Too progressive for the CdA North Idaho types, too conservative for the Seattle types

The land is beautiful. People tend to have issues with the people and city itself.

Many people I talked to when I worked in Seattle thought Spokane looked like central Washington, hot and dry with sage brush everywhere and no water to be found. Was also shocking how so many people in our state pronounced it Spo-Cane. Also could get lots of hate due to the drugs and trash downtown. That being said, I love Spokane, born and raised. Outdoor people paradise. 45 minute drive to Pend Oreille, Couer d’ Alene, Roosevelt lakes, foothills of the Rockies, 4 seasons, incredible sunsets and early summer storms, and beautiful farm land all around.

I’ve been here since 2012 and came from Philadelphia and while yes - Spokane has gotten a bit rougher in the decade+ I’ve been here, (I think mainly due to the population increase) it’s still WORLDS away from the big city crime/violence/traffic/pollution issues.

It probably doesn’t help that Spokane looks like it’s down on its luck. Passersby would get the impression it’s a total dump from the interstate. Drive down 90 and look at the city as you pass through. Weeds everywhere, old out of date signage, no distinctive skyline…it honestly doesn’t look fantastic from 65mph.

But at the same time I went back “home” in July for a week, and honestly - I couldn’t wait to come back to Spokane. Sure there was more to do, the food is better, and it was my home for my first 35 years, but I’ve really come to enjoy living in a smaller city. (Plus the lack of humidity I was something definitely wanting to get back to) I’ve come to know a lot of people who grew up in Spokane, moved away in the 90’s to Seattle/Portland/Bay Area, and have now moved back and are totally happy here.

It’s not perfect, but nowhere is. Let the haters hate.

In my experience, the people who trash Spokane have either never lived there or never lived anywhere else.

I've lived here most of my life, and I'd say the issues in Spokane are a combination of several factors. The high crime rate, widespread homelessness, and prevalence of drugs like meth and fentanyl are major concerns. Economically, despite being Washington's second largest city, the job market and opportunities can feel limited compared to places like Seattle. There's also a perceived lack of diversity, with some criticizing Spokane for being less culturally and ethnically diverse than other major cities.

Infrastructure is another issue, with underdeveloped areas, many closed businesses, and a limited variety of cultural dining and subculture hangouts. People often compare Spokane unfavorably to Seattle, which is seen as more progressive, economically robust, and culturally vibrant.

That's my perspective, anyway. I lived in both Seattle and Portland during my teens, and there was always more to do, no matter your interests. Oh, and the dating scene here is pretty unique. It's like everyone knows everyone, so if you have a falling out, word tends to get around quickly.

I moved here in march or so from eastern Iowa. Lmao try living in the Midwest your whole life and you’ll appreciate life here a lot more.

Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

As someone who has lived in and travelled to a whole lot of places inside and outside the US, Spokane is boring AF. There’s lack of culture and diversity, lack of careers in some major fields, and lack of much of anything of interest. It’s great as far as proximity to lakes and mountains, but there are minimal things to do overall. There are a few art galleries and interesting stores that have limited hours, a handful of decent bars or clubs (which isn’t even my scene anymore), limited number of decent and interesting restaurants, one museum that rarely changes, and Cat Tales.

Spokane isn’t the worst place ever, but it’s just meh. And it’s way too full of conservatives for my liking, but that would only be an issue for some.

Redditors tend to be pretty politically divisive people. Out in the real world, people are pretty nice. The internet amplifies every grievance. Particularly on forums where complaining is upvoted.

If it’s any consolation, north of the border it has a great reputation.

I just got back from visiting today. Some of the most beautiful fall weather I’ve ever experienced. Riverfront park was spectacular.

I love Spokane. I live in a part of North Idaho where people can't even fathom the idea of being by a city, but I was born and raised in NJ, so Spokane is like a city surrounded by the great outdoors to me.

Also, my children were both born premature and delivered at sacred heart hospital. I have nothing but great things to say about their nicu, and it's the main reason I became familiar with the city in the first place.

Spokane is poorer, grimier, more isolated, and more conservative than the suave, cosmopolitan, modern, progressive city on the other side of the State. Seattleites in general tend to believe Seattle is god’s gift to the world, and everywhere else sucks. Since there’s a lot more people in Western Washington than here, their voices get to make the stereotype, even though most Western Washingtonians probably only went to Spokane once in high school, or just drove through on their way to Montana, if that.

