Spokane - living there?

[KQ]

Spokane is a very nice small city with good access to outdoor stuff. +1 to all the positive comments on this thread. Best o' luck with the job search.

How's Ellensburg working for you? I follow a myellensburg.com on FB. They do a good job with the page. Certainly looks very bucolic.

[concretejungle]

Yup. Russ is the best.

BTW - we forgot "Spokvegas"

Spokompton

[SkiLyft]

Spokompton

Spokanistan


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[highangle]

[SkiLyft]

Didn’t know Spokane relocated to Idaho.


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[GoldMember]

Yup. Russ is the best.

BTW - we forgot "Spokvegas"

Like I intimated, if you're here long enough, you pretty much know everyone.

[KQ]

To the OP:

Some of the things I loved about Spokane when I was there was the river & falls running right through town and the pine trees. I'm from Seattle, land of the cedar and fir and they are beautiful but there is something about pines that I've always had a fondness for.

Spokane River:


Hangman:




If you're interested in reading a book that talks about history of Spokane during the depression check out "Breaking Blue" by Timothy Egan. Great read! Very LA Confidential-esque

In 1935, the Spokane police regularly extorted sex, food, and money from the reluctant hobos (many of them displaced farmers who had fled the midwestern dust bowls), robbed dairies, and engaged in all manner of nefarious crimes, including murder. This history was suppressed until 1989, when former logger, Vietnam vet, and Spokane cop Tony Bamonte discovered a strange 1955 deathbed confession while researching a thesis on local law enforcement history.

Bamonte began to probe what had every appearance of widespread police crime and a massive cover-up whose highlight was the unsolved murder of Town Marshall George Conff. The fact that many of those involved, now in their 80s and 90s, were still alive made it imperative that Bamonte unravel this mystery. The result is Breaking Blue, a white-knuckle ride through institutional corruption and cover-up that vividly documents Depression-era Spokane and an extraordinary case that few believed would ever be brought to light.

[2FUNKY]

Spokanistan


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I prefer this one.

[HankScorpio]

I lived in Spokane for a year when I did Americorps when I was 23-24. It was a mixed bag but overall I enjoyed it. I loved the downtown area with the sprawling parks and bars/restaurants, access to skiing and mountain biking were also exceptional. Having Coeur d'Alene, Schweitzer and Red Mountain so close was huge - really beautiful places. I lived in a neighborhood near Gonzaga so there was a no shortage of fun to be had when you're young, dumb and looking to get laid.

Downsides? Poverty, homelessness and drugs. My upstairs neighbor was a huge meth head. He actually wasn't a bad guy but he would be awake for days doing all kinds of crazy shit on meth (taking apart his van apart piece by piece, renovating the apartment he didn't own, knocking on my door at 5 am wanting someone to drink beers with, etc.) I also had friendly, homeless Native American dude who I would occasionally leave leftovers for in an alley near my house. My job was working with the Red Cross doing disaster relief which brought me in contact with a lot of struggling people in tough areas. I also learned quickly that the Idaho pan handle is full of white supremacists. I've got more crazy stories than I could recall for hours.

Winters weren't too long but were miserable - short days and almost no sunshine but on the other hand spring, summer and fall brought consistently perfect weather and little rain. Seattle wasn't too bad of a drive but was very scenic and fun to do from time to time.

This was almost 15 years so I have no idea if Spokane has improved its homelessness and drug problems. But these were easily the most obvious negatives of the area. There's also some swanky neighborhoods in the city that certainly have a different vibe the crummy college kid neighborhood I lived in.

[evdog]

I also learned quickly that the Idaho pan handle is full of white supremacists.

When I worked for an accounting firm we had a mining client there. We could not send people of any skin color except white (and no females, either). The second year I did that job we had a guy on a secondment from South Africa. The audit partner: "He'll fit right in!"

I got nothing else to add. We'd drive through there on summer vacations when I was a kid. All I remember was the White Elephant store and the 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar. Finally got to go back to both on that work trip.

[Flyoverland Captive]

I also learned quickly that the Idaho pan handle is full of white supremacists.

[tmokes]

Sounds like some docs are on here. Anybody working at sacred heart?

Poverty is pretty bad here but I hope it will improve with some new employers... med school for one but that’s “trickle down” at best. I hear Amazon warehouse will start next year....

