Review of Spokane, Washington


Some good, some bad.
Star Rating - 10/6/2022
I lived in the Spokane area for 35 years. It has its positives and negatives. Be sure and pick a safe community to live in. Rural areas are rather scary. Too many guns and drugs. There is a lot of crime in Spokane but it is in the worst neighborhoods. Not necessarily everywhere. The mayor, Nadine Woodard, is incompetent. She was a newscaster and could read a teleprompter but should not be running a city. She doesn't believe in government and gets in the way of solving the homeless issues in the city. She makes the city look bad but the voters put her there. They never hold her accountable for the way the city is being run and her decisions about the homeless problem. Spokane has beautiful fall weather. Cold winters with lots of snow and ice. Be prepared for long gray days. Summers are warm and sometimes smokey but overall delightful. Spring is wet wet wet. Lots of rain. We moved to Liberty Lake and found it a far superior place to live. 20 minute drive to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. My negative review is about the politics and the right wing extremists, racists and lack of willingness to tackle the crime, drugs and homelessness in the city of Spokane. The city council tries but it gets overrun by the mayor. The county commissioners are useless as they are there because of the rural voters. The roads and failing infrastructure are apparent everywhere. Harsh winters are hard on roads but the voters don't want to pay the taxes to maintain them so they fall apart year after year. I blame the voters because they elect the officials that pass the laws. So we decided to pick up and move to Laguna Calif where the sun shines and we pay for the safety and beauty of where we live. We are fortunate to have that choice. So many people who live in Spokane are stuck in low income housing, low paying jobs and no opportunity for advancement. Other than medical, there really isn't a draw for large employers. 3 of our 4 adult children chose to move away and didn't want to return. Mostly due to poor job opportunities. If you can afford a nice home in a safe neighborhood and enjoy the outdoors like biking, hiking, skiing, and snowy weather, you'll be fine.
Jeanenne | Liberty Lake, WA
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Moved here in 2015 from Baker City, Oregon. Definitely more to do here, including outdoors. More art, theaters, restaurants, headliner concerts, but culture is lacking. Comparing to places to the west it isn't exactly a Seattle or Portland as far as culture but it's a huge step up from Baker. Unfortunately the housing problem, and the violent and property crimes has gotten much worst since I moved here and it has me contemplating going back. The roads are pretty bad and have to be repaired about every year which means road construction downtown for 6 months out of the year. The summers have been smokey and the snowfall has been less than I was warned about. We got more of that in Baker as well as much colder temperatures. Very dreary with less sunshine than Eastern Oregon as well.
Phoenix | Fairwood, WA | Report Abuse
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