Family life in Cheney? (Spokane, South Hill: fit in, real estate, rentals)

[rumi79]

There might be a possibility for me to get a teaching job at EWU. We are a family of four, two boys 9 and 5 yo. I'd like to live nearby where I work because I am tired of long commutes. Of course good schools are important and I see that Cheney have some of them.
Do you think that a young family can have a comfortable life in a college town like Cheney? We are not looking for crowded, busy places or big towns. We are coming from rural South Jersey and we are used to quiet and even isolated living. We like outdoors activities (fishing, hiking, water and winter sports, gardening). I would appreciate any suggestions and advises.

P.S. I've read all negative threads about Spokane area and I am aware of the cons. We just want to see/live in another place and experience something new for a while, and maybe even settle down there if we grow to like it.

Thank you!

[NWbyNW]

Cheney is a small town that caters to college students. There will be a lot of college aged kids in the downtown strip, but many college students go to Spokane for fun. Cheney doesn't have a whole lot, and is a relatively quiet place, unless you live near the college stadium during games and events.

There are al to of average citizens and older citizens in town. Overall, I would say the town is pretty family friendly. You can't predict what college students may do or protest from one day to the next, but Cheney I would say is a family friendly town.

Try doing more research yourself too, and it is always worth using Google Maps Street View to drive around neighborhoods and the downtown/shopping areas. Take a peek for yourself.

[rumi79]

NWbyNW, thank you for your response! We've looked at real estate, schools, small business opportunities as my husband has his own small company which he will relocate. I love the Google Maps option for street view and we've been using it a lot to look around the neighborhoods.

Thank you again!

[TrafficCory]

If it's this you desire, (fishing, hiking, water and winter sports, gardening), you'll get ALL of that and more in Cheney. There are some great places out there in the surrounding areas, a couple of people I work with have land and homes out that way. Depending on how far off the beaten path you are, winters can be a little much (plows don't get out there until Stage 1 Snow Emergency and even then it takes a while).

Close enough, but also far away.

My wife and I love to ride our bikes on the Fish Lake Trail from northwest Spokane out to the Mason Jar in Cheney. It's a cool little funky place, good breakfast sandwiches and atmosphere. Zips is a local chain but they have decent burgers and a very surprisingly good breakfast (greasy-spoon truck driver breakfasts!).

The schools there enjoy a decent reputation, but as an educator you also know that it's more about student aptitude and parental involvement than any sort of magic dirt (location) that determines success.

Good luck, I love EWU (even though I graduated from WSU I attended Eastern for a year and I met my wife there!). It's actually a pretty campus.

[rumi79]

I wanted to revive my old post, so I don't open a new thread unnecessary.

We will be moving to the area in August! I've been looking online for housing and there are some options which I like even though rather limited at this time. I've read that there will be more rentals available come end of spring. My plan is to secure a rental in June even though we won't be moving there until August.

I've been looking around Cheney, Medical Lake and Spokane - South Hill neighborhood. We will need a house with a garage where we can park the cars in since I've read about the serious problems with car prowling. My main concern is my husband's work truck (it's an old ambulance) which will not fit in a regular size garage (it's taller). He keeps all his work tools there and it will be a tempting prey for thieves. From looking at crime maps it seems that Cheney and Medical Lake are rather safe and don't have the car or property thefts as much as Spokane does. What other areas are safe to park your car on the street without being too far from EWU (15-20 miles is OK)?
I'm thinking about maybe renting a garage where he can park his truck but that would be another expense that we need to budget in. I would rather try to find a place where we can feel safe and be happy with the neighborhood.

Thank you for any help!

[AK76]

Have you considered a storage facility for parking the work truck, a facility with security fencing, lighting and cameras?

[TrafficCory]

Depending on the amount you have to budget for housing there's a lot of places out that way with land and big shops/garages.

What is your budget? Are you try to be very close to your work? Will spouse be getting a job?

[rumi79]

I don't want to spend more than $1500 a month for a rent. I would love to live closer to work but I can commute as well. My husband has a RV mobile repair service, so he doesn't have a shop - he goes to the location of his customers and fixes the problem on the spot. So technically his truck is his shop and all his tools are there.