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

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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Where are you coming from?

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

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

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

You’ll love squirrel fest.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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.