moving from Paris France to CDA (Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene: daycare, houses, neighborhood)

[pacalady]

Heather...
I am going to try to Direct Message you with further info .... (DM) We'll see how it works!
PacaLady

[heatherriviere]

All these photos have definately given us a good taste of the scenery and the sunsets - we're drooling! (thank you pimit2 and pacalady) Also, we note that there are groomed trails for nordic skiing skating, (which is what we want - cool!)...we'll check out the Schweitzer Mountain website to see how much is it for a family season pass...

I have lots of questions this time : are there windsurfers or catamarans on Lake Coeur d'Alene or the other lakes, or just speedboats/fishing boats? (is there enough wind?) Is the quality of the water good enough to be able to eat the fish without worrying about pollution? Are the beaches clean of debris (other than the odd log and sticks etc)...I saw other posts about being careful about waterskiing because of floating debris...? Are there many public beaches or do you have to own lake property to access the beach for the most part? I noticed that there is a camp on the lake, are the children who attend there mostly from the area or rather from all over the state/region/USA? Has anyone ever sent their children there? Were they pleased with it?

What are the pros and cons to buying a manufactured house? I'd never heard of this until recently...are there any developments in the CdA area that are of manufactured houses? Are they usually more or less expensive than a "normal" house?

What options does one have for nursery school for preschoolers? (I think in MN they call it ECFE, Early Childhood Family Education. Does this exist in Idaho? ) In France, children go to preschool when they are about 3 yrs old, so we're kind of concerned about the fact that our youngest will be leaving France at age 2 1/2 yrs and not starting school until she's 5! (and actually, she was born in February 2006, so I believe this means she won't start kindergarten until she's 5 1/2, is this correct?)

Thank you David Kennedy for the suggestions regarding Colorado Springs and Fountain. We will try to work a swing through the area, as well as a jaunt over to Bend, Oregon, if for nothing else to simply enjoy the areas and have something to compare Coeur d'Alene to!

Thank you also for the tips on French teaching, pacalady. I'm not sure yet what I want to get into, workwise, when we get over there, but this is food for thought...

Are there opportunities to make pottery in the CdA area? I know you can enroll at one of the local universities in their fine arts labs, but is there any sort of association of local potters? Or any classes offered other than at the university?

So many questions...thank you for your answers! We really appreciate all your help!

[pimit2]

Hello heatherriviere,

I can't answer your questions about schools and things for kids, but I have a suggestion.

1. Go to: Official Idaho Vacation and Travel Planning Guide - that is visitid.org
2. At the bottom of the page, click on "Free Publications"
3. Under "Travel Guide PDF's" (lower left), click on "Northern"
4. Review or print out the 20 page PDF file on Northern Idaho

If you prefer, you can order this and other hard copies of these publications through visitid.org - the official Idaho Department of Tourism website.

There is enough information available from visitid.org to keep you busy until at least next April. And, at the same time, these publications will answer a lot of your questions.

Hope that helps.


pimit2 (Bob)

P.S. While you are on their site, click on "Maps and Images" at the bottom of the Home Page. Use the search window to look at photos of whatever Idaho feature you wish to view. It'll keep you busy and excited!

[cas2006]

From the description you offer as most desirous, perhaps you should be considering the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics....Park City, UT. While it is technically high desert, the 10,000' peaks surrounding the town kind of offset that technicality. Park City has everything else you describe, including several Olympic cross country tracks. Tons of snow and sunshine. And if you stay away from the actual "urban" areas and work at it, you can still find places that don't cost a fortune.
Oh, and forgot to mention that very soon there will be direct flights from Salt Lake City (35 min. from Park City) to Paris.l

[Sage of Sagle]

Park City & Deer Valley are neat places (my family had a 2nd home in DV for 15 years), but worlds apart from CDA. Certainly it would be worth a visit and fits several of the listed criteria.

