Yakima is one of those places that people often have an opinion about before they have spent much time there.

Search online and you will find stories about gangs, drugs, crime, agriculture, and people insisting there is nothing to do. Some of those criticisms grow from real problems. They also leave out a great deal.

Yakima is a regional center of nearly 100,000 people surrounded by a much larger valley. It has major healthcare employers, a health sciences university, state and federal courts, a substantial retail center, restaurants worth going out of your way for, performing arts, wineries and breweries, and neighborhoods and nearby communities that offer very different ways to live. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences alone has five health-sciences programs on a 70-acre Yakima campus, adding students, physicians, faculty, and other healthcare professionals to the community. PNWU Health Sciences

Yakima will not give you everything a large metropolitan area does. What surprises many people is how much it gives you without many of the inconveniences that come with metropolitan life.

You Don’t Have to Live in One Version of Yakima

A job in Yakima does not mean choosing one particular kind of neighborhood.

The city and surrounding valley offer established urban neighborhoods, conventional suburban communities, nearby small towns, newer development, and rural property. Because distances are relatively short, people can choose the setting that fits them without necessarily creating a difficult commute.

Some of the areas a relocating attorney may want to explore include:

• West Valley, which offers suburban neighborhoods, schools, newer development, the West Valley YMCA, and easy access to the western side of Yakima and Cowiche Canyon.
• Barge-Chestnut and the Franklin Park area, established neighborhoods inside Yakima for people who prefer older homes, mature trees, parks, and proximity to the center of the city.
• Terrace Heights, east of central Yakima, with residential neighborhoods and convenient access to I-82 and the eastern side of town.
• Selah, a separate small community immediately north of Yakima for people who prefer a smaller-town setting while remaining close to work in the city.
• Moxee and East Valley, which provide another mix of residential development, open space, and proximity to Yakima.
• Naches and the surrounding valley, for people who would rather live closer to orchards, mountains, and a more rural landscape.

Families also have choices among different school districts and private-school options. Those choices deserve individual research rather than a blanket claim that every school in the valley is the same. West Valley, for example, offers dual-credit, career and technical education, and highly capable programming, while other nearby districts have their own programs and strengths. OSPI

The larger point is simple: working in Yakima and living in the Yakima area are not the same decision. Someone considering a move should look at the whole valley.

Good Food, Fresh Fruit and Shopping That May Surprise You

Agriculture is not merely an industry around Yakima. It changes what is available to eat.

Cherries, apples, pears, peaches, apricots and other fruit are grown throughout the valley, and seasonal fruit stands and farm markets become part of ordinary summer and fall life. Wineries and breweries draw from the same agricultural economy.

The restaurant scene also has more depth than the city’s reputation suggests. Downtown alone includes restaurants ranging from Crafted, which builds a frequently changing menu around food from regional farms and producers, to Cowiche Canyon Kitchen, sushi, dim sum, Thai food, bakeries, breweries and steakhouses. WaterFire Restaurant & Bar near the airport adds another polished dining option. Downtown Yakima

Mexican food is an especially important part of the local food culture, reflecting both the agricultural history of the valley and the people who live there. You will find everything from established restaurants to smaller family businesses, bakeries and taco trucks.

Then there is the much less glamorous but very practical question: Can you actually buy things without driving to another city?

Usually, yes.

Union Gap, immediately south of Yakima, serves as a regional shopping center. Valley Mall alone has more than 90 stores, restaurants and merchants in roughly 746,000 square feet, surrounded by additional national and regional retail. Costco, Bass Pro Shops and other large retailers are nearby. Union Gap Tourism

For someone coming from a major metropolitan area, that may sound ordinary. Compared with many smaller communities in Central and Eastern Washington, it is an important convenience.

You Can Find Something to Do

Yakima has a smaller entertainment market than Seattle or Spokane. It does not follow that nothing happens here.

The historic Capitol Theatre is a 1,500-seat performing-arts venue in downtown Yakima. Its current programming includes touring musicals, comedy and speakers, ballet, international performers, and both classical and pops performances by the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Capitol Theatre

The Yakima Valley SunDome brings larger concerts, sporting events, family shows and regional events to the valley. Wineries and breweries host their own music and events throughout the year, while festivals and agricultural events reflect the character of the region.

