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mel-I thought previously your friend who lives in Liberty Lake loves living in there and was encouraging you to move there? What part of town are looking in that only has 300K homes? I have been looking online for months as well and have found many, even in South Hill, for under that price that are in great condition. By the way, if you want info on Ft. Collins, I would suggest looking in the Colorado forum, not the Washington one.
mes, thanks for your concern for me, but i suggest mes find as much info on FC on any board she can find it. while i truly do appreciate your concern, i didn't mind in the least providing her with the information.
much luck finding the home/life of your dreams in spokane.
what do you mean spokane doesn't have a problem with crime?
let's take a look at spokane and compare it to other cities on the west coast. we'll take a look at much larger cities -- some with bad reputations -- and the like-sized city of boise. i'd like to see spokane apologists explain away the numbers.
crime index ... the average US city ranks a 325.2 per 100,000 people.
spokane los angeles boise seattle san fran san diego
1999: 516 483 NA 609 466 330
2000: 535 526 276 577 458 316
2001: 581 553 291 580 NA 337
2002: 542 556 296 580 453 333
2003: 555 530 293 611 454 357
2004: 608 474 286 582 450 343
2005: 465 402 294 595 450 348
fact is, spokane has a horrible problem with crime. i'd be more than happy to come back and compare spokane to more cities its size, much like boise.
Looks a lot less dangerous to me.. . . for relative size and age Tacoma is a better comparision for Spokane howerver the socio-economic demographics vary drastically.
From 1990 to 2000 Boise experienced a 37% of change in population - where as the percent of change was only 9.8% in Spokane. Boise is growing and isn't yet experiencing or dealing with urban crime issues.
mes3fils, I understand some of the points you've made about leaning heavily toward Ft Collins now, but I hope you are still planning to visit Spokane in April. Despite the negatives that have been brought up on this thread, I still think you should have a look for yourself. At the very least, you'll know without a doubt that you're making the right decision.
You may very well end up in Ft Collins after visiting both places, but you mentioned a couple of things that you may want to research some more (skiing and downtown).
Im in Denver metro and have been to Ft Collins a few times. Not an expert on it (as I mentioned in a PM to you awhile back) but can confirm that the downtown in Ft Collins is significantly smaller than Spokanes. Not even in the same ballpark, really. Its a nice DT, but more like a 'main st' type DT. Its just a few streets, not IMO the type of DT that you go to alot.
The closest ski resort is hour and a half minimum (more like 2 or more) from Ft Collins and thats to Loveland or Eldora, not Breckenridge, Vail, etc. (Loveland, from my experience, is a fine place for its size and close proximity. Been to Nederland, the town where Eldora is, but havent skiied/ boarded there.) Kellogg, ID (Silver Mt) and Sandpoint, ID (Switzer) are right in that general distance from Spokane. Even Lake Louise in Canada is something like 6 or 7 hours. I particularly like that Kellogg is literally 'exit the freeway, then park. No switchbacks, etc. Plus many of the bigger resorts here in CO are crowded and commute times get really bad. So, as far as skiing/snowboarding is concerned, its just about a wash.
Colorado does have the better weather (sunshine) IMO and it is a great place overall, but as I mentioned, still worth the airfare to see for yourself about Spokane. And you can tell us how you feel afterwards, that would be a great perspective.
Tcam, I'm glad you posted that info. I had read that too. A very important point!! Statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt and need to be looked at carefully.
and that was taken from spokane's lowest crime data index year of 2005. let's take a look at the numbers from spokane one short year earlier:
murders: 4.1
rapes: 46
robberies: 158.5
assaults: 408.4
burglaries: 1721.6
thefts: 6524.1
auto thefts: 935.4
arson: 29.1
face it. spokane has a huge problem with crime. even in spokane's most "crime friendly" year, it proves to be more violent than a city such as seattle, which has one of the largest freeway systems in the country running right through the middle of it, which has many crimes committed in city limits by nonresidents.
stop trying to confuse people by posting OVERALL numbers from a city with three times the population of spokane. yes, statistics can be taken with a grain of salt when someone intentionally attempts to misuse them.
admit it. spokane has a problem with crime. the truth will set you free.
mel-I thought previously your friend who lives in Liberty Lake loves living in there and was encouraging you to move there? What part of town are looking in that only has 300K homes? I have been looking online for months as well and have found many, even in South Hill, for under that price that are in great condition. By the way, if you want info on Ft. Collins, I would suggest looking in the Colorado forum, not the Washington one.
