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We have been back for a couple of weeks and really enjoyed our visit to the area. During our short stay, I had a few job interviews, toured Chelan, Entiat, rode the entire 11-mile loop trail on rented recumbent bikes, ate at Cafe Anjou....we really packed it in. We decided it was a place we could really see ourselves raising our family. A few questions:
Is it always that windy? 15-25mph winds were the norm during our stay.
It looks like I will possibly be splitting my work time between Chelan and Wenatchee. What is that drive like in the winter?
Given my commute, where would be an ideal place to live? Keep in mind that I may eventually be working entirely in Chelan.
Wife really wants to live in Wenatchee. If that is the case, any communities/neighborhoods in Wenatchee or E. Wenatchee that are reasonably affordable and nice?
The wife and I will be going back for a formal visit within a couple of weeks. Trying to figure out how our time will be best spent during that time. Any realtors you recommend? Is it a good time to buy? We are open to renting for a time. Thanks again!
It can get very windy here, mostly in the spring.
I would look for a house on the north end of town. There is Link transit which runs to Chelan and back several times a day (Link Transit - Connecting Our Communities - Chelan and Douglas Counties, State of Washington - Home). Buses are clean and drivers are friendly (and bikes are carried on the front of the buses). I hear the drive can get kinda dicey in the winter. But it's a main road you'd be taking (97 or 97A), so they keep it pretty clear. Winters lately have been up and down. Last winter was fairly mild, but a couple winters ago was the most snow we've had in years.
Great time to buy! I can't recommend any realtors (we own but weren't too impressed with our realtor), but I do have a couple friends trying to sell. PM me and let me know your price range, if you're interested.
My husband and I moved here from Pullman two years ago (he worked for WSU), and before that I lived in CA (lived in Phoenix for a time too!). We're just starting to make Wenatchee home. It can be a little tough to meet people and "break in", since a lot of them have been here for a long time. I'd agree with the comment that people are polite but not really friendly. We found friends through our outdoor activities (if you're outdoorsy you're in luck....lots to do here!)
I am from South Carolina and have been offered a position in Wenatchee. I am curious to know if there is any African-American communities there and if not what is the general attitiude towards Blacks. Here in the South it hasn't always been pleasant
Definitely better than the South, but there is still some tension. Not many Blacks here. Mexicans, yes, Some Asians, but not many Blacks. Overall it's a pretty nice place to live. Definitely a settle-down kind of place though, not much goin' on for someone young and single. Don't know your situation, just FYI.
Hi
What is the fiber thing about please? And what are wet-side firemen? I am thinking of moving there and am nothing but a lowly Housekeeper used to working 14 years in a Nursing home. So,no house buying. Sorry dident mean to interfere with your main question,but I had some of my own. That info about the yard in the east is great. Thank you. Barb
Wenatchee only gets 300 sunny days a year at the visitor bureau's online website!! LOL But still there are plenty of sunny days and NO it isn't cloudy here when it's cloudy in Seattle. THAT is a silly thing to say. It's a totally different climate from Seattle - arid and continental as opposed to marine; separated by the Cascade range which keeps out much of the moisture and overcast from Seattle.
The wind is a factor - spring through early summer - sometimes mid-summer. Sometimes it comes in winter. Lots of wind especially on the hillsides and near the passes. That is a fact of life near mountains.
Wenatchee is great for is raising a family. Lots of community involvement; great sports and school activities. Good safe streets and neighborhoods. Kids out having fun on warm summer evenings and playing sports at all the sports fields and parks around town. The town has more park space than any comparably sized town I've ever seen.
The other thing that is outstanding is the scenery. Wenatchee is surrounded by lovely flowing hillsides which slope up to the Cascade Mountains in the west. There are so many opportunities for outside sports; hiking, biking, kayaking, boating, skiing, bird-watching, river rafting, climbing, it's endless. Wonderful for active people.
Wenatchee produces lots of "stone fruit"; apples, cherries, pears, apricots, plums, as well as more and more grapes. It's a fruit-lovers paradise and wineries are springing up all over the place - especially in Chelan.
Chelan is a spectacular town with a clear mountain lake right in the middle, however, it's smaller than Wenatchee and in winter it kind of "closes up". It's more of a tourist destination than Wenatchee, so there is that to contend with in summertime.
As far as African Americans go in Wenatchee, I've seen maybe 10 or 12. That's not a scientific number but they do appear to be a very small part of the population. Of course, there are lots of Hispanics and I would expect that African Americans would be made to feel welcome. That holds for the entire PNW - a very open-minded area of the country for the most part.
Germans would feel right at home in Leavenworth, Barb.
