Where is the best place to live in Idaho? (Boise: fit in, house)

[Grumbler]

Originally Posted by 3~Shepherds

I'm not sure Riggins is "Heaven on Earth" come August. I'm sure there a reason for "Hells Canyon".

We go motorcycle riding that way, from McCall and it's down right, hot come summer. Just had to comment!!

We've stopped in Riggins for gas and beverages while enroute to Missoula on our motorcycles from Boise. It's definately has a *hot* microclimate during the summer months thanks to being located inside a canyon.

Love that stretch from Grangeville to Kooskia and Lolo although it's a more enjoyable ride when riding west and south.

[cheska21]

I guess for me the best place would be in Blaine County Idaho. And the small towns of Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey, Big Wood gives life to spacious and starkly beautiful Blaine County. I especially loved when the Big Wood rages, fed by snow melt from the spectacularly jagged peaks of the Sawtooth Range of the Rocky Mountains. I stayed there for 2 months and I enjoyed every single day.

[bicycleguy]

Don't know much about the job scene there, but my parents and some college faculty friends live in Moscow: they love it, we love to visit. Certainly one of the most progressive places in Idaho. A great downtown: bike, walk, just about anywhere A strong arts scene, a fantastic farmer's market. I'd strongly recommend living in town. The area around East City Park is lovely.

And Moscow is the home and sometimes residence of one of my favorite folk/rock artists, Josh Ritter.

[churchmouse]

Boise is by far the best place to live in Idaho. If you end up anywhere else you can plan on basicaly sitting on your thumbs on evenings and weekends.Boise is also has the best support groups and clubs. And if you like golf, it is the only place to be.

[ThePolyPrincess]

The best place to live in Eagle is towards the west end of Old State Street. this area is especially nice because it's within walking distance (and makes for a nice bike ride too!) to downtown Eagle (shops, restaurants, library, various churches, parks, green belt, etc.) and/or you can hop onto Hwy. 44 to head east and west or hop onto Eagle Rd. to head north and south. It's only 15 minutes from Boise and 30 minutes from the airport.

Eagle is a small town with a small town feeling.

[E.LUCAS]

Hi, my husband and I just bought a new house in Jerome and we think it is the best place to live.Small town but everyone is soooo friendly and really welcomed us to Jerome. We love the Snake River and will be doing alot of outdoors stuff.

[momof3scorpios]

Jenab,
I am from the Susanville area and am looking for at least 5 acres. You say the Grangeville area is comparable to this area? Any land available in your area worth looking at? Looking for a nice place to retire to. Thanks, mo3s.

[lauragizzi]

I am from Los Angeles Ca and like you, i wanted to get out. I researched alot of areas and decided to try coeur d alene idaho. seemed great. i did not want to move here for sure until i was sure it fitted all my needs. so i am renting here. cheap! 650 for a nice nice 1 br condo. but i could have gotten a one bedroom or studio for less. In LA my friend is paying 1000 for a one bedroom in a questionable neighborhood.

i am a paralegal too (though work as legal secretary) and moved here to coeur d alene in september.

I am loving it so far. the cold isnt as cold as i thought it would be. im a cali like you, and thought id freeze, but for some reason it doesnt feel that cold here. the humidity is really high, maybe that does something? or maybe i expected so much more miserable cold and it isnt that bad.

Anyway, its beautiful here. i love the little town tucked way in the hills. 25 minutes to a "big city" but coeur d alene has it all really. most major chains are here, etc.

i havnt wanted for anything. the hiking is awsome, the lake is awsome.

if you want diversity, not your cup of tea. seems a very white town. i think that is because everyone thinks the arian race is here. in Hayden. but they are long gone. maybe their memory lives on and that is why its so white up here.

i am near skiiing, boating, hiking. its awsome here!

As I intentionally came here int he winter to see if i could "take it" and i am loving the four seasons. i came here in fall, and it was georgous then too. and now a winter wonderland. i did get afraid when it started snowing but my car does really good and i got snow tires just to quell my worry. I was so afraid that first drive in the snow!!! my car didnt really react the way i wanted and i paniced. but i just practiced a bit and really its just about going slow when the roads are snowed over. now i find it fun to drive in the snow.

I have just now begun looking for work. i wanted to settle in and saved enough to let that happen. i have an appointment with a job agency on thursday and i also listed every attorney i could find in the directory and sent a cover letter w/ resume. there were 95 attnys i sent them too. just here in coeur d alene. i think there are even more looking in the phone book, but i figured 95 is enough! and all of them in a six mile radius. if this doesnt work i will do the same in spokane. its only a 25 mile commute. and there are thousands of attorneys there. but i really want to work here in this lil town.

being a legal secretary / paralegal is a good choice for work as there are always attorneys no matter where you go, and i couldnt belive there are 95 or more in this town of 50k. (surrounding added probably 100k) but within 6 miles is where i started and i found near 100 attorneys. as you well know, a good legal person is hard to find. we use to give incentives for bringing in a good secretary at most firms ive worked at and they seem to be in demand.

