Getting the Lay of the Land in Idaho (Boise, Pocatello: realty, trip)

[hamradioguy]

Hi all,

My wife and I are looking at moving to Idaho in the future. We are looking at building an off-grid home out in the stix. I have so many questions I don’t know where to begin. What I’m looking for now is advice on what area of Idaho would be best for what I’m looking for in land. I’ve been told that the lower elevations in Idaho have much milder winters and better growing seasons. I’m also looking for forested areas that have the most hardware trees for firewood supply. I currently live in the lower peninsula of Michigan and was hoping for a bit warmer climate. Less firewood to split. We went through almost 10 cords this year and we aren’t quite done with the heating season. From what I’ve read, areas of Idaho that are at the lower elevations have close to 2 months of additional growing season over my area. Sounding good already. We’ve never been to Idaho, shoot, I haven’t been west of the Mississippi . We’ve been talking about coming out for a camping trip for a couple weeks this summer to take a look around. We’re looking for at least 20 acres, off the beaten path. There are tons of listing on the realty websites to choose from but some tips on the towns to look for would be great. It’s gotten way too crowded in MI.

Looking forward to any responses and thanks for taking time out to post.

[shades_of_idaho]

I was hoping someone else would chime in on this. I do not want to sound like a know it all on Idaho because I have only been here 20 years myself. A newcomer for sure. I do not want you to think we are a snooty bunch here by not trying to answer your questions. So here goes.

My observations are. The trees are in the higher elevations and there are restrictions,permits for cutting wood and all that. Higher elevations = Colder climates shorter growing seasons. A lot of the beautiful country is government owned BLM National Forest,Wilderness.

If you want to live off the grid are you saying you also do not need to work to support your lifestyle so you are not concerned in living close to a town with employment? Retired?

You do not say what your growing zone is where you are in Michigan. We are living at 2650 elevation and have good 90 day growing season when we are lucky. Growing some cool weather crops can add to that. I have seen it snow in May here and in July and again in late August over in Clayton where we used to live.

Idaho is a beautiful state. We love it here. Our neighbors lived off the grid for 5 years they just got power last fall. Why ?? I like electricity and have no desire to live off the grid. When we were building a house we lived off the grid until we got a power drop so we could build. I like running water and heat with the flip of a switch.

I can not tell you where to look for what you are looking for. I do not think anyone can. You need to come here and see for yourself. Check elevations and zones.

The best of luck to you.

Chris

[hamradioguy]

Thanks a bunch for the reply. Let’s see, looking at the maps here we live in zone 5a, southeastern Michigan, about 40 miles North West of Detroit, about 950 ft elevation. Looks like its similar there depending on the location. We were looking at the Lewiston area for climate considerations. It’s much more diverse in Idaho then Michigan it seems. It’s flat here compared to Idaho. In the county where we live there are more people then in the entire state of Idaho. It’s crowded here.

You mentioned that there were restrictions on cutting trees. I take it that is on public land and not land that you own. We were planning on having enough land that we could harvest trees on our own land. The 10 acres we have here have given us enough wood for heating for the last 25 years and there is plenty left. We have only used the stuff that storms etc. have brought down. From what I have been able to gather in my research we have a lot more trees here in Michigan. I was hoping I was wrong about that.

Our off-grid design is a combination of solar and bio-diesel. My background is in automotive engineering. For the last 10 years I have been self employed and working on the internet. The nice thing about my business is that it is internet based and I can basically go anywhere that I can have a connection to the internet, which would have to be satellite based in Idaho. Being off-grid is something I have wanted to do for along time. Though it may be harder then having a power drop and cost more, it’s the point of being completely self-sufficient that is attractive to us. The initial cost is the hard part but over 10-15 years you get every penny back. Our plan is to pay cash for everything outright and then have next to no bills thereafter. The technology is there now to have electricity and water at the flip of a switch; it just takes a bit of up front planning and about $10,000 to have it.

