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Hi everybody. I have been poring over the threads on Idaho and apologize if this has already been answered.
I am a native Phoenician, 52 years. I have been thinking about relocating to Idaho. Boise to Bonners Ferry. More likely Coeur d’Alene, or Sandpoint or a rural area with some acreage. I would have to commute to work where there is a major air carrier like Spokane or Boise. I have seen and researched the "banana belt" which I believe to be Boise/Lewiston. However I think I would prefer to live in an area less open, with more trees. I like my hometown of phoenix's weather etc, however the area is now too big in my opinion. When I was born there where 500,000 in the metropolitan area. Now there is like 4.1 to 4.2 million I believe. Too much growth with the related crime, commute times etc. So either I move just a little north in the phoenix area with the threat of the unsustainable population in an crisis, drought being one of many. Or I take the bull by the horns, pull up stakes and move to Idaho. I've read about Idaho's self sufficient attitude and am in agreement. The gun laws etc are favorable also. On a side note, here an 18 year old law abiding non felon may carry open, but may also carry concealed with no paperwork necessary.
Here's my question which of course only I can answer. But I would love to hear your opinions on whether a native phoenician could handle your winters. I sure its what you make up your mind to do but am afraid I might not like or be able to "hack" it. Have never done winter sports except hunting and some "tubing" when I was a kid.
Thank you.
I'm a native Northeasterner. Let me tell you a story.
A few years back, I was at the house of a music student, teaching him his weekly piano lesson. This was in northwest PA, and the outside temperature was approximately 60 degrees. I was there in a T-shirt and shorts, and was comfortable. (The house temperature was a bit higher than 60.) His family, who'd lived in Arizona for a while, was dressed in "normal clothes".
However, his mom's parents were there, and they were lifelong Arizonans from the Mesa area. They were wearing sweaters, long pants, and sweatshirt jackets.
The moral of the story is this. If you, as you claim, like the Phoenix weather, you are going to HATE the northern Idaho weather. It gets COLD up there!! I tried living in Texas for five years, and I could never adapt to the weather. Okay, THEIR 95 isn't as bad as a Northeastern 95, but still, 95 is HOT... and Phoenix regularly hits 110! Northern Idaho has a lot going for it... I, too, have heard what you said and I also know someone who lives there... but I would suggest, if you want to go somewhere that's akin to Phoenix for weather and is more live-and-let-live for a guy who wants to be self-sufficient, try west/southwest Texas. There aren't many people living there, it's hot and relatively dry like Phoenix and doesn't get terribly cold in the winter, and you can get huge parcels of land for next to nothing.
Have lived in Arizona on and off for over 30 years now, but did spend about 6 years living in Boise and recently moved back. I really enjoyed Boise and as a friend of mine told me before I moved about the weather "it's really cold for about 3-4 weeks, really hot for about 3-4 weeks and the rest of the year is not too bad".
If you want to get back to Phoenix to visit, it's a long day but you can get from Boise to Phoenix in 15-17 hours.
My long term goal is to get a house in Boise and have a condo or townhouse in the Phoenix area to spend December-March each year.
Yes Cnynrat I have thought about and been looking into northeastern Arizona. One thing that enters my thoughts about that, (there I go using my head again), is water and how Idaho has so much of it. And also the people. Not that they are bad in northern AZ, but just talking to all of you on this forum I get a sense that Idaho has some great people! I love what you said about head or heart. I have every confidence the adjustments will be made as needed. And sometimes the heart we must follow.
Thank you.
I lived for a year north of Flagstaff and I prefer our winters here in N. Idaho. Flagstaff is one of the snowiest cities in the country and it costs a fortune to live there. Seemed like the winter went on a good long time. Of course, we were snow mobiling in and out of our property to the nearest paved road (8 miles away) so it might have seemed longer to us.
Love the town and the people, but I do love the water up here.
Yes Cnynrat I have thought about and been looking into northeastern Arizona. One thing that enters my thoughts about that, (there I go using my head again), is water and how Idaho has so much of it.
