I did want to add a couple things: 1. After a “town hall” was held at Zona Blanca (great restaurant that is now closing), many small business owners downtown argued that the statistic of crime being down is false because most of them don’t report it anymore. Do with that what you will. 16% is a fairly large number so I would say both are true, crime is probably down a little. 2. Spokane had the least amount of smoke this year than the past 8 years.
It has been covered recently on Louder with Crowder about how crime statistics are way off. Why? Because multiple cities have flat out stopped reporting crimes. Mainly due to nothing ever getting done about those crimes. Hate to say it...if you want some law and order and common sense to return, STOP VOTING DEMOCRAT. Vote the issues that effect your day to day life, not the popularity contest.
I recently relocated from Houston, Texas, where I lived for nearly 12 years, and I couldn't be happier with the move. I have three daughters-one in college back in Texas, one attending college here in Spokane, and the youngest in elementary school. We're living in a wonderful area within the Mead District, with excellent schools, a friendly neighborhood, and everything we need close by. The so-called "traffic" in Spokane is practically non-existent compared to Houston! I only fill my gas tank once a month, and the cost of living fits perfectly within our family’s budget. Now, my favorite things so far: the weather! I can actually go outside and enjoy the fresh air-something I rarely did in Houston, except maybe in late October or November. Here, I get to experience all four seasons! The humidity is just right, and I don’t feel like I’m being cooked from the inside out. I can breathe easily-what a relief! There are only a couple of downsides I’ve noticed so far: Everything moves at a slower pace. For example, I spent 30 minutes in the Burger King drive-thru yesterday! Food service everywhere is noticeably slower compared to Houston, where a McDonald's can serve 50 customers in less than an hour. But I’m learning to adjust, understanding that Spokane is a smaller city and things naturally move a bit slower here. It’s something I’m sure I’ll get used to in time. People seem more reserved. Coming from Houston, the 4th largest and most diverse city in the U.S., I was used to interacting with a wide variety of people. In Houston, you could easily hear three different languages in one day and maybe learn two more within a year! People love connecting through sports and social activities. Here in Spokane, people feel more isolated, keeping to themselves. That said, I could be wrong, and this may just be my initial impression-time will tell. But overall, everywhere we go, people are respectful, friendly, and care about the quality of their services, even if the neighborhood activity isn’t as lively. One last thing: churches. We’re Christians and still exploring options. We've been attending a nearby church, and the pastor is great with a welcoming community. It's not the most diverse, but the people are warm and kind. However, we visited another church for about a month, and the pastor inserted politics into every sermon-big Trump supporter. It felt more like watching Fox News, so we decided to move on. That said, Spokane seems to have a variety of perspectives, which is great for balance, though sometimes people may push their views a little too much. Spokane is a beautiful city. Yes, like many cities, there are challenges with homelessness and drugs downtown, but I believe the people here are committed to improving things, and I’m excited to be part of that effort. These are just my first impressions, but my family and I are happy with our decision to move. If you're considering Spokane, it might not have everything you want, but it certainly has everything you need. I believe there's a place for you here too!
I'm a native Houstonian! My husband and I moved to Spokane from Austin early this year. I just wrote a similar comparison post and just wanted to say hi to another Texan.. Washingtonian... in the comments!
When the locals think crime is going up but the government says it’s going down it’s usually a change in the definition of crime and crime is actually going up they’re just lying about it!
I really appreciate your honest thoughts of safety and crime issues in Spokane. It is important for people to understand this is a city with city issues. Having moved from Austin to Spokane, I believe the "communities" you speak of there are so much more insular, in a polarizing way. Traffic being a key issue in Austin- it makes sense to never want to leave your neighborhood. In Spokane, we have the entire city come out to events because parking is easy and traffic isn't an issue. It's more inclusive in that way. There were so many community events in Austin we wanted to attend and never did because of traffic and parking. We're able to go to so many more here. Outdoor activities are another similarity. It's too hot and/or crowded to enjoy the outdoors there. There is also an algae in the water in summer that is very harmful to humans but especially pets. Summer lasts 6 months of the year. Winter says hello with catastrophic freezes that cause hundreds of people to die. Unfortunately, a truth. Also, Austin has wayyy more homelessness and there's crime... though we have witnessed a few unhinged episodes here, just from our vehicle, that made us feel scared. What I would consider surprising are living costs. Food- both groceries and dining out- are wayyy more expensive. I'm talking upwards of 40%. I still don't know if that trickles down towards a living wage for servers but I would like to know if I'm tipping 20% on top of a living wage. In TX, servers make $2.15 an hour so absolutely I will tip 20%. I am unclear and it seems explotative here. Spirits are taxed at 40% in WA- that was shocking! We enjoy cocktails at home so now we plan in advance whenever we go to Idaho to bring something back (even canned cocktails). It's under 1% in Texas and something we never thought about before. General utilities are much less expensive here. I did a comparison calculation here for July and it was about $200 less than July last year in Austin. Hydroelectric power, baby! Sales tax is slightly higher here but there is also city sales tax, which we did not have in Austin. Basically, it's a wash, financially. The gain is in weather, community, way of life, and amazing access to the outdoors year-round. Also, no traffic (comparatively).