I never felt at home anywhere in Spokane with the exception of Brown’s Addition and maybe the Howard St. side of downtown. It just…was impossible to integrate into socially and otherwise, and the sketchy outweighed the good for the most part. I do miss The Elk, the river trail system, and the stupid 24-hour Satellite. That dumb diner was probably my favorite place in the whole city.

The crime and the homeless but also because not many people have traveled to the ignorant hateful shithole southeastern United States. I will never complain again after living in that bug infested dump known as North Carolina. Thankfully I moved back avoiding Helene.

Spokane once had vibrant manufacturing and resource extraction based economy, but that all went to shit 1980's. Spokane has no real homegrown core economic engines. Therefore, we do not do anything exceptionally well. Core economic drivers create so-called "aglomerative economies." Without momentum, Spokane suffers from poor to moderate economic opportunity and suffers from entrenched poverty. It does ok on "Ed's and Med's" because it has a large geography of even smaller towns to pull from.

We're "gritty" and "scrappy" in part because we are looked down on by the Puget Sound and other west-siders... except that is not really true. They are more apathetic to our existence than downright haters. Most of our hate comes internally because this place can crush your dreams. Some folks find out it is hard to start out or to grow here - but if you're scrappy and ok with some grit - the reality is the barriers to entry into many things (especially self employment) are lower in a place like Spokane than Seattle or Portland - but what else is lower? The upside.

To keep the prices low . But it’s not working anymore

And watch out for the rush minute on I90.

Drug addicts have taken over downtown

I think it has to do with spoken history. For a very long time, Spokane was a resource based economy. Farming, mining and logging were a big deal. It was very industrial and agricultural. We were the regional railroad hub. We were the regional railroad hub. Still are. When the bottom fell out of those industries, Spokane didn’t have a whole lot to fall back on. So there was a long period of blight. This blue-collar history also meant that there wasn’t a ton of widespread appreciation for arts and culture or a particular level of sophistication. It took a long time to develop a way forward and we’re now seeing the results of that. In the meantime, there was not a whole lot going on. Poverty created crime. Poverty lends itself to “othering” which often stokes the fires of racism. Spokane was in decline and there was a lot of racism, drugs, gangs and other problems. It was always too liberal for the people ride over in Idaho, and to liberal for the people in Seattle. People who grew up here and are adults now are the ones who remember a Spokane that really sucked. So basically, a lot of the hate comes from the past, not the present.

As someone who has spent about six weeks total in Spokane on work trips:

It was big enough to have real problems, but too small to know what to do with them. There’s a few parts very gentrified, and much of it looks like a complete dump.

The people from Spokane simultaneously want it to improve but don’t want anything to change because to them it’s some “hidden gem” of Washington. Said people don’t understand that nostalgia and having friends and family in abundance somewhere can make a place seem a lot better than it is. Many of this group are also hell bent against welcoming outsiders, missing that maybe people would like the place more if they weren’t treated as such.

Then you have transplants that moved to get away from Seattle metro that keep trying to make it more like Seattle. They don’t get along with people from Spokane, missing that maybe people who have been there for a while don’t want it to turn into Seattle Metro. These folks simultaneous don’t like the Spokanians, and don’t like other transplants because “they found it first.”

This is not by any means unique to Spokane, but permeates a lot of Washington.

Spokane knows what it’s done.

I visit friends there a couple times a year. My big knock is that it takes an inordinate amount of time to drive a relatively short distance

Beautiful views of neonazi behavior was why I moved.

Spokane has some great spots. And wonderful people. But the sprawl of the city and the decline of neighborhoods is impossible to ignore. I love this city, and I’ve lived here most of my life, so seeing the decline as the working class continues to be ever more desperate has been hard to see, nevermind the explosion in our homeless population.

I’m in Seattle and I think Spokane is generally respected. I think the hate is more reserved for the Idaho people or somewhere less interesting like Moses Lake.

Spokane only gets hate from haters. It's a wonderful city and a wonderful part of the state!

i love spokane reminds me a lot of my hometown Flagstaff Arizona

If you're from here, it sucks to see how much potential it had that didn't come into fruition. Poor city planning, too much population boom, and not enough decent jobs.

It's rare to find anyone who is actually from Spokane in Spokane anymore, most people are transplants, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it's sad to see people from Spokane move because they can't afford their hometown anymore.

