Where to Be in ID? (Lewiston, Sandpoint: transplants, crime, house)

[mtheck69]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Matt and me and the wife are seriously considering a move to ID. Just a little background: We are in our early 40's with one dog and no kids (no intention on having any because of medical and lifestyle reasons). I am from OH originally and the wife is from GA. We have unfortunately been stuck in CA for the last 6 years. We spent 3 years in Valencia, CA but got tired of it so we moved to North Lake Tahoe in the fall of 2010. It was absolutely amazing (the snowiest winter in 100 years that year) and we loved every second of it. Tahoe would be the perfect place for us if it weren't in California. We both lost our jobs in Dec. of 2011 so we moved back to Valencia because the wife got her old job back.The money was too good to pass up, but it's not really where we want to be. CA is fine for some, but not for us. Too much taxation, elimination of individual rights, traffic, pollution, crowds, crime and pretentious people.

I am a country boy in many ways. I drive an old pick up, wear Wranglers and t-shirts and boots, fix things that are broke instead of tossing them, cook out our meals, build stuff out of pallet wood, fish, love the taste of SKOAL and would rather be out wandering in the woods than watching reality TV. As you can imagine, I am a fish out of water in Southern CA. Our ultimate goal is to buy 10-15 acres, build a modest log home (900-1000 sq ft) from some of the logs on the property, heat with wood, cook and light with propane and live simply. We have no debt and some money in the bank to get started. We DON'T want a log McMansion on clear cut acreage we will use for 2 weeks a year. Seen too much of that in Tahoe and it is infuriating.

The purpose of my post is two fold:
1)Where in ID are there NOT a lot of CA people? (don't need to go from the fire to the pan) I realize this is like giving away your best fishin' holes, but any help is appreciated.
2)Where in ID is the climate/topography like North Lake Tahoe? This atmosphere is exactly what we are looking for outside of CA.

Essentially, we want to get back to our basic roots and live simply. CA has a way of really letting you know what is important and what your priorities should be. We have gotten the message loud and clear.

One more thing. I was diagnosed last year with a rare kidney disease that will require dialysis or a transplant within the next 10-15 years, so close proximity to quality medical care is important.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to some meaningful and informative dialogue!
M

[Shaner]

Coeur D Alene is going to be pretty close to LT, as well as Sandpoint, but Sandpoint is going to be further from medical facilities. Your demographic fits here, lifestyle, only thing is... there is a bunch of californians here, only most come here for the same reasons you are so they change to our lifestyle.

Edit - I am also have a Canadian client coming down for pretty much the same thing as your looking at and we picked out 15 acres near Cougar Bay on the hillside for 85k, all treed. 15 minutes to town, lake views and out in the country. Just some extra info =)

[mtheck69]

Hi Shaner...thanks for the info. I guess I should clarify my CA people comment. The CA people thing is more of a guideline. All I really mean by that is I want to avoid the type of people that think living in the mountains is great and wonderful and perfect and awesome, until it starts getting cold and snowing. Then they start bitching about ice, wind, cleaning off their cars, closed passes and all the other things that come with living in a wintery, mountainous environment. I saw so much of that in Tahoe and it drove me nuts. People would come up there, buy land or a house in the summer, build or remodel, spend 100's of thousands, use up an unnecessary amount of resources and then non-stop complain when winter hit. What the hell did you expect? These are also the same people who won't go to Big Bear or Tahoe in the winter because of the cold and snow, yet they think they can live in NID or MT full time. Makes me crazy. Anyway, 85k for 15acres sounds a bit rich for my blood. I was thinking perhaps 3-4k an acre. I am fine with Bonner county also with a potential commute to CDA or Spokane for work. I understand land is more remote and less expensive with more relaxed building codes. Fine with me. Are the medical facilities in CDA or Spokane good? I don't know much about them. Spirit Lake, Athol or south of Sandpoint look like they may be a good compromise for land, work, privacy, recreation and weather. Thanks again.....anyone else have any good suggestions?

[Shaner]

Well if your willing to be farther away, then you can get 20 acres for the 30-50k range. As far as the medical facilities, they are all top notch and have won various awards for that. So I dont think you have any worries there.

[mtheck69]

That sounds like exactly what we are looking for. We want to be away actually. We're used to some elbow room and Southern CA is absolutely smothering with everyone on top of each other all the time. Very good to hear about the medical facilities also. Things are fine now, but the medical will be important for the future. Do you know if there are many owner financing opportunities for land in Bonner County? I would much rather pay interest to and work with an individual than deal with a bank. Thanks again for the great info.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Hi Matt, welcome to the ID forum. As you can see, there may be possibilities for you in NID. If you can, you and your wife should come up for a little vacation this summer and see for yourselves! Another Lake Tahoe equivalent would be McCall, but it is becoming a tourist destination, and is quite far away from major medical facilities.

