Spokane, WA Reviews

Never thought of leaving - 7/5/2016
I was doing some research that landed me on this site and I have to say I was compelled to write in response to all the negativity! I have lived hear most of my life, with short stents away and a good deal of travel. I can honestly say that besides college, I never thought of leaving! Spokane is amazing! I have never been without a job; neither have my kids. My youngest just applied for a job at 16, and got the first one she applied for! My oldest is in College getting a great education right here in Spokane.
Our outdoor recreation opportunities are well known and legendary but on top of that we have a strong educated workforce, a nationally recognized education system, amazing weather (Don't confuse us with the other side of the State; we get nearly 200 days of sun a year), crystal clean air and water, a growing cultural and start-up scene, a ridiculously short commute time (from downtown to rural America in as little as 15 minutes), incredible and inexpensive golf, and Read More

You can find better - 6/16/2016
I have lived here for about 11 years.
I'll start with what I like about Spokane:
Greenbluff- cute family owned farms where you can pick your own produce. Lots of fun activities mainly in the Autumn.
Manito Park- Has several gardens that are all very pretty. Great place to take a nice walk and have a picnic.
There are a lot of parks. You can pretty much find a park in every neighborhood, or really close by.

Things I don't like about Spokane:
The weather. It can get nice and warm during the Summer which is great....though sometimes it can get a bit hot (90s-100s). People always say there is all 4 seasons, but I have to say that's kind of a lie....unless you consider a season to be only a couple weeks long instead of 3 months.
Winter takes over half of fall and half or more of Spring (most years, this year for Spring has been different, which has been nice). August is always considered the warmest month in most places (and for some Read More

Smaller size city with a long history - 6/4/2016
Spokane has the cleanest downtown of any city I have ever seen (and I have lived in San Francisco, New York City, Montreal, and DC). I have no idea what the first reviewer is talking about. Downtown Spokane is pristine. The same goes for parking downtown. Having lived in several larger cities, the parking here is a dream! It is not expensive - street parking is always available, unless there is a big event going on.

And sure, there are homeless in Spokane just like in every mid-size to large US city, but this issue is not unique to Spokane. It's negligible compared to the situation in San Fransisco, for instance, where human feces litters the sidewalks in some neighborhoods.

There are beautiful neighborhoods with wonderful architecture, historic mansions, all sorts of Churches (this is a mostly Christian place, it must be said), and awesome parks (like Riverfront and Manito). Spokane was a boom town 100 years ago. It's true that it has had some decline Read More

Live here if you choices are Spokane, Mogadishu an - 3/13/2016
Move here if your choice is between those cities. Lots of people from those cities have moved here and within minutes they are on Medicaid. The city is safe when compared to the above cities but I don't think there is a city in the nation that has more bums and homeless on the downtown street corners than Spokane. The downtown parking is difficult and expensive. Home construction is expensive. The locals are weird. The climate is acceptable and the area has some fun things to do but the fact that the locals say the city is cleaner than it used to be is truly frightening. The Brown's Addition which has (had) most of the city's iconic older homes is now an apartment ghetto where homeless wander aimlessly through the neighborhood and you can walk around to the smell of pot wafting through the air. The airport has very limited airline service and flights to most places involve two stops.
We are a sanctuary city which is to say the city will not report the actual or suspected Read More

Visit but don't move here - 3/13/2016
The city is dirty but if you speak with the locals who have been here all their lives, they say it is much better than it was. The homeless are on nearly every corner downtown. The Browns Addition which has some of the city's oldest and grandest homes has been turned into an apartment ghetto with homeless inhabiting Coeur d' Alene park. Forget about your teenagers getting jobs here because the leftest city council has made it impossible for businesses to hire the young and unskilled. Last week we went to the downtown mall and spent 35 minutes trying to get out of the flipping parking garage which you are obligated to use (and pay) because street parking is sparse (and expensive). Only a few airlines service the city. drug use is rampant. I am a physician and I do not go a week without taking care of some pregnant patient who is actively using meth, heroine, ethanol or all three. Everyone is on Medicaid....why work? The city was planned to have parks within walking distance of most Read More

