Thinking of relocating to Spokane...Bad move or Good move???? (wages, living in)

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Anders15

What is it like for a college student? What is the night life like? What are some cheap and safe places to rent?

These are very general questions.

Re: college students: Ask the thousands who go/went to Gonzaga.

Re: night life: I once went to a bar downtown on a midweek summer night, it seemed like any other bar around the country on a midweek summer night. Downtown, the bars seem pretty spread out from each other, but they are there.

Re: cheap/safe places to rent: Can be found anywhere in Spokane. Post an address/cross-streets and some of the locals/past-locals can give you opinions of the area.

[mcjan]

Originally Posted by teamcoltra

Normally, I don't like people moving in... housing prices are sky rocketing around here because of all the people who found out how cheap prices are in this area. My father bought this home in 90 for 32,000, it was now appraised at 200,000.
Post Falls has really in expensive housing... its only 30 minutes from Spokane... very little crime.
You would be cool to come here though because your from portland and those people are cool, i have a problem with the number of californians comming here just because they are selling their 3million dollar homes and buying our 200,000 homes and killing all of our beautiful farm land.

. Please know that not everyone that lives in california owns a 3million dollar home. I live in a mobile home that might get 100,000 here so you don't have to worry about me buying your 200,000 dollar homes. Why does everyone feel that all of California is full of rich people. Some of us are hard working folks that happen to live in an expensive state. That is not our fault

[Skalanman]

agreed, but given how some of your former neighbors that moved all over up here have conducted themselves... well, lets just say that rich or poor, an ass is still an ass anywhere and their new neighbors up here don't have to like it (or tolerate what they're pulling), let alone be looking forward to seeing any more like them move in and destroy our home any more than they already have;p And to think we used to be one of the more open places for newcomers of all backgrounds (I mean half of Spokane are misplaced Montanans for crying out loud, going way back), but people can take only so much BS before they push back.

Someone should really do a before & after picture of the once beautiful & somewhat 'pristine' NW and the truly dramatic transformation under the effects of massive population influx and staggering crime, all within only the last 5-10 years and then you'd see we're not a bunch of backwards/backwoods hicks mad at the world or afraid of change...

If you have any enjoyment or appreciation (or love) of the outdoors and nature in general, and if you could see what's happened up here, you'd realize why so many folks are PO'd - it's a crime, fueled by greed. Being back east I've been shocked at the vast expanses of green woods and how many open spaces they still have despite the TV and movies that imply otherwise, yet our precious few fertile valleys and national treasures in all honesty are being paved over at an alarming rate...

The high-altitude baby blue skies and clean air of this region is now a perpetual pale light brown that mildly burns eyes, or you can almost choke on it half the time - not just in the landlocked Inland Empire but from the shores of the Sound all the way east; and above all, the rampant crime in the Inland Empire is causing the whole area to wither/decay as a result. It's tragic.

'Real estate brokers', investors (foreign or domestic, and local or far flung) and certainly our so called "leaders" clearly couldn't care less so long as they get theirs (and reward their cronies as they all sell this region out and squeeze and extract every last ounce of profit they can from us and our home here) and the rest of us are expected to just take it. This area is beautiful with a rich history, though you wouldn't know it now, and it deserves better... we deserve better and so do our children.

No one is against new neighbors. But don't move to a place and obliterate it's identify, history, insult it like its not worthy of respect or the time to help keep it beautiful. If you couldn't see the beauty, why did you move there then? Why do you stay? This is a mindset that needs to change or this place will be ruined all together like they let Detroit fall into utter decay.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Skalanman

agreed, but given how some of your former neighbors that moved all over up here have conducted themselves... well, lets just say that rich or poor, an ass is still an ass

I was born and raised in California, but moved to Spokane from Colorado (but ultimately moved back to CO, where I am now).

Our company brought jobs to Spokane.

We rented a century-old house on a dirt road on Sunset Hill. We spent our earnings at local stores. We enjoyed the natural beauty and all it had to offer.

We will probably be moving back to Spokane as soon as I get fired, and hopefully we won't ruin it too much for you the next time.

[Skalanman]

Sincerely hope you manage to keep your job... tough times out there (I should know, I'm currently 3k miles from my home in Spokane traveling for work, just trying to pay the bills like all of us). If not, hope you find a new one and if it brings you to Spokane I wish you all the best.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Skalanman

Sincerely hope you manage to keep your job... tough times out there (I should know, I'm currently 3k miles from my home in Spokane traveling for work, just trying to pay the bills like all of us). If not, hope you find a new one and if it brings you to Spokane I wish you all the best.

Thanks. The bold would be awesome.

