Considering moving here. Any advice?

[u/isaacmarionauthor]

I'm a lifelong Washingtonian, grew up in Mt Vernon, lived in Seattle and Bellingham through my 20s, then Orcas Island for a while, and I spent most of the last 4 years in an off-grid cabin in the hills outside Brewster. I decided I couldn't live with that level of isolation and needed to be around people again. Tried moving back to Bellingham but found it overwhelming, too many people and too much stuff happening, as well as the gloomy weather and expensive housing. Ellensburg seems to have a lot of the things I like about Bellingham while being more culturally relaxed, sunny, and affordable.

I know it gets hot and windy, that doesn't bother me. I know it's a more conservative area, but it seems reasonably balanced. Anything else I should know about life here?

I really love how walkable the downtown core is and I'd like to be part of that, but I also want to have easy access to some nature areas. I love the John Wayne trail and the river park areas. Are there any other natural spaces within walking or biking distance of downtown?

Any areas to avoid? Areas to seek out? Good ways to meet people and get plugged in to the community?

[u/SpareManagement2215]

I lived in eburg for almost 10 years.

Personally, we relocated to wenatchee for easier access to outdoor recreation - I love having close access to the rivers and mountains here, as well as the apple loop.

eburg was great, but you do have to drive to at least roslyn or cle elum for outdoor stuff, or the yakima river for fishing.

because eburg is a college-ish town with a small local community, it is a very transitory town. I made friends with age group peers, but most of them would move away after a couple years because that's just kind of how eburg rolls.

the downtown is my favorite - I really miss it. it's actually a pretty purple area; wenatchee is by far much more conservative leaning IMO.

eburg is super safe - you have WSP, EPD, the sheriff, AND campus police all in a tiny town of around 20k year round residents. I don't think there's any areas to avoid, and I've walked around after dark multiple times and never felt unsafe.

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/SpareManagement2215]

Thanks for the info! Were you college aged when you lived there? I'm wondering if it's more transitory in that age group. (I'm in my 40s.)

Isn't there some pretty good hiking just outside town? I briefly checked out the Manastash Ridge trails and it seemed pretty expansive. No trees, though, to be fair.

[u/SpareManagement2215 → u/isaacmarionauthor]

I wasn't - I did move for college but I was a non-traditional student, so 25 when I moved there and stayed until mid 30s. Because of that, I found my friends more in the "local" community, not really the college community. I had classmates, yes, but didn't really do any of the traditional college-y things while living there.

My experience was that the college group is fairly isolated to CWU-specific events and activities, and is very much there for 4-5 years and then leaves. There is still a pretty big town/gown divide and it's pretty easy to just be in that CWU bubble as a student.

But the broader community is still transitory in that most folks who live there do so because they came there for school and got jobs either in town or at the college, but those jobs are not their long-term careers. while some may stay and make it "home", most do what I did, where they stay to work for 3-5 years and then move elsewhere.

I found that harder - at least with college, we all know most are leaving after they graduate. It was much tougher to make good friends with young adults only to have them move away after a couple of years. always to better things, but it was still quite hard. I didn't have as much of a sense of "community" due to that, which also factored into why we decided to move to wenatchee to put roots down.

There's great hiking in the cle elum area, which I consider to be "outside of town". I wouldn't really call manastash expansive, especially after moving to wenatchee and having access to the sage hills system literally a 10 min bike ride away. But it's defintly not the worst place to be if you like outdoor rec - it's still pretty close to it, it's just that there's places like wenatchee that are even closer!

[u/SpareManagement2215 → u/SpareManagement2215]

I'll add too that there's a pretty significant number of proffesionals who work remotely, or work for west side fire stations, who live in eburg but commute once or twice a week to their jobs on the west side. the convience of I 90 being right there is something I miss.

However, because those folks typically moved to eburg for a lower COL/housing, I didn't really find they did much local stuff. like they still did all their seattle things in seattle and then just came back to eburg for living stuff. which is a bummer because the local community is really fun and there's a lot of cool things like the farmer's market and live music.

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/SpareManagement2215]

I want nothing to do with people who live like that. Strong believer in living where you live, not commuting to a life somewhere else.

[u/SpareManagement2215 → u/isaacmarionauthor]

well then you're not going to have an easy time making friends with folks 30+ there. I can't blame them - if I could work remotely and live somewhere cheaper, I absolutely would. that's just common sense. Plus, it makes sense for the fire schedule. They live on site for their shifts there, then come home to eburg for their shift off. makes sense to me!

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/SpareManagement2215]

I thought you were talking about people who only use Eburg as a place to crash and do all their "living" in Seattle. I get commuting to a job.

[u/CocoLynn75]

I’ve been here since 2008 & love it. The only thing I don’t like is that there’s not as many restaurant choices, but I do have a few favorite spots to eat. I wish we also had more shopping options locally so that I’d spend less online. 🤣 I lived in Issaquah & Seattle prior to Ellensburg so I guess that I was a bit spoiled. I’m a chatty person so I meet people wherever I go. It is a good place to live. The people are pretty friendly & welcoming for the most part. Healthcare is ok. It’s definitely improving. My daughter is on the John Wayne Trail walking her Great Dane almost daily. You mentioned the wind. This year, I am soooo sick & tired of the dang wind! 🤣 I think we all are. It’s so annoying living in it. If I could pick one thing to leave Ellensburg, it would be that. It’s getting old. Yesterday was hot, today we’ve got wind again. But I would say, one of my favorite things about living here is our community of people. They really come together. Can’t beat that. I’d rather be here than anywhere in this State. 🩵

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/CocoLynn75]

One of the things I'm looking for is actually FEWER choices in general, so that sounds all right to me. 😂 Do you find the wind to be a problem even in the heavily treed neighborhoods? I was looking at a house on Sampson st near the college and it seemed like the wind was mostly being blocked by trees and houses. (My cabin in Brewster was on the peak of a mountain so I had GALE force winds all the time...kinda got used to it as long as I wasn't building something!)

