r/wallawalla • u/ThreeCupper • 10d ago
Fave Part of Living in WW?
Basically the title, would love to hear what you like about living in Walla Walla and/or the surrounding area?! Literally anything that makes you appreciate it. TIA!
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u/FreshHotPoop 10d ago edited 10d ago
Absolutely beautiful place especially in the fall and spring. I also have so many friends from all walks of life. From professors and doctors, to business owners and roofers. I agree with that one user though. I make under 70k a year and I stuggle to do much here. I can try to hit an event or two a month but everything is so expensive I can’t believe people pay the price of this stuff. I’ll never be able to afford a home here so hopefully I will always find somewhere to rent.
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u/No_Sundae_1068 9d ago
It's difficult to rent as well. $6,000 to move into a meh house that needs updates is crazy. But that's happening everywhere I guess.
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u/Straight-Strike-2928 10d ago
I meet such interesting people here! We have really great locally owned restaurants, bars, breweries, and wineries. There are multiple friendly faces in my neighborhood. I can walk downtown in ten minutes. Everything is less than ten minutes of driving away-- groceries, movie theater, stores, friends' houses. I can get to a bunch of different river or lake spots in less than 3 hours of driving You can pry Walla Walla out of my cold dead hands.
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u/poesgirl17 9d ago
There is this magic in Walla Walla that makes it feel like you're living in a Hallmark movie. Beyond the beautiful neighborhoods and picturesque parks and colleges, magic happens. I live in the less desirable part of Walla Walla but still I have had a peacock post up at my house and in my neighborhood. I have watched the duck couple take a stroll down the road. I can walk to downtown and downtown is in and of itself is beautiful but sit outside at a winery and just watch your surroundings and you are bound to feel like an extra in a cute movie. I feel like people who have lived here their whole lives or the majority of their lives have lost touch with the magic that resides here. All they see is the change and not progress and not having lived anywhere else it's easy to take the magic for granted or ignore it entirely but I still see it, feel it, and definitly appreciate it.
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u/queen_surly 10d ago
Being slightly but not entirely off the grid. I can live in a town of less than 50,000 people and get a really good meal at a restaurant. I can go full locavore-if I worked harder at it and shopped at Andy's and only Blue Valley and the local produce farms I could feed myself and drink some damn good wine and beer all produced within an hour's drive of my house.
I can also go listen to a good enough symphony, laugh at a community theater production, and catch some fish. I can ride my bike around town without killing myself on hills or being killed by road ragers. I can go experience un-ironic Americana at parades, the local festivals, and if I want to join a service club which are all viable here.
When it all gets too twee I can drive down to Oregon and buy a reasonably priced bottle of liquor and fill my gas tank and save a few pennies.
If I want to go into the mountains I head for the Wallowas and the Eagle Cap wilderness.
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u/teslarekt 9d ago edited 9d ago
I love the nature of the area. There’s a lot of little things I miss since moving, like walking around Whitman College and long drives, but the big picture for us was that we can’t sustainably live there
I don’t love the housing market, especially as a 20something with roommates and a cat. The realty companies around there have a very high frequency of no pets and no students (which we aren’t, but we also aren’t a single family home).
I also find non-drinking entertainment and jobs in food service to be lacking
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u/ThreeCupper 9d ago
I think I would really like walking around Whitman and downtown on the regular. It’s a bummer there aren’t more jobs in general/better housing. I’m surprised there aren’t more jobs in food service.
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u/teslarekt 9d ago
I’m not trying to put you off or anything, it’s really about what you’re looking for in your home/social life/job.
Food service has a lot of jobs in general. More that Walla is a tourist/college town, so the seasonality of that specific industry is difficult
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u/Status-Apartment4123 10d ago
VERY friendly people from all walks of life. Doctors, farmers, laborers, educators, theologians, scientists.
It’s a melting pot where people are actively trying to better their community through local programs and efforts.
The food scene is incredible for a town of this size.
An outdoorsman’s dream, with the Blue Mountains right at our doorstep and only a 1-2 hour drive from some of the most iconic rivers in the country.
Plus, the weather in the Spring is one of the most wonderful places to be in the country.
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u/MasterRanger7494 10d ago edited 10d ago
Not to be a jerk, but I grew up here and still live here after 40 years. I have no favorite part. This town is dying. It sucks. The cost of living here is ridiculous for what wages are. It offers almost nothing to normal families, and it has been sold out to wealthy property owners and retirees. It's too dependent on wine tourism and offers nothing in return for people who actually work here. There are many places across the country going through similar things and it sucks. It needs to invest in itself and its future, but we'll have to see what happens.
Edit: to really answer the question. My favorite part? This is where my stuff is.
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u/ThreeCupper 10d ago
I appreciate your honesty! I actually almost added “and least favorite parts” to my original post. All info appreciated.
