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RaikageQ t1_j9s44if wrote

Reply to comment by mesmee in Living in Longview WA by [deleted]

What’s wrong with the place?

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Devilsbullet t1_j9sdcuw wrote

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.

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edc582 t1_j9srqzh wrote

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.

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Devilsbullet t1_j9st0gp wrote

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

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edc582 t1_j9sttqj wrote

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.

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mesmee t1_j9soa8k wrote

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.

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