Moving to Wenatchee

Hey All,

My partner and I are contemplating a move up to the PNW in the next year or two. We're coming from SLC and previously the CO Front Range. I wanted to ask the hive mind about living in Wenatchee. There have been a few forum posts in the past about this but those are getting closer to 5-7 years old.

Little background on us. I work as a mountain guide year round & travel quite a bit for work. My partner works in graphic design & as a freelance artist. We both climb & ski pretty frequently. Currently in our mid-twenties. With regards to climbing, we both climb across the disciplines in bouldering, sport, trad, and alpine. I've also spent quite a bit of time up in Washington, mostly on the west side for spring ski mountaineering, not nearly as much on the Eastside.

Nowadays, how do folks feel about Wenatchee? I understand living in Leavenworth would be better for proximity to climbing & skiing, however we're looking to potentially buy a home in the next few years, thus Leavenworth is likely out of the question given our salaries.

What's the vibe of the town? Decent amount of younger 20-40 folks living there? Good sized outdoor community? Any decent climbing gym access? Mazama & Twisp would be cool, but for now we'd prefer a bit larger of a community. Do people suspect Wenatchee will be growing in the future?

Thanks all

Per Redfin: average home prices in Wenatchee have doubled from $245,000 to $500,000 from 2018 to 2023. So, I would surmise that people are definitely moving there and it's going to continue to grow.  I have a couple friends (lates 20s) that live there and it sounds like a low-key version of Bend or Bozeman with more trump supporters but less pretentious Telsa drivers. 

Yo. My partner and I moved to Leavenworth about two years ago and spend a decent amount of time in Wenatchee. It has really good access to a lot of really cool stuff. If you mountain bike, Evergreen has been digging like dogs in the area. No climbing gym in Leavy so in the winter we drive down to Riverfront Rock Gym in Wenatchee. It's smaller than the gyms on the west side but it's a cool spot, rarely crowded, and very grateful to have it. We have some friends who live in Wenatchee and they appear to like it, but realistically the young outdoors community is still greatly outnumbered by big trucks and Trump supporters. It is certainly improving, but it's definitely not a pervasive vibe in the town. Back to access.. mountain biking is good and improving. Rad to have a small independent ski hill 30 minutes away (Mission Ridge) and Stevens Pass an hour away. Close to Vantage if you want to climb in the winter, Leavenworth is close, Lake Chelan, Winthrop, Twisp are also reasonable. Mazama and WA Pass are also closer than if you were on the West Side.

Overall, I really love Central Washington. I hope to see Wenatchee continue to grow as a cool city with good access to outdoor recreation, but it will take some time. Driving through it is still just strip mall after strip mall with not much of a distinct culture. To your final point, the lack of pretentious Tesla drivers is a significant plus as well. Hope that helps.

I grew up in Wenatchee then moved to Leavenworth in my young 20s. I still have family living in Wenatchee and Leavenworth.

Housing in Wenatchee is a bit cheaper than Leavenworth. I think the vibe of Wenatchee is great. They have a handful of great restaurants, an amazing health food store, Wenatchee Natural Foods (owned by my childhood friends), a climbing gym, ski resort, beaches, bike path, Mt biking, climbing year around within an hour drive and pretty much everything else that makes a good town for outdoorsy people. 

It is kind of hilarious that H Lue says the outdoor community is outnumbered by big trucks and Trump supporters... In my opinion this is not true and I think it is sad that is such a big deal for someone. You will find plenty of outdoor partners in the Wenatchee/Leavenworth area. 

The reason I chose to move away from Central Wa was the crowds. It is not uncommon to not be able to park when you go ski touring, resort skiing, hiking or climbing. You lived in the Front Range and SLC so you are probably used to crowds. 

I honestly recommend Wenatchee as a great place. Central Wa is beautiful. It is just following the trend of all other mountain towns in the west.....

Shaun Johnson wrote:

I grew up in Wenatchee then moved to Leavenworth in my young 20s. I still have family living in Wenatchee and Leavenworth.

Housing in Wenatchee is a bit cheaper than Leavenworth. I think the vibe of Wenatchee is great. They have a handful of great restaurants, an amazing health food store, Wenatchee Natural Foods (owned by my childhood friends), a climbing gym, ski resort, beaches, bike path, Mt biking, climbing year around within an hour drive and pretty much everything else that makes a good town for outdoorsy people. 

It is kind of hilarious that H Lue says the outdoor community is outnumbered by big trucks and Trump supporters... In my opinion this is not true and I think it is sad that is such a big deal for someone. You will find plenty of outdoor partners in the Wenatchee/Leavenworth area. 

