Pullman, WA

[paulie_e]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful to someone who is 3,000 miles away and won't be able to visit before moving up there.

I did some research into Glendimer and it looks good. All the others I have looked at online either have bad reviews, or are old, in bad locations, expensive, full, etc...I got in touch with Glendimer and will be getting an apartment reserved soon. I think I will be on Wayne St.

Thanks again!

[Minnesotan]

I've rented from Midway Property since I've been here, and they are very nice.

If you're walking to school every day, I would strongly suggest living on College Hill. It's bad enough going up the hill once to get to the CUB/Terrell Mall. Having to go up and down multiple times is the suck!

Then again, if you're on a bus route, it's a quick ride from anywhere in the city. I prefer to walk, though. IT's the only exercise I've been getting lately. *bloat*

[kahlan_amnell]

Glad I could help.

When will you be moving to Pullman?

[paulie_e]

I hope to be settled in by August 10th, but I have to quit my job here at the end of July and move out of my apartment. I hope to hit the road on August 2nd and do some backpacking in Yellowstone on the way up. The drive should be fun.

[kahlan_amnell]

Anyone have any suggestions about where to shop in and near Pullman? Any stores to avoid?

Also, what restaurants are good, and which should be avoided?

[kahlan_amnell]

As an add on to my previous post:

Can anyone recommend some restaurants in Pullman that deliver? Bonus points if it is something other than a pizza place, since I think I know about the major pizza places there already. Extra bonus points if it is a Chinese restaurant.

[portraitinflesh]

As well as the normal pizza chains there is also a place Pizza Pipeline (but their pizza is kinda gross, but cheap) and Pizza Perfection, which is slightly better and Sella's which is local and is famous for their calzones, which kick ass.

There is also a Pita Pit, that delivers and their food is good and cheap and Mandarin House is a chinese place that delivers. But there are alot of Chinese and Thai places in Pullman, that I can't keep track of what is opened and what isn't anymore!

[portraitinflesh]

Anyone have any suggestions about where to shop in and near Pullman? Any stores to avoid?

Also, what restaurants are good, and which should be avoided?

There isn't much for shopping in Pullman, except a Shopko (there have been plans to build a Super Wal-Mart of Doom for ages) there is a consignment store there that's pretty cool though called Lilly Bee's, and some small boutique shops in the tiny downtown ares. They also have a great used book store called Brused Books. For groceries, there is a Safeway. Alot of students from Pullman go to Moscow to shop (which is where I actually live) there is a mall there, with Old Navy, Macy's, Ross, Hot Topic, etc. There is also a Rite-Aid, a Wal Mart, Win-Co (where alot of students shop for groceries because its cheapest) There is also a Safeway in Moscow, and a food co-op which has a WONDERFUL deli and bakes organic treats and breads. There is also a farmers market every Saturday. Moscow has a cute little Main St too, with small shops, great restaurants like the Red Door, Mikey's Gyros and Casa Lopez.

If you still can't find what you need, Spokane is about 2 hours away, and has MANY places to shop.

My fave places to eat in Pullman are Swilly's, which is bistro, Emerald Garden (which is Chinese), and Taste of Thai!

[kahlan_amnell]

Thanks for the recommendations!

I think that once I get there I will be dining at restaurants or getting delivery a lot for a while, since the movers tell me that it could take up to 14 days for my belongings to get to Pullman. In the meantime I'll have to make do with what can fit into two suitcases for making my apartment work, including preparing food.

[Minnesotan]

Casa Lopez made my whole party sick the last time we went there. I would suggest Nueva Vallarta in Pullman, if you want "sit down" Mexican. Qdobas in Moscow is the best of the giant burrito offerings, but there are a ton of other shops with similar (yet inferior) offerings if you, like my girlfriend, have no taste (i.e. don't like Qdobas burritos with extra habanero sauce).

As far as what to avoid, there are some fundamentalist Christian groups in Idaho who have hassled (albeit in a very minor way) some homosexual folks I know. They own one of the coffee shops and one of the restaurants in town. You'll figure it out pretty quickly, if that kind of stuff bothers you. I certainly stay away from those stores, despite my general indifference to sexual preferences. I just don't like judgmental folks.

Town and gown disputes around here are normally caused by the religious crazies throwing out edicts from their megachurch castles on the hill. Luckily there are enough zealots from the other side working for the university, so everything stays happily moderate to maintain the peace. =)

As for delivery, I think Quiznos delivers now, too. They might have a minimum order, though. That said, delivery is almost completely unnecessary in this town; it takes 45 minutes to walk from one end to the other, so you're always within walking distance of something. Just be careful on the weekends, as things close down fairly early, if they aren't geared toward college students. Grocery stores, bars, and restaurants are fine, but there isn't a single all-night coffee shop, or anything like that.

[kahlan_amnell]

Thanks for the reccomendations!

Usually if I want delivery, it isn't because it is too far to walk, it is because I'm too tired or otherwise don't feel like heading out to get food.

So, here's another question: my birthday is soon after I move to Pullman, and my mother is coming to visit. Could anyone reccomend a place for a nice, somewhat fancy dinner?

[Minnesotan]

Could anyone reccomend a place for a nice, somewhat fancy dinner?

Swilly's is fancy, but has really bad food. Nectar (in Moscow) is supposed to be good, and the Old Post Office in Pullman -- soon to be called "The Fermentation Station" (ICK!) -- is, as well.

Honestly, though, the ethnic food around here is much better than the continental fare. The Americana is frankly inedible. (I'm talking about you, Cougar Drive-In!) The best tasting meals are going to be at Tokyo Seoul (Korean + decent sushi), Nueva Vallarta, or Golden Teriyaki (Hawaiian and Chinese). Sella's calzones are worth the uncomfortable chairs and hordes of loud, drunk, softball-playing, tobacco-spitting townies.

