yakima; where not to live (Seattle, Tacoma: to rent, crime, houses)

[missyM]

Sykes,

I subbed @ Davis as a teacher's aide not very many years ago. The thing I could not get over was the chewing gum on the cement every foot or so. It was like a class project....

So, I was surprised to hear of quite a few Selah families (where I live) enrolling their (brainiac) 9th graders into Davis. It has a Baccalaureate program. Or some such. That's okay, that means less competition for my son who goes to Selah, and the last I heard, lots of good schools are still accepting Selah graduates. I just don't see the logic in it, since the Selah students ask the Davis students, "How was lockdown today?"

[kasstev]

Originally Posted by yakimatorenton

I would say if you have to live in the vicinity of Yakima, then Selah or Terrace heights would be your safest areas. Anything west of 72nd is usually ok. I actually used to live west of 72nd ave and my house has been broken in to twice and vandalized a few times. It is a nice neighborhood but the gangs are moving west and south now. Union Gap is constantly getting shooting calls, info from my best friend who is a UG cop. Yakima has one of the highest crime rates in the state with over 52 crimes per police officer employed by YPD. There are around 120 YPD cops in yakima. West Valley is quickly becoming a criminals domain with several murders in west valley over the last few years. Stay away from the fair grounds, Naches Ave, well really anything between I-82 and about 10th ave is dangerous. There are over 30 active gangs in Yakima alone. However, the cite pales in conjunction with the lower valley. Absolutely do not go south of union gap after dark. Sunnyside, which is in the lower valley, is known for the infamous rape of a High School male wrestler, Moxee is known for Mequel Gayton who for his gang initiation went in to a trailor and murdered an entire family of 4 in one night by beating them to death. That included 2 kids. Yakima not only has a huge population of sex offenders, but they have one of the largest supply chains of drugs. Do not go to Pete's if you don't want to be stabbed or shot. Stay away from davis high school if you want to survive. If you have a scanner and don't believe me about the crime in the area, just listen to the police traffic light up around 8pm every night, usualy 10 to 15 domestics, 5 or 6 DUI's, and a hand full of shootings. Just this summer 2 gang fights happened in Memorial Hospital where rival gangs went to check on their homies who had been shot in the previous fight. Yakima also has one of the highest welfare rates in the state. Go down to the welfare office and see how many come out and get in to $80,000 SUV's. Well sorry about bashing Yakima, but its time the world sees what a terrible place it has become. It used to be a great place to live, and sadly the heart of the city has died.

LIVE IN YAKIMA AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Thanks for this information. My husband is military and we are moving to the area (Have no choice). NOW I have to say I am extremely scared to move to this place and I am sure my daughter will now be terrified also. I guess when we get there we should stay in our home with doors locked and never go anywhere, doesnt sound like anywhere in this area is going to be safe.

[SagaciousKJB]

Originally Posted by yakimatorenton

I would say if you have to live in the vicinity of Yakima, then Selah or Terrace heights would be your safest areas. Anything west of 72nd is usually ok. I actually used to live west of 72nd ave and my house has been broken in to twice and vandalized a few times. It is a nice neighborhood but the gangs are moving west and south now. Union Gap is constantly getting shooting calls, info from my best friend who is a UG cop. Yakima has one of the highest crime rates in the state with over 52 crimes per police officer employed by YPD. There are around 120 YPD cops in yakima. West Valley is quickly becoming a criminals domain with several murders in west valley over the last few years. Stay away from the fair grounds, Naches Ave, well really anything between I-82 and about 10th ave is dangerous. There are over 30 active gangs in Yakima alone. However, the cite pales in conjunction with the lower valley. Absolutely do not go south of union gap after dark. Sunnyside, which is in the lower valley, is known for the infamous rape of a High School male wrestler, Moxee is known for Mequel Gayton who for his gang initiation went in to a trailor and murdered an entire family of 4 in one night by beating them to death. That included 2 kids. Yakima not only has a huge population of sex offenders, but they have one of the largest supply chains of drugs. Do not go to Pete's if you don't want to be stabbed or shot. Stay away from davis high school if you want to survive. If you have a scanner and don't believe me about the crime in the area, just listen to the police traffic light up around 8pm every night, usualy 10 to 15 domestics, 5 or 6 DUI's, and a hand full of shootings. Just this summer 2 gang fights happened in Memorial Hospital where rival gangs went to check on their homies who had been shot in the previous fight. Yakima also has one of the highest welfare rates in the state. Go down to the welfare office and see how many come out and get in to $80,000 SUV's. Well sorry about bashing Yakima, but its time the world sees what a terrible place it has become. It used to be a great place to live, and sadly the heart of the city has died.

LIVE IN YAKIMA AT YOUR OWN RISK.

West Valley and Union Gap are two of the safest areas of Yakima . My friend lived in Union Gap for almost 8 years with only one robbery and no shootings. As for Union Gap police officers, they spend the majority of their time harassing jay-walkers and shop lifters. I recall one time they sent two squad cars, with about five officers in total, to a shoplifting call.

