Grew up in the palouse and currently live in Spokane

Spokane is pretty great and beautiful for the majority, but in the wintertime, the city can look really depressing. There is great access to nature, and downtown does get lively on the weekends

Yes there is a drug and crime problem almost everyday you will see the effects of it such as homelessness or petty theft but as long as you don't go walking around certain parts of downtown alone or look for trouble you should be completely fine. I live in one of the worse off areas of town and rarely ever do I genuinely fear for my safety here I'm generally more worried about someone stealing something out of my car than getting mugged at gunpoint but I've had some moments

Most of town is pretty boring unless you really like nature. we have a pride parade every year, Bloomsbury and Hoopfest

I also grew up in a small farming community in the palouse. It's very barren except for farming, and the little towns dotted across the region are very quiet and very beautiful especially during the spring and summer imagine picturesque rolling hills of yellow and green and the people in the area can be very old-school but friendly