so we shall see how hard it is to get a job. i will keep you posted if you want.

ive found on the chat boards that there is a general dislike for californias in all the places i have researched. we have the vote, and are filing out of CA in drones due to all the problems there. so there is a huge migration of californians to other states in the last ten years. being that cali has 32million folks, and tons of them leaving, no surprise everyone feels we are invading them.

i ran into one old man while apartment hunting that said "oh ur from california? ull never last here" and i did get upset. and boo hood. but i think the older yokals are trying to keep it native friendly. discourage newcomers. which means they are not hurting for newbies and that says alot too. but he is the one and only incident i had regarding cali discrimination. eveyong else is way cool. and about half of these folks here are cali transplants ive leared. people wise, its not yokals, just normal people.

the top five reasons i love it here:
1. small town with all big town amenities
2. the seasons
3. nature abounds, right here in the mountains
4. neat parks and hiking
5. georgous scenery /evergreen pines keep it green all year
6. affordable rent/housing
7. no "inner cities" are here, you have to go to spokane to get that. we are 25 miles away from the nearest "inner city" no ghettos here in cda.
8. gas is the cheapest here
9. big city in 25 miles for anything i might need out of here
10. no major freeways. there is the 95 that goes n/s and the 90 that goes e/w. two ways in. two ways out. which gives us that little edge of keeping out unwanteds. and they are well kept highways.

So ive only been here since 9/20 08. but so far im loving it.

your main question was how hard is it here to get a job in the legal field, and ill give you my input in a few weeks here.

as for plumbing, i would think that was a good job around here, or anywhere.

in los angeles the longest it took me to get a job was about 3 months. and that was at a hard point. mostly, in la i could get a job in a month.

so that is my input on cda. go ahead and email me if you want.

Originally Posted by lynnsocal

I have been reading some of the threads; and I'm a litte afraid!
I'm a 10th generation native Californian, just married in my mid twenties and can't afford to live in California anymore. Literally can't afford it. It's very upsetting to be forced out of one's home state.

That being said, I'm looking into Idaho, and am well aware of the stigma attached to Californians over in Idaho. I do understand, becuase the more people that come into a place tend to screw everything up and people don't like that. (I live in CA, so I know) But people have to be able to try to make the best life they can for their family. Everyone is really trying to do the same thing in the world... with afew exceptions.... of course. Everyone has to have a place to live and that's just the way it is.

I've been looking into Idaho for a couple years now, and I need some opinions as to where the best job market is for 2 professionals in their mid twenties. I'm a Paralegal, and my husband is a Journeyman Plumber....
I read a bunch of conflicting info about the job market in Coeur d'Alene, Moscow and Boise. I don't want to be completely disillusioned, if someone would tell me how it is there, really is, how hard it is to find a job, etc.. I would greatly appreciate it! It's hard to be an outsider looking in .... especially when anything looks better than California.

Thank you so much for your time everyone- and have a nice day!

[Sandpointian]

Laura,
On why CDA is so White. People seem to forget that American remains predominantly White. In the 1990 census, America was 80.3% White. 19 states were 90%+ White and in five of our 50 states, 95% White. In the 2000 census, America was 75.1% White, with 10 states 90%+ and four states 95%+.

The high % White states? There are three pockets. One is northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont). It remains the Whitest part of the US, with state 96% White. Two is the West North Central Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri (1990: 88%-97% White; 2000: now 85-94% White). Third is the Inland Mountain West (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah (1990: 93%-94% White; 2000: now 89-92% White).

While not immune from the presence of racists, these areas are not racist per se nor White-by-design. Instead, their demographics simply reflect historical migration patterns that until recently were fairly stable. In Idaho, the White population was 95%+ from 1900-1970 and has since declined from 95.8% in 1970 to 91.0% as of 2000.

The lack of diversity has nothing to do with racism.

The states with the least Whites? In 2000, there were 11 "states" with >30% non-white

Hawaii 76% non-White
District of Columbia, 70%--I know, not a state...
California, 41%
Mississippi, 39%
Louisiana, 36%
Maryland, 36%
Georgia, 35%
New Mexico, 33%
South Carolina, 33%
New York, 32%
Alaska, 31%

Many of these have serious racial tensions...and not just only between blacks and whites.

S

[Sandpointian]

One paragraph to clarify my post--after which I promise to extract myself from the thread.

I should have added that I am of mixed race. It has taken me far too much time to find my comfort zone in what has perpetually been a bizarre public discourse on race. However, in recent years, I have found the inner peace that one finds by filtering out the noise and ignorance that bombards us daily via talking heads and other know-nothings. I believe that if the US to push ahead in its conversation on race and people of colour that elitists and commoners alike need to recognize that White is a colour, too. We are not yet there, but with each passing year, the conversation iterates toward such a state. When we reach a collective inner peace, we as a nation will find vast untapped resources to make our country a better place for all, resources that until now remains locked away in our hearts.

End of personal clarification
S