Thank you for this perspective! It’s great to hear from people who have actually lived in another city and made the move to Spokane. You’re able to make the true comparison
The reason crime looks like it's going down on the police reports is because people feel reporting it is worthless as nothing happens to most criminals. So therefore it's not actually down people are just not reporting it.
43 yr Spokane Resident. Spokane once was a great place to live, not any more. 1. Homeless problem is getting worse because cities like Seattle are busing homeless here to clean up their city. I have inside knowledge of this, so yes it is a real thing. 2. Crime is off the charts. And the police are over taxed. We need more police. There is no good neighborhoods left. Northwest Spokane use to be a safe neighborhood back in the 80's/90's, not any more and I am a Northwest Spokane resident. Homeless are even in this area. I have told multiple to move along in my neighborhood in the past few months. 3. Drugs...yeah this problem is off the charts. SpokaneNews has a minimum of 1-3 overdose incidents per day anymore. Elk North of Spokane is a well known meth hub that nobody seems to want to do anything about. I have inside information on this as well. 4. Smoke from wild fires. Well this problem would be solved if the state would return to actually doing Forest Maintenance like it use to decades ago. Forestry crews use to go in and clear out underbrush and remove dead trees to help reduce wildfire issues. All while planting new trees. They also use to clean up along state highways and cut back wild growth away from roadways. But tree huggers put an end to this back in the early 90's. And since then summer wild fires have only gotten worse. Maybe it is time to return to doing actual Forest Maintenance to help our forests thrive and reduce wild fires. Not that complicated. 5. Housing prices here are astronomical. Multiple homes within blocks of my home recently sold for over $350K for a 1800sq. ft.or less house. Rent in an "okay" neighborhood starts at $1500 for a single bedroom. I know this from helping each of my kids try and find an apartment within the past two years.Housing developments are not a thing anymore. I work in the construction industry. In the past 9 months I have worked on designs for over 3 dozen apartment complexes. Over half of those were for Spokane or Spokane Suburbs alone. 6. And for those not in the know. We don't actually get any say in our city. The last round of "upgrades" to Riverfront park got dictated by Seattle/Tacoma, and the money was paid to them for all of the design of those upgrades. Instead of the money being spent here at local businesses. 7. We are taxed for stupid things. For instance, those speed limit reductions that happen over the summer around parks. Instead of paying work crews to change those signs twice a year. How about putting up a single sign that states that from this date to this date at these hours of the day the speed is reduced? We are hit up almost yearly for a new property tax for the public school system. And before I get blasted for what I am going to say. I have MULTIPLE family members that work in the school districts here in Spokane, so I know what I am talking about. Instead of proposing new or increased taxes. How about the public school system start with pruning the administration and restructuring that administration? Getting rid of the empty suit paper pushers in the administration would free up a large amount of funds. To actually help educate our youth. 8. Potholes. I hope you love spending money on car repairs annually. Our road maintenance in Spokane is an absolute joke. There are multiple streets in my neighborhood alone that haven't seen a resurfacing in literally decades. The streets in my neighborhood within the past 5 years was up for chip sealing and sidewalk repairs. The city obviously went with the lowest bid. Within 3 months cracks in the street opened back up and weeds started up again at the curb seem. Great job City of Spokane, wasted tax payer money on a bad job.
