I grew up in Longview and went to RA Long. My husband's father built the nutty narrows bridge.

I raised my children in Longview. It was a beautiful place, with the lake, the awesome library, but most importantly, the people. My children had great friends, teachers, an education, and after school activities. People there have good hearts and truly care about others. On the weekend, you're close to mountains, the beach, and larger cities for a wide variety of activities. The homeless situation in Longview/Kelso is better than in many places in Washington, and you can still buy a home there.

I grew up in Longview. It was a great place to spend my childhood in the 80's. This video is nostalgic and very honest. Thanks for the tour.

If you've ever seen the movie silent hill, it's a lot like that.

Any city that makes bridges for squirrels is good to go in my book!💗🐿

I appreciate your honest and helpful information about each community you research. My son lives in Kelso and he loves it. Both Longview and Kelso are nice little towns being so close to the ocean is a total plus for both communities

Homeless are being DUMPED here by other large metro areas because we get state money for it. 3 bus loads were dumped in Kelso the other day. A couple “travelers” came into Scooters and asked where they were. So not good. I’ve wanted to leave a long time now.

I was raised in Castle Rock & moved to LV in 1993 when I was 19. I was married there, delivered my three kids there, raised my kids there, showed my horse at the county fair, had several jobs there, and knew tons of people!! Growing up my dad worked at Reynolds Aluminum. Back when the mills were all there, it was a great place to live!! As the mills continued closing the town changed a lot!! The “Highlands” is not a great place to live!! All of the homes are very small and continue to fall apart!! Those homes were built as temporary housing for the men and their families who built the mills!! They were never meant to still be there decades later!! In 2007, we moved to Battle Ground and now with my kids all grown, I’m in Vancouver. The town I used to love so much has been tainted for me by my ex husband!! If you’re able to live anywhere other than the “Highlands” or S.Kelso, you’ll enjoy everything that’s there!! The lake’s picnic areas, play grounds, Lions Island Christmas Lights, Fourth of July celebration, Christmas parade, downtown shops and restaurants, the Christmas lights in the city center, the beautiful library, the Monticello Hotel, and more! The list goes on and on!! My biggest piece of advice for anyone new to the area is learn the shape and traffic flow of the city circle or you’ll get stuck in it!! It’s shaped like a wagon wheel with four exits which leads you to different parts of town!!

Great presentation!

Excellent video

The biggest issue with Longview that wasn't mentioned was the traffic, especially on Industrial and Ocean Beach. My dad said he could drive to Winlock faster than just across Longview when his work shift ended. Then the economy went through the floor in the early 1980's. The city was built in the 1920's for the automobile and there are a lot of them in town. A little bit of 'induced demand', maybe? Also, I'm not sure why they've taken to calling Columbia Heights now Longview Heights. When I was a kid, that was a shortcut from Lexington to west Longview. There are still a lot of very nice areas in Longview I would live if I could afford it and I consider it to be nicer than much of Kelso. Looking at the real estate listings, even what used to be throwaway houses in crappy neighborhoods when I was a kid are now quite expensive and have been updated or remodeled.

I saw my house in there.

Maybe refer to the Longview Kelso connection as Twin Cities. Sometimes areas and businesses are “Three Rivers” or “Twin Cities” or Lower Columbia”. Kelso is actually older and the smelt capital of the world.

what would you recommend in longview for a single guy who is losing his job end of the year and has a job opportunity down industrial way.

So I noticed no one talked about the bad drug problems that are here .. being right on I5 it's bad

It isn't nice here after it turned red. What is the crime rate in Longview WA? Longview, WA, 98632 Crime Rates and Crime Statistics ... With a crime rate of 48 per one thousand residents, Longview has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 21.

Are there furnished apartments for a temporary rent of a few months?

How about Kelso. I heard it was a little nicer than Longview or at least had better schools.

It used to be nice when i was a kid, now its being overrun by homeless and crime.

I know you! You look familiar. Maybe we went to the same school?

I will feel more comfortable living in a conservative town like Longview instead of the city, suburbs or a liberal town dealing with their garbage!

You will love Longview, Wa! You can get a job at the Foster Farm Chicken plant just down the road in Kelso. What more do you need?

Longview and kelso are not sister cities, they are rivals. Kelso is longview's white trash sibling who always gets drunk at Thanksgiving. The homeless problem has almost nothing to do with local economy, other than local taxes pay for low income and homeless services. The homeless community is literally shipped from larger cities to access services. I grew up in longview, and last summer, the homeless folks were camped in front of Longview City hall, just blocks from Commerce Ave, the Street you showed at the beginning of the video with local shops. You can't even enjoy the lake (really a canal that was dug) bc of the homeless people camped there. 😂😂😂

Longview/Kelso is certainly not the worst place to live, but, to be brutally honest, the place is kind of depressing and boring. Just not a lot going on there, culturally.

Town is a black hole of mind numbing stagnation. Place is a career and social dead end that should be avoided at all costs. Kelso too.