Interested in Moving to Coeur d'Alene (Post Falls, Sandpoint: rentals, co-ops, credit)

[Xbwalker]

My wife and I have been doing to hunting around City Data and Google in our search for a new place to call home.

Roughly 90k per year income - The income will follow us wherever we move.
1 Child - Only 1 year old and we are planning to homeschool her once she reaches the appropriate age.
We love the outdoors especially if there is water.
Moving from California.
Libertarian/conservative political leanings.
Christian - The church attending kind. We prefer non denominational or any sort of evangelical church.


While I have spent most of my life in mild CA coastal weather, I do not mind the cold. I spend alot of time in places like DC during the winter for work and don't mind the cold. My wife would have a bit more trouble adjusting but I think we could acclamate after a year or 2.

Currently, we are looking to rent for the first year. Anywhere in the Coeur D'Alen area or surrounding towns is fine but we DO need access the high speed internet. DSL won't cut it We are both in our 20s...although 30 is fast approaching for me

So my questions are -
1. With the above info, could we live comfortable in CDA?
2. How is the political climate?
3. How is the climate climate?
4. How is the availability of churches in the area?
5. Is cable internet (or fiber) available in the area with 20mbit or better speeds?

And before you hang me for not "searching the forums", I actually have looked around. I have gathered some info from other posts and would like more info. Thanks!

[banjomike]

I'll leave the rest to C d'A locals, but the answer to #3 is winter here is much drier than in coastal Cali or D.C.
It's colder, too, on the average. That's true for the entire state.

But once you go through one winter here, you will learn the dryness makes the cold more bearable, even when it's colder than you're used to. And you'll quickly learn how to be most comfortable in it. (When you are comfortable going out in 0º with no big complicated dressing for the cold, you'll reach native status. It ain't that hard.)

The other thing that's universally true about Idaho is loving the outdoors is a very good thing here. You won't even scratch the surface of what the outdoors here consists of, even with a visit, unless you travel all over for at least several weeks. Check out our photo section for a small taste of outdoor Idaho, and remember it's only a tiny bit of what's here.

The only way you will even know the answer to some of your questions will require coming up for a visit. Don't hesitate to ask our folks questions; we are notoriously friendly, and you'll get answers.

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by Xbwalker

My wife and I have been doing to hunting around City Data and Google in our search for a new place to call home.

Roughly 90k per year income - The income will follow us wherever we move.
1 Child - Only 1 year old and we are planning to homeschool her once she reaches the appropriate age.
We love the outdoors especially if there is water.
Moving from California.
Libertarian/conservative political leanings.
Christian - The church attending kind. We prefer non denominational or any sort of evangelical church.

You will do great on that income, yes. Especially if you don't over-purchase on your residence.

GREAT place for homeschooling (we homeschooled all of ours to 18). While we're not a big enough area to have a bunch of homeschool co-ops and such, you'll find plenty of groups of homeschool parents. One HUGE plus about Idaho is that it's a hugely homeschool friendly state, AND your kids have all the same rights as public HS kids. So my kids played 4 years of sports for Sandpoint HS, and could have done Yearbook, Band, etc. The district enrolls them as "part time students" for the purposes of these extra-curricular activities. Also, North Idaho College has a great dual enrollment program, so at age 16 with 50% of their HS coursework done you can start having them get college credits. It was great for our kids.

You'll be AMAZED at the abundance of water here coming from SoCal (as I did). We we drilled our well, we hit a spring, so our well overflows about 1500-2000 gallons/day into a tiny pond we now have. So...it's not like we have to worry about watering our lawn too much. And how GREEN everything is here...we love it.

You'll be in the average political demographic of this area. However, downtown Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint (city) have more granola-munchy populations. Overall the area is 65-70% conservative, so VERY solidly "red state". But we don't tend to war with our friends and neighbors over politics. My democrat friends here aren't "Berkeley-crazies"...they're more left-of-center voters who are still gun people and fairly economically conservative but tend to have much more liberal social views than I.

Lots of great churches here. We go to an EV Free church in Post Falls that is awesome. A lot of people go to Real Life (megachurch) in Post Falls. Several other great churches all around the area.

While I have spent most of my life in mild CA coastal weather, I do not mind the cold. I spend alot of time in places like DC during the winter for work and don't mind the cold. My wife would have a bit more trouble adjusting but I think we could acclamate after a year or 2.

Currently, we are looking to rent for the first year. Anywhere in the Coeur D'Alen area or surrounding towns is fine but we DO need access the high speed internet. DSL won't cut it We are both in our 20s...although 30 is fast approaching for me

So my questions are -
1. With the above info, could we live comfortable in CDA?
2. How is the political climate?
3. How is the climate climate?
4. How is the availability of churches in the area?
5. Is cable internet (or fiber) available in the area with 20mbit or better speeds?