Michiganmom-
First...thanks for redirecting me to the Co forum, however, I already post/get info from there. =)
Second...Yes, I have a friend in Liberty Lake. She is watching out for me. She wants us to be happy wherever we decide to move...and, is being honest when giving us info on Spokane. She recently emailed me..."I don't want to mislead you about Spokane because if you move all the way here, and hate it, I would feel awful". Some descriptive words she has used are...'ugly' (re:valley area), 'dangerous' and 'weirdos' (re:d/town area-evening wise). She has also said how great the seasons are and how nice and down-to-earth the people are. She has said the schools aren't great, she homeschools. I have 2 little boys-7mos and 27mos, and a teen son. So, the school issue is of concern to us.
My friend is in LL, which is the more upscale area to live in from what I hear. So, yes, she does love LL, but she doesn't seem too keen on the rest of Spokane.
I get email listings daily from 2 different realtors there. I am seeing an increase in home prices, like I said in my prior post, it is inching up closer to and over 300k for the size we want-minimum sf of ~1700 w/full bsemnt. Not even that lge of a home, but, a lge price. The taxes are high to top it off. If we bought a home there now, I am sure the taxes would be ~$3000/year for size home/yard we want. For what we know at this point about Spokane, not worth it, to us atleast.
I realize the other city (CO) that we are looking into has a smaller d/town (thanks for info dan6200alt). But, you know what? That's fine with us. We are not the 'd/town' sort of folk at this time in our lives. We live in Palm Beach Cnty and w/in 15 miles of about 4 different major d/towns. We rarely frequent them. They are very nice and safe btw. But, if I am going to live in a city so far away from another major city as Spokane is, atleast I would want that city to have a d/town that is SAFE. And, that is not what I am hearing about Spokane d/t. My friend in LL says if you are there after dark, that you may potentially be approached by 'homeless' people or those wanting to sell you drugs. Not good. Our cities here are completely safe to walk around, shop, eat, dance, you name it, at night. And, you could be alone and be just fine up until the restaurants/bars close at past MN. There are people all over the place. That's how a d/town should be, IMHO.
As for skiing, we aren't planning on skiing every weekend or anything like that. So, to be ~2-2.5hrs away from Breckenridge, Copper Mtn, Winter Park etc is just fine for us. Dan6200alt, is there skiing in Loveland? Eldora? I plugged in the 3 resorts I mentioned above on Mapquest from FC and got travel time of no more than 2.5hrs.
I know my friend in LL's husband in actually from BC and loves to go skiing up in Nelson-he claims it's beautiful/awesome skiing.
Another drawback that my friend mentions a lot is the amt of 'gray days'. Keep in mind we (her and I) grew up in FL and are used to sunshine.
We subscribed to the 'Spokesman-Review' for 3 months and last weeks paper had in it about Spokane's public school budget for next year to be in the deficit by $10.5 million.
Another article was headed 'Between a rock and a loud place' it was re: a local Spokane valley boulder business and how the noise is becoming a problem for neighborhoods around the business...decreasing sales prices, disturbing homeowners with the noise etc. Apparently, the noise from huge boulders being moved around, along with the dust/vibration, is very disturbing for those who live in the valley area around this business. Interesting, and something one should know if they are looking to buy a home in the valley. Stay away from this area.
In another article, the journalist was saying how she posted recently that her home got broken into, and after that article was printed, she got tons of calls and emails from locals who had recently been burglarized (she quoted atleast 40 people) and some had compained of being burglarized more than once! The article went on to say that the local Spokane COPS program in severe need of volunteers. Again, there is obviously a crime issue in Spokane, there is no disputing that. For it's size, the #'s should be lower.
Of course, there is no 'utopia' of a place to live. I just want to be as informed as possible. Moving is expensive, especially when moving from SE FL to across the nation!
I should've pointed out that the town of Loveland (not far from Ft Collins), is not where the Loveland Ski area is. Its a bit confusing. I had an event in Loveland the town and an employee almost drive to Loveland ski. Loveland Ski is off I-70 west of Denver, just before the Eisenhower Tunnel. Its basically the easiest and quickest place to go from Denver metro. For Ft Collins residents, Eldora might be a little closer. The 'tunnel' btw, is a factor in the traffic coming back from the bigger places like Breck, vail, Copper, etc, so going to Loveland is a good place for day trips. Lots of people, including myself, plan on staying over night if they go pass the tunnel. kinda enhances the experience. The drive times will vary from mapquest when there is traffic, weather, which is alot of the time. If you're planning on just a few times each season, its not that big of a deal I guess. Weekdays are always best.