Local here, the first responder time if you live outside the city can be very slow. Also do not expect a lower cost of living unless you are moving here from CA, AK or HW. Cost of basic living is high. A single 20 dollar an hour income here will nit cover you if you have anything other than rent , utilities and groceries, gas and insurance, expect to need a roommate . Rent control housing has a very long waiting list even if you have children. If you need to rent, don't bring pets, almost no one is pet friendly. It is a beautiful area though with plenty of things to do and a lot of stuff in a short driving distance. Most people I have met are quite friendly and the population is pretty diverse.
I just visited (mid-Sep '24), and I can say that the number of homeless folks in the downtown core seemed higher, BUT, I didn't see a single tent, shanty, shopping cart, or garbage all over the place. I walked through the whole of Kendall Yards for the first time and was a bit surprised (but a bit not) by the number of Harris/Walz signs; I thought to myself, "You've built a nice little enclave here where you don't have to deal with the effects of the policies of the people you vote for."
Spokane is not the city it was 15 years ago when my daughter and I moved up here. But the surrounding areas that aren’t being built up are still great, for example, the hiking spots. We try not to hang out downtown but we do enjoy the
Per capita, Spokane is worse than LA. Spokane is sincerely depressing! Barely any industry or economic support to sustain a life. Don’t waste your time.
Loud. Spokane is loud. I lived in Seattle for 24 years, and as far as noise is concerned Spokane is the worst of the two cities. Neighbors, dogs, cars, construction. Loud af.
![10 Reasons You SHOULD Move to Spokane, WA | [Ignore the haters]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4qtMCq3AZwM/mqdefault.jpg)
![10 Reasons You SHOULD Move to Spokane, WA | [Ignore the haters]](/img/tr.png)
I did want to add a couple things:
1. After a “town hall” was held at Zona Blanca (great restaurant that is now closing), many small business owners downtown argued that the statistic of crime being down is false because most of them don’t report it anymore. Do with that what you will. 16% is a fairly large number so I would say both are true, crime is probably down a little.
2. Spokane had the least amount of smoke this year than the past 8 years.
absolutely
It has been covered recently on Louder with Crowder about how crime statistics are way off. Why? Because multiple cities have flat out stopped reporting crimes. Mainly due to nothing ever getting done about those crimes. Hate to say it...if you want some law and order and common sense to return, STOP VOTING DEMOCRAT. Vote the issues that effect your day to day life, not the popularity contest.
I enjoy your content, Spokanite here. What a great touchstone, thanks for the information and resources. o7
Thanks for watching!
I recently relocated from Houston, Texas, where I lived for nearly 12 years, and I couldn't be happier with the move. I have three daughters-one in college back in Texas, one attending college here in Spokane, and the youngest in elementary school. We're living in a wonderful area within the Mead District, with excellent schools, a friendly neighborhood, and everything we need close by. The so-called "traffic" in Spokane is practically non-existent compared to Houston! I only fill my gas tank once a month, and the cost of living fits perfectly within our family’s budget.
Now, my favorite things so far: the weather! I can actually go outside and enjoy the fresh air-something I rarely did in Houston, except maybe in late October or November. Here, I get to experience all four seasons! The humidity is just right, and I don’t feel like I’m being cooked from the inside out. I can breathe easily-what a relief!
There are only a couple of downsides I’ve noticed so far:
Everything moves at a slower pace. For example, I spent 30 minutes in the Burger King drive-thru yesterday! Food service everywhere is noticeably slower compared to Houston, where a McDonald's can serve 50 customers in less than an hour. But I’m learning to adjust, understanding that Spokane is a smaller city and things naturally move a bit slower here. It’s something I’m sure I’ll get used to in time.
People seem more reserved. Coming from Houston, the 4th largest and most diverse city in the U.S., I was used to interacting with a wide variety of people. In Houston, you could easily hear three different languages in one day and maybe learn two more within a year! People love connecting through sports and social activities. Here in Spokane, people feel more isolated, keeping to themselves. That said, I could be wrong, and this may just be my initial impression-time will tell. But overall, everywhere we go, people are respectful, friendly, and care about the quality of their services, even if the neighborhood activity isn’t as lively.
One last thing: churches. We’re Christians and still exploring options. We've been attending a nearby church, and the pastor is great with a welcoming community. It's not the most diverse, but the people are warm and kind. However, we visited another church for about a month, and the pastor inserted politics into every sermon-big Trump supporter. It felt more like watching Fox News, so we decided to move on. That said, Spokane seems to have a variety of perspectives, which is great for balance, though sometimes people may push their views a little too much.
