Marikay Mace – From Sunny Spokane to Seattle and Back Again

Marikay Mace is always up for an adventure.

The 68-year-old livewire grew up in southern Idaho, raised her children in Spokane, and moved to Seattle as a single empty-nester.

“I wanted something different. On a visit to my son, who was living outside of Seattle, I decided to move. I wanted change and I found it!”

Marikay had worked as a teacher in Spokane for 17 years, and taught another ten years in Snohomish. “Moving to the Seattle area was new and exciting for me,” says Marikay. “I made friends and settled in.” She built a house and had every intention of living the rest of her life on the ‘westside.’ When she retired from teaching, she took acting classes and worked part-time as a Weight Watchers’ leader. The acting classes paid off and she began to get jobs modeling and doing commercials. “I loved it!”

After ten more years, life was slowing down a bit. “I wasn’t working as much, and my grandson was growing up. What 16-year-old boy wants to hang out with Grandma?”

Marikay with her daughter and granddaughter

She wanted the chance to spend more time with her young granddaughter in Spokane. Plus, she admits, “With more spare time, I realized that the Northwest gloom had become too overwhelming.” Not to mention trying to get around in Seattle area traffic. “After 20 years, I decided to move back to Spokane.”

Marikay relocated in 2012 and hasn’t looked back since. “It was the right decision,” she says with certainty. “For one thing, the cost of living is lower in Spokane and I got a great deal on my condo, which is almost as large as my house back in Seattle. The savings leave me with more money to travel.”

Her realtor, Marianne Bornhoft of Windermere Real Estate, confirms the values in the Spokane area. “Marikay bought at a good time. Values have risen since last year and should continue to rise. It won’t be the huge increases—the leaps and bounds we saw before the bust—but it will be a steady increase that will continue every year. Retirees,” she notes, “seem to be flocking to the area. They like the four-season climate; we have so many great walkable neighborhoods, shopping, first-class educational and cultural opportunities, and high quality medical care. And the park system, which was designed by the world famous Olmstead brothers, is a big plus.” She notices that some folks are buying now, before retirement, to take advantage of still-low housing prices. “They buy and then rent out their house until they do retire,” says Bornhoft. “We welcome retirees here,” she adds. “They bring in a wealth of knowledge and experience, and they give back to the community through volunteer work and by increasing the tax base.”

Marikay opted to buy in the small community of Liberty Lake, halfway between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “It’s really the best of both worlds,” she says. “Just about everything I need or want is within walking distance—grocery stores, a popular farmers market, city services,

Home Depot…and it’s only six miles to the mall and 20 minutes to Spokane.

“I can walk across the street from my condo and take an express bus downtown for 75 cents on my senior bus pass.” Marikay describes her delight at discovering the renaissance that’s taken place in Spokane since she last lived there two decades ago. “Spokane has a thriving and vibrant downtown,” she says. “People are out walking and enjoying the restaurants, shops, art galleries, and parks. There are a lot of theater companies between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. And the symphony is top notch.”

Spokane's low cost of living along with services and recreation make it a popular place to retire. Photo courtesty of Wash. State Tourism

Spokane has also become known as a wine region. “Spokane is not a hick town in the desert” she says, despite what some on the west side of the mountains might think. When she lived in Lake Stevens, Wash. she was part-owner of the Everett Cosmopolitan movie theater, which specialized in “artsy” indpendent and foreign language films. She was excited to learn that Spokane offers a similar movie theater, the Magic Lantern. “I plan to volunteer at their film festival in February,” she offers.

Marikay enjoys Spokane’s climate. “We have sunshine almost every single day. And while it snows in the winter, it doesn’t get below zero. I live in Spokane Valley, east of Spokane. It’s flat here. I had a harder time driving in the winter out west on icy days with all those hills.”

Spokane’s outdoor opportunities are a big draw for many. Surrounded by lakes and forests, and with nearby skiing, Spokane has been called a “four-season playground.” The sunshine is a big part of Spokane’s liveability and the climate encourages outdoor adventures. “From spring through November, nobody wants to leave this area,” reports Marikay. “It is so beautiful, just perfect walking weather.” The Spokane River Centinnial Trail runs from Nine Mile Falls in Washington and extends into Idaho. “I get a kick out of seeing how many people walkand bike and drive their golf carts on the trail,” she adds. Spokane is also known for its golf courses. Marikay joined a ladies’ golf league. “I play on Wednesday mornings. We have three golf courses right here in Liberty Lake.”

She has recently started volunteering at a memory care community. “My mother has dementia, but she lives with my sister, far away in Fresno, Calif. Since I can’t be with her very often, I do what I can here. When the activity director learned that I was an English teacher, she suggested that I read poetry to the residents. I do read poetry, and I’ve also started getting song lyrics to some of the standards that they might recognize—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Irving Berlin.

‘If you know the chorus, sing along’ I tell them. They sing along, and we have so much fun together. Nursery rhymes are a big hit, too, things they remember from their childhood.”

Despite her mother’s condition and age (91), she still gets on a plane and visits her daughter in Spokane. Marikay is grateful for the time she spends with her mother, and also for the opportunity to give back at the memory care community.

She can’t imagine a better place for retirement. “It’s absolutely beautiful. I’m looking out the window at the flowers and the sunshine. It’s a lovely community. I love condo living—I don’t have to do the yard work anymore! And I have wonderful neighbors; we help each other out. I made the perfect decision when I moved here.”