Spokane, WA Reviews

Has potential but does not live up to it. - 4/26/2023
Lived here all of my life. I've visited enough cities to understand that Spokane could be so much better, but it falls short in many ways. Its car-oriented development has really ruined the city in my opinion. Everyone complains about the road quality here, but it lacks for several reasons, which I will describe later. There are five and six car lane roads in DOWNTOWN, the most "pedestrian friendly" area of the city. There are hardly any useful bike lanes here. 99% of bike lanes here are unprotected, narrow, and make no sense. There's one out by the airport, which is only accessible by highway and starts like four miles after the highway exit. Most bike lanes are really just lanes shared with cars, and they just have a bicycle symbol painted on them on the pavement. Public transit has been so neglected and the public opinion on it here is so awful that small upgrades are seen as huge milestones. We don't even have dedicated bus lanes anywhere in the city yet. Suffice to say, you'll Read More

Some good, some bad. - 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 Read More

It's not the worst but it's definitely not good. - 1/27/2022
I've lived in Spokane for over 5 years after moving here from the Vancouver area for a job. I miss Western Washington.

Home buying: When I first moved here, you could buy a decent home in a safe(r) neighborhood for $130k - $180k. Those homes are now going for at least $350k. Outlying areas are even more expensive as people shift to purchase in smaller communities around Spokane. Spokane Valley homes are almost unattainable.

Rent: My one-bedroom, 700sq foot older-than-dirt (and not updated) apartment was $780 when I first signed in 2016. Decent cost for a single bedroom with small increases upon renewal. Currently paying $980. They now charge over $1,400 for my apartment. There are so many baseboard heaters, I can only use 3 walls throughout the entire apartment. There are no renter protections in this city and no limits on how much landlords can raise the rent. And they are raising it a lot. Look up some of the local news stories. Some are raising it 50% - Read More

Spokan't afford to live here anymore - 12/17/2021
I've lived in Spokane for 32 of my 39 years.
Growing up I had an excellent childhood here, after becoming an adult I moved away but came back because even though the winter can be rough, and the roads will destroy your car, it really was an affordable place to live. WAS. For whatever reason the very wealthy have chosen Spokane as a place to call home. The city council here panders to the very rich and couldn't care less about low income residents, which, by the way, still makes up the majority of the city's population.
The downtown scene has grown by leaps and bounds the last 10 years there's a very bustling nightlife and a lot to see and do, however, the streets are now home to countless people who have been priced out of their own homes. Instead of building shelters the city chose to install spikes on places where homeless people might potentially sit and panhandle. As I write this review, I hear gunshots in the not so far off distance, a sound that was almost Read More

Spocompton - 6/16/2021
I've lived here for 12 years now. I'm from a small town and always wanted to live here because there's lots of shops and eateries. there are a lot of cool things about Spokane...the parks are beautiful...the gondola at riverfront park is fun..lots of activities...lots of things to do. It's a college town with about 6 different colleges to choose from. Population in the general area is about 1/2 million now.

I'm sad to say the homeless population has exploded. It is very obvious just walking down the street downtown you can see people sleeping on the pavement and the city had a 1 million dollars grant to build a new shelter but they purposely didn't use it because they think it will attract more homeless people to the area. So we have people sleeping under bridges because there's not enough beds. I have been homeless before myself so I have compassion and have handed out food and blankets now that I'm on my feet again but the whole thing is overwhelming and makes me feel Read More

Not for someone who likes big cities - 11/12/2020
I lived here for about a year and it was definitely not for me. My breakdown:

Cons:
-No diversity, all white people
-Poor public transportation
-A lot of run-down, boarded-up houses, even in nice neighborhoods
-Not close to any major city. 4-hour drive to Seattle is the closest you'll get
-Not many single young adults
-Not very progressive. Liberal in comparison to the area, but nothing like a big city

Pros:
-Nature and local ski mountains
-Light traffic
-Cute pockets in neighborhoods
-Very Read More

An accurate view over the last 30 years? - 8/24/2020
I went to college here in the 90's and have been in and out for 30 years but I work in Seattle now and live in Spokane. The good: The area is beautiful, trees, lakes, rivers, etc.. The people, there are tens of thousands of great people here. You will get a clearly defined 4 seasons here. There is a lot to do, the city has a well developed sports, community and recreation system, concerts, arts, etc. (I play a ton of softball and the city facility is excellent, county, not so much). The airport is easy to get to and still kind of small so it's much cheaper to park and go then Seattle. Obviously, Washington has no income tax, that's a plus but our gas tax is high if you aren't from California or Hawaii. Property taxes are reasonable but Washington sales tax is pretty much 10% now. All forms of government at the state level are controlled by Democrats who have been attempting to pass state income taxes and/or capital gains taxes for years. It's probably coming at some point Read More

High road or "high"road. You pick. - 5/11/2020
Spokane is a make it or break it kind of place, it is good if you have a career in the 'system'. If you are low income there is a lot of help. There is also the dark side of Spokane, as with any other city, but here it is dirtier, meaner and dangerous. It can be a great place if you are working and living. It all depends on what you chose.  Read More

Nastiest Place to Live - 4/24/2020
Full of homeless, junkies, and tons of poverty. Moved here from Las Vegas, and from there Killeen, TX and this is by far the nastiest place. It used to be gorgeous!
Packages are constantly stolen off your porch, furniture, you get physically harassed while in your car. The roads are not well kept and have destroyed my tires.
People here are extremely sympathetic to the homeless and junkies, to the point where their lives come before yours or your children's.
Move to one of the surrounding cities, but stay far away from actual Spokane. Read More

Good and bad of Spokane. - 1/19/2020
Spokane is a growing city due to low cost and nice communities. Good things: growing, easy traveling (including flights), nice family communities, lots of lakes and mountains for activities, no state tax, low utility costs. Bad, inner city has a high amount of drugs and street people, 4 season climate, summer to short, winter to long, and not enough community parks (lots of drivable parks). I have lived here 14 years, raising my kids, and they have all excelled. School districts are important. I miss all the neighborhood parks we had before, but don’t miss the high living costs. Summers are great, winter is ok if you like skiing, etc, but spring and fall are a toss up. Can get a lot of grey weather, a little snow or rain, but not enough sun. This is the only reason I didn’t rate Spokane a 4. Also consider Spokane valley and Coeur D ‘ Alene, ID. Read More