What I like about Spokane (Everett, South Hill: for sale, apartment, houses)

[WendyK]

Originally Posted by coffeepotbend

Wendy- do they still belly dance at Niko's? They use to weave around the tables while you were eating, belly dancing. I never heard of Benniditto's, is that new? Is it a chain, or local?

No, they did not have any belly dancers -- we've been there 4-5 times and haven't seen any so they must have stopped providing that service!! I think they have dancers at the Moroccan place on NW Blvd, though...

Benniditto's is a locally owned pizza restaurant. They have a wonderful assortment of unusual toppings - I like the non-traditional type pizzas with goat cheese, spinach, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes...yummm! I'm making myself hungry just thinking about it.

We moved here in 1998 so just missed the ice storm and fire storms, but I still hear people talk about them. And you can still see the remnants of the fires that went through TumTum - very desolate looking.

Since I've been here, I think the most extreme weather I've noticed was last summer -- very hot, dry and sunny, and this past winter (is it over yet?) The other years have been fairly typical 4-season climate with just short periods of extremely low temps in the winter.

I'm glad you mentioned that friends are what you consider a good thing about Spokane. We have made more friends here than we ever had living in FL. People here seem to really value time spent together. It seems I can't go anywhere without running into someone I know. Yes, coping with the sometimes miserable weather isn't so bad when you've got good friends to hang out with. Coffee anyone?? And maybe some chocolate

[coffeepotbend]

I need to correct something....I see that edit is only a 90 minute option....bummer....

There were 3, not 30 coyotes circling my round pen!!! There were more coyotes waiting in the woods but I don't know how many!!! Holy cow, if it were 30, I would have been flippin scared!!!!! LOL.....That was a typo extreme!!! I wish edit was a bit more flexible!!

I'll type more after the kids get on the bus!

[Deena160]

Coffee, I thought the 30 cyotes sounded pretty exciting! It was just a slight exageration, that's all!
Artemesia(sp?), you'll be glad to know that when I pulled into Walmart by our hotel, the car next to me had an "Obama '08" sticker and the one in front of me had a "More Trees, Less Bush" one! My husband and I instantly thought of you.
Anyway, things I liked:
The Onion--pretty good. Reminds me a bit of a restaurant we used to have here called Mr. Bills except it was alot more expensive. It's a good thing we did alot of walking around so we should be saved from the coronaries brought on by the onion rings(but they were REALLY good). Didn't get to Dicks, but we drove past it. Went to a pretty good restaurant in Post Falls(can't remember the name, but it was full of stuffed trophies!) and had a very nice steak that was done perfectly.
The airport--after being used to the craziness of SeaTac, it was lovely.
The traffic--the only thing that we got tied up in was the mess in town where they have one of the roads torn up and we couldn't figure out how to get from Indian Trail back down to the Valley. That was my fault(being the navigator) because we made a wrong turn and then couldn't figure out how to get around it. If they had that sort of construction going on here, it would have taken alot more then 45 minutes to get to the freeway. I-90 was nothing during the evening compared to here.
Suburb streets--They're so wide! And most everywhere we went they seemed pretty clean. In neighborhoods where there are just average types of houses all the lawns seemed to have been mowed and the landscaping kept up. We honestly saw very few "scary" houses compared to what we're used to(okay, granted we were mostly looking in places we wanted to buy, but we did alot of driving in between).
Shopping--adequate malls and shopping centers, and most every store I'm used to shopping at. Also, diversity of people in the malls. There is one mall to the South of us that I don't feel comfortable in unless I'm dressed in my nicest semi-casual clothes because every other woman is done up to the 9's all manicured with a designer handbag. I felt totally comfortable at Northtown and in the Valley Mall wearing a sweater and jeans. I know my teenager would feel fine in either place, too.
People--talked to a few people and they seemed very nice and very welcoming. Went to the new Ben Stein movie and there were alot more then just my husband and I in the theater(and people clapped at the end!).
Proximity--drove over to Post Falls and visited a cousin I hadn't seen in over 20 years. Drove up into the hills in Otis Orchards and saw deer on someone's lawn that weren't made of plastic. Drove next to the river and it was lovely, too. It only takes a few minutes to get out and take a drive in the country.
What I didn't like:
Neighborhood jumping--don't know what else to call it? My husband was the first to notice, but it's just that one minute you're in an okay neighborhood, you cross the road, and now you're obviously in a better one, or perhaps a worse. Around here there's a more gradual decline or raising of the home standard as you travel through the neighborhoods.
Suburban sprawl--was more conscious of it this time thanks to some of our naysayers, but what's the alternative? Urban jungle or skyrises?
Duplexes--lots of duplexes. It just seemed strange to me.
I'm sure there's more, but I'm too tired. My daughter's home from her dance now. I'm going to have her download my pictures because I'm lame that way. :~) D