I have found these posts helpful so thank you to all that have posted. I see these are a few years old so I'm wondering how the relocations went. Did y'all move? How do you like Wenatchee? As one half of an interracial couple looking to move to Wenatchee I'm curious! We're looking to rent any suggestions? What are the best neighborhoods for us to look into? sent input would be appreciated!
I am flying in to Seattle and will drive directly to the Wenatchee area in a few weeks. I have a few job prospects there and will spend a few days in the area to see if it is a place I can see myself raising my family.
I will likely only have a day or two to "browse" the area since the rest is business. Is there anything you would recommend that I do/see in the area to help me make my decision?
I am married, with two kids, finishing up dental school and will either be in private practice or employed in the area. Also, what are your feelings on quality of life and family-friendliness of the area? I am a lover of the outdoors and snowboarding. I am used to the heat (from Phoenix) but honestly that is one of the reasons I want to get out of Phoenix..mostly due to lack of seasons, though.
Thanks in advance. (BTW, I am also considering Maine--but that is a topic for a different forum).
Hi -
I know this is a bit late, but I just came across your post asking about Wenatchee, WA and relocating here. I see that you've gotten some advice already. So, this may be moot.
509 provided some information with some good links to outdoor activities in the area - this place is a virtual recreationtists delight! We have been coming over here for years to backpack and climb, snowshoe and cross-country ski. It is fabulous. We finally moved here more than four years ago - partially for the job and partially for the quality of life. I sure don't miss the traffic of Seattle/the Puget Sound. And, the beauty is, you are only 2.5 hours away from the urban sprawl.
It's a great place for families, too. The various school districts offer different advantages. Wenatchee is the largest. Yet, Cashmere is probably a better financed school district as a result of the higher property taxes. They are in different size categories. The big activity here on a Friday fall night is the high school football games! Whether you have a student in school or not, these are great community events. Soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and LaCrosse also are very big activities.
The parks here are outstanding - particularly those along the Columbia River - and, as mentioned - there is now a 25-mile Apple Capital bike loop trail. Simply divine.
Now, I have to take exception to some of statements made by 509 - some things are simply wrong. Perhaps s/he no longer lives in the Wenatchee area and just isn't aware of the correct information. Let me explain:
1. Chelan Public Utility (PUD) hasn't raised rates in five years and has no plans to raise rates for at least another five years - perhaps ten years!
2. Douglas County PUD raised rates in May and will have a series of rate increases during the next several years;
3. What difference does it make anyway - the two PUDs have the lowest rates in the US! We are talking 100th's of a cent per kilowatt hour - some rate classes in Douglas are higher and some Chelan rates are higher - as far as residential rates, it's a total wash - and what difference does it make when places like Phoenix area residential customers face much higher rates - like 12 1/2 cents/kwh!!! Even in Seattle, the rates are about 10 cents/kwh!
4. Alcoa is not shutdown - there is a curtailment - a total of 450 employees are on temporary lay-off and may be recalled. The curtailment WAS NOT due to BPA cutting off power to Alcoa - it had to do with the lousy world aluminum markets and lower-cost aluminum coming out of China. Chelan PUD supplies power to Alcoa - and there is plenty of power available! In fact, Alcoa and Chelan still have a contract for power. There is a good chance that Alcoa will start back up within the next year because the market has improved considerably. Regardless, the economy is very strong here and the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in years;
5. The Fiber connection information is incorrect. The majority provider is LocalTel. It receives fiber, high-speed connection from Chelan PUD. Chelan PUD is on an eight-year expansion plan to cover about 90 percent of Chelan County. Chelan PUD is NOT withdrawing from its commitment to expansion and will cover a far greater area per capita than Douglas PUD - but if you are looking only at the "urban areas" this point, too, is moot. There are two local service providers - Charter and Frontier - that don't take advantage of the PUD high speed network. Neither PUD provides direct service to customers, by state law, they must go through a service provider;
6. B&O Tax - on this issue, you probably should talk to a couple of other local dental practices - I would be more than happy to connect you with some folks;
7. Construction is booming - it's hard to keep up with the housing demand. Both rentals and housing purchasing are tight - especially in the Wenatchee area. There is lots of new construction in East Wenatchee - but when I was looking four years ago, I found that the East Wenatchee houses lacked personality and were not as well-constructed (my opinion only!!!) as what I was used to in the Seattle area. We were fortunate to find a lovely home with a tremendous view at the base of Saddle Rock on the Wenatchee side. Wind can be an issue everywhere in this area - especially in the spring and later fall. Sunnyslope on the WEST side often has greater wind issues - but folks seem to cope. 509 was right that East Wenatchee gets the afternoon sun much longer than does the Wenatchee side, because of the Foothills that help block the afternoon sun and cools Wenatchee off earlier than East Wenatchee - an advantage. You are right about the average temps. Sure, it gets hot here in the summer - but for some, that's why they come to the area - it's warmer and drier than wherever they were before - but obviously, not Phoenix!!! Not as hot as Phoenix - more like Tucson!
