Well it’s official Spokane is a great place to retire to. I recently made a video about Spokane being named one of the most neighborly cities in the USA for 2022. And it seems Spokane isn’t done yet, this wonderful place is determined to close out 2022 on a high note. Now Forbes Money names Spokane among the 25 best cities to retire in the USA.
My name is Phil Wells, I’m a Spokane and North Idaho real estate agent who makes videos about living in Spokane and the real estate market here.
According to this report “Forbes compared more than 800 locales in America on everything from housing costs and taxes to healthcare, air quality, crime and climate change and natural hazard risk.”
Now, I should point out that Spokane is a small area. The entire county is home to around 550K people according to the 2020 census and the City of Spokane is only around a 1/4 mil so Spokane is punching well above its weight. Why you might ask? Well in my opinion it’s an awesome place to live, that’s why I live here and I will continue to live in this inland north west are for the foreseeable future. But what were the reasons Forbes gave.
Spokane, Washington
Scenic river city of 232,000, 280 miles east of Seattle. PROS: Good ratio of physicians per capita. Good air quality. Very bikeable and pretty walkable. Strong economy. No state income tax. Relatively low national hazard risk.
CONS: Median home price of $411,000, 10% above national median. Cold winters. Serious crime rate above national average. State estate tax.
Those pros are evident, the medical community is massive here, in fact it really struck me when I first moved here that it’s too big for the size of the city. But that’s because Spokane is the medical hub of the whole inland northwest, not just Spokane itself. And that community is growing. We have 3 university medical schools here, UW, WSU & GU, although the UW and GU share a brand new facility as part of a joint venture. So is medical care is a key consideration of yours or you expect it might be in the future, then Spokane really has you covered.
We do generally have good air quality yes, but when it’s bad it’s really bad. The tail end of summer is known as smoke season here and you’ll be wanted to stay inside with an air purifier running during this period.
Spokane can be walkable depending on the neighborhood you live in, please check out my neighborhood videos for more info, but for the most part I’d say you’ll be pretty car dependent here, I know I have been and I’ve lived in 3 neighborhoods so far in the time I’ve been in Spokane.
In terms of the cons, last time they were reported the median price here was 395K so they are down from what Forbes says they are.
Crime can be bad yes, but if you are careful about where you buy you’ll have absolutely no problems at all. Give me a call I’d be happy to advice you on where to live and where not to live in terms of crime.
I work with a lot of people looking to fully retire or enter a sort of semi-retirement and I’ve always thought the tax and medical care situation had a lot to do with this and now it’s not just me saying it, one of the biggest publications in the US is saying it too.