Excited new Spokanites - Now a ton of questions... (Spokane: apartments, movers)

[Jey K]

We finally arrived in Spokane yesterday and became first time homeowners. If you'll indulge, we've got a running list of questions on living in Spokane- some of them very elementary.

1. So this morning, we see it's trash pickup and recycling day; Where do we purhase/rent from the city the bins?

2. Some people appear to leave their "porch lights" on overnight- is this a practice we need to adopt to discourage theft?

TIA for any useful replies/tips. We are so excited to start our new life here. Can't wait for our fridge to showup... Movers are showing up with the rest of our junk today. Gotta signup for Internet access- it's such a handicap living without; Thank goodness for smartphones.

[Jey K]

P.S. The Costco here rocks- razor clams, oysters, sockeye, dover sole, picked dungeness meat... Can you tell I love seafood?

[WendyK]

hey JeyK are you within the Spokane city limits? The previous owner should have left behind their trash can & recycling bins....if not, call 625-7878 to have them bring you containers. If you're outside the city limits, you might have pickup through Waste Management or Sunshine Disposal.
Porch lights are a personal preference, I think. I leave mine on until the last teenager comes home and then they're off. But I'm out in Nine Mile....

My hubby came home with a gorgeous piece of sockeye from costco yesterday - can't wait for dinner!!

[SmithFamilyFour]

Hi there! Welcome to Spokane and congrats on the house! Our family just moved here in May and we love it so far.

I'm not sure about the porch lights, but I can help on the trash. Go to City of Spokane - Solid Waste Management and there should be numbers to call to request a garbage can, green can and recycle bin. It will show up on the next trash day. There is also a handy map that shows the collection times for the city.

Good luck getting settled and again, welcome!

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Jey K

2. Some people appear to leave their "porch lights" on overnight- is this a practice we need to adopt to discourage theft?

I don't leave my porch light on here in Spokane, I keep it off at night partly to discourage the bugs from congregating around it. Something inside me tells me I don't need to leave it on here (in my neighborhood).

By contrast, my porch light never went off back in Colorado, or back in California for that matter.

[vette-dude]

Originally Posted by Jey K

We finally arrived in Spokane yesterday and became first time homeowners. If you'll indulge, we've got a running list of questions on living in Spokane- some of them very elementary.

1. So this morning, we see it's trash pickup and recycling day; Where do we purhase/rent from the city the bins?

2. Some people appear to leave their "porch lights" on overnight- is this a practice we need to adopt to discourage theft?

TIA for any useful replies/tips. We are so excited to start our new life here. Can't wait for our fridge to showup... Movers are showing up with the rest of our junk today. Gotta signup for Internet access- it's such a handicap living without; Thank goodness for smartphones.

...First Welcome to our city...

I use Waste Management, it is the primary trash removal in the city, their POC is: telephone #(509) 924-9400
They supply the can and recycling bin(s) as needed, charge is based on size of trash can you need. Porch Lights are left on for security reasons, I would do this anywhere I live actually. Comcast is the basic cable / internet service. Not knowing where in Spokane you reside, I believe Qwest is also available for DSL services. We enjoy it here nice neighbors , and most of us keep the lights on at night for safety reasons..

vette-dude
Spokane

[Jey K]

Thanks for all the replies; I guess we'll consider leaving the porchlights on overnight. Strangely enough somebody from Spokane Waste Management showed up in the AM yesterday even before we called with a trash and recycling bin. We'll never know who called them. Thanks for the link SmithF4, we had to call 'em to downgrade to a 32gal bin; They showed up with a 64gal unannounced.

Anybody have a security system? I feel like we should have one, but imagine all the wires on the windows and doors can get ugly; For those using security, any companies to recommend?

Thanks again for all the warm welcomes. After having lived in the big city for the past few years, we've been constantly astounded by the kindness and warmth of the people here. Spokanites we've encountered are truly considerate and caring people that go the extra mile. We are loving it. First night in and our neighbors immediately invited us for dinner knowing we wouldn't have a fridge or our stuff from the movers yet.

[RetiredChef]

Originally Posted by Jey K

Anybody have a security system? I feel like we should have one, but imagine all the wires on the windows and doors can get ugly; For those using security, any companies to recommend?

I don't know where you live, but we moved to Spokane 4 1/2 years ago, Peone Prairie area, the owners of the house didn't even have keys for it and in 20 years had never locked the doors. They even went on vacation for weeks at the time and never thought about locking it.

It took my wife several months of uneasiness to get over NOT having an alarm since we have always had one before. Nowadays she doesn't even take the face plate off of her radio in her car and doesn't bother to lock the tailgate on her truck. Both items that were stolen in LA.

[Count David]

Is this....

Originally Posted by Jey K

Anybody have a security system? I feel like we should have one,

caused by this?

Originally Posted by Jey K

I guess we'll consider leaving the porchlights on overnight.

Like Chef said, we don't know what part of Spokane you live in, but IMO most likely you won't need a security system.

Jey K, you moved from Chicagoland right? Well, out here we don't have to think about crime like somebody from Chicago would. I actually find it a little odd that you wouldn't have left your porch light on in Chicago (if you had one). I think if I lived there I probably would.

I do not leave mine on mostly because my neighborhood isn't very dense, so I don't worry about things as much, and even when I lived in denser neighborhoods elsewhere I don't think I worried much at all, it just felt right to leave it on, maybe more to give the impression that we were home, even if we weren't.

So basically what I'm trying to say is, that unless you live in a very, very dense neighborhood and have tons of unnecessary valuables, you should be fine w/o a security system. We had one when I was a kid, and the only people that ever tripped the alarm were ourselves and the cat. We got the security system in response to some recent burglaries to our house, but we later came to the conclusion that it was probably people we knew that were burglarizing our house (my Mother hung out with some pretty shady characters back then). End of anti-security system rant.

Relax Jey K, you live in the West now. It's completely different out here, as you are finding out.

[KimberleyT]

Originally Posted by RetiredChef

I don't know where you live, but we moved to Spokane 4 1/2 years ago, Peone Prairie area, the owners of the house didn't even have keys for it and in 20 years had never locked the doors. They even went on vacation for weeks at the time and never thought about locking it.

It took my wife several months of uneasiness to get over NOT having an alarm since we have always had one before. Nowadays she doesn't even take the face plate off of her radio in her car and doesn't bother to lock the tailgate on her truck. Both items that were stolen in LA.

I've only been here for 4 years, but i've had my truck broken into twice and everything stolen out of it. We leave our porch light on, and always lock the door even when we are inside. People who steal watch the places they're targeting a lot. If they notice a habit they will work with it. Especially if you leave something unlocked a lot. They notice. Especially at apartments and grocery stores. As far as an alarm systems go, i don't think it's necessary in spokane, just make sure you lock up before leaving.