I’m not sure about housing market but when I first moved here 4 yrs ago, it felt like at least one house on every block was for sale and lots of abandoned properties especially closer to downtown. Kendall yard is trying really hard to push that out. I lived near shadle area and had my bicycle stolen from a detached garage with lock cables.... I now live on south hill.

Motorcycle is fun compared to Seattle because no traffic or traffic lights but roads are full of trash/gravel/pot holes. So it kind of applies to road biking. There are some bike lanes but it’s not a bike friendly as it could be.

Many choices for season passes. Good thing is that lift tickets are mostly affordable, except for Schweitzer, so check them out. I’m Mt. Spokane but silver looks good... I just hate their gondola system.


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[Shredhead]

I like Spokane. But I was there after a snow storm once and they hadn’t plowed. The roads sucked.

[KQ]

I like Spokane. But I was there after a snow storm once and they hadn’t plowed. The roads sucked.

In 96 they had an ice storm that was insane. 2008 snow storm wasn't much better - made the national news they had so much (Record snowfall buries region, stalls services and Timeline of December 2008 snow)





This Month in Climate History: 1996 Eastern Washington Ice Storm

It began as just another drizzly day in Spokane, Washington, but by its end, November 19, 1996, produced one of the region’s worst ice storms in 60 years.

With an average elevation over 1,800 feet, Spokane is located on the edge of the Columbia Basin in eastern Washington State. Its location, between the Cascades Range to the west and Rocky Mountains to the east and north, allows cold air to settle into the basin, frequently creating prime conditions for winter weather.

Before the freezing rain hit on November 19, 1996, there was already between two and four inches of snow on the ground around the city. Later that day, up to an inch and a half of freezing rain fell, coating trees, roads, buildings, vehicles, and power lines in a dense slippery glaze. The official weather station for the city at Spokane International Airport recorded a high temperature of only 33°F and 1.24 inches of precipitation, which fell in the form of rain, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, snow, and mist. The station also reported freezing fog in the city that day.

Trees came crashing down everywhere under the immense weight of the ice. The mayor of Spokane declared a state of emergency as over half the city’s residents lost electricity—their worst power outage in 108 years. Three days after the storm, 100,000 people in the surrounding county were without power, and six days after the storm, 20,000 were still without power. Some area residents were without electricity for up to two weeks following the record-breaking storm.

Throughout the devastating ice storm and its aftermath, four people lost their lives in and around Spokane and Kootenai counties, and total damages were estimated at over $22 million in 1996 dollars—$33 million in 2013 dollars. This ice storm remains one of the most severe on record for the area.

[GoldMember]

^^ Yup, I remember both events well. The ice storm put us without power for three days, we were lucky. It shut down our business for a couple of days but we were able to recover from that without any problems. When the record snow hit, we'd been at Schweitzer and a friend of mine and I came back to Spokane to pick up another friend who was flying in so we could go heli-skiing. It was weird because Schweitzer really hadn't received much snow and we weren't aware of how hard Spokane was hit. Driving to the airport, there were these huge snowbanks all over the place. Buildings were collapsing, including the grocery store where we shopped. Everything was really kind of peaceful looking with all the snow but it was chaotic. That was a great ski year, too.

[GeezerSteve]

I remember the 1996 and 2008 storms. Fucking mess. FWIW, Portland ice storms are more frequent and often as bad.

Word in the biz community is that Spokane economy is getting stronger year after year, with a few bumps along the way.

How's Ellensburg working for you?

We like it. Nice cultural mix: Ag hub, college town, county seat. Economy is strong, in part due to exporting hay to Japan and China (how crazy is that?). Population grows from roughly 20,000 to 30,000 when CWU is in session. Road bicycling is fantastic when the wind isn't blowing to hard. (Eburg is quite windy roughly half of days April to October, but forecasts are quite accurate 3-4 days out so it's easy to plan which days to do long rides.) Lots of good surface country roads with little traffic. Road up Reecer Creek to Table Mtn. is a cool long hill climb, reminds me of secondary narrow road mountain passes in the Alps. Good access to T-way tours/hikes, Stuart Range, Mt. Daniel area, Blewett/Tronsen touring.

[brutah]

I lived in Spokane from 2012-2015.

I have fond memories of the area, place and people. They have a great pub culture and may lead the nation in dive bars per capita. Pretty active community, lots of mountain biking in town and within a few hours drive. Lots of skiing options close by. panhandlebackcountry.com is a good resource for bc skiing in the area. Rivers and lakes galore.