The reason I chose to move away from Central Wa was the crowds. It is not uncommon to not be able to park when you go ski touring, resort skiing, hiking or climbing. You lived in the Front Range and SLC so you are probably used to crowds. 

I honestly recommend Wenatchee as a great place. Central Wa is beautiful. It is just following the trend of all other mountain towns in the west.....

You're right, I shouldn't have assumed it was an important factor for OP, but truthfully it would be for me. It wouldn't be enough for me to rule it out, but certainly something I would consider and I don't think it's sad at all to care about. To each their own. 

H Lue wrote:

You're right, I shouldn't have assumed it was an important factor for OP, but truthfully it would be for me. It wouldn't be enough for me to rule it out, but certainly something I would consider and I don't think it's sad at all to care about. To each their own. 

I personally find it hypocritical when the side of our political spectrum that prides itself with being inclusive does not have acceptance of people who think differently than them.  

I am not a conservative, but I live in SE Idaho. If I wanted to avoid big trucks and Trump voters, I would hate it here; however I have the ability to be accepting of every person and want to include every type of person in my life. I feel like understanding people who are different than me brings a fullness to my life that living in an echo chamber never could.

Do you mind me asking why it is a big deal to you. Thanks.

Clearly I have decided it is not a deal breaker for me. I live in a red county and work (very closely and harmoniously) with largely conservative/republican coworkers. 

The reality is that choosing where you live and raise your kids is heavily impacted by the politics of where you choose to live. What the schools will teach, how they will be treated if they are LGBTQ+, if politicians will try to control their bodies or not. Conservatives can make wonderful neighbors, they do not much make wonderful policy makers (via their voting habits). That may not be a big deal for everyone but I don't think it is an unreasonable thing for someone to consider. 

To one of your other points, I agree. Echo chambers can be dangerous and I do feel my life has been enriched by being often surrounded by people who view things differently. 

 But I still think a big lifted truck with confederate flags rolling coal is stupid. 

I couldn't find the average AQI for Wenatchee but I would imagine last year September and October were absolutely dreadful but maybe SLC is comparable. I recall one year my it was advised that people not go outside for the month of August. 

Chelan County may be a red county, but the people in Leavenworth are majority woke. Not saying it is bad that those people live that way, I am just pointing out that Leavy for sure mostly Democrats. 

Anyways... people used to not like talking politics. I will add nothing more to that part of the conversation.

If the OP has any specific questions about the Wenatchee Valley I will gladly answer. 

Shaun Johnson wrote:

Chelan County may be a red county, but the people in Leavenworth are majority woke. Not saying it is bad that those people live that way, I am just pointing out that Leavy for sure mostly Democrats. 

Anyways... people used to not like talking politics. I will add nothing more to that part of the conversation.

If the OP has any specific questions about the Wenatchee Valley I will gladly answer. 

I now see where your hostility comes from just by the language you choose to use. Noted

Cheers. Glad you're digging Idaho.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

I couldn't find the average AQI for Wenatchee but I would imagine last year September and October were absolutely dreadful but maybe SLC is comparable. I recall one year my it was advised that people not go outside for the month of August. 

Good point here, but really where the heck in the west can you go to escape it? 

H Lue wrote:

Good point here, but really where the heck in the west can you go to escape it? 

I grew up on the peninsula and I don't ever recall having bad air quality ever. I would say since living in greater Seattle area for 10 years, I think there have maybe been 25 days with an AQI over 200. I believe Wenatchee had a month with 30 days in a row over 200 but I can't confirm. I went out multiple days when the AQI was over 200 and it was a debatable choice. 

I think the wildfires in California/Wyoming/Colorado would better align with climbing objectives but I havent lived in those places. The wildfires are probably more of an issue for avid alpine climbers or people wanting to go to Index. Obviously if these climbing objectives are all you want you will get it in, but if you can only commit to being gone a few weekends a year, the wildfires are not going to help.... This year the absolute best weather for Index was when Highway 2 was closed and you had to debate on whether the smoke in Index was going to be not a problem or a huge problem or if the highway was gonna close.

So being in Wenatchee gets double screwed by wildfires. I still like Wenatchee but just something to consider.  Wenatchee has some great afterwork mountain bike trails and infinite hard cave basalt choss to be bolted. 

H Lue wrote:

I now see where your hostility comes from just by the language you choose to use. Noted

Cheers. Glad you're digging Idaho.

