Living in Longview (Seattle, Kelso: real estate, apartment, high crime)

[Poison_Ivy]

Originally Posted by Sobefobik

Longview has really degraded since you lived here 20 years ago. I have friends that have lived there for 40 years and they say that it has gotten so much worse in the last 15 years. Drugs are a huge problem. I also realize that people can over-exaggerate with crime, drugs, etc. But in this case it's not an over-exaggeration. The highland area is avoided by most because you can actually see drug deals going on on the street during the day.

The hospital is horrible and I would not even go there in a life-threatening emergency. I would have someone drive me to Vancouver. There have been too many mistakes causing permanent damage, deaths, etc. at that hospital.

Lake Sacajawea is beautiful, Longview is close to Portland, and the people there are quite friendly, but the bad seems to overshadow the good. And the mill smell is absolutely horrific. I actually called sewer treatment one time because I thought it was leaking into my yard. It turns out it was just the mills releasing buildup of something--who knows what that something is.

If I didn't have family and friends there, I would never visit Longview.

I have family and friends that have lived there their whole lives as well and they are far into their 40's. They will willingly admit that drugs can be an issue there and that the hospital is not great but that it's not something that intrudes on their daily lives unless they go looking for it. And in fact they actually LIKE it there and talk it up, as to how much it's grown since I was there last. It's well documented that the Highlands are a non-desirable area just as anyone knows to stay away from the ghettos of any city.. but it doesn't stop flocks of people from moving to Chicago or New York. I once lived in Portland, Oregon and felt I had more to worry about safety wise than I ever did in Longview.. but does it mean I would never again live in Portland? No.. it doesn't. It was a beautiful city and I have no problem living there again. But that's just me.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to move there.. or to not move there for that matter. To each their own. All I am saying is that there are bad places to ANY city and if all you ever see is the negative.. you won't be happy anywhere you move. Period. I've lived in most of the states on the western half of the United States and I can name good and bad things about ALL of them.

[restless in woodland wa]

first and for most i am not down grading any one for the town/city they live in.
with this said all towns cities have there owen problems.
yet longveiw has more than most as well as they have the worest drug problem in the in tire state of wa.
further more you that feel the longveiw hosptial er department is adaquite must have not spent much time there are have never had any major illness were you have had to go to the longview er/hosptail.
reason i say this is because i have dealt with the longview er department on many ocashions and the care sucks roaly and there below adaquite and as i have said i will never go to the longview er no matter the case.
lastly longveiw does have some good points.
how ever in my opioin the amount of bad points out ways the good so i personaly would never live in longview nor can i in good faith recomend any one to live in longview.
restless in woodland

[doity]

I go through Longview everyday on business. Aside from the area around the Lake and the area around the classy old hotel (forgot the name) Longview is the utter pits. What really kills me though is that the area is beautiful and the town has soooooo much potential. It has a cute downtown (around Commerce Ave. and vicinity) and there is some nice architecture if you look around.

But what really sets the town apart is the people. While there are some good people in the town, there are a LARGE number of folks who are just flat-out hillbillies and tweakers. The poverty, bad life choices, and substance abuse is off the chart and it really reflects in the population.

[Fat Freddy]

Originally Posted by doity

...While there are some good people in the town, there are a LARGE number of folks who are just flat-out hillbillies and tweakers.

The poverty, bad life choices, and substance abuse is off the chart and it really reflects in the population.

I have found this to be true in every place I have ever lived.

I don't care what the hillbillies and tweakers do, as long as they stay on their own side of the tracks and do it to each other.

[Poison_Ivy]

Originally Posted by Fat Freddy

I have found this to be true in every place I have ever lived.

I don't care what the hillbillies and tweakers do, as long as they stay on their own side of the tracks and do it to each other.

I feel the same way.

[teddy1966]

well every town has its good & bad points but Loingview has a come a long ways I have family that lives there & thayve ben there all there lives. me & my family will be moveing to Longview in Aug We are liveing In Council Bluffs Iowa right not its a smal hick town across the River from Omaha Nebraska wev moved here 4 years ago from arizona at first i thought Iowa would be a great place to live & raise our family but its not Iowa dosent have any type of law dealing with kids under 13 years old.

[teddy1966]

I bet you if I looked in the local adds there would be plunty of jobs the problum is you guys dont have any thing good to say about Longview Iv ben there & I have family that lives there Iv done alot of research on Longview it has Improved alot in the past 20 years

[teddy1966]

I just looked at Monster.com & it had 638 Job listings for Longview a lone so there is plunty of Jobs there.the best area to live in is eather the northern part of long view or in the Kelso area or you can go acros the River & check out Reinier Oregon.

[teddy1966]

all states have there good and the bad areas but people only talk about the negitive points of it Im from Arizona & Iv seen alot in my life like I told my wife no matter where you move to its going to have its bad points Right now we live in Council Bluffs Iowa this place is the same way but the thing about Iowa thay do not have any Laws dilling with kids under 13 years of age thats one of the resons why we are moveing out of Iowa.

[Sobefobik]

Originally Posted by teddy1966

I bet you if I looked in the local adds there would be plunty of jobs the problum is you guys dont have any thing good to say about Longview Iv ben there & I have family that lives there Iv done alot of research on Longview it has Improved alot in the past 20 years

How can you attest to its improvement if you have never lived there? I know that people sometimes over-exaggerate areas on how bad they are, but I have lived there on and off over the last 25 years and it is not good. The drug problem has done nothing but escalate, the job situation is nothing to brag about, and Longview just plain stinks--literally. Sometimes it smells so bad you think that your sewer pipes have burst. And in the next 5 years they plan on adding a coal mill. Yes, more jobs, but people are going to have to start wearing masks because the air quality is going to go down the toilet even more. Kelso is no better and it has a high crime rate just like Longview. As I've said here and in other posts, the hospital has a horrible reputation.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't move there. If you have family there and everything, you might do just fine. But to me Longview is just an armpit, one that hasn't seen deodorant in years. The lake area is beautiful, it is close to Portland, and the people are generally friendly. Although the folks there are lacking in the personal hygiene department. To me there is so much more bad than good.