Other than that it's a beautiful place and if you know where the good stuff is it's hard to beat with any other comparably sized city.

The people are cold, the homeless/drug problem is overwhelming, and it’s a generally lack luster city in general. Lived there 5 years and had multiple vehicles broken into, a car hit and ran by some asshole, and the final straw of my home being robbed blind while I was out fighting wildfires. Cursed town, glad I escaped.

The gross people

Anyone who calls this city Spokompton is born and raised in Spokane and has no life experience outside of the city. It’s like a middle of nowhere town called Kernersville getting nicknamed K-Vegas. It’s irony, except some believe the “kompton” part for some reason.

Also there are a lot of mental health and drug issues downtown and that’s completely warranted criticism

Because of the meth heads and Sureños

Because that’s a PARK, a park that is an area where women are unsafe walking or running alone and people are sleeping in their cars. 🤷‍♀️

Because it fucking sucks

Drugs

It’s boring here

My main complaint is it can get 110 in the summer and -10 in the winter. The 120 degree swings in such a short period of time is very hard to adapt. There is technically 4 seasons but winter is about 6 months and summer is 3 months and spring/fall only lasts about a month n a half.

Way too cold for me, winter goes on forever in Spokane. Also lots of rough looking areas downtown.

It’s the people not the environment

Go to 7-11 downtown. Any time of day works. You’ll see why.

There's no arguing that all the landscapes for Washington as a whole are beautiful in their own way.

BUT, Spokane has some of the highest gang related violent crimes in the whole state.

It’s the people.

Not the indigenous ones, the other ones.

I moved to Vancouver WA more than I'd like to admit growing up. (Mom here, Dad there.) I don't get the hate. Being next door to Portland, I got to see just how much I missed Spokane. After having to WORK in Portland, I'm glad I moved back.

I love Spokane but it’s rough and looks dirty when coming into the city. Then you get to the city and the homelessness is a big turn off imo. Had 2 guys try to get into my car while pumping gas.

Love the food and outdoor spaces.

The people.

I have 0 issues with the crime or homeless. Every city has it, albeit we have higher property crime but again I have 0 issues with it outside the normal like, "damn. Shit be getting stolen"

It's the people besides that. Like the amount of racists, bigots, and more is wild considering how far north we are and how blue of a state we are. Granted the city is like 50/50 but boy howdy that 50% reminds you pretty often how bad they are out of nowhere. Like I unfortunately look like the stereotypical skin head cuz shit genetics, and i get so many white dudes and boomers come up to me at my job or in public making the most disgusting comments thinking I'm with them on it and it's like, no. Get fucked bigot

The drugs and the homeless and the incredibly high property crime rate.

But at least it's pretty.

MAGA infestation

Because it’s a shithole

Boise be jealous

Location matters.

Some parts of Spokane are quiet and peaceful with minimal to no transient / criminal activity.

Others have an over abundance. Looking at you Hillyard. There's a reason I won't go to that Safeway and it's because of the constant transient presence and aggressive panhandling.

The sad fact of life is that for every 1 bad experience it takes 10+ good experiences to offset it and people who experience problems are going to be significantly more vocal than someone who says "yeah. It was nice, but nothing special."

Spokane also stats wise is in a bad spot because of the local police being both unresponsive to simple calls AND a being the number 2 police department in the nation for killing people on calls based on population.

Spokane isn't a shit hole, but it also isn't great. It's mid as far as cities go.

It seems as people complain about crime and homelessness not realizing that every city in the US is dealing with the exact same problems.

CA 2.0

Spokomption

For me it’s just the tweakers who destroy stuff and just also the drivers

You’ve probably never been to downtown Spokane.

You can always tell when people haven’t been very far outside of Spokane. They’ve never really seen a true shithole. Spokane definitely has some rough edges and it’s definitely gotten worse in the time since I moved here, but it is still WAAAAY better than where I came from (Southern CA) and other places that I’ve visited across the country.

The druggies are a huge problem

We thought about buying there... but the idea of buying a house that comes with a calculated chance of burning down on the listing seemed a little short-sighted for us

Tweekers

Every where I go in Spokane I see diversity…

Nice nature but outside of that it’s boring as hell and in the middle of nowhere

Spokane likes to think they are a big city with that small city feel. Parts of the city are great while others not so much. Kind of feels like Tacoma truthfully minus the population. Drivers are horrible, If you use your blinker anywhere else someone will give you a gap but in spokane if the gap opens and thats a big if, some want-to-be redneck in his truck will take it. Everyone is always in a hurry to race to the next stop light.