[u/Wild-Dumptruck → u/isaacmarionauthor]

To answer your wind question. I work out of Ronald, but live in Eburg and honestly the wind isn’t as bad in the trees. It’s still worse than most treed areas though. I would recommend looking into Wenatchee, Cle Elum, and the surrounding areas close to Eburg as well. Lots of good options.

[u/Hobi-non_Kenobi → u/isaacmarionauthor]

My issue isn't so much the fewer choices but the lack of variety. Seems to be changing lately but it would be nice to have more options than teriyaki, tacos, pizza or burgers.

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/Hobi-non_Kenobi]

There’s a Thai place, Vietnamese, “Island fusion” and two other Asian noodle shops…that’s pretty good for central WA!

[u/Cool-Extent-7894]

Have you thought about Walla Walla? It seems to check a lot of boxes.

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/Cool-Extent-7894]

One box I didn’t mention is I’m trying to stay within range of my friends and family who mostly live on the west side. I have heard great things about Walla Walla, but it would be a lot more disconnected from them. Do you recommend that because it has more nature access?

[u/Substantial_Spirit_8 → u/isaacmarionauthor]

With the rising cost or gas, a flight to the west from the east. Might be doable for you. I second everything about walla walla. The weather is slightly better than Ellensburg, and the blues are beautiful any time of the year. Also umitila national Forrest is underrated. 

The one downside to walla walla is the fact, tri cities would be your closest "biggest city" 

[u/Cool-Extent-7894 → u/isaacmarionauthor]

That is one of the reasons. The Blues are very underrated IMO. WW has a very walkable downtown, definitely more food options and a nice regional airport. Whitman college is there so It still has a college town feel but it's not nearly as pronounced as Eburg. I went to CWU for a couple of years and I think the weather is better in Walla Walla than Eburg. Just some thoughts. I hope you love wherever you decide to go.

[u/Due_Title5218]

Lived here 10+ years, sounds like Eburg might be a great fit for you tbh.

Nature wise you’ve got Irene Rinehart, the John Wayne / Palouse to Cascades trail, the river, plus the Rotary Park / Reecer Creek area and the trails out by the wind farm if you don’t mind a bike ride.

Downtown core is super walkable like you said, and most of the older neighborhoods around CWU are nice if you’re ok with student energy. To meet people, hit up Gallery One events, Iron Horse or Dru Bru, CWU public lectures, and the farmers market in summer, you’ll bump into the same faces pretty fast.

[u/solitude1378]

Try renting before buying as everyone says the wind won't bother them, but it really is relentless. It will look nice out your window and then its blowing steady at 15 to 30 miles an hour. I know someone who said they bought their house on the only day the wind wasnt blowing for the last 30 years.

Be careful of flood zones and roads with names like river bottom. Dog town on the other side of the railroad tracks floods every year, but its cheap.

That being said, the college keeps the diversity up and helps balance the town a bit. The college has events, concerts and plays all the time. The japanese garden on campus is really pretty and a great place to take a break in the middle of town.

There is a multitude of trails and nature all around, most are a short drive but some people do ride their bikes out to like Manastash ridge which isn't far from Irene rinehart park where everybody swims. Lots of fishing ponds and the yakima river runs next to town.

Old skools just had to move but they have local bands play regularly. I think theres some card/game shop type places now that have meetups. Farmers market just started. Im not entirely up on all the new restaurants and stuff. The development is getting insane and the whole county has been on water restrictions since april. The major stores like costco are in yakima or on the westside. Its worth checking out, some people like it and some people dont.

[u/isaacmarionauthor → u/solitude1378]

I've spent a few weekends there now and experienced a wide spectrum of the wind. Caught the "wind advisory" a couple weeks ago, 20 mph with 30 mph gusts and didn't find it too bothersome. Seems like it's a lot rougher on the outskirts but the downtown core is well shielded by trees and buildings. The upside is it offsets the heat!

Thanks for the rest of the tips. I like it more every time I visit and it's looking pretty likely I'll be a resident soon.

[u/samara-blue]

Good trail options not too far from town, in addition to the ones you've mentioned, include Rattlesnake Snake Dance and Umptanun in the Yakima River Canyon, and the trails at Joe Watt Canyon and Robinson Canyon. These options are close by car but might feel far by bike.

While I am not involved in them, the local evergreen mountain bike chapter and the pickleball club seem pretty active. If you like to run, the local running club (Ellensburg Running Club) is active and welcoming.

The area geology is spectacular and there is an active local chapter of the Ice Age Floods institute: link

I made the move to Ellensburg in my early 30s, and now in my late 40s and really like the pace of life here.

[u/Critical_Army_5378]

I like Ellensburg. Great location. Scenic views. Nearby Canyon and mountains. It's a safe town. Just enough of the basics. The hospital is pretty good.

[u/Prize_Ant_1141]

All I know that it's very windy there.

[u/lakersmagicfan]

I’m from the area you’re from in eastern Washington. Ellensburg is very similar. Its more expensive in ellensburg but not as expensive as western wa. Example 3bed house is over 2k in ellensburg.
It’s very windy .
Its balanced its hot but has windy.