Where are you coming from?

Originally midwest

Moved here from cali. I’ve traveled around 46 states. I can definitely say it’s my favorite place to be. Homeless are hardly here and get cleaned up fast. Small town feel (same faces at cash registers). They have an awesome boat ramp/park called willow grove where you can see sea lions (I think that’s what they are) and other wildlife not to mention huge ships passing by. You get all 4 seasons, spring being amazing here with lots of colors. Close to mt st Helen’s

II grew up there but I haven't spent much time there in 25 years so I can't really speak to current attitudes or governance or housing opportunities.

You may find it cliquee smaller towns seem to be. But it's the "big town" in the area so it's a lot less isolationist than you might think of a town that size

It's a bit redneck MAGA type place. Very blue collar with the mills and logging background.

I wouldn't feel especially worried being a minority. Plenty of Asian and Hispanic folks (relative to a lot of smaller western washington towns.) And much higher black population than when I lived there.

It's a "planned/designed city" so it has a cute downtown area. For what that's worth these days.

It has a beautiful park in Lake Sacajawea where they have great 4th of July festivities.

It's 1hour+ to the long Beach peninsula. 1.75 hours to cannon beach.

Mount St hellens is 30 miles away.

You can shoot over to eastern Washington, which is a whole different geography, in a few hours.

Portland is an hour away if you need a big city fix.

It's mostly surrounded by forest so you'd do well to get a Weyerhaeuser land pass for hiking and such.

There are much much worse smaller towns/areas that you could end up in Washington or Oregon.

Hope this helps.

Must have changed a lot since I grew up in the area, huge meth problem, pretty regular gang violence don't get me wrong it definitely has it's charm but I'm glad I left especially with the sea lion problem they have there. If you enjoy fishing those suckered are ruining fishing in the area.

Yeah. I mean it seems anywhere you go you’re gonna have your downsides. Bad neighborhoods in every town. If you can afford to stay out of the ghetto this town is pretty nice. Sea lions are definitely a sad situation. Hope they legalize hunting them soon

The town is super proud of it's suspension bridges for squirrels but doesn't have much else going on.

You’ll love squirrel fest.

I lived there for 3 years. On rainy or humid days expect the horrid reek of the paper mill to haunt you. A lot of homeless people. I saw tons of litte camps when I’d go for walks and got my truck broke into and a guy stole a knife out of it. The stores are nice and the target is actually better than the Vancouver one. It was an okay place to live but I wouldn’t call it anything special.

I can tell you that every time I drive by or through it, I thank God, the universe, and everything that I don't live there. No matter how bad life gets, at least I don't live in Longview. (No offense to those that are forced to live in Longview.)

Now wife and I looked into it a while back. It seemed like the kind of place that would be nice if we wanted to put effort into changing a community that had issues with racism and a lot of backwards maga values, or otherwise didn't want to relate to the majority of the cities residents according to the data we had seen. We decided we don't have time or energy to be proactive in a community like that.

Any particular reason for Longview? Do you like bigger towns or very rural? Olympia might be a better spot as its still super central to outdoors but there will be way more going on.

I second Olympia. I moved out to Olympia from MD last April and absolutely love it. In the center of lots of hikes and outdoorsy things. Very accepting and welcoming crowd.

If you're looking for a bit more rural, Rainier OR is just over the bridge from Longview, a lot of hobby farms and multi-acre lots.

What’s wrong with the place?

Job opportunity

So it’s not very progressive :/. Ok

Don't have to live where you work 😉

My grandpa lives there, it's a nice town.

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It seems kind of mediocre . No decent grocery stores even. What’s the rent? Might be the only thing to make it worth it.

But then you're losing 9% of your pay to income tax.

I'm 35, grew up just north of Longview. Went to school in Seattle and then lived in Vancouver for a few years, back in Longview now working at one of the paper mills. Some people complain about the mill smells. I don't notice them on the west side of town where I live, because it's furthest from the smelliest mill.

Can't beat the location. An hour to the coast, an hour to the mountains. Seattle 2 hours to the north, Portland 45 minutes south.