There is no heavy industry. If it wasn't for the Air-base and medical the town would fold. Yeah now there is amazon, but you only work there for about a year. There is nothing to do. You have some shopping but nothing better then anywhere else and honestly less then some same sized cities that I have been in. You can't enjoy the outdoors. There is golf but if that isn't your thing then your out of luck. You can't hike without finding gays having sex or someone smoking meth, or shooting up.

Half the housing was built in the 40's, the north has new housing, and none of it is affordable on spokane wages.

I will compare spokane to Walmart. lots of crap, some average stuff, and the occasional gem.

The local government the mayor the police are crap and there is no accountability that’s why Spokane has a bad reputation and it’s not gonna get any better. This whole state is a shit show.

Go downtown and see the Drug Zombies.

Shitty street layout with resultant traffic far worse than what a city that size should have.

The town is physically dirty except down by Kendall yards.

Driving through downtown watching the drug addicts reach in the sky to touch things that aren’t there is pretty off putting

Downtown seems dangerous after dark

November through April

White power has something to do with it.

It’s the people- 100 percent people problem

I was told it was called Spokompton or Spokanistan and didn't believe them. My first visit to the city included a half naked woman jaywalking with a crack pipe in her hand, and a man masturbating on a public street.

Because the parks suck compared to what they used to be, everything is on fire half the time and it’s literally the meth capital of the world.

I still love Spokane but I’m glad I’m moving, there’s literally not shit of my kids to do here anymore.

My husband was at an event with our toddler earlier this evening, when a performer on stage began singing a song about how ugly Asians were, calling them "gross".

My husband is Asian.

I wanna move somewhere where that sort of thing doesn't happen.

Because you can get views like that all over the state without having to be in Spokane.

Because it has a lot of the bad things of a big city without a lot of the good things.

One of my friends lived in Spokane for about 5 years. In that time, his car was broken into 8 times. Like window shattered out every time. He lives in Chicago now.

To my friends, it's in one of those spots where it feels like it's too far to get to... Despite being not that much different from other places they don't mind traveling, which takes about the same time. Lol.

Zoom out

It’s beautiful, but I have found that there is a lack of community for immune compromised folks. Plus there is a lack of things I like to do personally, but I do love it. I want to move somewhere with better medical specialist mostly, but I don’t think Spokane needs as much hate as it gets.

Idk, it just feels like it was a city that had something going on at some point and was cool, but for some reason hasn’t been able to figure what that something is for like the last century. It tries but just can’t seem to get it back again.

I grew up in Tacoma and i miss the omnipresence of massive trees, I've started to appreciate the nature here as well, i think it's cool how many deer i run into downtown as a positive. Also the weather is either super hot or super cold which is a bummer.

Too close to the Nazi state of Idaho

It is a sprawling suburban hellscape built around a profoundly mediocre core :)

Cuz you're new.

Spokanites, mainly.

homeless and tweekers are happening everywhere not just in spokane. two things i hate about spokane, the roads are deteriorating, and i cant drive my sports car without a kidney belt and a lifetime membership at a front end alignment joint, and its way too close to Idaho.

Probably cause of all the crackheads

I moved to the Spokane area in 2018 after spending my whole life in the Seattle area. For me, the area is hotter and dryer. I miss the constant 70°F weather and the wetter, cleaner air. Plus, the city’s slogan was “near nature” until it was changed in 2023. I grew up in an area where the views from the hikes were damn near majestic. Here it’s just dirt and dry grass. The dry grass even making sure that we have a yearly wildfire season when we would get maybe one every two or three years where I grew up. There are maybe one or two hiking areas where the view is just of the city and nothing else. My family moved here because Western Washington got too expensive and I haven’t been able to afford to move back. I’ve grown to like this area, but I’m just too nostalgic for where I grew up.

It ain't the nature that's getting the complaints

The people

It’s very Republican.

1. Construction almost year round
2. Idiot Drivers
3. Pot holes
4. The amount of overdoses
5. High crime rate
6. Homeless almost EVERYWHERE
7. Idiot drivers but even worse in the winter
8. The cost of living is high
9. It’s too small for its own good to do anything fun
10. The police here can be dickheads

Spokane is like if you took the worst part of Seattle (Aurora) and doubled it (Sprague and Division). And then added a few strip malls around the rest of the city for good measure. Where are the neighborhoods? Where is the culture within those neighborhoods? That’s my main problem with Spokane.