Spokane is a beautiful city. Yes, like many cities, there are challenges with homelessness and drugs downtown, but I believe the people here are committed to improving things, and I’m excited to be part of that effort. These are just my first impressions, but my family and I are happy with our decision to move. If you're considering Spokane, it might not have everything you want, but it certainly has everything you need. I believe there's a place for you here too!
I'm a native Houstonian! My husband and I moved to Spokane from Austin early this year. I just wrote a similar comparison post and just wanted to say hi to another Texan.. Washingtonian... in the comments!
Glad you’re here and I appreciate your perspective! I do agree that most “fast” food places are not very fast haha.
There is no fresh air in Spokane.
When the locals think crime is going up but the government says it’s going down it’s usually a change in the definition of crime and crime is actually going up they’re just lying about it!
Drama clowns say crime rate is increasing. Only idiots think anything can get worse every day.
I really appreciate your honest thoughts of safety and crime issues in Spokane. It is important for people to understand this is a city with city issues.
Having moved from Austin to Spokane, I believe the "communities" you speak of there are so much more insular, in a polarizing way. Traffic being a key issue in Austin- it makes sense to never want to leave your neighborhood. In Spokane, we have the entire city come out to events because parking is easy and traffic isn't an issue. It's more inclusive in that way. There were so many community events in Austin we wanted to attend and never did because of traffic and parking. We're able to go to so many more here. Outdoor activities are another similarity. It's too hot and/or crowded to enjoy the outdoors there. There is also an algae in the water in summer that is very harmful to humans but especially pets. Summer lasts 6 months of the year. Winter says hello with catastrophic freezes that cause hundreds of people to die. Unfortunately, a truth. Also, Austin has wayyy more homelessness and there's crime... though we have witnessed a few unhinged episodes here, just from our vehicle, that made us feel scared.
What I would consider surprising are living costs. Food- both groceries and dining out- are wayyy more expensive. I'm talking upwards of 40%. I still don't know if that trickles down towards a living wage for servers but I would like to know if I'm tipping 20% on top of a living wage. In TX, servers make $2.15 an hour so absolutely I will tip 20%. I am unclear and it seems explotative here. Spirits are taxed at 40% in WA- that was shocking! We enjoy cocktails at home so now we plan in advance whenever we go to Idaho to bring something back (even canned cocktails). It's under 1% in Texas and something we never thought about before. General utilities are much less expensive here. I did a comparison calculation here for July and it was about $200 less than July last year in Austin. Hydroelectric power, baby! Sales tax is slightly higher here but there is also city sales tax, which we did not have in Austin.
Basically, it's a wash, financially. The gain is in weather, community, way of life, and amazing access to the outdoors year-round. Also, no traffic (comparatively).
Thank you for this perspective! It’s great to hear from people who have actually lived in another city and made the move to Spokane. You’re able to make the true comparison
The reason crime looks like it's going down on the police reports is because people feel reporting it is worthless as nothing happens to most criminals. So therefore it's not actually down people are just not reporting it.
Spokane subreddit is wild as heck
It’s a great time
43 yr Spokane Resident. Spokane once was a great place to live, not any more.
1. Homeless problem is getting worse because cities like Seattle are busing homeless here to clean up their city. I have inside knowledge of this, so yes it is a real thing.
2. Crime is off the charts. And the police are over taxed. We need more police. There is no good neighborhoods left. Northwest Spokane use to be a safe neighborhood back in the 80's/90's, not any more and I am a Northwest Spokane resident. Homeless are even in this area. I have told multiple to move along in my neighborhood in the past few months.
3. Drugs...yeah this problem is off the charts. SpokaneNews has a minimum of 1-3 overdose incidents per day anymore. Elk North of Spokane is a well known meth hub that nobody seems to want to do anything about. I have inside information on this as well.
4. Smoke from wild fires. Well this problem would be solved if the state would return to actually doing Forest Maintenance like it use to decades ago. Forestry crews use to go in and clear out underbrush and remove dead trees to help reduce wildfire issues. All while planting new trees. They also use to clean up along state highways and cut back wild growth away from roadways. But tree huggers put an end to this back in the early 90's. And since then summer wild fires have only gotten worse. Maybe it is time to return to doing actual Forest Maintenance to help our forests thrive and reduce wild fires. Not that complicated.