You have to prepare for the cold, and more than that, the snow and ice. Buy you and your wife good gear (buy quality the FIRST time), and buy some heated gear for those really cold days.

High speed is available in many areas. But as soon as you get beyond the edges, internet speeds drop off dramatically. So my business has 21Mbps speeds, but at my home (we're 17 miles outside of Sandpoint) we only get dialup so we put in a T1 (pricey option but WAY better than satellite, which we tried and hated due to the horrific ping latency.

[Xbwalker]

Banjomike, are you sure about the weather? Coastal CA is as dry as the rest. At least in SoCal. Our average yearly precipitation in Santa Maria (where I live now) is around 14 inches. This year, it was MUCH less than that due to our exceptional drought.

Anything more than that would be an upgrade

Sage, thanks for the advice on homeschooling! That really is a huge bonus for us. As for internet speed, it sounds like you are quite a ways out of town. Do you know what kind of speed CDA residents would get? We are likely looking in town or right on the fringe of it. We love the country but for our first year at least, we plan to rent in town to adjust.

Also, we plan on visiting this October. We will spend a few days in the area as well as Spokane.

[elousv]

There are churches all over the place.
It is not that cold but it is mostly on the cool side. It was 80 today and it will be 50 tonight. Winters are pretty much a guarantee of snow. It is pretty benign if you compare it to the crazy stuff going on all over the country. You guys are in the 3rd year of drought so dry as a bone. You would not even believe how green it is out here now.

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by Xbwalker

Banjomike, are you sure about the weather? Coastal CA is as dry as the rest. At least in SoCal. Our average yearly precipitation in Santa Maria (where I live now) is around 14 inches. This year, it was MUCH less than that due to our exceptional drought.

I think he may have mainly been talking about humidity levels, not rainfall. Areas that are both cold and humid tend to feel much colder than areas that are cold and dry. North Idaho tends to be drier than the California coastal areas. Think about how chilly it can feel right at the coast on days when it's damp and heavily overcast/foggy.

North Idaho certainly does get more rain than most areas of California, with annual averages of about 25".

Dave

[Shaner]

Most of the questions were answered above, but I just tested my cable at my home office and I am getting 46/7 on my time warner connection. Never had a problem with it and I play games and stream ALOT.

90k will go far here income wise. How big of a house and what amenities are you looking for?

Good luck and welcome!

[Xbwalker]

Originally Posted by Shaner

Most of the questions were answered above, but I just tested my cable at my home office and I am getting 46/7 on my time warner connection. Never had a problem with it and I play games and stream ALOT.

90k will go far here income wise. How big of a house and what amenities are you looking for?

Good luck and welcome!

3 Bedroom 2 bath. A decent sized yard is preferred.

Lakefront is nice but not a MUST.

We are paying 1,700 a month here for a 3 bedroom 1,000 sq feet.

Also, I spend nearly 400 a month commuting to work (1 Hour). We are hoping for something in the $1,000 range if possible. Commuting won't be an issue as I will be working remote once we move up there.

[Shaner]

$1000 a month is easily doable in a neighborhood for a 3/2, but you wont get lakefront or view for that. If your going to rent and plan on buying, I would suggest a 6 month contract depending on when you get up here because if your contract is up in the buying season, it is going to make it a lot harder on you to find a place.

[Cdarocks]

Originally Posted by Shaner

$1000 a month is easily doable in a neighborhood for a 3/2, but you wont get lakefront or view for that. If your going to rent and plan on buying, I would suggest a 6 month contract depending on when you get up here because if your contract is up in the buying season, it is going to make it a lot harder on you to find a place.

This is great advice. I have talked one year contracts down to 6 months several times, so don't be afraid to ask if you see a place you like that is advertising as a one year lease. If you present as a great tenant owners will likely want to work with you. Also, do NOT be tempted to buy if you see something you like when looking around. Be darn sure your wife can handle the weather. It is not so much the cold as it is the grey dreariness that drags on and on and on. And this is from someone who LOVES North Idaho. Every year all my friends would become weary of the weather around the end of February with it becoming a frequent subject of conversation until the glorious sun would begin to make regular appearances some time in May. I think this is the biggest reason so few people live there. We would watch the crowds move and and then back out again every year because of weather (especially Californians).

I am not trying to dissuade you in any way; Coeur d'Alene is a great place to be. Just be sure before buying, and it sounds like that is your plan