I am thinking about moving to Coeur d'Alene (Hauser, Kootenai: credit, real estate)

[Tiffany76]

Originally Posted by blazen

CDA is just awful. It was paradise 20 years ago. Now it's been ruined.

The Eagles did a song about Paradise.

The lake is now a toxic waste dump due to the silver mines dumping their tailings and then going bankrupt.

All of the native forest and been cut down and now only 2nd and 3rd growth remains. It looks like a quilt patchwork of small trees that are way too close together.

Big drug problems, lots of rude newcomers, low paying service jobs, and a growing class war between the haves and have nots.

Enjoy!

Amen... That is what i said on another post. I think you were a lot more polite about it then i. You must be a Native too!

[Sandpointian]

Well the lake was made toxic years ago (mining and lead smelting almost nonstop for 80-90 years until the late 1970s...it is probably the healthiest it has been in years! Hardly a paradise.

Old-Growth levels have hardly changed in 20 years. Again, most of harvesting was done inthe 80+ years prior.

Drug problems are less today than 10+ years ago and gentrification is helping...

Rudeness (this is not limited to CDA...but in comparison tio other places, CDA is uber friendly)

Low paying serivce jobs ('tis true...hopefully this will change in the future)


Class War? Less than before, as there is a wider distribution of people than before. In the past CDA was like many tourist towns: lakefront and everyone else. Now we have a wider range of classes. Not ideal, but better than haves vs. havenots!

We're okay...

[Sage of Sagle]

Yeah, funny thing, that. The plethora of $175-250K housing around Post Falls has brought a large middle class to the area, although when i pick up those "homes for sale" magazines at Yokes, all I see is the $500K-$2M houses listed...so if that's all you see, you'd think only rich people can move here.

CDA seems less friendly and courteous in comparison to Sandpoint and Sagle, where I think people are still very polite and friendly. But compared to Spokane or most other areas, it's super polite and friendly. So it's all relative. The more that the Rathdrum prairie gets built up with tract housing, the LESS you have the rich-vs-poor and the more you have sprawling suburban middle class IMO.

[puffenbarker]

I agree with all of the naysayers of small town CDA. I am a native of over 50 years. Moved away and came back to get away from bigger uglier towns. I admit that being independently wealthy has it's rewards in North Idaho. Alot has changed in the last 40 years. Some of us bought land when it was a thou an acre. A bunch more wish they would have. The growth has been a double edged sword. There was not alot to do in my school years. Going over to big town Spokane was a treat. Those were the days.
Now it a blessing to have several acres away from the over populated streets and bi ways. As an invite to the natives....I have several square feet of lawn amongst the trees. Lets have a kegger in honor of Rutledge hill

[~elise~]

I am getting worried...
Are there no towns near Post Falls/CDA, Idaho that anyone would recommend moving to? We are leaving Hawaii next month and moving to Northern Idaho and all I read on here is how inadvisable it would be to move to any of the areas I have expressed an interest in. (ie: Wallace, Sandpoint, Harrison, etc.)
My husband and I do not expect to find Hawaii in Idaho, but we thought we would find a small, friendly town or community like the one we are leaving here on the Big Island.
Is there really no such place?

[ejay]

Idaho is for sale it all depends on what you want to buy. I never understand people saying small town? What is a small town? And why do you want to live in one? It seems that all the developers don't want a small town and the people moving here say this is a small town. But to people who have lived here a while this is not a small town to us anymore. So to you what is a small town? And why oh why would you move somewhere with out figuring out if you like the place your coming too. Come visit in the middle of winter and tough it out. Be realistic your 100 miles from Canada what do you think the weather would be like?

[~elise~]

My husband and I are moving from Hawaii to Idaho out of necessity, first of all. It is our responsibility to take care of his aging parents, as his only brother passed away several years ago.
We did visit the Coeur d'Alene area in mid-April and found the scenery breathtaking, but did not have time to see any of the smaller towns nearby.
We merely were curious to find out if there were any small towns similar to where we live now, that may be close to where his parents live in Post Falls, yet not in the "city" , as it were.
The area where we live now has a population of about 2,000, including all the nearby housing communities. I don't think I mentioned that weather was much of a concern; we have lived in cold weather before. That will be something we will have to get acclimated to once again.
What we were hoping to find was an area where people are friendly, helpful and happy to welcome newcomers to their area-- with sort of an old-fashioned--(sorry, ejay....)
small town feeling.
If you all feel that is not to be found in your area, fine....we will deal with that when we arrive.
But I am a positive thinking person. I can "bloom where I am planted".

[ejay]

Okay now that I understand what you are looking for. You ever try Hauser lake or newman lake area. Both are small little places and very quiet. They are also close to Post Falls so you would be able to see your parents. That's where I would go looking if I wanted that Idaho small town feel. That's just me though The pop here is over 100,000 now but I feel the hauser area has been unscathed.. I hope it works out for you guys...

[esselcue]

You have to form your own opinions regarding ANY town...in Idaho or Hawaii or anywhere! I have been in North Idaho on scouting expeditions a few times...going again in September...trying to decide where to retire. I was looking at CdA first, then Sandpoint, now I am open to most any of the area as it is all lovely. Athol, Priest River, Rathdrum, Bonner's Ferry, even western Idaho around Old Town and into Newport Washington. I have met many, many wonderful people in all the areas. Your best bet is to make a trip there and really look around for yourself. You will find people in EVERY town on earth who hate their town, and those who love it. There are many smallish towns, each with its own charm and, I'm sure, its own problems. I hope you can find the place that suits you...I am sure you will. But use your own judgement after inspecting the areas...

[Methodian]

Originally Posted by YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY

All I can tell you is from my visit to the area a couple weeks ago. It is pretty, and seems to be well laid out and not to crowded. Couldn't tell you about schools or jobs, but it is commutable to Spokane. Hopefully locals can chime in. Try doing a search function as well . Type in CDA, or CDA schools in the search box.

Just another FYI... I actually read through almost every page of the ID forum about 6 months ago. Read the titles that peaked my interest. You can gather a lot of info from these pages

I suppose that depends on the time you come, During the summer the downtown area can get pretty crowded with all the tourists and during Ironman that area is basically packed.