you better get a job befor you think of moving to spokane, the houses are cheep because the economy is really bad and unemployment is really high,
now if you wand a good economy cross over to the Idaho side its only 30 miles over to Coeur d'Alene and the job growth is booming as well as construction. There are even two high rise condos in the works both over 18 floors. Its worth the drive for the homes sales are a bit higher but taxes and gas prices are a lot lower.

good luck

Hi Izaak,

I grew up in Spokane and moved to San Francisco when I was 19 because there just weren't many opportunities there. Sure, I can't afford to buy house here in California 10 years later, but there aren't many tech jobs in Spokane either. The largest employer there is healthcare.

And expect a hefty decrease in your salary--as in making 30K is doing okay.

On the upside, it is a good place to raise kids I think. Lots of family activities, outdoor stuff. Culturally it is pretty blah. When I lived there it was 97% caucasian and the largest ethnic minority population were native americans.

But yeah, if you find a decent paying job, you can have a fairly decent standard of living.

Yes--four distinct seasons too...or at least it used to be. Seems like the winters are getting warmer and less snowy, but it used to snow, autumn colors, everything blooms in the spring and a hot dry summer. Skiing nearby as well as lots of lakes, rivers and streams.

:-)

Best of luck to you!

well im not a native, but ive been here since 1996. i moved here from portland, so i hated spokane the moment i arrived. i can say that it has improved over the past 10 years, albeit slowly. the workforce is more centered around blue-collar type jobs, but the good news is we have the highest minimum wage in the country. sales tax is 8.1% and there is no state taxes. washington state has one of the best state assistance programs, in case you needed to know.

when i moved here, spokane seemed to be overrun with drug addicts, rednecks, bible thumpers and prostitutes. quite the combo. since then, we still have our druggies and although the city is fairly rundown in some areas, the city has taken some steps to start rebuilding the beauty that once was here. the davenport hotel has been remodeled and they recently built a huge adjacent hotel with available high priced condos, that surprisingly getting bought by californians. we get a lot of freelance programmers from california moving here due to the cheap cost of living.

the downtown area is beginng to be more appealing...although the crime is still there. we have nicer buildings, more contemporary cafes and establishments and somewhat of a nightlife. south hill and brownes addition have become historical districts and highly popular for living.

spokane has begun to receive some national recognition as well, with having several movies filmed here, most recently "Mozart and the Whale" and hosting the 2007 Winter Olympic Figure Skating. of course, i have to mention, that spokane has appeared on C.O.P.S. more than once. LOL

whatever you choose, good luck... if you can work from home- i say come on up and check it out... if you dont mind landing a job in a call center, gas station, fast food joint/diner or hotel work- then we have those too.... heh. if youre skilled, youre promised a job in the medical field for sure...we have a lot of hospitals in this little town.

-alicia