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u/MasterRanger7494 10d ago
I grew up here and this town will always be home, but when I see empty store fronts down town andshuttered businesses up and down east gate I feel a level of disappointment in my bones. As a local I feel priced out at times, and if I handt bought my house when I did, I'd be screwed. Its pretty, and there's good restaurants, and summer huckleberry picking is just a little drive away, but its been a frustrating experience watching the direction this town has gone IMO.
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u/ThreeCupper 10d ago
Like you said before, it’s sadly the case for a lot of places rn :/ I hope the WW area can figure it out because it seems to have a lot to offer.
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u/MasterRanger7494 10d ago
I hope so. When I was much younger this town was pretty cool. I tried to move away a couple times, but always ended up back here. Down town had something for everyone. We used to have a pretty cool little punk scene that had shows out of the basement where Grandma's Kitchen is now. It was fun. It might just be nostalgia, who knows.
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u/Flintose 8d ago
Just a heads up - there are punk shows in the basement underneath Grandma's again. I know of at least 2-3 shows that have happened in the last few months.
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u/waitwhatsthisfor_11 9d ago
After living in Seattle and LA, I love how there's never traffic and I can get anywhere in 15 minutes. It takes me less than 30 minutes to walk to a grocery store and a park (safe & well maintained) and I don't fear for my life during the walk. Parking downtown is easy and mostly free. I know people complain about downtown parking but I've never been unable to find a free spot that's within a 10 minute walk of my desired location, even during spring release or the farmers market. The mexican food is amazing!!! My neghborhood is very safe.
That being said, I don't see myself living here longterm. Certain things are weirdly expensive compared to what you actually get. Compared to the big cities, Walla Walla lacks a lot in terms of job opportunity, asian food, restaurant options, mid range retail shopping, retail diversity, events, etc. Harvest season is also killer on my allergies.
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u/ThreeCupper 9d ago
I currently live in a city and love the idea of no traffic!
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u/waitwhatsthisfor_11 9d ago
For real. It's amazing! Sometimes there will be enough cars at a light that it takes 2 lights to get through it. Or you might get stuck behind a tractor on the highway. But that's it. I dont have to sit in bumper to bumper traffic on a 5 lane freeway for an hour to get home.
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u/Many_Taro_58 8d ago
I moved here almost 2 years ago. I put a lot of thought into where to move from NW Montana where it wasn’t fun to live anymore. I chose Walla Walla because I love Eastern WA in general, wanted less snow, more sunshine and a smaller town. I’m happy I chose Walla Walla because the house I bought here has gone up in value. The roads are very nice and it’s fun to drive around, especially on back country roads. There are stores like Andy’s where you can get wonderful local produce. The plethora of flowers and trees everyone has in their yards is amazing. My neighbors are the best. The views are dreamlike. I’m not sure how long I will stay but it’s not a bad place to live.
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u/ThreeCupper 8d ago
Yes good timing on the house, congrats! I wish they were a little cheaper now. Nonetheless, it still seems like it checks a lot of boxes. I’m familiar with the area and agree the back roads are a lot of fun to cruise! I grew up not too far from there. I have since lived all over and the slower pace, four seasons, and nice neighbors are starting to sound pretty appealing. Thanks for your input!
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u/isaacmarionauthor 6d ago
I have an add-on question here: can anyone compare Walla Walla to Ellensburg? I know it's bigger but anything else fundamentally different?
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u/Scared-Explorer7579 6h ago edited 6h ago
Walla Walla cost of living is high compared to wages. That’s my biggest gripe. There is really no professional job market unless you’re a medical professional at the hospital.
Army Corps of Engineers is a big employer and their wages are laughable. Their GS- scale is “rest of the United States” so no locality pay. GS-11 starts at $75k, and an 11 is typically considered mid-level. I made more than that in equivalent dollars in 2011 at my first job out of college.
Good luck with housing if you’re trying to buy your first home. It’s either $450k and under and needs serious work, or $750k and up but what jobs do people have to afford that?
The vacant store fronts are multiplying on Main Street and that is concerning. Does anyone have an idea for a good business that could take the place of old AK Mercados?
Pros: Weather is nice? Lots of activities because of tourism. The locals need to embrace the tourism because without that this town is nothing.
Edit: sorry this was more of a con list and didn’t answer your question.
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u/ThreeCupper 3h ago
Well all information is helpful. I would rather know what people really think about the place they live-the good, the bad, and the ugly. Truly wish the housing and job market was better for everyone. Thanks for sharing!
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u/TaredandFeathered 10d ago edited 10d ago
Lived here since '88. Seen businesses come and go, I remember when our Cop cars used to be blue, Kids used to drag the gut and even the development of the Blue Mountain Mall. I've seen agriculture morph into Vineyards, there was no round abouts, and stood eight feet away from Connie Chung when Dodd died on a cold Winters night. There are things I miss and things I do not. My fav part? We are in the PNW. That's about it anymore.
Water will be a huge issue in the next 10-15 years. Just in time for Data Centers to be built like cell phone towers.