The downtown are has been coming back over the last 5 years. Lots of new little shops, restaurants, etc. Quite a few new tap rooms and breweries opening up lately as well.

Lake Sacajawea is the crown jewel of the town. Pretty neat and unique to have a lake and park like that right in the middle of town. Willow Grove Park is great, lots of trails, a great boat launch, and sandy beach. Squirrel Fest and Squatch Fest are fun and popular events, as is the Go Fourth Festival, the fireworks at the lake on the 4th are outstanding.

Outdoor activities are popular here. Lots of people who hike, ski or snowboard, fish, or hunt.

Mixed bag on politics. The county leans right, probably by a 60/40 ratio. Keep in mind this is Reddit, everyone is going to complain about the white supremacists and MAGA whether it's true or not.

If you're working in Longview, you can also consider living to the north in Castle Rock, Toledo, Centralia or Chehalis, south in Kalama, Woodland, La Center, or northern Vancouver. To the north is more rural, south is more developed with more to do, but also higher housing prices.

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Worth every penny to not live in Longview/Kelso.

There's a very clear divide between the have and have not areas. For reference, my buddy and his wife bought a place there about 5 years ago. For the same money, they could have bought 5 houses on the other end of town, but wife wasn't willing to live in what she considered a shithole. For the money they spent, they could have lived in a better overall city and commuted. It's had a drug problem for quite some time, in large part due to the fact that outside of outdoorsy stuff and redneck bars there isn't shit all to do.

It's highly regressive, and not at all progressive.

My mom lives out in kalama (acreage) and is in a mixed racial marriage with my dad… they avoid Longview if they can. I’d go with the consensus of Olympia it’s so awesome and they have a year round farmers market and lots of small businesses. I’m not much of a city person but their market and access to hiking is amazing. Or even outside Olympia if you’re not a city person . But the area allows you to also visit the cascades, rainier, st Helen’s, Olympic, and other parks in day trips

Not a progressive town. Hard working, conservative folks. But don’t expect BLM signs and pride week. It would take a spectacular job offer for me to consider it.

Get a divided feeling being there especially during the Covid situation and masking (lots refused it) made my parents uncomfy

Anywhere rural in Washington State or Oregon is not worth it unless you are a cos-gender heterosexual white male. Stick to the cities or go and find out for yourself.

Parents live in kalama and only like it because they live away from people but in a woodland hippie way and not a maga way

Oh yeah. We had pocket issues over that here in Vancouver, up there it was a mark of pride to be "unafraid" of any virus, while simultaneously being terrified of a shot

My parents still mask but daddy has Parkinson’s so he is extra careful but usually just sticks to short outing and the occasional out to dinner date with my mom

I’ve been there a few time and even the rural American against racism signs are few and far between.. granted I don’t think every single house needs a sign like that but at least a business should have something like “(insert city) welcomes everyone “ I’ve seen that in Lewis county at a few places

Have you considered Port Angeles? I lived there for two years and loved it. Or Port Townsend? Grew up there and although it’s changed a little, it hasn’t changed a lot and that part of small town USA is a bit comforting these days.

There is nothing happening in Longview. Why are you choosing that place?!? You are 20 something yo. Go to a place where you meet people your age, it’s your time. There is plenty of outdoors in the pacific nw, easily accessible

Its one of the few places the prisons let people be released to. Theres lots of factories and mills so it has a more industrial feel to majority of it. Leans heavy to the right. Im in the forest often in that area but i hate going into town. At the rate the area is growing its going to be an ‘up and coming’ place in the next 5 years i bet.

I saw it today for the first time. Omg so damn cute. A bridge. For squirrels. Omg so cute!

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I say no unless you love rural life. Move closer to the city if you can.

Don't. Extremely run down in most parts. The layout is based on the shape of a wagon wheel and I absolutely hate driving there. Go closer to either olympia/tacoma or Portland, just for the simplest aspect of having more to do. The only really outdoorsy part is the lake, and that lake is disgusting.

I'm one of the "have nots." My worst fear in life was ending up in Longview or something like it. It's so depressing. You are surrounded by cut down trees, not trees. Logs. Lots of logs. Logs that used to be trees. Longview is where trees die. Take that whatever way you want.

