Living in Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a beautiful mountain paradise with a smallish city vibe, rural surroundings, and lots and lots of outdoorsy life. Running and biking trails weave alongside the gorgeous Spokane River, which cuts right through the city. Outside the city, five ski resorts, nearby lakes (including Lake Couer d’Alene), more rivers, and forests provide the best of Washington’s scenery and amazing recreation opportunities. While those moving from Seattle or Portland will find downtown sleepy, it's a good mix of nature and urban if you like your ratio heavier on the nature side of things.

The weather and economy are quite cold in today’s Spokane. The long winters can be tough to endure for those coming from the coasts, and the local economy can be even tougher to endure if you don’t have a job lined up. The disenfranchised are common here. Gonzaga University losing in the Final Four every year also doesn’t help morale around town.

Some of the eternally weird from Portland and Seattle move to Spokane due to the lower cost of living and outdoor recreation, so, for better or for worse, get ready for a city where there’s a lot more to do outdoors than indoors. Spokane has a reputation of being rundown and having a small, sleepy downtown. Generally speaking, the better neighborhoods are on the outer rings of the city. The majority of social interaction for newcomers will come without a roof (or on the Gonzaga campus for students).

If you want to see all that happens in Spokane check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Spokane and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can also receive discounted travel fares via our partnership with Expedia.

Outside of healthcare and education, there aren’t a ton of jobs. A lot of coastal transplants move to town for the mountains rather than the money and either have jobs lined up before moving or are living that remote lifestyle. The lack of an extensive freeway system, poor public transit, and frequent railroad crossings cause frustrating commuter traffic for a town of its size. Not surprisingly, the biggest population growth is coming from expats from more expensive West Coast cities looking for economic and lifestyle improvements.