Spokane: Growing, improving
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8/16/2018
I've lived in Spokane for over half of my life, I'm 45, and no matter where I roam whether it's vacation or past moves to other areas, Spokane will always be home to me.
Granted, the city has its pros and cons.
Then again, what city doesn't have their share of problems?
I traveled to many cities over the years and trust me, there are far worse cities than Spokane out there.
All I will say is, some reviews on here are believable, and some are a tad over exaggerated to the point that leads me to believe that maybe they're anti-growth/development.
They're hoping to discourage people from moving here by making the area seem much uglier than it truly is..
For example, I have friends that live in Austin, TX and they're always saying negative opinions about their city and discouraging people to move there.
Back on subject:
whether people like it or not, Spokane is growing now and people are moving here.
After years of having a slow and stagnant economy, we've bounced back from the recent Great Recession and we're now making up for lost time.
One negative I will mention about Spokane:
Downtown Spokane lacks when it comes to downtown living.
Compared to other US cities, it's limited as far as housing from affordable to high-end.
A couple of residential projects are becoming reality such as The M, and finally the revitalization of the former Ridpath Hotel.
They're both a step in the right direction, but downtown still needs more than that to answer the demand for downtown housing.
There are current mix-use proposals for downtown with residential in mind, but despite approvals from the city, none have started construction yet.
If you're looking for a sleek glass 25th floor downtown condo, chances are you'll have to wait till a developer finally comes thru and makes a residential/mix-use project a reality.
I'm hopeful that downtown will eventually sprout more housing choices, but for now, the choices are limited.
Now back to positives:
•Even tho Spokane is now considered a mid-size city, it's still small enough to be convenient, but large enough to be sophisticated.
•We're a short drive to nature, & area lakes. the
•Despite the naysayer reviews, Spokane is improving on many levels and becoming a city on the rise.
The nation has noticed these positive aspects and is finally taking this area seriously instead of overlooking it.
•Spokane has a hot real estate markets now, which is also encouraging more people to move here, and yes it's driving up the housing costs.
•Spokane is finally on a few best cities lists which wasn't before.
Maybe we're finally doing something right?
•City leaders are promoting the area a lot more now compared to years past, which shows that they're pro-development and they want this area to grow and thrive in today's competitive market.
Does Spokane needs some improvement?
Yes, in places.
We're not a perfect city, but no city is.
Spokane in my opinion, has more pros going for it than cons and with that in mind, I give Spokane 4 out of 5 stars.
I welcome and encourage out of towners to ignore the bad reviews & come and check the area out for themselves.
Discover for yourself the reasons why most people love living here and see why more newcomers are starting to call Spokane home.
AJ | Spokane, WA