If you want a special dinner, it's only an hour's drive to Spokane, where there is a good deal of variety. You really should try to make it out to Spokane, Seattle, or Missoula once a month, if you're used to big city amenities -- the trip will keep you from hating Pullman, which is really a great little college town.

[kahlan_amnell]

Swilly's is fancy, but has really bad food. Nectar (in Moscow) is supposed to be good, and the Old Post Office in Pullman -- soon to be called "The Fermentation Station" (ICK!) -- is, as well.

Honestly, though, the ethnic food around here is much better than the continental fare. The Americana is frankly inedible. (I'm talking about you, Cougar Drive-In!) The best tasting meals are going to be at Tokyo Seoul (Korean + decent sushi), Nueva Vallarta, or Golden Teriyaki (Hawaiian and Chinese). Sella's calzones are worth the uncomfortable chairs and hordes of loud, drunk, softball-playing, tobacco-spitting townies.

If you want a special dinner, it's only an hour's drive to Spokane, where there is a good deal of variety. You really should try to make it out to Spokane, Seattle, or Missoula once a month, if you're used to big city amenities -- the trip will keep you from hating Pullman, which is really a great little college town.

I'm from a big city, but I have lived in small towns before and liked them. Not sure I will have time to get to those places that often, I don't have a car.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendations!

[kahlan_amnell]

I'm back and yet again looking for recommendations! Hope I'm not annoying anyone.

Can anyone recommend a good dentist in Pullman?

How about a good cat sitter?

Is the veterinary school clinic at WSU a good place to take pets for their ordinary vet visits?

[Minnesotan]

They're very nice over at the vet clinic. I take my cats there sometimes.

Most of the dentists around here seem reputable. Look for the folks with the bigger ads in the pone book -- they've been around for a while.

[kahlan_amnell]

So, I've been in Pullman for about a week now, and I'm enjoying it so far. (Particularly now that the heat wave seems to be over.)

Is anyone else in Pullman already? Does anyone feel like meeting up for coffee or something downtown or on campus?

[kahlan_amnell]

Also, a question about the bookstore:

Does the bookstore on campus charge tax on textbooks? Other campus bookstores I've encountered don't, and if that is the case it would make it worthwhile to buy my books there instead of Amazon, the tax really is quite a bit when you are buying over 20 books. Darn Amazon charging tax in WA because they are based here, I've never lived somewhere where I had to pay tax on Amazon purchases.

[Minnesotan]

There is no sales tax in Idaho, so I try to buy most of my offline purchases in Moscow.

[kahlan_amnell]

There is no sales tax in Idaho, so I try to buy most of my offline purchases in Moscow.

Good to know for general purchases. Not all that useful for textbooks though, the bookstores there would have to happen to have the books I need, and I doubt they would just all be at one store. Then I'd have to cart them back on the bus between Moscow and Pullman, and another bus within Pullman. (I don't have a car.)

So, does anyone know if the WSU bookstore charges tax on textbooks?

I ask because I went to undergrad in NYC, which has sales tax, yet I'm fairly sure textbooks purchased at the bookstore were not taxed.

[Minnesotan]

Yeah. All sales are taxed in Washington -- unless you buy something from a church, I suppose.

The U of Idaho bookstore is your best bet, if you want to buy in-person and not pay sales tax. I buy all of my stuff online. Even with sales tax, Amazon's used stuff is cheaper. There's also Half.com, Abe Books, Alibris, and a whole host of used book stores online. Just make sure to give yourself a couple of weeks for shipping. Everything takes at least two extra days to get to Pullman, for some reason.

[kahlan_amnell]

Yeah. All sales are taxed in Washington -- unless you buy something from a church, I suppose.

The U of Idaho bookstore is your best bet, if you want to buy in-person and not pay sales tax. I buy all of my stuff online. Even with sales tax, Amazon's used stuff is cheaper. There's also Half.com, Abe Books, Alibris, and a whole host of used book stores online. Just make sure to give yourself a couple of weeks for shipping. Everything takes at least two extra days to get to Pullman, for some reason.

I ended up buying from Amazon, since I have Amazon prime all items I order from them arrive in two days, which is convenient.

[Minnesotan]

Kahlan, what's your U.S. History field? You can pm me, if you prefer.

[kahlan_amnell]

Kahlan, what's your U.S. History field? You can pm me, if you prefer.

19th Century U.S. Social/Cultural and Gender

[paulie_e]

So, I've been in Pullman for about a week now, and I'm enjoying it so far. (Particularly now that the heat wave seems to be over.)

Is anyone else in Pullman already? Does anyone feel like meeting up for coffee or something downtown or on campus?

I just got into Pullman yesterday. I have been busy taking care of apartment stuff and shopping. Are you going to the general graduate orientation? I won't be able to make it because my girlfriend is visiting. It would be cool to meet up for a coffee and you could tell my anything I missed.

I am still figuring out the town, just been driving around Pullman and Moscow. Let me know.

[kahlan_amnell]

I just got into Pullman yesterday. I have been busy taking care of apartment stuff and shopping. Are you going to the general graduate orientation? I won't be able to make it because my girlfriend is visiting. It would be cool to meet up for a coffee and you could tell my anything I missed.

I am still figuring out the town, just been driving around Pullman and Moscow. Let me know.

I'm going to as much of it as I can. My department scheduled their departmental orientation on Monday morning, so I'll miss the first few hours. I'd be glad to fill you in on the rest of it though.