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Bordeaux has a lot of swill too. Rising temperatures in WA will raise all the ships. Everyone's wine should improve. Do you have a need for financial technol

Bordeaux has a lot of swill too. Rising temperatures in WA will raise all the ships. Everyone's wine should improve. Do you have a need for financial technology castaways in helping build Silicon Vineyard? :-)

poulsbohemian 12y ago
Just do what I did: move here and start building. I'll warn you though - what the tourists don't see is the meth and poverty of rural America; they just see the wine and great restaurants. Walla Walla has great weather and outdoor activities, but we have a horrifically backwards city government and a complete lack of community.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  I like Walla Walla, but I have roots there on my father's side (I'm more tri-cities myself, but have been big city bound since I was 8). They have an intact downtown which is more than you can say for many of those towns.
- mathattack 12y ago
  It's strange to hear about the meth problem in rural America, as I spent the first 25 years of my life in the Midwest and didn't see it. I saw hints of it later in CA. How recent a phenomenon is it?
  - poulsbohemian 12y ago
    At least 15 years ago when I was going to school in rural Iowa I heard similar murmurings, but I never recall really seeing it either. For all the cheap laughs at the expense of "flyover country" the problems here are more realistically described as a microcosm of the rest of the country - whatever the topic: jobs, immigration, gun control, drugs, whatever - we got it, and it is more in your face because the population is small and isolated. Poverty is really at the root of nearly every problem - sure, it is "first world" level poverty, but that can be a lot bleaker than government statistics would lead one to believe.
poulsbohemian 12y ago
If you want a somewhat rural community with great outdoor recreation, weather, and a vibrant entrepreneurial scene, try Bend, Oregon. I'm there about once a month or so and very impressed with the talent, capital, and overall community that is developing. Fair number of silicon valley escapees have moved there for lower cost of living, skiing, biking, etc. Bend is what Walla Walla should be aiming to be in another 10-20 years. In the past decade, the community in Bend realized they were way too dependent on real estate and tourism alone, and started diversifying. Walla Walla is too focused on wine and tourism, which are great industries - we shouldn't leave them behind, but we need to build a three-legged stool of industry that isn't dependent strictly on industries that only thrive when people have disposable income in their pockets.

poulsbohemian 12y ago

Just do what I did: move here and start building. I'll warn you though - what the tourists don't see is the meth and poverty of rural America; they just see the wine and great restaurants. Walla Walla has great weather and outdoor activities, but we have a horrifically backwards city government and a complete lack of community.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
I like Walla Walla, but I have roots there on my father's side (I'm more tri-cities myself, but have been big city bound since I was 8). They have an intact downtown which is more than you can say for many of those towns.
mathattack 12y ago
It's strange to hear about the meth problem in rural America, as I spent the first 25 years of my life in the Midwest and didn't see it. I saw hints of it later in CA. How recent a phenomenon is it?
- poulsbohemian 12y ago
  At least 15 years ago when I was going to school in rural Iowa I heard similar murmurings, but I never recall really seeing it either. For all the cheap laughs at the expense of "flyover country" the problems here are more realistically described as a microcosm of the rest of the country - whatever the topic: jobs, immigration, gun control, drugs, whatever - we got it, and it is more in your face because the population is small and isolated. Poverty is really at the root of nearly every problem - sure, it is "first world" level poverty, but that can be a lot bleaker than government statistics would lead one to believe.

poulsbohemian 12y ago

If you want a somewhat rural community with great outdoor recreation, weather, and a vibrant entrepreneurial scene, try Bend, Oregon. I'm there about once a month or so and very impressed with the talent, capital, and overall community that is developing. Fair number of silicon valley escapees have moved there for lower cost of living, skiing, biking, etc. Bend is what Walla Walla should be aiming to be in another 10-20 years. In the past decade, the community in Bend realized they were way too dependent on real estate and tourism alone, and started diversifying. Walla Walla is too focused on wine and tourism, which are great industries - we shouldn't leave them behind, but we need to build a three-legged stool of industry that isn't dependent strictly on industries that only thrive when people have disposable income in their pockets.