Spokan't afford to live here anymore
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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 never heard 10 years ago, is now common within a 10 mile radius of city center.
I'm from Spokane, but sadly even though I earn more than the median income, I don't make enough to buy a home here, and even if I did I don't think it's worth it. Winters are still tough, the roads are not managed well, and the public school system has state of the art facilities, but are severely understaffed, and full of scandals.
Gina | Spokane, WA