It has a small town feel with big city crime. Lots of petty crimes due to the regional drug problem. In the 3 years I lived there I had my bike and car stolen. Lots of smash and grabs, junkies stealing mail and going into unlocked houses at night.

I'd move back in a heartbeat, but don't think the wife would

[GoldMember]

Yeah, it's pretty hard to argue against the statistics. By measure, we have a high crime rate. However, it's very neighborhood driven, too. The 3rd legislative district, which comprises the core of downtown and some of the surrounding neighborhoods, specifically the West-Central has the highest poverty rate of any district in the state. Not too surprisingly, it's also probably the highest concentration of crime in the county. It truly is a place to avoid for housing but, you probably would, anyway since the bulk of the homes in that area are clearly poor.

I live north of the city in the Mead district. I've had one bike stolen in 1989 (in a different area of the city) and, other than that, no other issues. But, the concern is real and is something that hopefully, with our better economy, will diminish.

ETA: I see that the redistricting that occurred a few years ago now has nearly the entire city as the third so I'm not sure that the previous statistic about it being the poorest in the state is still valid.

[KQ]

^^ Yup, I remember both events well. The ice storm put us without power for three days, we were lucky. It shut down our business for a couple of days but we were able to recover from that without any problems. When the record snow hit, we'd been at Schweitzer and a friend of mine and I came back to Spokane to pick up another friend who was flying in so we could go heli-skiing. It was weird because Schweitzer really hadn't received much snow and we weren't aware of how hard Spokane was hit. Driving to the airport, there were these huge snowbanks all over the place. Buildings were collapsing, including the grocery store where we shopped. Everything was really kind of peaceful looking with all the snow but it was chaotic. That was a great ski year, too.

I remember the 1996 and 2008 storms. Fucking mess. FWIW, Portland ice storms are more frequent and often as bad.

Word in the biz community is that Spokane economy is getting stronger year after year, with a few bumps along the way.

I moved to W2 in 2008. Got the barn finished and the horses moved in from the temporary pasture shelters they were living in a day before the 2008 snow storm hit. Worst storm in 30 years here. It was quite the introduction to living in W2.

We've since had one other snow event that was similar in 2016 with temps dipping to -13 and last year we had an ice storm that wasn't too pleasant but nothing like the '96 storm in Spokane. <shudder> Ice storms scare the shit out of me. I still remember the horrible one they had in Montreal in '98. Had friends who lived there and said it was like Armageddon.

We like it. Nice cultural mix: Ag hub, college town, county seat. Economy is strong, in part due to exporting hay to Japan and China (how crazy is that?). Population grows from roughly 20,000 to 30,000 when CWU is in session. Road bicycling is fantastic when the wind isn't blowing to hard. (Eburg is quite windy roughly half of days April to October, but forecasts are quite accurate 3-4 days out so it's easy to plan which days to do long rides.) Lots of good surface country roads with little traffic. Road up Reecer Creek to Table Mtn. is a cool long hill climb, reminds me of secondary narrow road mountain passes in the Alps. Good access to T-way tours/hikes, Stuart Range, Mt. Daniel area, Blewett/Tronsen touring.

So great! I have some friend who recently moved there from Cle Elum. They had moved from Seattle to Cle Elum a couple years ago but two years of bad wildfires left them kind of shell shocked so they loaded up their horses and moved to Ellensburg. Guess they found a house double the size of what they had for a killer price. They are very happy.

Re: wind - I bet we aren't too far behind you on windy days. I was very surprised at how often it is windy here. Right before I moved here in January of '08 they had a massive wind storm topping out at 80mph.

[GoldMember]

The 1996 ice storm was scary as hell. There were trees dropping all over the place, really spooky. Every time Portland has an ice storm, though, I'm super happy to not be there. That is frightening to see.

[Sawtooth Tiger]

to the OP. For years I wanted to get back to the west (was living in Baltimore) and had settled on a few major cities (Denver, SLC, Seattle) so I could have business but still ski as much a possible.
Someone suggested Spokane and I initially turned it down. The more I looked at it, the more I loved.

After living in Spokane for 2 years (moved here in NOV 16') I can honestly say it was the best decision. I love it here.

