Moving to Tri-cities (Seattle, Kennewick, Richland: new home, safe area, buy)

[Richland High Bomber]

He is the deal....it's a great place OR was a great place to live.Now it's overran by illegals.You can't get a job unless you can speak Mexican.If you see someone pulled over by the police for a traffic stop chances are there will be five cop cars involved.It's scary man.It's overkill.It got to 112 degress this summer and the air quality is getting worse everyday.Hanford is a big money lie and the people that work there are underworked and overpaid-all funded by the masses.The greed of a few on the backs of the many.The traffic sucks and sucks more each day.The city officials are to blame-all people pleasers and no real talent at any posision.One great thing is the river corridoor.It's a very plesant walk from north Richland to south Richland.Just don't think about the radioactive water flowing by and all will be fine.Oh and don't go to Pasco....you will be sorry.The best school is Richalnd high becasue 90% of the teacher there went there when they were kids.So they are cool about drugs and stuff.

[HarborEastGuy]

I lived in Kennewick in 1998. I had fun for the year I was there
but my allergies were killing me in the summer. The air was filled
with dust and I would bet pesticides from crop dusting. Still, I
would move back if it were not for Hanford. Anyone reading this
thread should research hanford with google. 60 minutes did a
story and hanford is the most contaminated land in the world
outside of Chernobyl. Over 1 million gallons of the most radioactive
waste ever created has leaked out of the tank farms into the
ground / ground water. How they will ever recover this leaked
waste is a mystery to me. There is a potential for the whole
Tri-cities area to become contaminated if the waste reaches
the Columbia River. If this happens, the Tri-cities will become
a ghost town and all the homes will become worthless. I would
like to know how much radioactive waste has made it into the
river already since I used to waterski and swim in that river all
the time. I would bet there is a lot of cover-up going on in order
to preserve the peace among the residents and to keep the area
functioning. Please watch the 60 minutes episode and do some
research before you move there...

Have any of you who live there now seen any recent tests for
radioactivity in the river? I am very curious..

[SoCalGuy]

I've been reading the other posts on the TriCities with great interest, since my wife and I considered moving to Richland 2 years ago. My wife grew-up about 50 miles West of there, in the Yakima Valley and we wanted to be closer to her extended family. We took a drive out to Richland one afternoon (Dec. '04) and just loved it. We started researching the TC area online by reading their newspaper (Tri-City Herald) online, to get an idea of what goes on up there. I also contacted someone in my line of work (mental health) and consulted with him over a period of months re: possible job opportunities, salaries, etc.

We also contacted www.skrealtors.com and met a very nice and professional realtor - can't think of his last name, but he goes by "C.J." and you can find him on their website. C.J. took us to about 8-10 homes on a subsequent visit, and we were amazed at the difference in what you can buy in Richland, as compared to the Los Angeles area. We suddenly felt rich!

I didn't see anyone write about this yet, but we learned that a lot of people who move to the TC area just rent for the first 6-12 months so that they can take their time looking for just the right house. If you do a Google search for housing in Richland (or TC), you'll find that there are several extended stay places - very nice accomodations - multiple bedrooms, kitchens, and one of them is right next to a creek. That's what we would have done if we moved there.

We researched the schools. One writer said that "there really aren't any bad schools in Richland." That's what we learned, too. I saw on one website, that Richland has more Ph.D.s per capita than anywhere else in the country. That's probably due to Hanford. That kind of sets the bar high, and I think all the schools benefit from that dedication to education.

My wife's nephew used to work in Pasco. We wouldn't want to live anywhere near there. Lots of meth production, crime, etc.

We loved the TC area, especially Richland. The river is just beautiful w/ the park next to it. It was very hot in the summer, though. (We visited in the winter, then again in the summer.)

Bottom line: We decided against moving there mainly due to the lack of job opportunities. At 50 I was nervous about being the "new kid on the block" and not having any seniority on the job. And my wife didn't feel there would be many opportunities to teach at the collegiate level, as she does here in CA. So we didn't move to Richland, but it does offer a lot of very positive things. The people are so kind up there.

