Looking for input on Idaho towns (Boise, Idaho Falls: fit in, best towns, crime)

[tnp]

I'm moving, but I have not decided exactly where. I'm in the research phase now. Idaho and Montana are two states I'm considering. I would like to get some input on the good and bad of the Idaho town you live in. I will be making a cross-country move, and deciding where to move to from this far away is a bit overwhelming, so I figured I'd come here and get some opinions straight from the people who live there. I read the other thread about best towns, but it was mostly a California vs. Idaho thing, which I can't relate to since I'm not moving from California.

A little about where I live now, that I'm trying to get away from:
I live in a very rural good ole boy (and not in a good way) town in the south. It's very backwoodsy, narrow-minded and racist. They are cruel to animals (dogs set on fire, shot or poisoned in their own fenced yards, stolen and thrown from moving vehicles, etc). Most people here are related to each other and do not accept outsiders, no matter how hard you try to fit in. Also, if you have a slight disagreement with one neighbor (even something small like nicely asking if they could keep the stereo volume down after midnight), the entire neighborhood will harrass you. If you're an outsider, they shoot into your yard when you're outside, come on your property and terrorize you in the middle of the night, etc. to try to scare you into moving. Most have relatives or friends in the police department so the police do nothing. If this sounds like a scene out of "Deliverance", you've got a good idea of what it's like here. Yes, there are some good things about my area too, but way more bad than good, so I'm wanting to move to an area that isn't as bad. I know there are bad people in every town, but I'll take 50/50 good/bad over 90% bad anyday.

What I'm looking for: Rural enough to have an acre or two, but within an hour's drive of at least a super Walmart or something comparable for grocery & necessity shopping. Otherwise I'm not into the shopping scene, so it's not important for me to have a big variety of stores nearby. I rarely do the "night-life" thing, so that's not that important. I don't have kids, so schools are not a concern. A good veterinarian nearby is something I would need, as I have a dog with health problems.

I'm mostly looking for a friendly, quiet and peaceful town where people are considerate of their neighbors.

I know there are probably a lot of towns in Idaho that would be great, but I'm disabled and live on a limited income, so I need to find a place where there is still affordable housing, if such a town still exists in the northwest.

Thanks in advance for sharing whatever info you can share about your town!

[Torrie]

You would feel safe in many towns in Idaho, but the clincher will be what you can afford. It would be easier to direct you to the appropriate cities and save you the time of looking all over if you could give us an idea of the price range you want to stay in?

[Sunshine4jc]

Dear Thread,

I want to tell you about Idaho. I was born in Kelloge, Id. moved to Coeur D' Alene, Id and started school there. I spent my teenage years all in Grangeville, Idaho and around McCall. My family still cover the panhandle and central Idaho so I can tell you that just what your talking about is the reason I live in Oregon now.

I thought it was nice in CD"A until it got so big and all the Ayrans moved there. And yes there are to many renecks and backward anti-semtic bigets that live there that I couldn't stand it and my Dad is one of them and he lived in the Seattle area for 20 yrs or more before he retired and moved back there to Haydin Lake Idaho in the late 80's. I moved back there in the mid 90's until 99 and moved back to the Seattle area, because the medical community is so poor there and it is still laden with bigets and renecks.

Now I have become disabled and could not really afford the Seattle area and live comfortably so my kids talked me moving out of the rat race to Oregon. So, I got a place just down the street here in a little town in the Willamette Valley and I am please to tell you that this little town of 12,000 has just taken me in with open arms. And it has a super Wal-mart and a SafeWay and a Rite-aide and nice little bedroom community.

The polulation of Oregon is only 3,000,000 and Seattle as 3 million just in town. But, really I was invited to a block watch and the neighbors all introduced themselves and invited me to a block party and I am happy to tell you that not one person has been snotty or rude and they all have dogs and cats here. The lady across the street from me catches strays and gets them fixed and finds them homes.

We only have 3 cops at night here on duty and still are not over run with crime at all. And I have seen people of different color and a lot of different churches here and I have not seen any skinheads yet or there compounds and I am less then 1 drive to the ocean. So I am happy the cost of living here has afforded me a nice 2 brd duplex with a fenced year for my dog and room for my 2 cats on my disability.

I have a lot of friends that live and grew up in Montana and there is a lot of those renecks in Montana..biguts I am not sure about I am sure there is more b Africian-Americans and Asians, ect... then in Idaho. I even met a **** fighter in Boise...or should I say he lived in Napa. Makes me sick....and I have personally seen a lot of animal abuse in Idaho that is never addressed. A lot of crime everywhere these days.

