Colorful leaves in the fall, Lilacs in the spring, sun and fun in the summer, winter wonderland when it snows...