[tamaroo]

Good advice. My husband and I are looking in Kennewick or Richland. We have three middle school aged boys, and will be coming out to visit soon. can you suggest any activities that might inspire them to want to move?

[JustLooking]

We moved to the Tri-Cities area this past summer for my husband's job. Like many others, we relocated from southern California and were a little apprehensive about the area.
And even though there have been some negatives, I have to say that we have been pleasantly surprised and now really love the area. The best difference between California metropolises and here is obviously the cost of housing. It was incredible to see what our money could buy. Also, there is really no traffic. (If you guys think it's bad, try L.A. or the east bay of San Francisco for a day...) The public schools are fantastic; our kids love it and I have to say they are right on track with the expensive private schools we had to use in soCal because the publics were so bad. Also, the kids can walk to school, ride their bikes, etc. Try doing that in Los Angeles. The people have been very friendly and we have found it very easy to make new friends.
I will say that our reaction is probably so positive because we have kids. I don't think this would be a great area to live if you are young or single. There are not alot of high quality restaurants, cultural activities or night life. Most of the Kennewick and Richland activities, places, etc. seem to be centered on families.
The people we have met are very educated and I have found them to be tolerant. Cultural diversity is something that is important to us and I think it strengthens an area rather than detracts from it. My experience was not the same in other areas of eastern Washington or Idaho. (Although, I have heard that Boise's image is changing and it is becoming a nice place to live from this perspective.)
Due to irrigation, west Kennewick, parts of south Kennewick (particularly the Canyon Lakes area) and Richland are beautiful. You will find beautiful tree lined streets and yards that rival any area with much higher levels of rainfall. (Here you have practically none.) The surrounding area is pretty barren - there are brown fields, desert like conditions and lots of sagebrush. That's a negative. And it's windy. After awhile, that can definitely be a negative. The dust really kicks up when the windstorm starts.
The Columbia River is beautiful. There are alot of activities centered around the river. There are parks all throughout Kennewick and Richland.
It's also a high-tech boom area. Many of the local companies are having trouble filling mid to high level technology jobs. Therefore, there are jobs for people in these professions.
For big city culture, you can take a three hour drive to Seattle or Portland.
So, overall, it's been a great place for us so far. Bottom line: if you have young children, are looking for a safe place to raise them, good quality public schools, decent housing for really affordable prices and are in a high tech field, this could be paradise for you. If you're single, looking for night life, are really more comfortable in large metropolitan areas, are in a non-tech field that doesn't have alot of representation here, you probably won't like it.

[rambrush]

I am so glad you are enjoying yourself. As someone who grew up there in the mid 50's and departed in early 1980. I can say I have seen the area grow from itty bitty not much traffic. To pretty good growth boom times.
Still have family there and come to visit occasionally and always amazed how much it has grown up.

[hwy128]

Hi,
I know it has been a long time since you posted. I moved here in 1991 and thought I had landed on another planet. I lived in a smaller town up the road until last spring when we moved to Kennewick. I love it here...crime...whats that. This is a great community. We purchased a mid-century house and it is fantastic. I hope everything worked well for you.

[jjones]

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Take a look at this webcam during the day, it might change your mind its cloudly/foggy/wet and cold like this for most of the winter in the columbia basin...2 or 3 months

Oh yes and hot/humid for most the summer... really only 6 or 7 weeks of comfortable weather in the spring and fall.

I lived there most of my life...40+ years and its not a great place to live anymore in my opinion.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/default.aspx?cam=8031

[WazzuCoop21]

JustLooking, I couldn't have said it better myself, and I"m a TC native. Excellent points.

[Hicalls01]

Originally Posted by tamaroo

Good advice. My husband and I are looking in Kennewick or Richland. We have three middle school aged boys, and will be coming out to visit soon. can you suggest any activities that might inspire them to want to move?

This is a great place to raise children however, the child is the one that will be very unhappy. I moved here about 7 years ago and my children hated it. It will take a very long time for them to get used to the surroundings, make friends and find things for them to do. I wish you and your family luck (especially your children) in the near future.