Was it that I said "woke?" My friends called themselves that. Sorry for triggering you. 

H Lue wrote:

The reality is that choosing where you live and raise your kids is heavily impacted by the politics of where you choose to live. ...................Conservatives can make wonderful neighbors, they do not much make wonderful policy makers (via their voting habits).

FWIW Seattle is ultra liberal/progressive and I would NEVER want to raise a kid there due to the policies.  

Also curious about Wenatchee.  Is the AQI issue mainly due to fires?  

Thanks to all that have responded, I appreciate the time and effort! Let's try & steer clear of some of the political jabs. I was born in Iowa, went to school in Boulder, and now live in SLC. I've been around it all.

That's a good note on the AQI. I'll look into that a bit more as that is one of the primary reasons were planning on leaving SLC. It's just consistently bad.

The vibe I'm getting is generally good from you all, every place has it's upsides and downsides but it's good to hear what people are psyched on about the area. Also good note on the climbing gym, that is definitely a consideration, no need for a mega gym. 

Aaron Wait wrote:

FWIW Seattle is ultra liberal/progressive and I would NEVER want to raise a kid there due to the policies.  

And I think that's a fair thing to decide according to your values. I was just stating the inverse for OP but Shaun didn't like that. 

Also, Seattle certainly has a lot of major and complex problems, but that KOMO piece you linked is largely alarmist propaganda. 

H Lue wrote:

And I think that's a fair thing to decide according to your values. I was just stating the inverse for OP but Shaun didn't like that. 

Also, Seattle certainly has a lot of major and complex problems, but that KOMO piece you linked is largely alarmist propaganda. 

IDK my last month in seattle behind Fremont brewing:

Homeless lady sprints up to my window, proceedes to argue with my dog strips down naked and passes out 

Two weeks later, I go out to take my dog potty, there are 10 cops walking towards me in the hallway. They ask me, “sir, did you hear any noise last night.” Me, “no why?” Then, “sir a man od in your laundry room.”

Last week, I am moving out taking my dog to the bathroom. I hear one of those bells on kids bikes behind me. Don’t think much about. Bang! Car alarm! I turn around a homeless man threw a bike at me, missed by like 10 feet in the other direction. Asked me if I wanted to go.

Every month we have someone break into our office, so it isn’t great.

This doesn’t even include the random kinda hobos that would walk into my college house. Lol

Anyway, generally the air is good in eastern Washington until it’s not, it’s mostly fire related. I think it might be even worse in Yakima or mazama. Yakima could be another option, you might have better ski options, I think air travel is better there, you’re off i90. The climbing is more obscure, and generally worse access to popular stuff and index but if your willing to develop there I am sure there is a ton of primo basalt without any crowds you would probably sport climb more regularly. Where as Wenatchee you would boulder or trad climb more.

H Lue wrote:

And I think that's a fair thing to decide according to your values. I was just stating the inverse for OP but Shaun didn't like that. 

Also, Seattle certainly has a lot of major and complex problems, but that KOMO piece you linked is largely alarmist propaganda. 

There are components of that KOMO piece that are likely exaggerated, but I lived right off of Ballard commons park for 4 years.  I shared because it illuminates my experiences more efficiently.  

Reading Shaun's comments he doesn't seem mad at all. If anything, he made some acute observations based on your own instigatory and (later) defensive comments.

Can confirm this last fire season was bad. Felt like 2-3 straight months of smoke if you were extra cautious, which we were since we had a baby on the way. Otherwise, Leavenworth climbing is awesome and rivers and lakes are awesome. The gym is great to have in the winter - I really like the staff there. Fwiw, we just moved to Cashmere because we found an ok deal on rent, plus it’s halfway between Leavenworth and Wenatchee.

I know a few folks who recently moved to Wenatchee from Seattle. All climbers and skiers. I think for access, they really enjoy it. Close to lots of climbing and skiing opportunities. Backcountry in Stevens pass, climbing in Leavenworth area (and lots of other smaller less popular areas nearby to explore as well), and more affordable than Seattle. I think they’ve struggled a bit to find community like they had on the west side when we last talked, but that may have changed with more time and pandemic has lessened. Could also call up some of the local guiding outfits (KAF, Alpine Ascents, etc) and ask if any of their guides live in Wenatchee and be open to chat! As they say “west side gets the plow, east side gets the pow.” 

If your open to options. North Bend is also pretty great, but may not be as affordable. Spokane is a great growing city too with easy day to day cragging, biking, skiing access, but farther access from the cascades.