[mtheck69]

Hi CFF....Thanks for the welcoming. A pleasure to be here, finally, after trolling for several months. We are planning a trip in the next month or so. I want to spend some time driving around ID and parts of MT to check it out before we settle on an area. I have visited some parts of MT and it is beautiful. I haven't visited NID, but it's in the near future. I have a good friend in Tahoe City who married a great gal from Lewiston. As you can imagine, I have grilled her numerous times about NID. They very much want to move there also to be close to her family, but his is in Reno. They love CDA as it is very much like Tahoe as far as geography, topography, outdoor rec, scenery,etc. but without as much sun and snow in the winter. I asked her about McCall and she said it is very beautiful, but there are no jobs and it turns into a major party area in the summer with all the kids at the lake. Not too interested in that as I lived in it for a few years in Tahoe City. Although the skiing there at Brundage and Tamarack are supposed to be good. From what I hear, Schweitzer is pretty good. There is also Silver, 49 degrees and Mt Spokane. More spread out than N. Lake Tahoe, but I could definitely deal with it.

The job thing is also a concern. We definitely want to get jobs prior to the move, but we aren't too picky. We are educated and experienced, so I feel confident about finding gainful employment in Spokane or CDA. It may take a while to get something there while we live here, but I am applying for things. We will see. Has anyone spent any time or lived in Truckee or Tahoe City in North Lake Tahoe? If so, how would you compare living there to living in NID? Again, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but it's always helpful to hear from someone who has been there. I like the idea of being between Sandpoint and CDA in Bonner County for a good combination of affordable land, privacy,cost of living, scenery, easy building codes, proximity to outdoor rec, shopping, etc. Seems like a good compromise.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by mtheck69

I am a country boy in many ways. I drive an old pick up, wear Wranglers and t-shirts and boots, fix things that are broke instead of tossing them, cook out our meals, build stuff out of pallet wood, fish, love the taste of SKOAL and would rather be out wandering in the woods than watching reality TV. As you can imagine, I am a fish out of water in Southern CA. Our ultimate goal is to buy 10-15 acres, build a modest log home (900-1000 sq ft) from some of the logs on the property, heat with wood, cook and light with propane and live simply. We have no debt and some money in the bank to get started. We DON'T want a log McMansion on clear cut acreage we will use for 2 weeks a year. Seen too much of that in Tahoe and it is infuriating.

The purpose of my post is two fold:
1)Where in ID are there NOT a lot of CA people? (don't need to go from the fire to the pan) I realize this is like giving away your best fishin' holes, but any help is appreciated.
2)Where in ID is the climate/topography like North Lake Tahoe? This atmosphere is exactly what we are looking for outside of CA.

Essentially, we want to get back to our basic roots and live simply. CA has a way of really letting you know what is important and what your priorities should be. We have gotten the message loud and clear.

One more thing. I was diagnosed last year with a rare kidney disease that will require dialysis or a transplant within the next 10-15 years, so close proximity to quality medical care is important.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to some meaningful and informative dialogue!
M

We also came here also to build a cabin and live simply, ten years ago. We lived off grid for the first seven years, then grid-tied and net meter our power. We built our own cabin and barns and raised livestock. We originally came from back east (I lived in OH and GA) but moved here from Arizona.
We live north of the town of Priest River. It might be a good area for you. There are far fewer transplants here, from CA or anywhere else, it has less of a tourist town feel and since you don't have kids, the schools shouldn't bother you. The land is absolutely gorgeous.
Make sure you google Priest Lake. It's one of the most beautiful lakes on the planet, IMO. And Priest River is a do-able drive into north Spokane. Not optimal, but definitely not awful. My husband did it for a good while. At least it's a pretty drive.

Edited to add: just saw the part about your medical issues. That might make it more difficult in this area. I know there is a dialysis center in Sandpoint and others in north Spokane, but that may be too far for you.

[mtheck69]

Hi Misty. Thanks for the tip about Priest River. With a town size of about 1800, it is very similar to Tahoe City, which I enjoy. I like the feel of a small town, especially being able to walk into someplace where people know me by name and I can have a nice talk about things. Seems like life has become so impersonal in many ways these days. I also like the feel of a more local town rather than one largely dependent on tourism. I had my fill of that in Tahoe. Priest Lake does look beautiful. Very reminiscent of Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake and some of the other surrounding lakes with the clear water and mountains. I also saw that the largest lake trout ever caught in the US was out of Priest Lake at 57lbs 8ounces. That's a doozy. The largest Rainbow I have ever caught was 12lbs 4ounces and I thought that was a monster. Looks like there are also some pretty reasonable land prices and acreage available out that way. That I very much like. One concern is the distance away from the primary shopping and working centers of CDA and Spokane (about 50 miles), especially during the winter. Sandpoint is definitely an option for shopping and employment as well, but obtaining employment could be more of a challenge. Good to know about the medical options. I have herd that Spokane and CDA medical facilities are pretty good.

[mistyriver]

Just by way of illustration:

My simple life:

My cabin:




View from my cabin porch:



Upstream from porch:



top pasture:



morning visitor last summer:




It's a tough life but someone has to do it.