Another where in Washington (state) question with a twist
May 22, 2018 11:15 AM Subscribe
African immigrant mom and kid moving to Washington State. She wants a place that's safe, that has good schools, and that is somewhat affordable. Not Seattle. Where should she go?
My good friend L is from Kenya. She has legal right to be in and work in US, may even be a citizen, I'll ask her. She's a single mother of an 8 year old US citizen daughter. She is an RN (earned in a US college), and has several years of US experience. By the end of the summer she will have her BSN, also from a US university. She's currently licensed in both Minnesota and South Carolina and assures me there is reciprocity in Washington.
Tell me about places where an African immigrant would feel comfortable. A multi-ethnic place with excellent schools that has reasonable housing costs. Is there such a place? She's thinking of Spokane, but is open to other places. Olympia? Vancouver? Bellingham?
My good friend L is from Kenya. She has legal right to be in and work in US, may even be a citizen, I'll ask her. She's a single mother of an 8 year old US citizen daughter. She is an RN (earned in a US college), and has several years of US experience. By the end of the summer she will have her BSN, also from a US university. She's currently licensed in both Minnesota and South Carolina and assures me there is reciprocity in Washington.
Tell me about places where an African immigrant would feel comfortable. A multi-ethnic place with excellent schools that has reasonable housing costs. Is there such a place? She's thinking of Spokane, but is open to other places. Olympia? Vancouver? Bellingham?
Here are the demographics for Spokane. It's 80% white and has a very low percentage of residents who were born in other countries.
Why Washington?
posted by rtha at 11:25 AM on May 22, 2018
Why Washington?
posted by rtha at 11:25 AM on May 22, 2018
Response by poster: I don't know why she chose Washington, but seems drawn to the PNW.
posted by mareli at 11:31 AM on May 22, 2018
posted by mareli at 11:31 AM on May 22, 2018
I would suggest Bellingham. Nice, small city, mixed economy with fairly low unemployment, community college, transportation hub, slightly warmer in winter than Seattle and certainly warmer than Spokane.
posted by JamesBay at 11:45 AM on May 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by JamesBay at 11:45 AM on May 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
City-data.com (the site I linked for Spokane) is good for quick and pretty accurate skims of demographics, housing prices, main job types, and the like, so she could do worse than poke around there. The PNW is pretty white overall, and what multi-ethnic communities cluster together tend to do so in places like Seattle and Portland.
posted by rtha at 11:46 AM on May 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rtha at 11:46 AM on May 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I second the suggestion for Bellingham. It is home to Western Washington University, a progressive school. It's a friendly, welcoming place filled with pleasant people.
posted by ragtimepiano at 11:51 AM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ragtimepiano at 11:51 AM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I live in Mukilteo, 25 or so miles north of Seattle. There is a decent sized representation (i hate to use the term community, because africa is huge and diverse itself and I don't know how cohesive a group of general african immigrants might be) of 1st gen african immigrants in this general area. she could afford to live here on a nurse's salary.
Everett is the large city nearby and several excellent hospitals. Boeing is here so there is currently a stable economy.
To the north, heading toward the aforementioned Bellingham. Mt Vernon is probably the best fit. Nothing east, on this side of the cascades, as the towns tend to be rural and lily white.
South there would be Edmonds, Lynnwood and Shoreline, which are less places in themselves these days than exurbs of the city itself.
The schools here are diverse, for washington, and consistently win awards at the elementary level.
I say welcome because i enjoy promoting diversity in my town. she should give it a look.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:06 PM on May 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Everett is the large city nearby and several excellent hospitals. Boeing is here so there is currently a stable economy.
To the north, heading toward the aforementioned Bellingham. Mt Vernon is probably the best fit. Nothing east, on this side of the cascades, as the towns tend to be rural and lily white.
South there would be Edmonds, Lynnwood and Shoreline, which are less places in themselves these days than exurbs of the city itself.
The schools here are diverse, for washington, and consistently win awards at the elementary level.
I say welcome because i enjoy promoting diversity in my town. she should give it a look.
posted by OHenryPacey at 12:06 PM on May 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
She might want to read The Black Lens News or contact someone from there to see what life might be like for her family if she decides to move to Spokane. It's described as: "The Black Lens is an independent community publication, based in Spokane, Washington, that is focused on the news, events, people, issues, and information of importance to the African American community."
I live in Spokane and moved here from Texas/Louisiana and I very deliberately chose a neighborhood that was more diverse than most to live in. Just because the overwhelming whiteness (and I am white) seemed very weird compared to what I was used to.
posted by ilovewinter at 12:16 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I live in Spokane and moved here from Texas/Louisiana and I very deliberately chose a neighborhood that was more diverse than most to live in. Just because the overwhelming whiteness (and I am white) seemed very weird compared to what I was used to.
posted by ilovewinter at 12:16 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Is she open to a Seattle suburb? Issaquah has excellent schools and some affordable (for the area) apartments in the older "downtown" part of the city.
posted by joan_holloway at 12:20 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by joan_holloway at 12:20 PM on May 22, 2018
Spokane is the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis and is a big healthcare hub, so I can see why your friend might be thinking of it. But it is super white and there is a lot of poverty which impacts the quality of the public schools there.
Olympia is the state capital and it's a decent sized city with plenty of amenities. Vancouver is right over the river from Portland, so your friend would have good access to a larger city if she wanted it.
I would second recommendations to look closely at Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, or Bothell. Those are all in-between Seattle and Everett where she would have reasonably good access to jobs in her field. Edmonds and Bothell both have pretty good schools but will be more white than Lynnwood or Mukilteo.
posted by brookeb at 12:53 PM on May 22, 2018
Olympia is the state capital and it's a decent sized city with plenty of amenities. Vancouver is right over the river from Portland, so your friend would have good access to a larger city if she wanted it.