Thanks for the input.

Hope this thread gets some legs.

Mark

[shades_of_idaho]

The restrictions for cutting trees would not be on your own property.Only Forest and BLM lands. From what I have seen in Idaho where the trees are it is mostly cold Zone 5 or less. You might check Weippe,Pierce,Woodland Hills . There is also a nice wooded area above Orfino up Ahsahka grade. Another Bu++ Pucker Hill in Idaho I will not drive on ever again. I do not know the zones in these areas. There are lots of trees. Pretty country.

Where we are here and a good part of Idaho is High Desert. Where most of the people live can be warmer climates but then you will not get the off the grid and trees you are looking for. We are 50 miles one way to shopping in Ontario ,Oregon 100 miles to Boise and that makes for a long day of it. We still are not off the grid but surely off the beaten path. LOL

Our Valley and I have posted this picture before:[copyright material]

This is not advertizing just the website to our town and area and there are some links by the chamber of commerace with advertizing . Do Not go there so it gets me in trouble.
http://www.cambridgeidaho.com

Honestly not to discourage you. You might want to look around other states for warmer climates with trees. I am just not sure it is here. I would love to work from home on the internet. You are very blessed to be able to do that. Best of luck to you.

Chris

[MelissaMiles]

Hey Mark,

I was born and raised in Hell, MI. My parents moved us out to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana when I started high school. It's been nine years and I've still only been back to Michigan to visit. I'm in Spokane right now for school but thank god that's come to an end and we're headed to the Boise area. Compared to where I lived in Montana, Boise's not anywhere near as pretty but it seems the pay is better than Montana as well as a little more affordable to live. I, too, hope to be self sufficient one day. I was just curious as to where exactly you come from Michigan, despite all the people and humidity, I will always have a soft spot for Michigan!

Melissa

[pinkpalace]

Southern Idaho is, like Chris says, mostly high desert. There aren't many trees around. I'd suggest looking up in the pan handle, around the Couer d'Alene, Lewiston, Moscow area. There are more trees up there, and (believe it or not) the winter isn't as harsh as it is in South-east Idaho (Idaho Falls and Pocatello)

[altaina]

Actually, there are some trees in southern Idaho.... Check out the "South Hills" out of Twin Falls, Burley & Rupert. A little town called Albion up above Declo is at the foothills of Mount Harrison, although it's still rolling high prairie; City of Rocks, a national preserve with outlandish rockclimbing formations & Oregon Trail history, is up at Almo. There is a ski resort up on Mount Harrison & plenty of trees up there. That's mostly BLM land, but I know there are some private places up there too. Yes, you can count on snow. But this part of Idaho is not nearly as cold as central Idaho, and there are still places "off the grid". I've been here nearly 20 years and rarely seen it below 0 in the daytime. Compared to Montana and Saskatchewan, where we lived before, this is paradise:-)
If you really want to get away from it all & don't mind the cold & snow, go up to Stanley and the old Bonanza mining area.

[altaina]

P.S. Also check out East and Southeast of Pocatello. Lots of beautiful foothills, with mountain views, and trees. Again, you'll have snow at those elevations, but it's not so cold as central Idaho.

[hamradioguy]

Hi Melissa,

Well, I grew up in the Rochester /Lake Orion area of south eastern Michigan, about 40 miles northwest of Detroit. Back then it seemed like country but these days is nothing but expensive houses and shopping centers. Way too crowded for my taste. Good luck with school and never stop chasing down that dream. The way things are going being self sufficient may be a very valuable skill.

[huntman58]

Have some friends that live off grid and love it. Well not fully they have a phone line to them now. Talked to them a bit. from there visits to see me in Idaho they felt some were around south central Idaho may be a good place to start looking even if it meant getting a wood permit and hauling the trees in as sunny days were about right to run solar with bat back up just thought, O by the way there have a 19000sqf home with central air and wood back up main diesel burner for heat