(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -The cost of doing business in Spokane is 18 percent below the national average, and over the past 20 years, more than 45 Seattle based companies have relocated to Spokane.
Spokane is on the up with more amenities coming every day, and since 2010 Spokane's population has increased 3.1 percent from 209 thousand people to 215 thousand people. City council candidate Matthew Howes said during the pints and politics forum that Spokane would grow double the population in the next 20 years “Spokane is estimated to grow approximately 200,000 people in the next 20 years that's a substantial growth.”
Right now Spokane's cost of living is 2 percent below the national average. Which makes it attractive for people to move here, and the average commute time is only 20 minutes compare that to Seattle which has one of the worst commutes in the country.
As for Spokane's airport, we are seeing more direct flights added by major airlines to larger cities which would help increase the access to Spokane from around the world.
Spokane also has a growing real estate market with property values on the rise. According to the Spokane Association of Realtors, the average home price went up 9.6 percent in September 2017 comparing it to September 2016... And more downtown apartments are in the works
Investors also have been gathering up abandon storefronts like these and have been renovating them with hope for future businesses moving into those vacant spaces...
We caught up with Daniel Wong a who is visiting Spokane from Canada to get his take on Spokane. “I've been coming down here for quite a few years now, and I see lots of new buildings coming up and especially along the riverfront area, and also lots of buildings are being cleaned up."