5. Housing prices here are astronomical. Multiple homes within blocks of my home recently sold for over $350K for a 1800sq. ft.or less house. Rent in an "okay" neighborhood starts at $1500 for a single bedroom. I know this from helping each of my kids try and find an apartment within the past two years.Housing developments are not a thing anymore. I work in the construction industry. In the past 9 months I have worked on designs for over 3 dozen apartment complexes. Over half of those were for Spokane or Spokane Suburbs alone.
6. And for those not in the know. We don't actually get any say in our city. The last round of "upgrades" to Riverfront park got dictated by Seattle/Tacoma, and the money was paid to them for all of the design of those upgrades. Instead of the money being spent here at local businesses.
7. We are taxed for stupid things. For instance, those speed limit reductions that happen over the summer around parks. Instead of paying work crews to change those signs twice a year. How about putting up a single sign that states that from this date to this date at these hours of the day the speed is reduced? We are hit up almost yearly for a new property tax for the public school system. And before I get blasted for what I am going to say. I have MULTIPLE family members that work in the school districts here in Spokane, so I know what I am talking about. Instead of proposing new or increased taxes. How about the public school system start with pruning the administration and restructuring that administration? Getting rid of the empty suit paper pushers in the administration would free up a large amount of funds. To actually help educate our youth.
8. Potholes. I hope you love spending money on car repairs annually. Our road maintenance in Spokane is an absolute joke. There are multiple streets in my neighborhood alone that haven't seen a resurfacing in literally decades. The streets in my neighborhood within the past 5 years was up for chip sealing and sidewalk repairs. The city obviously went with the lowest bid. Within 3 months cracks in the street opened back up and weeds started up again at the curb seem. Great job City of Spokane, wasted tax payer money on a bad job.
Local here, the first responder time if you live outside the city can be very slow. Also do not expect a lower cost of living unless you are moving here from CA, AK or HW. Cost of basic living is high. A single 20 dollar an hour income here will nit cover you if you have anything other than rent , utilities and groceries, gas and insurance, expect to need a roommate . Rent control housing has a very long waiting list even if you have children. If you need to rent, don't bring pets, almost no one is pet friendly. It is a beautiful area though with plenty of things to do and a lot of stuff in a short driving distance. Most people I have met are quite friendly and the population is pretty diverse.
Thank you for your perspective!
It’s not homelessness. It’s addiction and mental illness.
An like CA they will do nothing to fix it they just offer them more help that they will not take
I just visited (mid-Sep '24), and I can say that the number of homeless folks in the downtown core seemed higher, BUT, I didn't see a single tent, shanty, shopping cart, or garbage all over the place.
I walked through the whole of Kendall Yards for the first time and was a bit surprised (but a bit not) by the number of Harris/Walz signs; I thought to myself, "You've built a nice little enclave here where you don't have to deal with the effects of the policies of the people you vote for."
A PROTECTED CLASS!N Are they nuts!
Spokane is not the city it was 15 years ago when my daughter and I moved up here. But the surrounding areas that aren’t being built up are still great, for example, the hiking spots. We try not to hang out downtown but we do enjoy the
Sports venues
Spokane is just a little Seattle!!!!! And it just keeps getting worse
Bring back vagrancy laws and enforce them. Been living here for 50 years and it didn't used to be a problem. Now it is.
Crimes are not being reported so 'magically' crime is going down.
I’ve heard this! Meant to add my other comment sooner. I hope more people will report again so we can get true numbers
Yeah, because the cops aren't going to come anyway. So people don't bother.
Crime is going down because they are doing nothing about it. You don't do anything it does not count in the stats.
Per capita, Spokane is worse than LA. Spokane is sincerely depressing! Barely any industry or economic support to sustain a life. Don’t waste your time.
Loud. Spokane is loud. I lived in Seattle for 24 years, and as far as noise is concerned Spokane is the worst of the two cities. Neighbors, dogs, cars, construction. Loud af.
The cities incompetence does not validate you endangering the local neighborhoods because homeless cant get thier shit together......
MY VERY YOUNG NIECE WAS JUST DISCOVERD UNDER THE GREEN BRIDGE OVERDOSED ON FENTYNAL IN SPOKANE.
" GEMMA " FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS "