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Old 08-07-2015, 03:59 PM
 
8 posts, read 15,760 times
Reputation: 19

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Hi everyone. This is my first post but I have been on here recently researching different areas of interest for a potential vacation property in Idaho. I have decided that North Idaho is a fit based on the proximity to family in Washington and Oregon plus the positive posts on the area.

Quick background: I currently live in Tennessee with my wife and two kids. I have lived in different areas in the Midwest and West Coast before getting settled in Tennessee. I have a good job here but I am not a big fan of the South, specifically the Summers here. I am trying to find some land that I can eventually build on and came across Idaho as an option. After some research we decided to check out Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint.

Last week we flew into Spokane and then immediately spent 4 days in CDA and 3.5 days in Sandpoint. I was surprised how different each town was even though they are only an hour drive apart. CDA seemed to be centered around the resort. The grass was pristine and a the floral arrangements around town were well manicured. All the people we encountered were extremely friendly. They would stop us on the hike on Tubbs Hill and ask where we were from and chat for a while. It almost seemed to be to good to be true. Unfortunately the land in the area was a lot more expensive than I was willing to spend and the further away from downtown we went it seemed to be a little less pristine (which isn't a problem per se but the resort and downtown gave us high expectations). There also seemed to be more retirees there which might be the happier attitude.

When we got to Sandpoint we were blown away from Lake Pend Oreille and the mountains surrounding it. The beauty was definitely a notch above CDA in my opinion. But for some reason the people were there were less friendly and not necessarily rude just a lot more standoffish. Don't get me wrong there were some extremely nice people we talked to especially on Schweitzer. The town felt less "pristine" as CDA, for instance the sidewalks needed to me fixed and there wasn't as much floral decorations around downtown. This personally didn't bother me especially thinking of the tax dollars used to update these things. The town was definitely very busy since there was the Long Bridge Swim and there was quite a bit of tourists. The views alone sold me on the place but I wonder if other people had the experience of the people in Sandpoint being a little less friendly than CDA.

Thanks.
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Old 08-07-2015, 04:10 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,389 posts, read 2,987,368 times
Reputation: 2929
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis Eric View Post
The town was definitely very busy since there was the Long Bridge Swim and there was quite a bit of tourists. The views alone sold me on the place but I wonder if other people had the experience of the people in Sandpoint being a little less friendly than CDA.
That's not been our experience. In our time spent in and around Sandpoint we are contunually impressed with the level of friendliness. Haven't spent as much time around CdA, but it doesn't seem too different to us in that respect.

I wonder with all the tourists around you may have been enountering more of them and fewer local residents, which could affect your impressions.

Dave
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Old 08-07-2015, 04:31 PM
 
8 posts, read 15,760 times
Reputation: 19
Dave,

That probably was the case. It was crowded everywhere downtown even the waitress at Jalepeno's Mexican restaurant mentioned it was the busiest she's seen. It was at the beach where we got a lot of people who were less than friendly.

It also took us back after dinner the second night we were there witnessing what looked like a 14 year old girl trying to steal a lady's bike off the bike rack on 1st Avenue. Luckily the lady saw her through the window and chased her down a block to retrieve it.

I think we just picked a bad couple of days to be in Sandpoint. Regardless the views made it a place we would like to eventually live.
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Old 08-07-2015, 11:05 PM
 
159 posts, read 352,209 times
Reputation: 209
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis Eric View Post
Hi everyone. This is my first post but I have been on here recently researching different areas of interest for a potential vacation property in Idaho. I have decided that North Idaho is a fit based on the proximity to family in Washington and Oregon plus the positive posts on the area.

Quick background: I currently live in Tennessee with my wife and two kids. I have lived in different areas in the Midwest and West Coast before getting settled in Tennessee. I have a good job here but I am not a big fan of the South, specifically the Summers here. I am trying to find some land that I can eventually build on and came across Idaho as an option. After some research we decided to check out Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint.

Last week we flew into Spokane and then immediately spent 4 days in CDA and 3.5 days in Sandpoint. I was surprised how different each town was even though they are only an hour drive apart. CDA seemed to be centered around the resort. The grass was pristine and a the floral arrangements around town were well manicured. All the people we encountered were extremely friendly. They would stop us on the hike on Tubbs Hill and ask where we were from and chat for a while. It almost seemed to be to good to be true. Unfortunately the land in the area was a lot more expensive than I was willing to spend and the further away from downtown we went it seemed to be a little less pristine (which isn't a problem per se but the resort and downtown gave us high expectations). There also seemed to be more retirees there which might be the happier attitude.

When we got to Sandpoint we were blown away from Lake Pend Oreille and the mountains surrounding it. The beauty was definitely a notch above CDA in my opinion. But for some reason the people were there were less friendly and not necessarily rude just a lot more standoffish. Don't get me wrong there were some extremely nice people we talked to especially on Schweitzer. The town felt less "pristine" as CDA, for instance the sidewalks needed to me fixed and there wasn't as much floral decorations around downtown. This personally didn't bother me especially thinking of the tax dollars used to update these things. The town was definitely very busy since there was the Long Bridge Swim and there was quite a bit of tourists. The views alone sold me on the place but I wonder if other people had the experience of the people in Sandpoint being a little less friendly than CDA.

Thanks.
The resort and downtown is a tourist area, so naturally it is kept very nice to attract those with money to spend. What you call less pristine areas are mostly full of just regular folks trying to make a living. They don't have the millions a successful business like Hagadone Corporation or the tax money like the city to spend on new parks and improvements. A lot of those retirees are snowbirds who enjoy our summers but can't handle our winters anymore.
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Old 08-10-2015, 01:17 PM
 
271 posts, read 388,040 times
Reputation: 287
The actual town of Sandpoint has a much higher concentration of liberals than in all other parts of the panhandle. I think that because of this people in Sandpoint (of all political persuasions) are more guarded overall and warm to you if they discover that you're not an idiot. I also feel that Sandpoint citizens are reluctant for Sandpoint to be considered "touristy". While many like the $$$, they don't like the disruption and crowding of the area's beauty and also want to hold back the flood of future migrants to the area as long as possible. CDA and its citizens already know it is hopeless for them so they just welcome the $$$ it brings.

Hell, some people on Bonner County even frown upon those with 'K' on their Idaho plates because it designates that they registered their vehicles (and most likely live) in Kootenai County.
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Old 08-11-2015, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Hayden
446 posts, read 704,659 times
Reputation: 1165
CDA is a resort, so yeah, people are pretty friendly.

There are a lot more restaurants, grocery stores, banks, etc in CDA. Not as many as I'd like (especially restaurants) but way more than Sandpoint. Better medical care, vets, dentists, etc. It's a pretty easy place to live.

Sandpoint is a typical smallish town and you could live there 20 years and still be an outsider.
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