tell me about Longview (Seattle, Vancouver: renting, crime, chapel)

[lovekaj]

I have heard some negative things about Longview and the drug problems and economic depression of the town. Do things seem to be improving there? We are considering buying a house there but are concerned about things like crime, the quality of the schools there, that the resell value of a home wouldn't be good if the town turns into a ghetto, and things like this. We really don't know a lot about the town, so any info. would be great. What area of the town would be a good choice to buy a home in? Would Woodland be a better choice?

[xenophon]

I was born and raised in Longview, there were worse places to be raised.

Be careful what section of town you buy a house in because it will determine your place in town society, and even have an influence on how many resources the schools spend on your child, and even how your child is treated academically in the school system, and the jobs your child is able to get.

That area of town between Lake Sacajewea and the Columbia River is the lower class, less educated, blue collar part of town, home prices will be lower there, but so will resale value.

If you have pretensions to affluence, are educated, and want professional employment then you have to find a home on the other side of Lake Sacajewea with the teachers, doctors, dentists, middle managers, you know, people who have "careers" not just jobs.

Longview is a very corporate town, originally built by a lumber company in the early 1920s, and has always had an atmosphere of conformity.

I grew up in the St.Helens district which in 1920 was designated as the local n****r town, (thats what it was generally called), but the African-Americans knowing a stacked deck when they saw one failed to show up.

But in my section of town every house was white, there was no law saying they had to be white nothing but tradition that held that company logging towns that provided housing for workers had to have white houses. That tradition was a holdover from 1920.

One summer it came time to paint the house and my mother declared to my father and myself she wanted the house painted salmon pink! And thats the color we painted it! It caused a sensation, people came from all over town to look at it. I became famous in the schools, people who didn't know anything else about me, knew I lived in that pink house.

So it came to pass my humble parents caused a social revolution of sorts because the following summer people on our street painted their houses green and blue and other colors, and the days of all white houses faded away, and a more colorful age began.

Longview is a very traditional town. Not all those traditions are good ones. Its very class concious, sexist, homophobic, and more than a little racist. And lots of people like to pretend they are not fooling around sexually. One of my high school teachers was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and was kept under constant survaillance by the Longview police.

But it does have Lake Sacajewea, it has a grand and wonderful public library, and a great July 4th. celebration around the lake.

Maybe its just the class of people I grew up with, but Longview is a town whose homes seem particularly devoid of books, and even magazines, political opinions tend to be behind the times, people tend to want society in town to remain the same. Equal rights for all citizens is a troubling concept to many.

I was an enthusiastic reader and longed for intellectual conversation about books, history, literature, politics but in nineteen years I couldn't find anybody to talk too.

[WestCoastDiva]

Xenophon,
Thanks for the history lesson on Longview Washington, I too was born there, ( in the late 50's), but my parents were just passing through ( thank God). I am african american, but my mother said that the nurses and the doctor treated her very well while she was in the hospital, and because there weren't any african american babies around, I was somewhat of a celebrity for my brief stay. I have always wondered what that town was like, now I know! PS: I grew up in Seattle, great place!

[hamerabi]

Lived in the area for over 30 years. I can't think of any good reason why someone would want to move to this area of Washington. Check the stats yourself, highestper capita in anything you want negative. Very small-minded people (not all of course) that really don't get out of this area very much at all. I've traveled the world and so many times people have told me that they would never want to travel to Europe of Africa. I just don't understand that mentality at all. You can never know what it's like to stand in the Sistine chapel and take in one of the most glorious masterpieces ever to unfold from human hands. How can you say you wouldn't want to do that unless you are totally ignorant to art, culture, and the rest of the world for that matter.

Anyway, that is what you can expect for the most part in this area. There are some, few, bright shining stars out there that keep the place in the least, bearable.

I, myself, will be moving to Arizona next year.

[treesap]

Wow! I sure am glad there are forums like this so you can get more than one opinion on a place. We were looking at Longview for relocation, and I may thing twice. I currently live in Kingman, Arizona, and it is ever much as racist and simple-minded than any place I have lived. I sure don't want to go to another place with a hillbilly racist attitude. The fact that it is a little larger than Kingman with more shopping and restaurant available and it's close proximity to Portland/Vancouver was alluring.

I also heard about the fog which doesn't go away for a whole day? Is that true?

I think we will look at Vancouver.

[UmbrellasYearRound]

I lived in Kelso, and worked in Longview (the 2 towns are side by side) for just a few short months in 2005. I know I've posted this before, but this was a small town that I just could not find any charm in. The downtown area of Longview had numerous closed up/empty businesses. There was not a single location to buy organic produce/products of any kind or with any real selection. No QFC. There was a Fred Meyer's with a FM grocery store, and that was the best in town I thought! Crime is high for the smallness of the towns. Local police are ill-trained.

