In a recent post about ideology, I stated that the most important criteria when looking for a place to live was low crime, good schools, and low traffic. After comparing Liberty Lake to some other cities, we found Liberty Lake fit our criteria and offered some other bonuses as well.
Here is an excerpt from a personal blog post I shared with my family and friends:
Some of the criteria for a new city included:
- Small town but not too far from a city
- Four seasons (yes – we want some cold, snow, and rain)
- Area has to have many choices for outdoor activities
- Close to snowboarding
- Low cost of living
- Not in California
Over the years, we have camped or driven through much of the Northwest and really like the surroundings. At one point Oregon and Utah were candidates. However, we have family near Spokane, Washington and thought it might be good to consider a location where we already know a few people. One of my cousins from the region suggested we check out Liberty Lake, WA. We took her advice and spent a few days there getting a feel for the community and it felt right. It also looked good on paper; fitting all the requirements for our new city.
A week after being in Liberty Lake I noted a few other bonuses and differences from our previous city.
I noticed a number of differences so far. Here are a few in no particular order:
- Kids are everywhere; without parents, just riding bikes to the store or playing in the neighborhood.
- Most kids ride their bikes without helmets.
- Some kids drive a golf cart around the neighborhood.
- Golf carts are everywhere and drive on the street and sidewalks.
- The weather seems to change a lot throughout the day.
- Air conditioners don’t seem to be standard features
- Gasoline is much less per gallon.
- Everyone drives slow
- Drivers leave a lot of room between cars.
- People don’t speed up when using a turn indicator.
- Drivers seem to be very courteous and passive.
- People in general don’t seem to be on guard. They are friendly and open.
- The days are very long in the summer. It is only dark for about 6 hours in the night.
- A little rain doesn’t stop people from running and bike riding.
- Even in the very affluent areas with a Porsche dealer and Mercedes dealer down the street; there are few expensive cars. Many expensive trucks, but very few high-end autos.
- The DMV process is painless and efficient.
- You can’t be in a hurry to go anywhere as people move slow and every transaction includes a friendly conversation.
- When someone asked “How are you?” at the store they are not just being polite. They really want to know.
- Many people here came from California.
- Liquor taxes are very high… like 25%.
- It is difficult to work with such nice scenery out the window.
About a year after moving to the area we took a road trip through over 30 states. We came home still thinking Liberty Lake is the best place to call home.
Over the past few years it seems many other people have learned about how great Liberty Lake is as well; as the population is growing quickly.
In the next few years, my hope is that Liberty Lake will still meet our basic criteria just with a lot more friendly faces.
Why did you move to Liberty Lake?
Bonus: Here is an excerpt from a city council retreat from August 2014