As far as the Ft Collins DT: it is a nice litle area, just wanted to point out that it is much smaller. Yep, safer too. Another adantage of Ft Collins Im sure you've considered is that its just an hour or so from DT Denver, which is a great DT. Its got bums/homeless misc petty crime, but not terrible for the 10th largest DT in the U.S.
Interesting - I posted Spokane & Tacoma , Spokane & Boise, and Spokane & Seattle. I don't believe with 3 comparisons I was attempting to confuse or deceive anyone.
I believe your original comparison was Spokane to Boise and that comparison isn't great because Boise is on a rapid growth path and isn't yet experiencing urban crime issues. Boise percent of population increase from 1990 to 2000 is 37% and Spokane's is only 9.8%. Spokane & Tacoma comparison is more reasonable.
I'm sorry that my first positing didn't retain the columns between the numbers, which may have confused some, such as yourself because a lot of the 2006 numbers (by the way where do your numbers come from) you posted for Spokane are lower than the 2005. In fact I've reposted those tables below (I hope they retain their columns this time) along with Census economic data - hopefully this will give everyone more information to base their conclusions on.
When you compare crime rates you have to look at the complete picture - I am still not providing a complete picture but I can say that the surface data says Spokane as an urban place is pretty save and after living here for almost 40 years I can say children play outside and we have a safe and lively night life.
You are far more likely to die in a car accident - Car Fatalities per 100,000 Population (the 'per capita' rate) 14.52, Spokane iwould then be 28 deaths Crash and Casualty Statistics for the USA - than you are to be murdered in Spokane. I'm certain that everyone will agree that they drive their car far more often than they put themselves in a situation where criminal harm can befall them.
I'm sorry you disagree with me - where do you live? If you live in Spokane and want to leave were will you move to? Are you planning to leave urban life behind?
As urban places go Spokane is affordable, safe, clean and fun.
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed
Actual Reported Population and Crimes:-----Spokane, WA-----Tacoma, WA
Population:--------199,384-----198,748
Murder:--------13----------13
Forcible Rape:--------78 ----------120
Robbery:--------286----------690
Aggravated Assault:--------743----------1191
Burglary:--------2436----------3255
Larceny Theft:--------7932----------9989
Vehicle Theft:--------1802----------3558 Census American Community Survey 2005 American FactFinder
Median household income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----34,752-----40,290
Median family income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----48,064-----48,183
Per capita income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----20,914-----22,854
Families below poverty level-----11.3%-----13.6%
Individuals below poverty level-----17.3%-----16.9% Making $40,000 in Spokane - The equivalent income is $45,127.75 in Tacoma It will take a 12.82% increase to maintain your standard of living.
Actual Reported Population and Crimes-----Spokane, WA-----Boise, ID
Population:--------199,384-----195,012
Murder:--------13---------------5
Forcible Rape:--------78---------------120
Robbery:--------286---------------86
Aggravated Assault:--------743---------------537
Burglary:--------2436----------1358
Larceny Theft:--------7932----------5627
Vehicle Theft:--------1802---------------499 Census American Community Survey 2005 American FactFinder
Median household income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----34,752-----46,342
Median family income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----48,064-----59,693
Per capita income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----20,914-----24,657
Families below poverty level-----11.3%-----7.6%
Individuals below poverty level-----17.3%-----11.8% Making $40,000 in Spokane - The equivalent income is $40,207.37 in Boise. It will take a 0.52% increase to maintain your standard of living.
Actual Reported Population and Crimes:-----Spokane, WA-----Seattle, WA
Population:--------199,384-----------579,215
Murder:--------13--------------------25
Forcible Rape:--------78------------------138
Robbery:--------286-----------------1607
Aggravated Assault:--------743---------------2339
Burglary:--------2436---------------6761
Larceny Theft:--------7932---------------27147
Vehicle Theft:--------1802---------------9563 Census American Community Survey 2005 American FactFinder
Median household income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----34,752-----49,297
Median family income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----48,064-----69,795
Per capita income (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars)-----20,914-----36,392
Families below poverty level-----11.3%-----6.6%
Individuals below poverty level-----17.3%-----12.3% Making $40,000 in Spokane -The equivalent income is $47,324.74 in Seattle. It will take a 18.31% increase to maintain your standard of living.
Where do you reside - in one of your posts you claim to be an Ashland, Or native. "1/25/07 Washington Native thanks for stopping by ashland native."
You comment on TriCities, Spokane, Tacoma, etc. . . posts? Ashland OR has only 22,000 people. If you are in Ashland you are not living in an urban area but you are living in area where you are twice as likely to be forcibly raped than you are in Spokane.
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Hi again! long post...=)