If you can live far enough away from the paper mill, and avoid the lower end neighborhoods, it’s not a terrible place to live. I might suggest getting a one month apartment and explore the area to figure out what you are comfortable with. I believe there’s some monthly places due to shutdown work, and your employer may have a great rate for a local hotel as another option.

There’s fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities in the area.

Familiar with longview/kelso Wouldnt recommend it. Olympia may be more your speed

Theres too many people on drugs or some other level of tripping. Was asked if i sold meth at age 15, and ten years later it is as casual as asking for a light. It is quite awful even after you get used to it. They are some very nice people, but most are rather impolite or worse. I've had two knives pulled on me in the last three years and received numerous death-threats on my way to work. The rent used to be affordable but most places are too much for those earning under ~50k annually. That and there is no good takeout, maybe Pho if it is your dig but that is it. If you can, commute.

Good luck!

I've lived in Longview for a few years now. We even live in what people would call one of the worst areas. I will say, I've never had anyone steal anything from my porch. They're all too busy going to the nice side to steal! As for other commenters speaking about the homeless, that's all over the PNW. There's no way to avoid it if you want to live here. As for the mill smell, I won't say you get used to it but I can deal since my mortgage is cheap for the area.

As far as things to do, that may be true that there isn't much, but it isn't all too different from other small cities across the country. So I am left to wonder what sort of stimulation people are expecting from their towns. There are social organizations to join, churches, board game shops where people actually go to play with each other. My neighborhood has a community center and a garden. There's plenty to do for a small area. It isn't Portland but maybe OP is from a place like I am. We lived surrounded by cow pasture so Longview is fairly activity heavy for me.

Just another opinion. Not trying to criticize anyone.

You'll be fine. I grew up in Missouri and Longview reminds me a lot of the place (culturally). When we moved here I liked to call it Kentucky by the Sea. It's also fairly industrialized which if you're from the Rust Belt you'll be used to. Just don't make your belongings too attractive to property thievery. I consider it one of our bigger problems. I have been lucky and it hasn't been much of an issue but there's always someone on NextDoor surprised that the thing they left in their yard was stolen.

No worries, all views and opinions need to be welcome for op to make an informed decision for themselves. 2 things I will say is the drug problem has gotten better, there was a point like 15 or 20 years ago that Longview was called the meth capital of the world. It's still not good, but that moniker hasn't been used in quite a while. And you're correct that the homeless issue is all over the pnw, however Longview decided roughly 8-10 years ago to shut down their only homeless shelter, which made the problem become much more in-your-face a few years before it became like that with the rest of the pnw, and then made park camping illegal. My understanding is that it's gotten a bit better, but for a couple years the park around lake sac turned into Portlands Delta Park every night, and I'm betting a lot of the people bringing up the homeless have that stuck in their mind

It’s fine, pretty boring for a young person.

If you're considering moving here because you want an über progressive town, you'll have a difficult time. You probably want to stick to the big cities for that. That said, I live here with my husband (we're gay) and we haven't had any trouble. People mostly keep to themselves but I view that as a sort of northwestern trait in general. People saying this is some sort of MAGA paradise seem to forger Lewis County exists. Even in my neighborhood where there were a lot of Trump voters, people weren't obnoxious about it and left my Biden sign be.

People love to classify the town as rural but to me it's just too big to be considered rural. There's a Target and a Panera in Kelso. I don't know of many hick towns that have both of those in all my time in the Midwest and South. Just understand that a lot of people on reddit are going to be a lot more left leaning (I am as well) and they might blow things out of proportion. Longview/Kelso is gritty but it's relatively inexpensive to live in if you want to be on the west side of the state. I'd make sure the wage of the job you're getting is something you're able to live on. Rent is cheaper than the bigger cities but it's still high. Gas is more expensive here by quite a lot. Electric will probably be cheaper than you paid in the Midwest. I find water to be a bit high but it's sometimes included in rent. There are homeless and drugs, but that was also an issue when we lived in small town Oregon and it's something you'll have to accept to live here. Maybe we'll solve it someday but it won't be tomorrow.