I'm with you on that one - concerns about long term water supply is what led us to cross Flagstaff off our list, as well as Colorado. IMO, Colorado has some other issues as well, but water was a big deal for us. Perhaps that comes from spending 35 years living in the desert.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Stoic
And also the people. Not that they are bad in northern AZ, but just talking to all of you on this forum I get a sense that Idaho has some great people! I love what you said about head or heart. I have every confidence the adjustments will be made as needed. And sometimes the heart we must follow.
Thank you.
One thing I can tell you for sure is that the people in north Idaho are great!
Have lived in Arizona on and off for over 30 years now, but did spend about 6 years living in Boise and recently moved back. I really enjoyed Boise and as a friend of mine told me before I moved about the weather "it's really cold for about 3-4 weeks, really hot for about 3-4 weeks and the rest of the year is not too bad".
If you want to get back to Phoenix to visit, it's a long day but you can get from Boise to Phoenix in 15-17 hours.
My long term goal is to get a house in Boise and have a condo or townhouse in the Phoenix area to spend December-March each year.
Hi grmi66. I really like that long term goal. Mine would be similar. If that could be achieved I would feel I had it made. If we have that much time...
I'm a native Northeasterner. Let me tell you a story.
A few years back, I was at the house of a music student, teaching him his weekly piano lesson. This was in northwest PA, and the outside temperature was approximately 60 degrees. I was there in a T-shirt and shorts, and was comfortable. (The house temperature was a bit higher than 60.) His family, who'd lived in Arizona for a while, was dressed in "normal clothes".
However, his mom's parents were there, and they were lifelong Arizonans from the Mesa area. They were wearing sweaters, long pants, and sweatshirt jackets.
The moral of the story is this. If you, as you claim, like the Phoenix weather, you are going to HATE the northern Idaho weather. It gets COLD up there!! I tried living in Texas for five years, and I could never adapt to the weather. Okay, THEIR 95 isn't as bad as a Northeastern 95, but still, 95 is HOT... and Phoenix regularly hits 110! Northern Idaho has a lot going for it... I, too, have heard what you said and I also know someone who lives there... but I would suggest, if you want to go somewhere that's akin to Phoenix for weather and is more live-and-let-live for a guy who wants to be self-sufficient, try west/southwest Texas. There aren't many people living there, it's hot and relatively dry like Phoenix and doesn't get terribly cold in the winter, and you can get huge parcels of land for next to nothing.
A few years back, I was at the house of a music student, teaching him his weekly piano lesson. This was in northwest PA, and the outside temperature was approximately 60 degrees. I was there in a T-shirt and shorts, and was comfortable. (The house temperature was a bit higher than 60.) His family, who'd lived in Arizona for a while, was dressed in "normal clothes".
However, his mom's parents were there, and they were lifelong Arizonans from the Mesa area. They were wearing sweaters, long pants, and sweatshirt jackets.
The moral of the story is this. If you, as you claim, like the Phoenix weather, you are going to HATE the northern Idaho weather. It gets COLD up there!! I tried living in Texas for five years, and I could never adapt to the weather. Okay, THEIR 95 isn't as bad as a Northeastern 95, but still, 95 is HOT... and Phoenix regularly hits 110! Northern Idaho has a lot going for it... I, too, have heard what you said and I also know someone who lives there... but I would suggest, if you want to go somewhere that's akin to Phoenix for weather and is more live-and-let-live for a guy who wants to be self-sufficient, try west/southwest Texas. There aren't many people living there, it's hot and relatively dry like Phoenix and doesn't get terribly cold in the winter, and you can get huge parcels of land for next to nothing.[/quote]
RomaniGypsy, thats a funny story. A lot of older folks are like that. I'm not that bad. In fact I wear shorts year round when everybody's bundled up around here. Permit me to relate a story... A lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, early to mid eighties or so. Every one is fishing on shore. Here come the zonies in our shorts and tennis shoes. (My nephew & I) There is a river rushing into the lake right off the snow melt. So we're wading out almost up to our chests pulling in trout right and left. It's cloudy, starts raining here comes the lighting time to go...
