Reviews & Comments
Spokane, WA
Nice and getting better -
10/7/2017A beautiful and welcoming place now -- which I couldn't have said twenty years ago when the economy was on the skids, and Spokane had a well-earned reputation as a shabby, conservative, religious, depressed town still pining away for its lumber, manufacturing and railroad days. Now, it's a city with a booming central cluster of universities, and ambitious, liberal young people who grow up here no longer feel as compelled to leave. The once-notorious police department and city government seem cleaned up and more competently run, although the county government still has issues.
Housing is still cheap, and neighborhoods are on the upswing. Outdoor options are stunning: a 70-mile bike trail runs along the river. Hiking and skiing abound in the nearby Selkirk Mountains. Everyone with any money seems to own a second home on one of the scores of nearby lakes.
As long as Seattle, Portland and SF keep booming, Spokane will keep getting lots of new arrivals from those cities looking for more space and affordability.