Great place to live, residents keep it a secret
-
2/2/2006
Yakima, the city itself, is nothing exciting. However, it's unfair to judge the city of Yakima without considering the overall valley. Traditionally the valley economy has been based upon agriculture, which is still the primary focus of most valley residents either directly or indirectly. Ellensburg is home to a state university and is a typical cozy college town. Zillah is fast becoming the center of wine production in Washington state and touted as the next Napa. The entire valley is well known for apples, pears and hops. Mt. Rainer serves as the backdrop for the valley, and on a clear day Mt. Stevens and even Mt. St. Helens can be seen. Yakima is a desert type climate and not the typical picture one has in their mind when you say you live in Washington. The wet side of the mountains does provide great opportunities however, with Seattle 3hrs away and Portland, OR roughly a 3.5 hrs drive. Spokane is a little further out, but still very accesible in a day. You probably wouldn't want to visit these big cities in a day and then drive back, but a weekend trip is very easy and nice. The valley economy is not booming, but there are good jobs to be had whether you are a business professional or a worker bee. Home prices are very resonable, and one can easily find a comfortable house for 100-200K. Houses can be found for as little as 50-75K. Land can be found for as little as $2K an acre. Culturally, Yakima is not very diverse. The largest populations are white and hispanic. In fact the hispanic population is quite high in the Yakima valley, which in my opinion adds a great twist on life in Yakima. All other ethnicities are represented, but not very noticable in numbers. Growing up in the Washington DC area and living in only large cities up until moving to Yakima, this lack of cultural diversity was shocking. The people who live here however, tend to be extremely nice and accepting of others. The small town feeling is very much alive in Yakima, which I found very refreshing. It's the type of place where you run into your co-workers and neighbors in town. In conclusion, it's my belief Yakima is an up and coming town in central Washington, a diamond in the rough. It doesn't have everything, but that includes not having high taxes (no income tax in WA!), traffic congestion, or high crime. Overall, it's a great place to live.
kevin | Wapato, WA