I had given Texas a little consideration. Are you talking Texas hill country or further west? I like the huge parcels of land next to nothing idea, are you sure its relatively dry like Phoenix? That's one thing that I don't like about Texas is high humidity. I'd prefer high heat with a low humidity. In the interest of disclosure I was also looking at north Arkansas, Ozarks. Pluses, land/ home prices, hunting, fishing, outdoors, self reliant people. Perceived negatives, its not the west! More government corruption, closer to large population bases, ticks/chiggers, poison oak/ivy and still learning about humidity in that area.
I appreciate what you said that if I like the Phoenix weather that I would HATE the northern Idaho weather. I'm sure you're right. Course it could be said I dislike the worst part of the summer here too.
With that in mind I would love to do what grmi66 suggested. To have a house in Boise and go down to your condo/townhouse in phoenix december-april or may. With the state of the economy and current events as they are I don't know if there is enough time for that. Couldn't swing it at this time but it is a good goal and a worthy idea.
Nice chatting with you...
I LOVED living in Phoenix weather and I LOVE living here in northern Idaho so I don't know that the two are mutually exclusive. I was happy when the summer was over in AZ and happy when the winter is over here. But I still loved both places while l lived(d) there/here.
As someone who has lived in AZ and ID, my opinion is that
the shock of moving from the Northern Rockies to Arizona is much
worse than the shock of moving from Arizona to the Northern Rockies.
I would never live in Arizona again. Might visit in the winter.
I had given Texas a little consideration. Are you talking Texas hill country or further west? I like the huge parcels of land next to nothing idea, are you sure its relatively dry like Phoenix? That's one thing that I don't like about Texas is high humidity. I'd prefer high heat with a low humidity. In the interest of disclosure I was also looking at north Arkansas, Ozarks. Pluses, land/ home prices, hunting, fishing, outdoors, self reliant people. Perceived negatives, its not the west! More government corruption, closer to large population bases, ticks/chiggers, poison oak/ivy and still learning about humidity in that area.
I'd say go further west than the Texas hill country. Here are some maps for your perusal:
Correlate the map areas on the climate maps with an area you'd find to have an acceptably low population density on this map, and you'll be good to go.
I said you should try Texas, instead of other states such as Arizona and New Mexico, because first of all, New Mexico is a "blue state", which tends to bode poorly for either present or future ability to live off the land, and secondly, much of New Mexico's land is taken up by Indian reservations and other federal land grabs. Thus, who knows how easily you'd be able to live off the land in New Mexico. As for Arizona, the vast majority of the state is federal land... so you wouldn't be able to live off the land hardly anywhere. If you want to live off the land, you're probably best off doing so away from large centers of civilization. Texas still has that cowboy mentality, though I don't know how long it will last. At the very least, it's your best bet for hot dry weather without cataclysmic weather events, and low population.
Arkansas gets tornadoes in the northern part. Plus, I've heard that it's a really bad location for allergies. True, it isn't the West, but it is the South... which has some benefit at least. Winters can get cold there - my neighbor when I lived in TX told me about his two month return to his parents' place in Arkansas to help them out... his main complaint was the cold winter weather which was "like night and day" compared to Texas.
As someone who has lived in AZ and ID, my opinion is that
the shock of moving from the Northern Rockies to Arizona is much
worse than the shock of moving from Arizona to the Northern Rockies.
I would never live in Arizona again. Might visit in the winter.
Yes, I don't think I could live there again. No, I know I couldn't. I love the water and the greenness. But I could go for a couple of months in winter. The places in AZ I really miss are in the north anyway. I couldn't take the teeming, seething hordes of humanity any more. Every time we go to a city, even little Spokane, it's such a relief to come home to the serenity of this place.
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