Spokane weather...the truth.
 

Hi All, Greetings from hot, humid Virginia. We may be moving next year. Our choices have narrowed down to west central Idaho, or, the Spokane area. Weather is a big factor - especially humidity in the summer. (I hate it!) But, the length and severity of winter is also a consideration. Is it a dry cold like Colorado? I loved that during the six years I lived there. Powder snow is such a joy to hike in.

We also want to be within one hour of an airport that is served by Southwest Airlines (Spokane or Boise). We have family in southern Idaho and back east. So those bargain tickets are a must.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Why don't youcheck out the weather underground site..
You can go back day by day for years to see daily temps, wind snow-rain and humidity.As for the later, I have never noticed much humidity in either city.

Have you searched previous threads on this forum for livability comments?

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34926750

This thread makes Boise sound like a great place to live. My guess is based on their locations and elevations they will have similar temps and humidity. A family member moved back from the western US to VA and they were miserable in the humidity! :-)

Spokane has warm, dry summers and variable winters: sometimes there's a lot of snow and some years hardly any. My folks live there and snow is a possibility from November to April. It's not Colorado powder, but neither is it the icy slush we tend to get where I live near Seattle. The Spokane area is sparsely forested with ponderosa pine woods.

My sister lives in Boise, and the temperature extremes seem to be greater there. Boise is actually high desert country and you have to drive some distance to find forested areas. That said, the city is surrounded by some great mountain country.

We have lived in Spokane for almost 25 years. Spokane has low humidity year round and has a true four seasons climate. There are many opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts to hike, boat, snow ski, waterski, etc. within a very easy drive from town. While you might possibly see a few snowflakes in March or April, the bulk of the snow is done falling by mid-February.

Spokane was the host city for the 1974 Worlds Fair and the downtown area has Riverfront Park, which was the site of the Fair. Riverfront Park has lots of greenspace and the Spokane River runs through the park, complete with large waterfalls.

Spokane is host to the Worlds largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament (Hoopfest) with over 25,000 participants and the Bloomsday race, which had 40,000 participants last weekend. Spokane has recently hosted the USA Figure Skating Championships, and NCAA basketball and is becoming known as one of the premier sites for hosting sporting events because of a large, amazing and dedicated volunteer base and great facilities.

Downtown Spokane also has an extensive skywalk system connecting stores, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. in the downtown area and two large malls in the outlying areas.

Spokane has excellent health-care with four major hospitals and several quality colleges and universities in town and within easy driving distance.

I would also expand my range to include Coeur d'Alene Idaho - just over the line from Spokane and a very attractive town.

cactushugger~We just moved to Spokane in Feb from Las Vegas. I lived in Vegas my entire life and so it was hard to leave my hometown. I have to say though, that I am enjoying Spokane very much.
We came in Feb and we got a little bit of snow here and there, nothing much, not enough for us desert rats to buy a shovel even. I'm sure we will get one for next winter as we will be here all through it. However, from what I hear it doesn't get too bad only an occasional heavy drop of snow.
The weather today is supposed to be 80, which I am loving because family and friends back home are already sweating at 98. I do not think there is much humidity here, I cannot stand the humidity either...I could never live on the east coast because of that reason.
When we told people we were moving to Spokane, WA they said "oh, it rains"...no, it really doesn't rain a whole lot here. It is 4 hours and 1 mountain pass from Seattle and I think those mountains stop most of the rain because we have hardly seen any and supposedly we moved here in the rainy season.
The airport is great, it is an internation airport where Boise is not, theres is a municipal airport. Since we still have family in Vegas, we have also used the great Southwest deals.
I have to say the area of Spokane is beautiful. It is so green (something I am not used to) it has mountains, rivers, lakes. We are outdoorsy people, we enjoy camping and bike riding, hiking and they have all of that here. In Vegas we could not go out and do stuff like that in the summer because it was too hot, here it seems to be a perfect place for that. We are going camping in northern Idaho next month, looking forward to that.
From what locals tell us Spokane is a true 4 season place, they said you get about 90 real days of each season. That seems ok with me! :)

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies. I like the sound of Spokane more and more. As a cancer survivor, the availability of excellent health care is a concern. Thank you for mentioning that. Four true seasons are definitely a plus. Don't get me wrong. I like snow. I just wouldn't want to be somewhere where I never saw the ground between October and May. All things in moderation - except humidity! The less of that the better.

Are there any smaller towns within say 45 min. to an hour away that are nice? Closer to the mountains, or, water would be good. We're outdoorsy too...slow-water kayaking, hiking, camping, horseback riding, birding...etc. We love it all. But, we also love the assorted cultural attractions Spokane offers. However, we would rather drive to those and live in the country.

Can anyone tell me about the realestate situation out there? Much of the nation is now in a slump. Depending on how soon we could make the jump, that could be in our favor.

