kamiah, Idaho (Lewiston: relocate, travel, house)

[cthewanderer]

Having lived in Pa. all my life am now considering building a small log home in Kamiah for retirement, leaving daughter (grown) and friends behind. Is this madness, a quest for adventure and a new start, or just a desire to head for the road less traveled? So much for thinking out loud.
Has anyone out there done it and if so what is it like?
I'm a non-descript caucasian...not a red-neck or survivalist type.
Any recommendations from the Kamiah area?

[janab]

Great choice. My husband and I moved to this area 7 years ago and have never looked back. I have one grown son still back home ( real northern CA) and do miss him terribly but when we visit we really appreciate one another. What I did was to take a "master gardening" class fortunately within 3 months of me being here, which led me to have 5 good friends instantly, then I retook the class and I have 5 of the most wonderful girlfriends in the world. We meet on a regular basis. There is so much to see and do around here and such wonderful people that it is hard to NOT meet some new friends. My husband and I were asked how we could move to somewhere we didn't know a single person and have never visited before yet we made great friends with many. The hardest is that I am 12 hrs of driving from my son and daughter in law and currently 5 driving hours from my daughter and granchildren in Helena,MT. I have deer,turkey,bear,elk,moose,cat,and wolves in my back yard. My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. What more could I ask for? Good luck

[millagerobert]

Great area, if you like the solitude and outdoors. Largest areas of public wild grounds in the lower 48. Kamiah is a nice small town with good emergency services and plenty of local clubs and organizations if you like to be involved. Allot more open minded people than you might expect to find who embrace new ideas and are always looking for ways to improve the community. Larger towns for shopping such as Lewiston are only an hour away, but Kamiah has a good grocery store, hardware store, drug store and two building supply stores along with many other small businesses. Many think we are full of hillbillies and rednecks, and that may be, but many of us locals like to play that up a little just for the sake of fun, and to give the travelers what they expect, if you stay though you will find many of those hillbillies are highly educated skilled craftsmen and more in tune with politics and current events than most city people who don't have the time to think about the world around them. It is also nice to live in an area where neighbors take care of one another and when you break down on the side of the road people stop to help, or when you have a tragedy people you barely know show up with dinner, a helping hand or shoulder to cry on.

[esselcue]

Hi, Cthewanderer;

We are in almost the exact state of mind, I think. I am planning to leave my daughter and grandkids and friends behind and relocate from AZ to northern Idaho sometime after the first of 2009...or whenever I can sell my current house. I have asked myself the same questions you have asked yourself a gazillion times...why the desire to do this? Actually I have done this before (just up and moved away on my own) when I moved to AZ 24 years ago, but my daughter and son followed me here, so I would not be shocked if that happens yet again. And I have never had problems making friends, so that does not concern me.

Anyway, after a couple of trips to Idaho to scope it out I have found the people I spoke with there to be incredibly wonderful and welcoming. My questions are always answered politely and sincerely, and I get the feeling if I really needed help there would be plenty of folks ready to come to the "rescue".

Sometimes we, as humans, have a need for change or adventure, especially in our later years, it seems to me. Something to do with a spirit that isn't quite ready to "settle" yet. If you have not visited Idaho you should. I was always drawn to it, but really fell in love after some visits. Mainly with the people...although the scenery and climate are wonderful, too (I happen to love snow and the outdoors). Take the time and drive up and down the state...it's really a treat in every way.

Good luck to you!
SLQ

[janab]

Amen, millagerobert, couldn't have said it any better!! It's amazing the artists and scholars that abound in our neck of the woods !!!

[shades_of_idaho]

"Many think we are full of hillbillies and rednecks, and that may be, but many of us locals like to play that up a little just for the sake of fun, and to give the travelers what they expect, if you stay though you will find many of those hillbillies are highly educated skilled craftsmen "


SNORK!!!!!! Come on millagerobert don't let them know we are not for real on the hillbilly thing. Idaho's best secret. Hehehehehe