Family of 8 relocating to Spokane area early next year (Wenatchee: appointed, new home)

[Rentsof6]

We are a happily married couple (in our 30s) and parents of 6 awesome kids, 5 daughters & a son (18yrs-3yrs). We are both AZ natives and all our children have been born here.
We are ready for a change! We are tired or Tucson & but love all the people here but we want a change regardless. We want to be able to raise our kids in the "country". We LOVE the country, water (that we can put our boat on without having to drive hours to enjoy), we want to live where we can enjoy all 4 seasons. We want to live where it is green and where our kids can play outside and enjoy the wildlife! We are also tired of the extreme heat here and want out of the "desert". We feel as though Tucson is really a dead end street for us. Even with an education here the pay is very low. My husband is a plumber & I am an office manager with a degree in business.
And speaking of education, our schools here are not very good let alone great. We have our children in some of the higher ranking schools and it doesnt seem to the education we were looking for or that it is promised to be.
We are worried if we just continue to stay here then our children will be "stuck" here too. So we feel we need to make a move and not look back. We are ready to sell our house and leave AZ and start a life in another state.
We have done some traveling but not to too many different states, CA, NM, NV for family vacations in the summer.
We have decided that we moving our family to Spokane, WA! We are super nervous (of course!) But oh SO excited! The kids are even looking forward to this move and living in a new area!
So has anyone been in the same situation? Was it worth it? Any regrets? Is it worth packing up your family & leaving the only state you have ever lived trying to find a better life? What areas are good in Spokane/9 Mile Falls area? Or does anyone just have any ideas they would like to share? All of your input is greatly appreciated!

[redhead]

i admire your guts to come to a place you haven't seen; and i don't think that you'll be dissappointed. tucson is beautiful but culturally it is 180 degrees off from spokane..........
the big adjustment for you family will be the winters. with small kids this can be a BIG adjustment, there's no opening the door at noon and letting them play outside for awhile in order to burn off some energy. you need to be aware that you'll be faily housebound during snowy winters.......
with that said this winter is supose to mild with little to no snow....
but someone use to living in year round sun will have a BIG adjustment to cold icy/ snowy winters.
driving in icy and snow is is a challenge and hazardous for people not use to it.
but if you love the area and are easy going enough to take in a major life change then you'll do fine. but many people underestimate the full effects to ones life that such a change brings about.
i hope you come and i hope you keep a willing mind and make spokane your new home.
i'm a big fan of the north part of spokane, shadle, northwest spokane is not expensive and great access to all your needs within a few miles.
good luck

[Rentsof6]

Thank you Redhead!
We do feel pretty gutsy! We are SUPER excited and a lil nervous. The only thing we are nervous about is the job situation, making sure we both have a good job to make it there. The snow doesnt quite make us nervous since every winter we chase it and head up to Flagstaff for a week or 2 at a time and are sad coming home. Living in it for months at a time might be bnother story though but we will adjust =) Driving in it is a lil scary, hahaha!
We are SO looking forward to the country and green and water and having our kids grow up in a "better" environment. And our children and SO ready for this change too! It took them a bit to get to this point, since we started planning it over a year ago they went from completely agaisnt it to all ready to go!
We found a great realtor/relcocation lady there that we are working with to find us a home is a good area aroudn good schools. Things are slowly coming together so we should be there early next year! Thank you for you input!

[vesperbelle]

I agree with red. Pretty much everything you've listed you will be happy with in Spokane. It's family friendly, great schools, outdoor activities galore. Your kids will love it there! My only area of concern is that you're moving from a desert climate to a snowy climate and that will be a major change for your whole family. The kids will probably love it but you will have to adjust to shoveling and driving in it, and being a lot more house bound in the winter can be claustrophobic. We moved from Ca. to Spokane and then had to move back to Ca. because of family. I can tell you that it was a big relief for me to get away from the cold and snow. Although the life there is a lot more relaxed & family friendly compared to where I'm at now so there is always a chance that I might return in the next few years since I still own my house there. Good luck to you and your family

[redhead]

just a moderation on what i said about this upcoming winter; when i wrote that i had just read a long term forecast that said we'll have a mild winter; well the same weatherman just did a 180 and is now saying we'll have a colder and normal to above normal snowfall this winter DANG

[Rentsof6]

I really appreciate all the input!
We are SO looking forward to moving! The snow seems a li, scary but I am sure we will get used to it in time. We dont mind staying in and having family game nights or family movies nights during the week! And that just gives us more of an excuse to do so during the winter months =)
How are the jobs these days there? How is construction? We are planning on opening a family restaurant there within a year or so of moving so fingers crossed this works out for us. Thank you again!

[Rentsof6]

Seems as though we will be heading that way in March/April, will there be snow on the ground? We cant wait! I am not worried about it being in Spokane but during the drive there, we worry about the big truck and coming up there with lots of snow on the ground. Any thoughts?

[Count David]

You'll probably be fine.

[lucid1331]

I am moving to the area in about 6 weeks with my fiance and 7 year old daughter. Have you made any definite plans on the date or area you will be moving to yet?

[brianjs]

Good for you and your family. I moved (almost 3 years ago) to Goodyear for work and have been trying to get back to Spokane. I am now considering Wenatchee as well. My kids always talk about Spokane and miss it greatly. As for being stuck indoors I view it as the same as being stuck indoors for the summer in AZ. The big difference is your heating bill won't be the same as your A/C bill is down here.

I have known several people who have lived in the nine mile falls area and liked it. It is kind of far from town IMO. As redhead mentioned Shadle is truly close to most everything, but you will be looking at older homes. I lived in the Country Homes area and Colbert. My wife and I loved both of these areas. If you are looking for acreage, I would recommend Nine Mile, Deer Park, Cheney, Elk, etc.

I would have to say that some of the nicest people I have ever met live in Spokane.