Thanks so much for your help. There's just nothing like hearing from people who have first hand knowledge.

Could anyone comment on living in Reno vs. Spokane? My nephew lives in Reno and had suggested it as a possible early retirement area. I like the comments about Spokane and Boise, too, for the climate and outdoors opportunities. How different are Reno/Spokane/Boise really?

If you want to be closer to the water look at Couer d'Alene, Hayden, etc. or go further north to Sandpoint.

cactushugger~ As far as smaller towns within an hour of Spokane, there are a few to choose from. Deer Park is only about 15 miles north of Spokane, they have a hospital, schools, a grocery store and gas station. most people out there have a little bit of land.
Cheney is about 10 minutes south of downtown Spokane and it is a small college town with all amenities. Couer d'Alene is also smaller and it is beautiful, so is Post Falls which is just across the stateline border. Have not been to Hayden or Sandpoint yet.
As far as the real estate market goes if your budget is around the $225 mark, houses are flying off the market here. Seems strange because I talk to my mom back home and she said there are tons of houses for sale and they are just sitting, but the prices on average are higher there.
The market is really all over the place here. You can get a nice older home in great areas for about $225-250, that would be something like a 2000-2400 sq ft home 3-4 beds, most with finished basements. If youlook north into Colbert area (very nice) the prices go up, you can get a 1700 sq foot house with 1700 of unfinished basment for about $265, homes with finished basements are around $285-350, depending on size of course. I'll recommend www.johnlscott.com website because you can click on the map and navigate by price and it pulls up the pics of houses. It is a very good website. Also check out www.spokanebyowner.com and this will also give you a better idea of the market.
Like I said we just moved here in Feb and are renting a house. We first came to Spokane about 2 years ago and the price of houses have really gone up since then, but there are still good deals to be had. We have been out house hunting almost every weekend, frustrating at times...but we will find our house I am sure!

Houses in my Mom's neighborhood (in Mead, north of Spokane) are going for about $450K. These are the McMansion type on one acre lots. They were out pricing houses last weekend for a friend who is moving back to town and newish houses in other neighborhoods in the area were going from about $275K and up.

I don't think Washington and Idaho are into the real estate slump yet. Prices seem to be continuing to rise here.

Again , very helpful replies. Thanks for the web addresses vegasnative. I'll check those out. I really appreciate everyone's help. These are hard decisions to make long distance. We hope to come look around in person next spring. But, your input will help us focus on appropriate areas.

Can anyone comment on crime in Spokane? I realize that everything you read needs to be put in perspective and I'm hoping someone from Spokane can do so.

I've recently read that Spokane's property crime rate is twice the national average (while Boise is below the average) and have also read there is a Meth problem.

My first instinct is to ignore information like this because I'm sure it depends on what neighborhood you live in. However, when I see a statistic like "twice the national average" I get concerned.

Vegasnative - we're from LV as well. Maybe you can contrast these statistics with that of Las Vegas.

Thanks!

I can't answer Spokane specific question, but do know there is a Meth problem everywhere.

Check out this relocation forum:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/u-s-forums/

Lots of good reading about both places.

I don't think anyone has really stressed the lack of humidity in Spokane. It makes a terrific difference in how comfortable one feels. As other posters have said, we have four distinct seasons, with fall being most people's favorite.

One thing that I think will surprise you is how friendly the people in Spokane are. When I take a walk on the Centennial Trail or just down the street, people greet me. Since I'm an gray-haired, chubby senior, you wouldn't expect this, especially from young men, but it happens consistently.

Real estate here is considerably cheaper than in many other places, though values have risen significantly lately. I live in a lovely older home in an area that is mixed--with some very nice, well-kept Victorians and some shabby-looking rents with untended yards. The assessment on my house rose from $108,000 to $144,400 in the past year.

A beautiful Victorian down my street sold for $100,000 last year (to a couple of Seattle who had sold their house for $400,000.)

As to crime, I'd say that crime against persons is very low, unless one is involved in the drug culture. When I moved back here after many years in California, I was a little nervous about wearing earplugs for sleeping at night. Then it occurred to me that this is Spokane, and no one is going to break into my house and attack me in the middle of the night. I couldn't have said that with any degree of certainty when I lived in Sacramento.

I find it very hard to believe that the property crime rate is twice the national average. There is definitely a meth problem, and one has to take precautions to protect property on account of this. I'm very careful to keep my garage locked, as I know that other neighbors have lost tools, etc., from their garages or tool sheds. In my neighborhood the garages are separate from the houses, so that owners are less likely to hear potential thieves prowling around their garages. My garage is very close to my house. Maybe that makes a difference. I also have motion-detector lights around my house and garage.

I also take precautions to make my house look live-in when I go on vacation.

I'm a great Spokane-booster, because I really like it here.