A lot of good, but yes, there is a lot of crime
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8/13/2016
Spokane was a lot to offer: beautiful nature and parks, affordable housing, great downtown. The public schools are top notch, in large part because there is so much competition for teaching jobs with three (four if you count WSU) colleges pumping out ed grads every year. It has the feel of a small town with the amenities of a city. It also has big city levels of violent crime. Meth is a huge contributor in recent years, but Spokane has a long history of violent crime going back even before meth moved to town: the Spokane serial killer, the South Hill serial rapist, shootings and knifings, the draw of a disproportionate number of sex offenders. Growing up in the north side, safe suburbs of Spokane, I still heard numerous stories of rapes. A girl at my high school was drug out of her car when she stopped at a stoplight late at night and raped. Another student, who did running start at SFCC, got into her car and was raped by the man hiding in her backseat. I know of numerous other childhood friends who were molested by relatives, babysitters and neighbors. Growing up this way, learning where to go and when, looking over my shoulder and being very aware of my surroundings when walking alone, it's no wonder that so many of my classmates and I have been able to transition to living in huge cities like NYC and LA without much culture shock. We grew up in the trenches- in the Mead District suburbs of Spokane...
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