I'm not living there now but, spent 2 yrs in Yakima. I would go back if the opportunity arises.
Yakima Valley is very very dry (7in/yr precipitation) it is classified as desert. Outside of the town/orchards there are no trees,
everything is irrigated. You will likely have two water bills, one for drinking and one for irrigation. I found the area had its own sort of stark beauty, sage brush in bloom is pretty and smells wonderful. In a half hour you can drive to the foot of the Cascades and be deep in the mountains in an hour. There is much forest land that is set aside for receration of all types. You could even get a permit and go cut your own Christmas tree. There is a huge amount of snow in the mountains, but usually not much in the Yakima Valley. Chinook Pass, one route to Seattle, is closed from September to April due to snow.
I couldn't tell you about tattoo parlors, I'm sure there are many. The community is very diverse and during the picking season there is a huge influx as migrant workers come in for harvest. These are mostly hispanic and they have a culture that includes tattoos.
Make sure you know the area of the city that you plan on living in. As I said it is very diverse. Like any city of it's size it has good areas and bad. I made the mistake of buying in an area that looked very nice and quiet in February/March that changed very dramatically when the migrant population started arriving and bringing some more seedy types that prey on those that are trying to make a living.
As I'm sure you know Yakima is the hops capital of the world. To the east of the city near the small town of Wapato there 1000's of acres of hops fields. I lived there before I was into brewing, but it was still interesting to see the miles of pole lines empty and then go back a few weeks later and they're full of vines 20' high. There is also a fresh hops festival of sorts with a brewing contest.