By James Timmons
When I was a teenager, I remember half-days at Grandview High School. Half-days were pretty pointless. We'd show up, go through the motions, and get released just before noon. Grandview is a charming little town with lots weird zoning. You'd have a warehouse on one block next to a trailer park across the street from a neighborhood. One awesome perk, however, was that it was not too far of a drive to everything. 3 hours to Seattle, 3 hours to Portland, 2.5 hours to Spokane, 45 minutes to Yakima, and 45 minutes to Tri-Cities. On a half day, our choices were either Yakima or Tri-Cities. We'd almost always choose the latter for obvious reasons.
Thus began my love of the Tri-Cities. I eventually moved to Richland in the Fall of 2002. Most of my friends who accompanied me on those half-days at Red Robin would also migrate here. I fell in love with the unique culture of a highly intellectual, outdoorsy, slightly nerdy, tech-savvy, rugged, friendly community.
Boating, the Rivers, the mall, hockey, wine, the desert, Badger, the punk-rock scene, our weird obsession with franchises, BBQ, Mexican food, Amazon, Hanford, hospitals, churches, the Uptown, downtown, disc golf, our flakiness with water parks, roundabouts, and many other quirks are just a few of the reasons why our unique community is so loveable.
Did you know, in 2012, Kiplinger.com ranked Richland the second best place in the nation to raise children? Did you know we now have around 250,000 people? Don't you love that we experience every season?
I love this place and I love my job. 🙂