I would second recommendations to look closely at Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, or Bothell. Those are all in-between Seattle and Everett where she would have reasonably good access to jobs in her field. Edmonds and Bothell both have pretty good schools but will be more white than Lynnwood or Mukilteo.
posted by brookeb at 12:53 PM on May 22, 2018
I'd also suggest somewhere north of Seattle along I-5. I can't say for sure but Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island might be worth looking into - because of the naval base, it's slightly less white than Seattle (both around 63% according to city-data). On the other hand, because of the naval base, it's more conservative than Seattle.
I would make sure to check nursing-specific employment opportunities - e.g there is an RN program in Mt Vernon and an RN-to-BNS program at WWU in Bellingham and UW in Bothell, so it might be more competitive around those.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:57 PM on May 22, 2018
I would make sure to check nursing-specific employment opportunities - e.g there is an RN program in Mt Vernon and an RN-to-BNS program at WWU in Bellingham and UW in Bothell, so it might be more competitive around those.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:57 PM on May 22, 2018
I'm going to put in a plug for Pullman, which is only about 30,000 people, but is home to a large research university and as such, draws international students. I agree that the PNW is largely white, but university towns here tend to be a bit less so. Pullman is also more white-collar than Spokane. (If the median household income looks low, remember that there are a lot of students there.) Housing costs are reasonable compared to the area around Seattle. The schools are quite good, in no small part because of the extremely educated populace. The hospital, where your friend would probably work, is a fairly new and up-to-date facility.
posted by Knowyournuts at 1:18 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Knowyournuts at 1:18 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I can't speak to the schools, but Tacoma is a city worth considering as well - walkable and urban-feeling without being too big, lovely parks, relatively (but only relatively) diverse.
posted by mosst at 2:09 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by mosst at 2:09 PM on May 22, 2018
Another option in the greater Seattle area is Tukwila, which is just south of the city. It has a large immigrant population (including many African immigrants) and is one of the most diverse areas in the state. Tukwila is 44% white, compared to 66% for Seattle and 80% for Washington State as a whole.
Tukwila’s median home price is a little over half of Seattle’s – still a bit more expensive than cities like Spokane, but in exchange you get easy access to Seattle (especially the south end where most of Seattle's Black and immigrant communities are located) without paying Seattle real estate prices. It's also conveniently close to the airport.
posted by mbrubeck at 3:56 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tukwila’s median home price is a little over half of Seattle’s – still a bit more expensive than cities like Spokane, but in exchange you get easy access to Seattle (especially the south end where most of Seattle's Black and immigrant communities are located) without paying Seattle real estate prices. It's also conveniently close to the airport.
posted by mbrubeck at 3:56 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nthing that Spokane may be a bad idea. My boyfriend's black cousins live there and have found most people there to be racist, and not open to discussions that challenge their viewpoints. My personal experience with people from Spokane in San Diego has mirrored this impression, although I don't want to stereotype an entire city where some exceptions to the rule must exist.
posted by Everydayville at 4:18 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by Everydayville at 4:18 PM on May 22, 2018
I was going to suggest Tukwila. But really, South King County in general. It varies by town in terms of safety and diversity, but in general, it's where many of Seattle's immigrants and people of color have moved. Kent is worth a look as well. In these communities, she'll find lots of safe, residential communities full of both immigrants and people who were born here.
posted by lunasol at 4:23 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 4:23 PM on May 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
And of course, South King County is significantly less expensive than Seattle, while still being pretty close to Seattle and Seattle jobs.
posted by lunasol at 4:23 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by lunasol at 4:23 PM on May 22, 2018
There's a Kenyan association based in Lakewood. That might be a good place to start. (Their facebook page looks more active than their website.)
posted by hydra77 at 5:13 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by hydra77 at 5:13 PM on May 22, 2018
As others who live and are familiar with the Seattle metro area can attest, traffic is horrific across the city, so choose a home that is close to your job. A family member recently moved there, and unfortunately signed a lease on an apartment in Lynnwood just before taking a job in... [drum roll] West Seattle. Which is a really sucky commute. Try to avoid a situation like that, if at all possible.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:30 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:30 PM on May 22, 2018
Kent or Tacoma.
posted by matildaben at 6:36 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by matildaben at 6:36 PM on May 22, 2018
Tacoma maybe? Def check out the bestplaces.net compare cities tool. Two cities’ demographics side by side. Very helpful in weighing options.
posted by AnOrigamiLife at 10:10 PM on May 22, 2018
posted by AnOrigamiLife at 10:10 PM on May 22, 2018
Silverdale, Bremerton, and Poulsbo are nice areas. I'd also suggest Vancouver, Bellingham, and Everett too.
Usually when people say they like the PNW they're thinking the evergreen trees, water, and mountains. That is not what you'll find in Spokane. In addition to the city scoping websites others have mentioned, I'd check the 2016 presidential results by county: http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20161108/President-Vice-President_ByCounty.html I'd prefer to find one by precinct but am not having luck.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:37 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Usually when people say they like the PNW they're thinking the evergreen trees, water, and mountains. That is not what you'll find in Spokane. In addition to the city scoping websites others have mentioned, I'd check the 2016 presidential results by county: http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20161108/President-Vice-President_ByCounty.html I'd prefer to find one by precinct but am not having luck.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:37 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tukwilla is very diverse but the schools don't do well, on the whole, on standardized tests.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:57 PM on May 23, 2018
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:57 PM on May 23, 2018
Response by poster: Thank you all, I'm passing these great responses on to her. I'm going to urge her to join metafilter so she can go to meetups and make new friends when she moves.
posted by mareli at 6:15 AM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mareli at 6:15 AM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
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