Best city to live in Washington? (Seattle, Spokane: fit in, apartments, house)

[tjecuu1]

Hello,

I'm considering moving to Washington from North Carolina: I am intending to be a community college professor after I finish grad school. My Question is out of Spokane, Tacoma or Bellevue; which city would be the most affordable as well as have the best public transportation system? This is important to me because I'm moderately disabled. I'm also a Democrat so I think that Washington would be more suited to my beliefs than NC. Also, I'm not used to much snow and it's hard for me to walk in it so I was wondering which area has the least snowfall; I love rain so that's not an issue; I rather have that then the heat of the south.

Thank you for your help

[Ira500]

Spokane would get more snow than Tacoma or Bellevue. Spokane would have the least expensive housing, Bellevue would have the most expensive housing, with Tacoma's rents, etc far less expensive than Bellevue's. Both Bellevue and Tacoma have pretty good public transit. I can't speak about Spokane's.
Spokane would have the the least number of Democrats and Tacoma the most.

[Count David]

Disclaimer: I'm extremely biased towards Spokane, out of everywhere I've ever lived, it's my favorite place by FAR.

Spokane
-affordable
-good public transportation

Being a Democrat or liberal isn't an issue in Spokane -- the city itself is rather liberal while the suburbs/outlying areas are more conservative, as is the case in most places. The thing about Spokane is that people let you be, regardless or who or what you are, which is one of many reasons that I really liked it.

[StealthRabbit]

I would consider Bellingham too (my 1st choice for your stated objective) & Vancouver & Olympia also.

I like Spokane, but high probability of frequent Snow

Bellevue is very expensive, and Tacoma... not my style (your mileage may vary)

Vancouver make you feel like a democrat, cuz all your news comes from Portland (VERY blue). Portland is EZ to get to and around, and lots of community colleges (but 9% income tax).

Vancouver has a very strong 'academic' community college (many are more vocational focused). Vancouver also has a vocational skills center for HS students. (If that is what you will be teaching)

[skinem]

Spokane would be cheaper...good, widely used, safe public transportation system.
It will snow...sometimes a little, sometimes you wonder if it will ever end.
The west side of the state better suits folk's liberal political beliefs, although as David said, Spokane is very laid back and I would be surprised if you caught grief there on either side of the spectrum.
There are roughly 24,000 students enrolled in Spokane's two community colleges.
About 18,000 in Bellevue's.
Abpit 7,800 in Tacoma's.

[noexcuseforignorance]

Spokane might be cheaper, but the city is extremely poorly laid out and not nearly as nice as Seattle or Bellevue. It is more country living, so that might appeal to you.

Bellevue is very much residential. The 'neighborhoods' there were laid out by developers and thus you have to drive to everything or get the bus. Few places have anything close and if they do it's always a strip mall. Downtown Bellevue is nice, but far more expensive than what it is worth.

Tacoma is, well, Tacoma. It's not the nicest or safest city. There are part of it that have gentrified some. Plenty of people who live there would love to live in Seattle, but can't afford equivalent housing.

Why are you not considering Seattle itself. There's great public transit, lots to do and getting around as someone disabled shouldn't be too hard. On a community college professor salary, you're probably best off looking at a house share type situation and Seattle is probably a better fit in that case.

[arodrigues88]

I think everyone meant to say: T-Compton. Seriously, I hate that city. It's disgusting, horrible, depressing, and UGLY. Spokane: Never been there. Bellevue, is more of the richy side of town but they have beautiful places. I would look at www.equityapartments.com because they offer a range of different housing.

[Yvetta]

Originally Posted by arodrigues88

I think everyone meant to say: T-Compton. Seriously, I hate that city. It's disgusting, horrible, depressing, and UGLY. Spokane: Never been there. Bellevue, is more of the richy side of town but they have beautiful places. I would look at www.equityapartments.com because they offer a range of different housing.

Why? What's wrong with it? A lady who sings in my choir moved from Tacoma to be near her grand-daughter. She seems like a very refined and educated lady. I was thinking about moving to Tacoma one day.

[Ira500]

Actually, most people who live in Tacoma like living there, and there are some beautiful parts. Yes, there are parts to avoid, there are sketchy parts, somewhat dangerous parts, and some ugly parts, but that's true of a lot of cities. Tacoma used to be a lot worse, but now I find it really hard to believe that most people living in Tacoma would prefer to be living in Seattle. I think most people who say stuff like that have spent very little time in Tacoma in recent years. North, West, and parts of central Tacoma are just fine. Go spend some time there. It's actually a fun city, much more affordable and far less snobby than Seattle.

[rick8603]

Seattle has its bad parts just like any other city. Seattle just doesn't want to admit it. The Proctor District, the north end, and the west side are nice parts of Tacoma, but I would stay away from McKinley Hill and the Hill Top areas of Tacoma. I am not sure about South Tacoma Way. Tacoma is a lot cheaper to live in than Seattle but there are a lot more things to do. There are things to do in Tacoma than when I was growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Tacoma has the University of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington Tacoma. It also has the Washington State History Museum and Point Defiance Park which has a 5 mile drive through old growth forest with views of Puget Sound and other attractions in it.

Tacoma isn't perfect but it isn't arrogant like Seattle. I say this even my mom was born and raised in Seattle.

Rick