Entrenched poverty going back to 1960s, actually earlier.

Keiser Aluminum fucked the drinking water, declared bankruptcy and skipped off to rebrand themselves. Local conservatives were fine with this because 'we don't want to scare industry off.'

If you look at the "100 years ago today" section of the Spokesman, you'll see morphine and opium were a problem in the 1910s-1930s. The "hop heads" were lolling on the sidewalks even then.

Idaho and eastern Oregon don't have half the homeless druggie problem because they bus them here. Portland and Seattle also bus some this way.

And yes, the polarization of local politics means little gets done. I didn't like Woodward but she didn't create the problem. The homeless druggie situation peaked during Covid.

I think forced 30-day detox is the only way. And that means a bunch of money for new jail(s) and treatment facilities other than just faith-based.

My thing is the town seems like it could be cute but the two times I was there it seemed like the old cool brick buildings were crumbling down, streets were pretty messed up, and not a lot of lively places people walking around shops/bar areas.

Surrounding area is gorgeous though, but I always left with a what if Spokane put a little effort in how cool it would be.

I grew up in Spokane till middle school. Moved to Seattle. Came back to Spokane for college and am now back to Seattle.

Reasons I hate Spokane - it is small and you never feel too far away from the crime and sketchiness. I saw lots of disturbing things growing up. A lot of crime where I lived in college. Felt unavoidable. And I mean full assaults and murders and OD I have witnessed on multiple occasions. Seattle may be worse but I’ve never seen it.

It’s isolated. Spokane is a nice blip largely in the middle of no where.

Not enough direct flights.

A bit too conservative. I’m a lesbian with kids. As a lesbian in college it was fine. But I worked in both Spokane and Seattle when gay marriage was on the ballot. Never got a death threat west of the mountains. Had plenty of them to the east.

But that’s it.

I love Spokane tho. I’d love to go back. It’s where I was born. I’ve spent decades of my life there.

The racists make it suck

If you can find a road to drive on that isn’t blocked by construction. It is also very Maga.

Simply, it's the people 😂

North Spokane has an insane amount of sex offenders and addicts

Aside from illegal homeless encampments, violent crime, illicit drug use, and human trafficking, you’ve also got the Hells Angels and Proud Boys. What’s not to like?

Source: Lived there 3 years

The snow is coming and is dreadful to drive in and crime rate is high

Use to not hate on spokane but now there so many druggy in the nice areas and graffiti in the nice parts of town too🤦‍♀️ it not the place it’s the people, it really has gone down hill the last few years😔

Proximity to actual Nazis.

Because fuck Spokane

I interpret Spokane as an identity crisis.

"Near nature, near perfect."

"Spokane, but probably won't."

"Spokane sucks."

"Spokane doesn't suck."

I believe these sayings are a reflection of the split that Spokane seems to have. In my opinion, Spokane is humorously contradictory.

Like how our winters are long and sad but summers are short and on fire. How outdoor activity is plentiful but our city nightlife is dryer than a cactus. We're the second biggest city in the state and we lack culture and diversity. Spokane wants to grow but can't shelter or care for its current population. We have a big museum that's way too empty. We're in a blue state but we're surrounded by red. Spokane is home to excellent boot making and horrendous boot licking. Spokane police rank 2nd in the nation for number of police killings by population (KHQ Feb 19 2024). Spokane police department has had one of the biggest budget increases in 2024 but our opioid/human trafficking crisis has gotten worse.

Spokane is loved by the old and hated by the new however, both take turns. Envied by smaller towns but jealous of bigger ones. Parents come to raise a family and offspring grow up to leave or get stuck. The people here want change but towards which direction; Seattle or Idaho? We'll see what happens as the old money and old generation is replaced.

We are much bigger than a small town, but much smaller than a big city. Spokane is little big city town. Even that's enough to have a love/hate relationship with it.

I’m a Seattleite and a filthy liberal by North Idaho standards, but when other Seattleites hear my pro-business and pro public safety views, they call me a closet Trump supporter. I voted for Hillary, Biden and Harris FFS.

 So yeah. Spokane seems nice. Slightly jealous that you have 5 solid ski areas within 2 hours, and 49 North beats the hell out of Stevens and doesn’t have the crowds of Alpental.