Spokane or Tri-Cities? Moving in a few weeks! (Seattle, Kennewick: ski resorts, condo)
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Hi Everyone!
I have been reading these boards now for a few months and I have gotten some great info. My husband and I have two children (the oldest is three) and we are going to be moving from Snohomish County in the next few weeks. The "problem" is that my husband has been offered a job in Spokane and a job in Kennewick. We realize that in the current economy this is amazing.
Anyhow, what we are faced with now is a decision. I have been to Sopokane and I really loved it. I absolutely love old homes with lots of character and Spokane has so many of them. My husband has been to Kennewick and he says the it looks like a fine place to live. he has checked our Richland as well. I grew up in Bend Oregon and My husband is from Helena Montana so we enjoy the small town feel.
We are having a hard time choosiing so maybe you all can help with your info. Here are our must-haves for our new location:
-Affordable housing (mid 100's and up) in desireable areas (we can't find even a junky condo in Seattle under 250,000)
- Friendly people and a strong sense of community
- A good variety of churches and an active religious community in all religions (we are Non-Denominational Christians but enjoy the diversity of many different religions)
- Availability of organic local produce. We enjoy supporting our local farms and farmers and do so in our current location in Snohomish County.
- Lots of activities and outdoors type things for us to do. I LOVE that both areas have a river running through the downtowns!
- Good schools for our children. ( I have heard about the Mead school district in Spokane but we are not interested in the tract homes in that area. Suggestions?)
That's all I can think of for now. Oh, I am a stay-at-home mom so I will not be needing to look for a job. Thanks in advance!
I think you can find most of that in either place. If you want a strong sense of civic spirit, Spokane probably wins, because Tri-Cities has more like three different civic spirits and all of them are a bit anemic. But in trade for that you will have greater distance from large cities you might light to visit, plus significantly harsher winters. Both are pretty good places to live, in my opinion.
Maybe you should go with the better job and call it a day?
The main difference is that Spokane is a bigger city, with all the good and bad that implies, and it gets *a lot* more snow. The winter there is much more serious.
"-Affordable housing (mid 100's and up) in desireable areas (we can't find even a junky condo in Seattle under 250,000)" - I would say this is a toss up. Both areas are very affordable, especially compared to what you've been dealing with in the Puget Sound (I know, I lived there as well).
- "Friendly people and a strong sense of community" - The people are very friendly in both locations. Spokane will definitely have a stronger sense of community as it is built around a larger city. Tri-Cities is basically four small towns that border each other, and each city is fairly autonomous in terms of economics, government, and a sense of community.
- "A good variety of churches and an active religious community in all religions (we are Non-Denominational Christians but enjoy the diversity of many different religions)" You may find a slightly larger percentage of church-going citizens in both areas vs. Seattle, however, as far as religious diversity goes, it is probably weaker than Seattle. Both areas have lots of Catholics, Protestants, and LDS (Mormons). Other religions exist, but are relatively small in number.
- "Availability of organic local produce. We enjoy supporting our local farms and farmers and do so in our current location in Snohomish County." Organic is not nearly as big on this side of the mountains as it is in Western Washington. However, both areas have great farmers markets and the proxmity to the majority of Washington's crops is a huge plus.
- "Lots of activities and outdoors type things for us to do. I LOVE that both areas have a river running through the downtowns!" Spokane wins this hands down. That's not to say Tri-Cities doesn't have anything to offer though. Both areas have the rivers - Tri-Cities river lends itself to a lot of boating. It also has a fairly decent trail system along the rivers and through some neighborhoods. Spokane has dozens of lakes, snowskiing, rafting, hiking, biking - the list goes on and on. Spokane will also offer more to do in terms of urban amenities (symphony, Bloomsday, Hoopfest, touring shows and acts, etc.)
- "Good schools for our children. ( I have heard about the Mead school district in Spokane but we are not interested in the tract homes in that area. Suggestions?)" Both areas overall have very good schools. There are pockets you want to avoid, but for the majority, you pretty much can't go wrong.
The only other thing I'd echo from other comments above is the weather. Compared to Puget Sound, both areas are hotter in the summer, and colder in the winter. With Tri-Cities you get hotter summers, lots of wind, and virtually no precipitation. With Spokane you get lots of snow, and much colder winters. This all results in Spokane having green trees and rolling mountains, and Tri-Cities being a dry, brown desert.
Hi there,
We own a nice home in TriCities and lived there for sometime, but as moon waffle stated, it's "HOT" in Tricities in the summer and OMG the strong winds and dust storms was often in the summer months....but one good
thing they normally came in the late afternoon to evening time...The storm we had in 2008 blew so hard, it damaged my garage door. On the good side, Tricities has a lot to offer in regards to a nice Mall in Kennewick, many large department stores, a newer home depot and Wal*Mart in West Richland...seems the bad economy hasn't hit this location as hard as others in the nation (thus far anyway)...Oh and the schools and churches near us were good...not knowing your specific religion. Spokane is nice! As you may now know, it has a lot to offer, being the 2nd largest city in the state....anything you would need is a short drive...we live just out of the city so it's a small community atmosphere, and only 15 minutes from down town Spokane.., winters are colder than Tricities and yes we get the "snow"..this winter just past was the most snow ever...over 7 feet overall...., but this is not the usual winter, so don't want to scare you off, lol.. Spokane is great getting the snow plows out early each morning....highways are cleared and all major roads.... The schools near us
I'm told are great for their children I spoke with and churches , you'll have many choices of which one to attend, just a few minutes drive to any of them...
Both locations have a large river, Spokane River is 2 minutes from our home (walking time) and the Columbia River....for boating, swimming, and the such....is in TriCities....
We do enjoy it here in Spokane, and only a few minutes from Idaho for some awsome shopping in nearby towns...and ski resorts for winter pleasure... PM...we may a house depending on where you will end up living.....
Yes both locations have very nice summers, and both are much colder than the west side of the state....
I would say Spokane. Definitely. But I am partial to it. I love Spokane. I grew up in the area from age 10-20, and we lived there again for nearly a year in 2006-2007. My heart yearns to go back, and I hope we make it there to raise our nearly-four-year-old child and our next one that is due in September.
Spokane is a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. It's beautiful, it has a lot to offer, it's a nice-sized city with many country towns just a short drive away. It has so much outdoor recreation in every direction that it's not even funny. Spokane offers a lot in the way of many family-oriented annual community events, it has a farmer's market, many great churches, some good schools. The people are generally extremely friendly. What you are looking for is the same stuff we love. When we lived there in 2006-2007, the only thing I struggled to find was local organic produce, but I never did get to the farmer's market, so I bet there's some there. And I didn't look heavily into CSA's, and I bet there are some there. Just need to do some research. We are a lot like you, it sounds, in what you are looking for in a town with a sense of family, community, and Christian values. I love Spokane for all this and more.
Are there some not-so-nice parts to Spokane? Sure. Just like every place. But overall, it's a fabulous place to live and to raise a family.
Now I've never lived in the Tri-Cities, so I can't fairly comment on what life is like there. However, I have driven through it and stopped there several times, and while the river and bridge are beautiful, and I'm sure there are some wonderful things about it, I personally would not want to live there. It's too dry and deserty for my tastes, and I just love Spokane...but I think I said that already.
Best wishes in your decision and your journey. I would love to hear from you when you make your decision and hear how you are loving life in Eastern Washington.
When we lived there in 2006-2007, the only thing I struggled to find was local organic produce, but I never did get to the farmer's market, so I bet there's some there. And I didn't look heavily into CSA's, and I bet there are some there. Just need to do some research.
Jessica
I did some sleuthing on the internet in regards to CSA's. Here is a link to an organic store that does a weekly produce box delivery program in Spokane. It isn't as local as the one we do here, but you can't have it all I suppose!
To anyone in the Spokane area, I would suggest that you give this kind of program a try. It is so wonderful to have a weekly box of produce to look forward to and it is actually very cost effective because you aren't making so many little trips to the store. I'll get off of my soap box now.
How cool regarding the local organic deliveries! I will keep that in mind should we ever get back up that way. We have something like that here, and I did it for a while. It sure was fun getting that box delivered to our home!
Hi there,
We own a nice home in TriCities and lived there for sometime, but as moon waffle stated, it's "HOT" in Tricities in the summer and OMG the strong winds and dust storms was often in the summer months....but one good
thing they normally came in the late afternoon to evening time...The storm we had in 2008 blew so hard, it damaged my garage door. On the good side, Tricities has a lot to offer in regards to a nice Mall in Kennewick, many large department stores, a newer home depot and Wal*Mart in West Richland...seems the bad economy hasn't hit this location as hard as others in the nation (thus far anyway)...Oh and the schools and churches near us were good...not knowing your specific religion. Spokane is nice! As you may now know, it has a lot to offer, being the 2nd largest city in the state....anything you would need is a short drive...we live just out of the city so it's a small community atmosphere, and only 15 minutes from down town Spokane.., winters are colder than Tricities and yes we get the "snow"..this winter just past was the most snow ever...over 7 feet overall...., but this is not the usual winter, so don't want to scare you off, lol.. Spokane is great getting the snow plows out early each morning....highways are cleared and all major roads.... The schools near us
I'm told are great for their children I spoke with and churches , you'll have many choices of which one to attend, just a few minutes drive to any of them...
Both locations have a large river, Spokane River is 2 minutes from our home (walking time) and the Columbia River....for boating, swimming, and the such....is in TriCities....
We do enjoy it here in Spokane, and only a few minutes from Idaho for some awsome shopping in nearby towns...and ski resorts for winter pleasure... PM...we may a house depending on where you will end up living.....
Yes both locations have very nice summers, and both are much colder than the west side of the state....
Vette-Dude, you have lived in both towns and now obviously prefer Spokane - maybe you can post up why? Cooler summer, less dust, what else?
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I love Spokane. I grew up in the area from age 10-20, and we lived there again for nearly a year in 2006-2007. My heart yearns to go back, and I hope we make it there to raise our nearly-four-year-old child and our next one that is due in September. 