People complain about the area being crime riddled and drug infested but seriously?!? I came from a major city, 300+ murders a year. So when I read about crackheads stealing lawnmowers in the Spokesman Review...I just laugh.

Rent an extended stay for a month and get to know the less than desirable neighborhoods. Then just pick an apartment complex you like for a year until you find a piece of land or house that's right for you. That's exactly what I did and am doing. The people I've met are for the most part, always in a good mood. They're genuinely nice people. Willing to help and be friendly. That's amazing to me coming from the east coast.
Basically the area is large enough to have a "city" element but still holds a small town feel. One thing I did notice is that the area tends to be deeply purple. At the stop light, I'll be sitting next to a billy-badass with a backwards hat driving his diesel GMC superduty, rockn' the confederate flag out the back; and to my left a prius with a purple haired hippy blasting EDM or Phish. There's a large contingent of Libertarians as well. But somehow, they all get along and make it work. It's Awesome!!

The downtown area is vibrant with a local brew scene, bars, clubs etc. But it's not what you would consider a late night town. Most of the major music tours skip this area, (which is sad) so don't expect Manchester Orchestra or Metallica to show up. Think, 3 Doors Down and Tesla.

There's super rich people and very poor folks as well but it's a MOSTLY middle class area. Blue collar type folks. Tons of thrift shops and bargain outlet type places. The cost of living and property values are distinctly lower than major cities. It's perfect for my business demographic but YMMV.
Most things are closed by 8:00pm. Except the mini-marts, fast food places and straight bars.
But I moved here for so much more than city life.
5 ski resorts within 1.5 hours
20+ ski resorts within 3.5 hours
Endless hiking/biking trails.
76 Natural lakes
4 distinct mountain ranges within 4 hours (Selkirks, Sawtooths, Cascades and Rockies)
4 real seasons
and a river runs through it!
The ocean is 5 hours away on the coast. And if I ever long for the call of a big city life weekend...its a 50 minute flight to Seattle.

Speaking of flights...the airport is NEVER busy. I used to have to show up 2 hours before a flight at BWI...I can arrive at GEG 30 minutes before my plane leaves and have no problems. On that note however, Spokane isn't a major hub so direct flights to anything are a rarity. Most flights will require layovers which means a longer and more expensive trip than from a major hub.

There are some drawbacks...
The food choices seem to be limited.
I can't find a good pizza place or a kick-ass reuben sandwich but the one's I found are close enough to the real thing to keep me happy. Also, there's no such thing as diversity here. It's white, snow white! That's not inherently bad or good...its just a fact. The thing about diversity is it keeps the culture vibrant and offers a chance to learn and grow. For instance, I would kill for some southern cooking, but there's no chance of me getting a decent BBQ or even a well made bagel here. Also, everybody drives the speed limit here, it's fucking annoying but I'm slowly getting used to a slower pace of life.

I didn't expect the place I moved to be exactly like the place I left though...that would be stupid. The pluses far outweigh the minuses and if you're still on the fence...my 2 cents = go for it.

P.S. = Any mags that want to hang and get some coffee or hit the slopes. (I have season passes to Schweitzer, Lookout Pass and Mt. Spokane this year) please hit me up. I was surprised to not have found as many people to ski with as I had hoped yet. Maybe this season will be different!!

[plugboots]

“Ice Storm”, huh, my old girlfriend is in purple in this scene:

[mooseknuckles]

Most of the major music tours skip this area, (which is sad) so don't expect Manchester Orchestra or Metallica to show up.

https://www.metallica.com/events/event-36821.html


All the Spokanistanis better create a local resaraunt guide to assist the ravenous Sawtooth Tiger.

.

[SkiLyft]

Any mags that want to hang and get some coffee

Hey hey, moved here earlier this year. I’m wrapping up sober October so coffee could work this month haha. I’ll shoot you a PM let’s meet up.

Not getting a pass this year because I want to bounce around and check out all the local ski areas. That and a trip to Whistler and another to Tahoe forced my hand to buy an epic pass lol.


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[GoldMember]

Hey hey, moved here earlier this year. I’m wrapping up sober October so coffee could work this month haha. I’ll shoot you a PM let’s meet up.

Not getting a pass this year because I want to bounce around and check out all the local ski areas. That and a trip to Whistler and another to Tahoe forced my hand to buy an epic pass lol.


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I'd meet up for coffee. Already sent a PM to Sawtooth. Let me know what works.