8. It is NOT true about evacuations on Sunnyslope due to fires. Yes, we do have wildfires - some lightning caused, some human-caused. EVERYONE has to be Firewise in this area and provide defensible spaces. We have had to do that on Saddle Rock, as we were evacuated in 2014 due to a wildfire. It happens - but it's not like it's every year. Last year was a very reasonable year - because we had a great snowpack and water year - same with this year - take this with a grain of salt - not so different from Phoenix/Tucson;
9. Now, my biggest issue with the advice given to you by 509 is the reference to South Wenatchee and supposed "Mexican Drug Gangs." This is patently false and smacks of bigotry. Yes, this is an agricultural community and the largest economic engine and employer in the area; and yes migrant workers are a main stay to keeping the industry going - for many years that including migrant WHITE workers and more recently, Hispanic. However, we have 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanic families deeply rooted in this community, hard working and extremely family-oriented. Many are bilingual - probably more than 60%. Many are now orchard owners themselves. The Latino-Hispanic community is well-integrated into this community - they represent almost 35% of the population. I am offended by the reference to this population as a problem - BTW, I am Caucasian - not Hispanic!! I am guessing that 509 doesn't live here any longer, so may not have an objective perspective.
Anyway, if you haven't made up your mind, I hope this helps. If you are still heading this way, I would be happy to meet with you and provide more information. I am very active in the local community.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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There are a lotta things to like about Wenatchee, as many have noted. But one area we've really only touched on, besides 'racism', is the "culture" there in general. So these are just a few random, but maybe "illustrative" perceptions as a relative 'newbie'. Though naturally everyone else's "mileage may vary".
First, as a small town, there's always gonna be the typical "good old boy" politics, and Wenatchee seems no exception, with 'gate keepers' and "we've always done it this way" wherever you turn. For example, with a snowy winter this year, I went to get some bags of gravel at Home Depot for the driveway. But where they usually have plenty the rest of the year, this time, nada, not a single bag of gravel or sand. So I asked the mgr, and she explained (somewhat 'testily'), that there's only 2 gravel suppliers in town, and they're both so busy in winter that they simply don't bother supplying it in bags during those months... not for Home Depot, for Lowe's, for anyone (in winter)?!
Also between being a major 'crossroads' and with all the local ag production, Wenatchee sees a lot of freight come thru both by rail and truck. And an interesting gripe with truckers, is where most other freight depots around the country are often open 24/7, here they close at 3PM... and the fruit and produce depot (you know, the local stuff they wanna sell), closes at 2PM?!
And you'll discover a lot of other 'variants' on that theme around here, like my elderly friend who needed an appointment with a specialist re: a sudden health issue. But when she arrived for the appointment, she was informed that the doctor, the only specialist like that in town...had already taken off a few minutes earlier, simply saying, "bye everyone, take care of everything, I'm going hiking!"
Checkouts, same way, as you'll frequently see long lines at a short-handed grocery or big box store, where apparently not showing up for work is also fairly 'common'. And with so much local 'entitlement', don't be surprised to often hear the refrain that Wenatchee is also a tough place to "break into" as far as social connections. Though as anywhere, if you already know some 'natives' here, that always helps.
So yes, it's definitely a beautiful place, and for the most part folks are actually pretty courteous and pleasant, but would also advise anyone considering a move here to first spend a bit of time and try to get below the "surface" ('cuz nuthin's ever "free").
I am flying in to Seattle and will drive directly to the Wenatchee area in a few weeks. I have a few job prospects there and will spend a few days in the area to see if it is a place I can see myself raising my family.
I will likely only have a day or two to "browse" the area since the rest is business. Is there anything you would recommend that I do/see in the area to help me make my decision?
I am married, with two kids, finishing up dental school and will either be in private practice or employed in the area. Also, what are your feelings on quality of life and family-friendliness of the area? I am a lover of the outdoors and snowboarding. I am used to the heat (from Phoenix) but honestly that is one of the reasons I want to get out of Phoenix..mostly due to lack of seasons, though.
Thanks in advance. (BTW, I am also considering Maine--but that is a topic for a different forum).
Wenatchee is very good spot with being right on the Columbia River, just at the beginning of the mountains, not too far from Seattle. Coming from Phoenix, the "heat" will be a joke for you but the winter will be a jolt as it gets cold and foggy/cloudy during Dec-Feb and then a windy spring. Summer and Fall are fantastic.
Take a trip to Lake Chelan if you have the time and also take a boat ride on the Columbia.
I personally think Wenatchee is one of the best locations in Washington.
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Relocating to Wenatchee, WA
