What is Spokane Really Like?
So, you've heard everyone, including myself, talk about the surface-level things when living in Spokane: the natural beauty, the seasons, the traffic.
But what is Spokane really like? What do people talk about? What do people complain about? And how do people feel about the future?
Find out this and more in the most in depth review on YouTube on what Spokane is really like. If you're thinking about moving to Spokane, you can't afford to miss this.
People
The first thing we’re going to discuss is the people. The people here, whether they were born and raised here or moved here are for the most part wonderful. They all seem to be united by a common interest and that is living in the inland northwest and enjoying all that it has to offer.
Over the years I’ve helped people move here from just about every state in the country and people always remark on the friendly people and the positive vibe the place has.
The people here have a small town mentality not the city hostility you’ll get elsewhere. They’re the sorts of people that will stop and give you the time of day, that will watch your dog while you’re out of town or help you move that couch you bought on Facebook marketplace. I hope Spokane never stops being like this because it’s one of Spokane’s biggest draws.
Now I want to balance this out by touching on the bad. There is a criminal underclass here in the Spokane area that seem to operate completely outside the law and they are bold about it. They’ll drive uninsured cars without a license, openly buy and consume drugs, steal and generally make a nuisance of themselves without fear of prosecution or even police involvement. I know full well this is not an issue that’s unique to Spokane but I don’t want people to think it’s absent from Spokane either.
Fortunately, if law and order is a top criteria for you, you can do yourself a favor by living in county jurisdiction rather than city jurisdiction. The local sheriffs here tend to have a much stricter approach than the city police. Or you can choose to live across the border in Idaho where there is a radically different politics and attitudes towards law and order - Don’t forget I’m licensed in both states so can help you over the border in Idaho too.
The Politics
Let’s pick up more on the politics of the region and do it very delicately because I don’t want put people of either persuasion off. In fact I’m proud to say over the years I have worked with people of every political persuasion possible and have got along with them just fine, so we’ll deal only in facts here.
It is undeniable that Washington state is a blue state. It’s voted almost exclusively democrat for many years and is by no means a swing state. What’s also true is that Spokane county is deep red and has voted republican for many years.
So what is it like being a red island in a blue sea? Well from the clients I’ve helped move here that are on the right side of the aisle there is definitely a sense that living in WA represents a compromise. On the one hand they don’t have to pay income taxes, on the other hand they have stricter gun laws and have to pay 50 cents per gallon carbon tax on gasoline.
For those on the left side of the aisle it tends to come as a surprise just how right leaning the area is, especially as you get outside the major population centers. My more left leaning clients have also remarked on how many churches there are in the area and how high church attendance is here.
But remember what I said before people here tend to be warm and friendly and tend not to wear their politics on their sleeves here. As I’m writing this we’re in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign and I just don’t see heightened political rhetoric at the local level. I think there’s a subconscious understanding that red leaning Spokane isn’t going to flip deep blue WA and if people really needed out for political reasons then the reddest state in the union, Idaho, is only a stones throw away. I think most would agree we have a good thing going here and I think all political view points can respect that.
"There's nothing to do in Spokane!"
Next I want to talk about the activities available here. Now I am a member of tons of Facebook groups in Spokane, everything from home rental pages, jobs pages and car meet ups. Every so often someone will bring up the topic of moving to Spokane and there is always someone who comments that it’s boring here and there’s nothing to do here.
This absolutely baffles me. We have groups, clubs, organizations and religious communities for every persuasion. We have more bars and restaurants than you can possibly hope to get to. In fact Spokane is seen as something of a restaurant incubator, so very often chefs or corporations will trail concepts in Spokane before opening them in bigger markets like Seattle. In fact here is a list of dozen place that have opened recently or plan to open soon. So the variety far outweighs what you’d come to expect in a mid sized population center.
We have more outdoor activities than you can possibly imagine - water sports, hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, mountain biking, skiing, hunting. Essentially, if you can do it outdoors you can do it here in Spokane.
I’m also reliably informed from my soldiers, for those of you that don’t know I’m an NCO in the Army Reserves, that Spokane even has good nightlife in terms of bars, clubs and casinos.
So, I simply don’t know what these people are complaining about there being nothing to do in the area are talking about. Maybe they’ve just never left the area and don’t realize how good they’ve got it. Sure there’s less variety than a big city like Seattle or Phoenix but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Things are changin
One thing you need to know is that the Spokane area is changing. Spokane is rapidly growing from the airport to Idaho border and from the South Hill to Deer Park.
It won’t be long before new comers out number those that have been here from the beginning. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as more people bring more money and more jobs to the area, it would be foolish to suggest this won’t cause friction and to some extent create an us vs them mentality.
It’s also just a fact that the median home price since I moved here in 2019 has risen from $268,000 to $420,000. Now yes something happening in 2020 that caused the world to go nuts and caused home prices to rise and we’ve also experienced massive inflation the past few years. But there is a present albeit quiet grumble here among people that were either raised here or have been here a long time that things aren’t changing for the better.
It’s not everyone you meet that will feel this way but you may encounter this sentiment if you choose to relocate here so don’t be surprised.
That said, from my perspective, I think each of us needs to work hard to preserve that which makes this a great place to live and a place you want to move to. And that includes being kind to your neighbor, greeting people you pass in the street and yielding to let someone turn out their driveway. It’s small actions to you but it adds up and actually has a real impact on people and makes this a nice place to live.
Some things will never change about Spokane, the physical beautiful of the place isn’t going away, but the vibe of a place can change over night and we need to protect that.
Car dependency
The last thing you’ll need to know is that if you own a car you’ll be using it a lot here. There really aren’t too many walkable areas here. In order to live and go about your business you will be driving here, a lot. Of course you could get deliveries for absolutely everything if you never needed to leave your house but not everyone has jobs or lifestyles allow forthat.
When you move here you’ll be amazed at the number of Subaru’s and trucks there are here. You’ll quickly realize that you too would be wise to get a high ground clearance, rugged vehicle for the streets round here. There are plenty of unpaved roads in the area and there are plenty of roads round here that are several seasons over due for maintenance. It also snows here so having the extra ground clearance is a real life saver when driving in snow. as I found out when I tore the skid plate off my sedan within 2 seasons of living in Spokane.
-Phil Wells, real estate agent licensed in WA & ID - (509) 992-9332
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