[chiaroscuro]

Cool input deena. Shoulda told me you were swinging through, I woulda said hi! Picked a place you like yet?

Originally Posted by Deena160

Neighborhood jumping--don't know what else to call it? My husband was the first to notice, but it's just that one minute you're in an okay neighborhood, you cross the road, and now you're obviously in a better one, or perhaps a worse. Around here there's a more gradual decline or raising of the home standard as you travel through the neighborhoods.

I think it's due to the fact that the city is very small, its like a 'mini-city.' If it were four or five times as large, the individual neighborhoods would be larger and more defined per area. If you look in the 'Average' to 'Fair' neighborhoods, it's not as predictable or homogenized as the 'Great' or 'Excellent' neighborhoods.

[Deena160]

Yeah, mentioned on the other thread that we did find one place we liked in particular. Trying not to like it too much because we still need to get ours whipped into shape before we can even consider putting it on the market to put a contingency bid on the new one. It's in the south Valley. :~) D

[claymaster]

some one mentioned that the humidity is low in Spokane. Is that true????claymaster

[roneb]

Spokane isn't quite desert, but the humidity tends to be low. Compared to NC it is nonexistant!

[claymaster]

Thanks for the ans. roneb!!!! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I don't particulary like the desert but I need to get away from this humidity. I believe that it's the reason that I've been coughing for 6 months. The damn mold and mildew that grows is probably what's doing it. I happen to like green instead of brown but can't take the constant feeling like I just stepped out of the shower. Sure there are a lot of air conditioned places but I also like being outside and I can't take the air conditioning there. Even my car smells terrible from mold and mildew until I get the air condition circulating.
I was please to evesdrop on some of the above posts because it gave me a little bit more of what it's like around there. I've never been to Spokane or any part of WA unless you consider a lay over in Seattle of which I didn't leave the terminal anyway.
Glad to hear that it's a friendly area as I'm a friendly person. How's the job sistuation there. I've done many things in my time my recent two ways of making a living is 1.. I'm an Esthetician, 2. I'm a potter and oh yes, I'm also starting to do spray on (temp. tattooing) at street fairs and art shows. Many galleries around???? How about festivals???? Does anyone know if people are interested in any of the things that I do. Gotta know if there is any work potential for myself. Can you get any reasonable house rents and purchases in a decent area. I am an older single woman and don't want to fear for my life. I guess reasonable is in the pocket of the beholder I'm thinking for a house rental somewhere in the $500----$600 range and in the house purchasing area in the low $100,000,s??????? Hope I'm not going to make anyone laugh at those numbers just being honest. Any information about the area would be more than appreciated. Thanks in advance. Linda

[chiaroscuro]

Originally Posted by claymaster

I guess reasonable is in the pocket of the beholder I'm thinking for a house rental somewhere in the $500----$600 range and in the house purchasing area in the low $100,000,s??????? Hope I'm not going to make anyone laugh at those numbers just being honest. Any information about the area would be more than appreciated. Thanks in advance. Linda

No one in spokane is gonna laugh at those numbers. You'll probably be living on the outskirts of one of the lesser desirable areas, but that doesn't mean you'll have to fear for your life. Search 'crime' in this thread, also 'neighborhoods.' You can be low income and still live a fairly decent life here.

[Deena160]

We drove up through the NW area of town(heading toward Indian Trail...) when we went to visit and there were lots of little cute houses(Post WWII, maybe?). Not sure of the price ranges, but they looked like half decent places. We've already discussed that I probably don't have the highest standards out there, but there didn't seem to be alot of real dumps--they were just really small and probably perfect for 1-2 people. :~) D