Murder and shootings are a reality, but the real thing to watch out for is assault. You generally won't be shot or harmed in West Valley or Union Gap unless you yourself are up to no good ( drug deals, gang activity, etc. ), but inside of Yakima you're likely to be assaulted or mugged just walking the streets.

Union Gap has become a little more dangerous because of the strip malls and stores, but inside of the residential neighborhoods, it's probably the safest affordable place to live in Yakima.

North and North East Yakima is probably the most dangerous place. Basically everything North of Nob Hill and East of 16th Avenue has high gang activity, drug activity, vagrancy, hotel robberies, assaults, car theft, etc. The key gang neighborhoods are between Lincoln and Fruitvale Blvd. in the "presidential" streets such as Garfield, Roosevelt, McKinely, and on the East side of town mostly on Naches Aveue and 6th, 7th, and 8th street.

Where parts of Yakima aren't gang infested, they're usually drug infested. On the South East side, you can witness dozens of drug deals occurring in various parking lots and parks. The reason for this is that Yakima is a key hub along many major drug routes; this isn't a secret. In fact, I've even been told that 60 Minutes did a special in the 80s on Yakima called, "A Cocaine Mecca".

Areas that are further outside of the valley are much nicer and with much less crime. In cities like Cowiche, Tieton, Naches, Gleed, Eschbach, they're all a relatively short distance from town, maybe a 15 or 20 minute drive for the outer-distances. I would recommend finding a place in one of these cities, but if you must, try to find a place in Terrace Heights, Selah, Moxee, or West Valley. These areas all have their problems due to their vicinity to Yakima, but compared to Yakima itself, they're practically dream destinations.

[M3 Mitch]

I live about 45 miles east of Yakima, it does have it's good and bad points as already mentioned. Offhand I would suggest you look for a place outside the city limits, if you are going to be working at the Yakima firing range that's north of town, anyway. My overall impression is that the city taxes are too high for the services you get, which are not good. The city itself has it's problems but the county is better.

Also true that Yakima was a lot nicer say 10 years ago.

[kasstev]

We finally moved in here the middle of October and so far, things have been good. We found a place in Selah and it seems pretty quite. I know that crime is everywhere and I lived in an area in New York that was known as a drug town but luckily we never seen it and my children were never affected by it. I have to admit I am still scared here but so far so good. Thanks for the info because I truly have no clue as to what area is safe. We mainly stay within the shopping areas and don't go out at night. Any other information would be greatly appreciated. I really just want to keep my family safe while living here.

[scirocco22]

Although many might disagree, I think Selah is very safe compared with a lot of other towns of similar size. I think you made a good choice.

[mynameisjamie]

Moderator cut: attacks edited


i, myself, find yakima to be one of the better cities to live in the united states. you will find alcohol abuse and drug abuse in any city, as these problems are growing everywhere. yakima, like other cities as well, have their good sides of town and their bad sides of town. it's the same everywhere.

you have to look at the good side of things. such as how yakima has wonderful places to escape. wonderful sights short distances away such as the mountains where you can find waterfalls, you can climb hills, or the very many lakes and rivers. many cities don't have these things.

yakima has it's good and it's bad. like any other. i'll always come back here, it's where my family is and it feels like home.

[farmsister]

Let me say that I grew up in Yakima and the best thing I ever saw was the view of Yakima in my rear view mirror. The people in this town are so outrageously pompous and arrogant... and it is weird... I mean what is there to be so PROUD of? Oh, and unless you have a DR or a Lawyer in your family or you came from one of the wealthy land owners families... you will ALWAYS be considered second class. I have never seen such a crazy amount of "don't you know who I am?" going on. I am FROM yakima and even that is hard to swallow. Yuck! I will NEVER EVER return to this armpit of a city. And to you who said look at the good things... whatever... have you been to a mental health advisor recently? There is NOTHING good about Yakima. Oh... maybe the weather is good... yeah... that is probably the only good thing.

[jjjmr02]

kasstev, I'm glad you are happy with your move. Selah has some really great areas. My husband is military, as well, and we have been here a little over a year. We've always been stationed around big cities, and moving to Yakima was more like coming home (we are from the fruit belt of Michigan). We live out in West Valley past 80th. We enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere but still being close to shops and restaurants.

I would have to disagree about Union Gap being a safe place. It's getting wicked out there, especially anywhere near Mall boulevard. There are some nice pockets within the city, but generally, stay as high in the numbered streets as you possibly can. ANything below 16th should just be out of the question. East Valley and the Moxee areas are alright. Naches is as well. ANything south, like Sunnyside, stay away from.

Like with any town, Yakima has it's pros and cons. You find ways to make the best of it. I can't say I'll be sorry when we get our next orders, but I'm grateful for the time we have been able to spend here. :-)

[70Ford]

https://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ns-yakima.html