Tips for Everybody Planning to Move to Yakima

Moving to Yakima? Here are seven things I think you should know before you go.

Time-Tested Tips from Many Yakima Valley Newbies

If you're relocating to the Yakima Valley, here are 7 things I think you should know first.

1.

Make sure you've lined up a place to live that isn't a scam. Some people have experienced scam apartment dealers that ask you to pay in cash at a Walmart or 7-Eleven. Many locals will tell you that this is not legit.

2.

How do you make friends when you get here? Look in social media search bars for groups that center around your interests and also check the Visit Yakima and Visit Union Gap web pages for events happening each week. You're sure to find something that speaks to your inner geek, craft, hobby.

Zachary Kadolph on Unsplash

3.

Yakima doesn't really have any official "tourist traps" to avoid, so you can say, "Whew!" to that.

4.

Our traffic only gets bad during school zone times and between 4:40 and 5:15 during the week. You might run into a lot of traffic in the right-hand turning lane on Washington Ave and S 1st on a Saturday afternoon because everybody loves to go shopping at the same time apparently.

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5.

When I first moved here, a colleague told me, "The best thing about living in Yakima is leaving Yakima!" She meant traveling around the region to take advantage of all the cool outdoor explorations, but at the time, I thought she was trying to telling me to get lost! LOL

6.

This town really gives a damn about a few things: Our community pools, our Senior Center, the Trolley, and our First Responder Units. When City Council recently voted to axe these in the 2026 budget, the town showed up in droves to give them a piece of their minds. I was grinning like a proud mama!