Small Towns in Washington (Spokane, Yakima: crime, houses, employment)

[Tz124]

I am looking for small towns in Washington. I currently live in Port Townsend and really like it here, besides it is a bit expensive and I miss the snow in the winter. Here is what I am looking for,

1. A town between 5,000-30,000 people
2. Access to good food, farmers market, book stores, independent stores, college, arts, movies - all a huge plus but not necessary
3. Maybe some sort of 30s age crowd if at all possible though this one may be hard
4. Central walkable downtown - even if very small (ideally maybe a coffee shop and/or local brewery)
5. An airport, or larger city, not too much more than an hour away, maybe two at most
6. Employment is not an issue, but cost of living is a big one. Ideally some place with affordable land/houses (ideally something under 150,000 for a house - even a fixer upper)
7. Access to lots of outdoor activities - close to mountains. This is huge!
8. Don't mind the rain - love it in fact, but I looking for a real winter with snow that stays on the ground a bit
9. Somewhere pretty!

I have lived in places like Flagstaff, AZ Missoula, MT and Rapid City SD - all nice but a bit big. I love the Pacific Northwest and think it is time to head back to the mountains. I know these criteria are asking for a lot, but they are just ideals and I know I might not find everything. Any suggestions would be most welcome! Thanks!

[509]

Walla Walla, Moscow,Idaho and Wenatchee make the list in that order.

They all fall down on price of housing. I suspect all are in the same neighborhood as Port Townsend. Walla Walla has the nicest downtown, Moscow has the younger crowd, and Wenatchee has cheap utilities plus fiber connectivity and the best access to the outdoors (if you don't mind crowds in the outdoors).

If price of housing is important I would look at Lewiston-Clarkston. Your airport is farther away in Spokane or Tri-Cities as is the larger community. It is a very walkable community and housing is reasonable. Live in Clarkston and you avoid expensive Idaho taxes.

Both Walla Walla and Lewiston have some snow, but not enough to make you sick of it. Wenatchee can have snowy winters. Moscow is almost a given for snow.

[unify]

kalispell/whitefish montana
sandpoint idaho
twisp washington? (small but good health food co-op)

[PS90]

Originally Posted by Tz124

I am looking for small towns in Washington. I currently live in Port Townsend and really like it here, besides it is a bit expensive and I miss the snow in the winter. Here is what I am looking for,

1. A town between 5,000-30,000 people
2. Access to good food, farmers market, book stores, independent stores, college, arts, movies - all a huge plus but not necessary
3. Maybe some sort of 30s age crowd if at all possible though this one may be hard
4. Central walkable downtown - even if very small (ideally maybe a coffee shop and/or local brewery)
5. An airport, or larger city, not too much more than an hour away, maybe two at most
6. Employment is not an issue, but cost of living is a big one. Ideally some place with affordable land/houses (ideally something under 150,000 for a house - even a fixer upper)
7. Access to lots of outdoor activities - close to mountains. This is huge!
8. Don't mind the rain - love it in fact, but I looking for a real winter with snow that stays on the ground a bit
9. Somewhere pretty!

I have lived in places like Flagstaff, AZ Missoula, MT and Rapid City SD - all nice but a bit big. I love the Pacific Northwest and think it is time to head back to the mountains. I know these criteria are asking for a lot, but they are just ideals and I know I might not find everything. Any suggestions would be most welcome! Thanks!

Realistically, it sounds like it's going to very difficult to fit all those criteria. It sounds like you want a small, liberal, artsy-type town with low cost-of-living, and as far as I know, those don't exist. Places that have been mentioned like Walla Walla or Twisp seem to fit well, but have fairly-high to very-high costs-of-living relative to other similar-sized towns in the state.

Other options would be Lewiston or maybe Colville, but those don't fit the "30's age crowd" or the artsy, book store-type vibe that you sound like you are looking for.

Wenatchee is probably way too big, by your criteria, but might fit otherwise.

Maybe Ellensburg? Still fairly conservative, but not extremely expensive and along with the college comes the lower average age and more "trendy" type businesses. And Yakima is close enough for the airport requirement, but not close enough that the crime spills over to Ellensburg.

[woodguy00]

Colville?? just under 5000..

[jacqueg]

How about La Grande OR? Larger and probably more expensive, but it is a liberalish mountain college town.

[bergenboy]

Hey, these might be some good options for ya!
Waterville(Sleepy town, but nice N rural)
Chelan/Manson(Awesome year round, great downtown,Wenatchee is super close.)
Winthrop(amazing snow, downtown is good as well.)
Tri-cities(Right by the mighty Columbia!)
Okanogan/Omak(Natural beauty, downtowns are excellent, and although fairly remote, spokane is still closer than not.)
Cashmere/Leavenworth(apples, alpine, Oktoberfest, and awesome!)
And maybe Walla Walla would work for you, too, especially if you love the Palouse area and wine
Sources for these : personal experience
Hope this helps!!

[DanielSNYC2014]

Look into Moses Lake, Pasco/Kennewick/Richland, or Othello, WA ---

[cjg5]

Have you checked out Cle Elum or Ellensburg?