[ApartmentNomad]

Originally Posted by Skalanman

Being back east I've been shocked at the vast expanses of green woods and how many open spaces they still have despite the TV and movies that imply otherwise, yet our precious few fertile valleys and national treasures in all honesty are being paved over at an alarming rate....

This is an interesting point I don't think I've seen made before (specifically the part about the green and open spaces in the east). (I left Pennsylvania because I needed a dry climate for health reasons, but I still think it's a great and often beautiful state; I'm not sure people realize how varied the scenery there can actually be. Sorry, off topic.) I realize your point is not just that there are some nice stretches in that region of the country, but also that it seems unfair for people to come from there and develop away the fragile natural beauty in the northwest (or other parts of the country).

[xielvas]

My wife and I are struggling in this stuffy, apathetic, angry state of Arizona. In three months or less we are willing to cash out on some 401k money to start over and move. We will be moving there without jobs. We are willing to work ANY job just to live there. We both want small town atmosphere. I am tired of crossing the street here and people speed up, exit the car to start a fight or curse at you for crossing the street. When I lived in Spirit Lake, ID for three months I fell in love with how people treated us, the water and the air.

101 Reasons To Hate Arizona --> Many reasons why we hate it here.

I guess you could say we are going through a midlife crisis and are willing to take any job so long as we can support ourselves while living in a small town near Spokane or inside the city. Is this possible? If not any suggestions on the city in the north west or central us (not the dakotas-no housing there).

xielvas

"facta non verba"

[redhead]

good luck and hope you make it to spokane. it's a beautiful city and the surrounding area is fantastic. lots of places to go for road trips and lots of outdoor stuff. cost of living is low and people are great. job market is tight as with everywhere else and as you can read from this forum the wage scale is low in spokane. but if it's quality of life and not your bank account that is your focus then spokane and the surrounding area is a great pick. rent is low and there's lots of low cost motels that you can pay weekly to live in that are good for first start out. good luck to you and i hope you go for it!! nothing ventured nothing gained is what I say, and it sounds like you've come to a point in your life where it's what you do and where you live and not what you own that is important to you. been there myself. experiences in life are much more important then what you aquire in life.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by pdxcinda

Hi There,

My husband and I are thinking about relocating to Spokane from Portland, OR because the housing costs seem to be so much more affordable there! Portland's housing costs are out of sight right now!! We do not have children, so schools would not be of a concern. I have heard that crime is high in Spokane. Is this true? Is it a pretty city? What do you like about Spokane and what don't you like?

From reading other threads on here people seem to like Aberdeen and Olympia and the surrounding communities better than Spokane. Are jobs and housing costs better there? My husband would need a job in the Human Resources field, HR and myself in the Care field.

Any information you can provide us would be much appreciated and helpful!! We are both in our early 40's and enjoy a quiet life but also like to get out and enjoy a night out, too!

Thanks Again!

Currently live in CA (past 16 yrs) and lived in Spokane for 9. I'd never move back to Spokane or even consider it. Here are the differences you'll probably notice right off the bat:

Diversity - Portland, 75% white, Spokane, 95% white. The cultural make up of any city obviously dramatically affects the flavor of the area. You'll notice that in restaurants, politics, and perception. It's sad to say, but there were less than 10 black kids at my highschool when I graduated, and all were considered to automatically be the best athletes. That's a backwards way of thinking IMO.

Politics - Spokane is considerably more conservative than ultra liberal Portland. The ways this will manifest in your day to day life don't really need to be explained.

Weather - Spokane has 4 distinct seasons and a beautiful Fall with changing leaves littering the streets. Harsh, sometimes brutal winters, and fairly mild yet enjoyable summers. Spokane has obvious differences from Portland in this respect.

Architecture - Spokane is lagging far behind Portland IMO. Portland has some beautiful, historical architecture, and is one of the cleanest cities I have ever been to.

Visually, Spokane is a fairly depressing city. Eye soares, broken down buildings, terrible roads mark large parts of the city. South Hill is beautiful, and other areas are as well, but take a look downtown. Enough said.

It's a fairly slow city. As far as crime? Pffft. If you've ever lived in or near an area with real crime Spokane is like a little kitten in comparison. Only a few areas of the city you'd need to steer clear from, and that's extremely easy to do. People that think Spokane has a "crime problem" are probably from smaller, outlying ciites and percieve Spokane as a "big city". It's not. The metro pop is only about 500,000.

You get the typical wannabees with gangs and such, but with the way media and the internet is today that's almost unavoidable no matter where you live.

I think Spokane could be a great place if you are a family oriented person that identifies with the political and social views of the area. Not sure if that fits your bill though from what you posted.