Whenever I connect with someone looking at making the move out to Spokane one of the first questions I get asked is "what are the best neighborhoods for me to look in?" or "what are the best zip codes for me to look in?" so i thought i'd make this article with some answers if you are having these questions too.
In this video we're gonna be answering the question, should you be looking at neighborhoods or zip codes? And if so which neighborhoods or zip codes? We'll look at a few neighborhoods that might match a scenario that you find yourself in right now, for example, the person looking for a historic older home where should they live? What about the person looking for a country club, HOA, planned community feel? What about that person looking for acreage with a relaxed rural feel? We'll also look at where you should live if schools are a top priority for you. Finally in this video we'll discuss the difference between neighborhoods and areas and try to answer the age-old question what is the South Hill. So let's get into it.
Neighborhoods Vs Zip Codes
Whenever I get a call from someone living in a bigger city the first thing they ask me is what are the zip codes that they should be looking in and which zip codes should they not be looking at. And I get it tell someone you live in 90210 and they'll get that instant understanding of where you live and what you want. But Spokane really doesn't work like that. Our zip codes are much larger and more irregularly shaped as you can see from this map I've made for you (pictured and linked below).
Zip codes here in Spokane really don't narrow things down, for example, the 99223 zip code covers a few different neighborhoods and has a huge geographical footprint it covers nearly every type of home style and community feel from turn of the century craftsmen, to brand new homes, to scenic properties on several acres and even working farms. For a better way to narrow down the places that you want to live the best bet is to look for neighborhoods.
Here in Spokane neighborhoods here tend to follow themes pretty well with a few exceptions so, for example, if you're looking for an older home in a well-established neighborhood with tree-lined streets and green spaces then you're going to want to look at neighborhoods like Rockwood or Manito. If you wanted a country club vibe and a golfer's paradise then probably Liberty Lake is a good place to look. If you want peace and quiet with lots of space then somewhere like Nine Mile Falls or Mead might be the place for you. If you want an urban field that's very walkable then Kendall Yards might be the place for you. If you want great views then you might want to consider Latah Valley or Country Homes and so on.
I have made a neighborhood map tool for you that might benefit your home search. If you click onto each neighborhood there is a video there where you can find out more about the neighborhood, get a feel for it and find out what each neighborhood has to offer.
Scenarios
Now I wanted to look at a few scenarios you might find yourself in right now. Spokane is a pretty unique place in that it really does have something for everyone. That's why i've chosen to break this section up into scenarios - because I can't answer the question what's a good neighborhood for you to live in without knowing more about what you want from a home
Scenario 1
In this first scenario you love older homes you want something with charm and you absolutely can't stand modern cookie cutter homes. Where should you live in Spokane if this is you? Well Spokane has you covered. There are an absolute abundance of older homes here in Spokane and they tend to be concentrated pretty centrally. Because of this I would encourage you to check out a crime heat map to make sure you're not landing yourself in a sketchy area particularly if you're buying sight unseen or you're buying towards the lower end of the price spectrum (If you ever need an honest opinion on a particular property feel free to get in contact with me, I really don't sugarcoat things, i'll tell you how it is). Don't expect much by way of parking from these kinds of properties they were quite literally made before cars were in common use.
Neighborhoods to consider when looking for these sorts of homes are places like Manito, Rockwood, South Perry District, Cliff Cannon, West Central, Brownes Addition, Peaceful Valley, Emerson Garfield, Audubon Downriver, The University District, Logan and North Town just to name a few. In terms of price point this is a pretty common type of home like I mentioned so you can expect to find a home in almost any price range, say from the $200,000 up to the millions.
Scenario 2
Now for the second scenario, you're looking for a newer home in a planned community or something like a country club vibe. You might consider a place like Latah Valley which is a secluded community just down highway 195 to the south west of downtown Spokane, it has a strong sense of community, beautifully manicured green spaces, newer larger homes and it's easy to get great views there - you'll almost certainly be in an HOA and there's golf courses nearby as well as access to nature.
Liberty Lake is another place you might want to consider. Liberty Lake feels like a giant country club it's common here to find people riding around on golf carts to get to where they're going. It's home to three golf courses a beautiful lake and great access to nature it has a reputation for being a higher-end community with new homes being built there all the time.