Hope that helps your decision.

Sincerely,
Sunshine

[shades_of_idaho]

TNP Cambridge is pretty close to what you are looking for. The biggest problem is the Veterinarian. He is wonderful but it is 23 miles drive to get to him. WE have trusted all of our fur children with him and think he has done a great job. I have called him at 2AM and 7AM and he is always ready to give us help.

You can just type in Cambridge Idaho.com and read about it on the website. I am not trying to advertise with this . There is a lot of information and pictures about our town.

WE are 49 miles from Wal-Mart in Ontario Oregon. 100 miles from Boise.The people here are very friendly. As far as I know there is none of the frightening things going on here like you say there and we have been here for 13+ years.

Chris

[tnp]

Thanks, everyone!

It would be easier to direct you to the appropriate cities and save you the time of looking all over if you could give us an idea of the price range you want to stay in?

If buying, I need to stay under $80,000. I don't know if that is even do-able anywhere in the northwest. A mobile home is fine. I care more about peace and quiet than the type of house I live in, and I'd rather have a mobile home on an acre than a nice house with no privacy.

So, I got a place just down the street here in a little town in the Willamette Valley and I am please to tell you that this little town of 12,000 has just taken me in with open arms.

Sounds wonderful! I checked out Oregon first, but it seemed to be way out of my price range. I was probably checking the wrong areas. I'll check and see what towns are in the Willamette Valley and do some more research.

Cambridge is pretty close to what you are looking for. The biggest problem is the Veterinarian. He is wonderful but it is 23 miles drive to get to him. WE have trusted all of our fur children with him and think he has done a great job. I have called him at 2AM and 7AM and he is always ready to give us help.

I'll check it out! My dog's regular vet is about 40 miles one-way, so I'm used to driving far for a good vet. But I also have a vet just a few miles up the road that I can go to if I need to get to one really fast. He's not reachable during the night tho. I would love to have a vet who is reachable at all hours like your vet!

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by tnp

If buying, I need to stay under $80,000. I don't know if that is even do-able anywhere in the northwest. A mobile home is fine. I care more about peace and quiet than the type of house I live in, and I'd rather have a mobile home on an acre than a nice house with no privacy.

I'll check it out! My dog's regular vet is about 40 miles one-way, so I'm used to driving far for a good vet. But I also have a vet just a few miles up the road that I can go to if I need to get to one really fast. He's not reachable during the night tho. I would love to have a vet who is reachable at all hours like your vet!

For starters, there are still home over in Eastern Idaho, outside of Idaho Falls that are right around $80,000 of course not certain they all include acreage in that price range.

In regards to the veterinary aspect, you'll want to bear in mind that in some areas of Idaho a 20 miles road trip can seem triple or impossible during winter. It's been my experience that you'll want more the type of clinic that specializes in small animal care. I'm not knocking the large animal vets by any means, however the knowledge and care of the large animal is their priority and that what their clinic and equipment is designed for.

[rigbymomof3]

Wow. I can't believe there are places where people act like that. Yea, you can definately find something better. I live in Rigby, ID and love it. It's small enough you get that small town feeling, but we have everything you need right in town. A grocerie store, bank, hardware store, movie store, gym, Wendy's, ect. But not too big. And Idaho Falls is only about 25 min. away and it has all the big stores, Wal-mart, Target, Staples, Kohls, ect. All the big chain stores. It's perfect. And my neighborhood is great. We all get along and help each other out. The other day I had a bad day and so someone watched my kids for me. My other neighbors will feed my cat for me if they notice I'm gone. It's a really great place to live. I think. And the cost of living is so cheap here! But I guess that's why a lot of people are moving to this area. Because it seems to be one of the only places left where you can get affordable houses. Good Luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

[rigbymomof3]

I just noticed you said you could afford about $80 Grand. You could but a pretty nice trailer here on an acre or so of land here.

[Torrie]

Tnp, pretty tough to find you anything in the Boise Metro area for 80k. It's the acreage that makes that price range tough. I did pull up a couple of listings that you might be interested in that I can email to you. They are out of my area; one's in Weiser and one's in Ontario.

Click on my name and then scroll down to where it says send a direct message to Torrie and send me your email address and I will forward the listings to you.

[janab]

Take a close look at Grangeville, Kooskia, Kamiah, Orofino area! Fabulous people, great "small town" with amenities as health care, vets etc. We are close to wildlife of the animal kind not people and great scenery and weather.