For families, the Yakima YMCA, parks, youth sports, swimming programs and other organizations provide the kinds of ordinary activities that matter more on a Tuesday afternoon than a list of tourist attractions.

Yakima is not going to produce a different major concert, professional sporting event or Broadway show every night. It does offer enough culture, entertainment and community activity that living there does not mean withdrawing from the world.

The Outdoors Really Are Right There

Many cities claim to offer outdoor recreation because mountains appear somewhere on the horizon. Yakima’s access is considerably more immediate.

Cowiche Canyon is about six miles from downtown Yakima. Cowiche Canyon Conservancy manages more than 60 miles of trails on protected lands around the valley for hiking, mountain biking, running, horseback riding and other recreation. Cowiche Canyon itself follows a creek through basalt cliffs, while nearby upland trails climb above the valley. Cowiche Canyon Conservancy

From there the landscape gets bigger. The Cascades, national forests and public lands provide access to:

• hiking and mountain biking;
• skiing and snow sports;
• fishing and hunting;
• camping;
• rafting and boating;
• climbing and other mountain recreation.

Yakima also sits on the drier side of Washington. Someone accustomed to Western Washington will find substantially more sunshine and four distinct seasons.

There are tradeoffs. Summers can get hot, and wildfire smoke can affect air quality during some summers. But for someone who actually uses the outdoors rather than merely liking the idea of it, the access is difficult to ignore.

You Will Find Other Professionals Here

A lawyer considering Yakima may have another concern that has little to do with trails or restaurants: Will I find professional peers?

Yakima is an important legal center for Central Washington.

The William O. Douglas United States Courthouse houses the Yakima division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Yakima County has eight Superior Court judges, along with District and Municipal Courts and a substantial domestic-relations docket. Yakima County

The community also includes physicians and other healthcare professionals, university faculty, government employees, educators, business owners, agricultural entrepreneurs, accountants, engineers and other professionals. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences has grown into a multi-program health-sciences university with hundreds of students and faculty in Yakima. PNWU Health Sciences

For an ambitious attorney, a smaller professional community can also create opportunities to participate. Lawyers can become involved in the local bar, professional organizations, nonprofit work, civic institutions and the broader community while building a reputation through the work they do.

A lawyer does not have to move to Yakima to disappear.

What About Crime?

Anyone seriously researching Yakima is going to encounter this subject, so avoiding it would not be useful.

Yakima has experienced real problems with gangs, drugs, property crime and violent crime. Some neighborhoods have carried more of those problems than others. The city’s police department itself provides public tools that allow residents to examine incidents by location, neighborhood, offense and time rather than treating the entire city as one uniform crime statistic.

That geographic distinction matters. Western District Court WA

Someone who works in Yakima can choose among substantially different residential environments inside and outside the city. West Valley does not offer the same living environment as central Yakima. Selah does not offer the same environment as Terrace Heights. Moxee, East Valley and the established neighborhoods around Franklin Park each present different choices.

The sensible response to Yakima’s reputation is therefore neither to dismiss it nor to assume that every headline describes everyday life everywhere in the valley. A relocating attorney should investigate neighborhoods, schools and current crime information just as they would before moving to a larger city.

That is a more accurate picture than the internet shorthand that Yakima is simply a drug or gang town.

Yakima Is Not for Everyone

We would rather describe the place accurately than pretend every attorney should want to live there.

If you want dense urban living, extensive public transit, endless nightlife or direct flights to cities across the country, Yakima will involve compromises. The airport is active in private, business and general aviation, but scheduled passenger service is limited. You will probably own a car. Summer heat is real, and some wildfire seasons bring smoke.

In exchange, Yakima offers something different: a manageable daily scale, relatively little traffic, a range of places to live, substantial shopping, good restaurants, fresh food grown around you, professional institutions, family activities, and exceptional access to the outdoors.

It is a place where you can leave court, go home without spending an hour in traffic, and still have time to get outside.

For quite a few people, that is a pretty good trade.

Practice Law in Yakima With Pacific Northwest Family Law

Pacific Northwest Family Law has built a substantial family-law practice in Yakima as part of a statewide firm. Attorneys in the Yakima office handle serious litigation while working with attorneys across the firm for strategy, experience and support.

For someone who wants to become an excellent family-law litigator, build a reputation in the community, and live somewhere that offers considerably more than its reputation suggests, Yakima deserves a closer look.

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