Even clothes shopping in Longview was impossible. Essentially you'll have to drive quite a distance to do any decent shopping. The Three Rivers Mall in Kelso is perhaps one of the smallest malls I've ever seen. It does have a Macy's which is just tiny and has almost no selection.

There is a local theater for movies but you're not going to find any of the independent alternative type theaters that Seattle has. You'll be limited to mainstream Hollywood films, rather than a broader selection of movies.

One thing I can say, I found a WONDERFUL and cheap!!! car mechanic when I was down there. I've actually gone back just to get my car worked on! Very honest and downright cheap compared to Seattle mechanics: The business is called Acur-it - a garage that specializes in Hondas and Acuras. If you happen to own a Honda or Acura, it will be in good hands! The business owner is Cliff Miller, at 360 575 9798.

The weather seemed significantly warmer than Seattle and that bothered me too.

All things considered, I would vote strongly against a move to Longview.

Good luck!

[Linson]

i lived in Longview and Kelso for three years. went to high school in Kelso from '91-'94. i've worked in Arizona on a couple of occassions. if i had to choose between Arizona and Longview, Wa, i would choose Longview every single time. Arizona is too hot, dry, ugly, hot, dirty, lacking for trees, lacking for water, and hot. thats not to mention the unbearable heat. let alone the rampant illegal immigration, and crime.

the person who goes by xenophon was correct about the housing between the lake and the river (which was where i lived, not to mention prior to that, some of the worst ****holes in Kelso: E. Pine Way. Pacific Ave. thanks mom). also, it is an outstanding 4th of July celebration at the lake. makes what goes on in other much larger cities seem like total crap. ones of particular note: El Paso, TX - general dis-interest, basically a non-event. very lousy fireworks display. too hot. ---Tempe (Phoenix, AZ - overcrowded, high cost for admission, excessive cost for food and refreshments, shamefull cost for a place to sit down. traffic nighmare when it's time to leave. too hot.

i remember the weather being nice, with 3 to 4 distinct seasons. the tempurature is generally about 10 degrees warmer than the seattle area. Portland is only 40 miles away if you need big city amenities or activities, and it has the Columbia River and other natural waterways for fishing and swimming and other recreation. it's wasnt perfect when i was there and probably isnt perfect now, but i would take it over AZ any day.

also, point of advice on meth and other drug problems - they generally only affect the addicts themselves and their immediate family members. to whatever degree it exists, you will likely find yourself far above it.

[pw72]

I lived in Longview VERY briefly in 1979. Career took me away rather quickly.

One thing that many may not know about Longview is it was a totallly "planned" city, complete from the street layout to where the governmental and principle buildings would be. The major reason for this was a new city was needed for the overflow of timber workers, that sister city Kelso simply could not accomodate. Even today, you can see some of this planning in wide boulevards and a street layout that is very well thought-out.
That alone, makes Longview somewhat historic.

Also, Greenday's "Longview", was indeed named after the city, although the lyrical connection continues to mystify me today. Unless, they were REALLY bored when they were there!

[treesap]

Originally Posted by Linson

also, point of advice on meth and other drug problems - they generally only affect the addicts themselves and their immediate family members. to whatever degree it exists, you will likely find yourself far above it.

I tend to disagree with that. I don't live in a crappy neighborhood, but I see the affects of meth here. We had people renting the house next door selling it. We called the police, and they take too long with MAGNET to bust them. Then we was them move to another house behind us. It was a brand new house. They trashed it, and the garage doors being gone was the least of the damage they did. My drug selling neighbors definitely affected my life. I hated every minute they were there. I used to rag on the owner of the house to kick them out because they were selling drugs. He didn't kick them out until they stopped paying rent.

[treesap]

Originally Posted by pw72

Also, Greenday's "Longview", was indeed named after the city, although the lyrical connection continues to mystify me today. Unless, they were REALLY bored when they were there!

Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:

Longview in Popular Culture
The title of the song "Longview" by the rock band Green Day was inspired by the city. The pop-punk trio had several friends in the area due to frequent performances in Portland, Oregon. Often they would meet other punk acts from Longview who would open their shows for them. According to one concert's press agent, Jim Baltutis, Green Day played a show at a Longview club, The Rainbow Rocks, in the summer of 1992, which later inspired the title of the song. However, several misconceptions circulate about the title, one being that the members of the band attended Longview's R.A. Long High school, and at one of their shows they decided to name it after their "Home-Town" - Green Day is actually from Berkeley, California.