Longview is centrally located. You can be in the forests immediately, the park is wonderful, the ocean is very close and there's a river beach at Willow Grove. I love Beaver Creek Falls over the river in Clatskanie. In four hours you can be in central Washington. 6-8 gets you to the east side of WA and OR where the landscape is so radically different and still breathtaking. A little farther and you're in Idaho or Northern NV. And ofc Seattle and Portland are close and you can even use Amtrak to get up and down the west coast provided time doesn't mean much to you.

I hope if you end up joining us you like it as much as I do. Good luck!

The homelessness is definitely visible. I live not too far from the Alabama Camp the city designated. They're building little houses now. Not sure it will help much but they seem to be trying new things. That's a good sign to me. The homeless I've run across when I'm out in the yard gardening are very respectful and comment on the plants. We seem to have a lower proportion of the yelling and screaming type I'm guaranteed to run into in downtown Portland. Its def an issue the whole region is working on and it's a difficult one at that.

I remember reading a piece from the New York Times about how dangerous the Highlands was in the early 2000s due to drugs. Many of my coworkers lived there then and got caught up in it. It is truly astounding how many in the community have been affected my methamphetamines but a lot of them have turned it around. Longview does seem to have hit rock bottom at some point and I truly belive its on the come up. I just hope it doesn't get so expensive it pushes folks out. I truly like my coworkers and neighbors and would like for them to be able to stay.

Thanks for your perspective.

You will continue to be quite visible as a minority. lol It's not the worst place to land tho.

Oh, and Idk how it is since covid, but if you like animals, they have the BEST humane society ever. Stg.

They had three cat rooms (kitten, male, female) that you could just chill in and hang out with all them. Amazing.

They let you take dogs out back and play too. I hope they are still so open now that pandemic orders are ending.

You have to pay state income tax if you live there, but work in WA?

Yes

As a Vancouver resident who moved here in my 30s, I’d agree with the comments above about moving closer to a city; Vancouver would be great, for the sake of your social life, you can meet folks here and across the bridge in Portland. There’s nothing wrong with Longview but I think it could be limiting for someone your age trying to find other people with common interests, hobbies, dating, etc.

I worked there for about a month and lived in a motel. While there I witnessed people cooking meth in the room down from me, lots of heroin addicts, and a brutal domestic violence incident in the room next to me. Would not recommend.

What this person said, entirely. This is a great area (I’m in Woodland, same vibe), yeah it’s a little overly right wing, but it’s also a place that people bend over backwards to help their neighbors. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty close to paradise if you like the outdoors.

+1 for Weyerhaeuser St Helens Unit drive in pass or walk in pass. They go up for grabs in May. It’s like 300,000 acres of wildland access. You drive out into it for a bit and get up on high ground and you literally can’t see a building in any direction. Good times.

Lame. OR is rude, man. If I live in WA, but work in OR -- I have to pay their income tax.

Their citizens should be able to do the opposite (not pay state income if they work out of state).

Meanwhile, they are allowed to negate WA sales tax by showing an OR ID. That should go away too.

Oh well.

I stopped in that area to visit a feed store and was spooked away by the confederate flags on the trucks in the parking lot.

Hey dude! I moved to WA from MD last April too!!

The Gorge! Kite and Windsurfing, foiling, Mt Hood skiing, mountain biking and hiking everywhere. Just make sure you can obtain good internet and enjoy.

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As someone that goes thru there dozens of times. It’s cool but it’s relatively boring, it’s mostly a residential and industrial town by this point. The suspension bridge is cool tho

Yeah, it's a bit lame. I live and work in Washington, but my wife works in Oregon. It's kind of annoying that we have to pay Oregon taxes on her income, and also file the Oregon tax return. A nice benefit of living in Washington is not having to file a state return at all.

Since we live in Washington we don't really get any of the benefit of those income taxes, other than maybe the roads she travels on to commute.

I laugh at those signs every time I see them. Not the "against racism" part, I laugh at the "rural Americans" part. Longview is not rural America.