Personally, while I still like to VISIT Park City and surrounds, it has gotten WAY too overbuilt IMHO for me to want to live there. The changes to Park City since the mid-80's isn't all bad, but HAS changed the feel of the town to me. "Gone upscale" isn't all bad...but you lose something in the process...

But yes...the area has some great features and benefits and you could do a whole lot worse than to live there...

[pacalady]

Call me 'Stupid!' ..... with Direct Message thing! Still trying to figure it out and have a 'new challenge~~' OK, I'll get on it tomorrow or the next day...

Love a puzzle!

PacaLady

[heatherriviere]

Thanks cas2006, we had considered Park City back in the early days of our research because a friend of our who used to live in Boise also had a condo there. It seems like a booming tourist region on the websites I looked at today... The real estate prices are WAY out of our range, though...I couldn't find anything in Park City for less than 599K! (we're looking at 5 bdroom houses so that everyone has a room and guests can come and stay with us...) Yeesh! The CdA region has lots of 5 bdrom houses for less than 350K even...I suppose I could've found something if I'd looked at all the towns in a 40mile range around Park City, but I have no idea what those towns have to offer...and we don't want to simply choose the town based on realty prices! Park City left me with the impression we'd have to keep up with the Jones if we moved there...a bit too glitzy for us I think...and I didn't really get a feel for the lifestyle that the year-round inhabitants must have, just tourists...Thanks anyway!

Thank you pimit2 Bob for the link info, I ordered a ton (or two) of documentation I had ordered a guidebook from them a while ago, before we were really hooked on CdA, but this time I asked them to send it all! (I had lost the link to the website when my computer crashed this summer...) Thanks for linking me back up with them!

Heather

[heatherriviere]

Hello everyone,

When people refer to Coeur d'Alene are they JUST talking about the part of the area within city limits or could all comments refer to the nearby towns as well? Is there a palpable difference between living in Coeur d'Alene and living in Dalton Gardens or Hayden? Do you simply feel like you're living on the outskirst of CdA, ie a outer neighborhood, or do people definately feel "different" than if they lived within CdA city limits?

Has the White Supremacy group that used to be based in Hayden, for example, left a lasting impression on the general public and their tolerance towards others?

Are there any benefits, however major or minor, towards living in CdA, DG or Hayden? (ie reduced prices on children's activities if one is a resident of one town or the other, such as swimming? lower taxes?) If one lives in Hayden is it possible to attend school in CdA?

Is the airport a real nuisance in terms of noise? Are inhabitants of Hayden affected more than inhabitants of CdA?

Thanks!
Heather

[pacalady]

I can't speak for everyone, but when I say "Coeur d' Alene" I am referring to Hayden, DG etc .... and yes you are correct, they are like little bedroom communities to the 'city'.

I can't say that the White Supremecy Group has done anything more than become a bad memory ... I lived near here during their active days, and now that I've been here over 3 years, can't say that I've heard anyone mention anything about it except on the internet!

Can someone else address the various aspects of living in CdA versus Hayden, DG etc??? Since I live in Post Falls, I'm not a good resource!!

As for the airport, it is a small airport (the closest major airport is in Spokane) with a very few commuter planes, mostly personal jets and fixed wing aircraft flying in and out. We live near the flight path (about 5 or 6 miles away) and there just isn't enough activity that it is noticble for us. Of course that could be very different for someone living right on the fringes of the airport!!

PacaLady

[Sage of Sagle]

To me, it's all the same. They have the same "feel", and the only reason you know is because of a sign...the scenery is the same...houses, houses, houses, and suburban businesses. Personally speaking, when we come down 95 on occasion, we shop in both Hayden (Kohls, Borders, Best Buy, Olive Garden) and 2 miles down in CDA at Target, Black Sheep Sports, Home Depot, Costco, etc.

The Aryan Nation is just a footnote up here. The area, which 99% white, IS very ethnically tolerant/accepting.

I'm also not much help re the airport, but none of our friends in that area complain about it.