I'm trying to save you - 1/17/2016
I have lived in Mississippi, Utah, Germany and Nebraska. I found all of these places very pleasant.
In our desire to be closer to family(in a neighboring state)we moved to Spokane. BIG MISTAKE. First of all the neighborhood Airway Heights is an abomination. It is built around a jail. We had door to door salesman ALLLL the time. I'm assuming due to the lack of jobs. There was actually someone selling hair WEAVES door to door!!
Spokane itself is dirty. Don't believe me? Google these words " why is Spokane so..."
It will say ghetto, dangerous and dirty. It is all of those things. New businesses struggle here.
The mountains, rivers, and lakes are gorgeous but the people are weird and any normal jobs are given to local family members. I have been a professional for 10 years and cannot find a descent job.

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no jobs - 10/22/2014
there are no jobs in Spokane wa. my grandson put in an application for a job at a movie theatre and was told they had over 100 applications for it. I have 30 years office and call center experience and could not get a job in spokane. my daughter has a bachalors and a masters degree and could not find a full time job. I have to drive 45 minutes to the next city Coeur d alene id to work and it is next to impossible to find a place to live in Coeur d alene id unless you have perfect credit and it takes a week to find out if you are approved for an apartment. all housing in both cities are owned by corporations. there are very few apartments or houses owned by an individual for rent a one bedroom ranges from 650 to 1000 a month. I have lived in several places in this country and this area is the most difficult to live in that I have ever seen for jobs and housing. it is pretty here but not that pretty. in Spokane there are homeless people all over the city panhandling and there are Read More

20 Years in Spokane - 8/14/2014
We were assigned to Fairchild AFB 20 years ago. The city has grown into a great spot to live, with descent shopping, restaurants and entertainment. There is a lot to take advantage of with several lakes, rivers, mountains, etc. The healthcare is very good, and with Riverpoint campus and all the expansion of the medical school, it keeps getting better. We even have specialty veterinarian schools in Spokane. My Boxer was treated at their eye clinic for a very reasonable fee. I felt very fortunate to have such great healthcare for my pets. Most of my opinions about Spokane are positive, but there are just a couple of things I'm less optimistic about.
First, the amount of graffiti and other vandalism is becoming an issue for me. But I was surprised at how high our crime rate is here, since I generally feel safe and confident in most areas. And second, the winters are becoming more difficult for me as I get older. Although, the weather is generally easy to deal with the rest of the Read More

Should You Move To or Visit Spokane? - 6/12/2014
Oh heck, if you are looking for a great place to live or just want to visit, move to Spokane, or come on by my place! 89% of the people here are fantabulous. The rest, coming and going, want more for less, don't want to work, are whiners, know-it-alls, in short not worth listening to, so ignore their negativity.

I own The Heart of Spokane, it is a retail store currently on Monroe Street. If you come in and it's your birthday and you tell me I will sing for you. If you need something vintage, jewelry, collectible or something dusty to keep you busy come on by. We dance, tell funny stories, you can watch me paint, or check out the fine art in the store. There are also seventeen other vintage stores on Monroe in case I bore you, but I pride myself in knowing all kinds of stuff about Spokane. If you just want to take up some time, do it here, I promise it will be fun.

If you need advice on your kids, husband or spouse I offer it up with big chucks of silly, and Read More

City that needs jobs, less liberals and an identit - 5/26/2014
Spokane is a city that seems to have lost it's identity. Not a bad place to live or raise kids. Like all areas, it has ghettos and crime in particular areas. Democrats in the Governors office and US Congress WA reps have done little or nothing to create jobs. The pro sports entertainment is lil fish in a big pool. Only Junior Hockey and rookie league baseball.

There is a growing arts culture and Spokane Valley and Sprague has great potential to be an arts district. Education? There are too many schools to name in the area. SFCC, WSU, EWU, etc Read More