Kendall Yards is a planned community right near downtown Spokane it's got every amenity you could want from an urban environment, grocery stores, sushi bars, wineries, restaurants, health and wellness focused businesses, parks and green spaces as well as being right on the river which provides stunning views and a place to walk, run or cycle down the nearby Centennial Trail. It's one of the few places in Spokane you can actually get away with not owning a vehicle as everything is within a short walk and if you need to go farther there are bus routes nearby.
The same company that built Kendall Yards is also working on a new community north of Liberty Lake - I showed a home there recently to a client of mine and they're definitely going for a similar vibe to Kendall Yards just on a slightly larger scale. And when I say the same sort of feel I really mean it it's on the same river it even has the Centennial Trail running through it as well. It will be home to the same kind of high-end eateries and shops as Kendall Yards.
For those wanting a true country club and a gated community there are places like this dotted around Spokane too. There are some very premium locations around the Manito Country Club area.
Scenario 3
Looking now at the third type of person I hear from. This person has had it with neighbors and they just want some peace and quiet they're looking for more land and might even want a place for horses or other animals. Well Spokane can provide for you pretty easily here. You can quite literally go in any direction from downtown Spokane and get to a property that fits that description pretty quickly.
If you still value some kind of community but you want that larger lot size then a neighborhood like Nine Mile Falls might be a really good fit for you. You'll have great access to nature here with the north side of Riverside State Park on your doorstep. In terms of the type of house you'll get here, you'll almost certainly end up with over an acre and generally speaking it's a beautiful place to live. Lots of people keep horses here and there are bridal paths all over.
Colbert, Mead, Newman Lake, Otis Orchard and south of the South Hill down the Palouse highway are some of the kinds of places you're likely to find this type of property too.
It has to be said though that if you're looking for acreage and particularly substantial acreage then where that sort of property becomes available will dictate to a large extent where you end up living. Remember though that Spokane is a relatively small place that gets rural very quickly, so while you may end up somewhere that feels really remote chances are you can probably still get to Costco and Home Depot within the hour.
Scenario 4
Looking now at the last scenario - you're moving to the area and schools are a top priority for you. Fortunately, Spokane is home to some great local schools and it has a good selection of private and faith-based schools too. The top three school districts in the area are, the Mead school district, Central Valley school district and the Spokane school district. These school districts cover pretty large geographical areas so you really won't be that limited in terms of what kind of house or area feel you want.
Areas vs neighborhoods
Now to add some further confusion to the mix if you just got used to using neighborhoods instead of zip codes. Be aware that it's common for people here in Spokane to pool neighborhoods together into areas. Most are self-explanatory like the Valley or the North Side.
But the one that everybody asks about and the one that isn't clear at all is the South Hill. now where I used to live in the UK there's a very desirable rural, wealthy county called Cheshire and everybody that lives in the towns and villages that are on the border of Cheshire and the other counties tend to associate themselves with Cheshire rather than with county they're technically in. It's more of a lifestyle for them, it's a badge of honor and people covet being a part of this. I'm sure you know of a similar place in and around your hometown.
The same is true of the South Hill. Everyone claims to be a part of the south hill and listing agents know this, so if they put "South Hill home" on a property listing they know it's going to attract a positive response. But unlike Cheshire where the boundary is clearly delineated there is no real boundary to speak of when we look at the South Hill. So over the years more and more people have claimed association with the South Hill and nobody can really say that they're wrong.
Personally i'd say that the heart of the South Hill is Manito Park and the Manito neighborhood. Next on the list is undeniably the Rockwood neighborhood. From there the South Hill rapidly expands to encompass Cliff Cannon, Lincoln Heights, Comstock, Moran Prairie and even the South Perry District. These days the South Hill pretty much encompasses everything east of 195, south of i-90 and west of Dishman Hills. It's certainly a nice area and when you visit or you live there you'll see why people covet this area so much. And yes there is an actual hill on the South Hill that you have to go up but that doesn't stop people saying they live on the lower South Hill, which is to say they're not on a hill at all, but still a "South Hill home".
that's it for this video if you want to check out the map tool that i've been using in this video there's a link to it in the description i hope you gained from this video if you did please like and subscribe that really does help me out if you are in the spokane area and you're looking at listing your home for sale or buying a home here in the area please give me a call shoot me a text send me an email and i'd be honored to work with you until the next one my name is phil wells and thank you for watching