Opinions between Boundary and Bonner Counties (Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint: ski resort, crime rates, houses)

[Ailed]

My husband and I have been looking for a land in one of these counties and I am looking for opinions about cost of living, crime rates, jobs oportunities doesn't have to be professional jobs but at least to survive.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

[Cnynrat]

I think the biggest difference between Bonner and Boundary is that Boundary feels much more rural. The population data tells the tale: Boundary county has about 11k residents, compared to about 41k for Bonner county. Bonners Ferry has about 1/3 the population of Sandpoint. Much of Bonner county feels plenty rural to me, but Boundary county takes it to another level.

I think the cost of living is probably quite similar, but the data shows housing being more expensive in Bonner county. That statistic is probably influenced by the expensive homes around Lake Pend Oreille. Just a guess, but I think values for more typical homes are probably comparable. Other living expenses are similar, and the statistics show them being slightly less than average compared to the U.S. overall.

Neither county is a hotbed of job opportunities. I think the best location for jobs in north Idaho is going to be the Coeur d'Alene area in Kootenai county. Some people in Kootenai county commute to the Spokane area for work.

The statistics indicate crime rates are a little lower in Boundary county, but I don't think either county has a significant crime problem to speak of.

Dave

[Ailed]

Thank you, good info.

[Sage of Sagle]

The Sandpoint area is considered "resort" so land there and in Sagle will be more pricey. Hope can also be very costly and a lot of extremely wealthy people live there. Once you get out to Clark Fork the land prices drop again. If you go west to Priest River or south around or past Cocolalla land gets cheaper.

I second what Dave said about the "rural" feel. Sandpoint is small town, but not tumbleweeds-blowing small town. More like small resort town with bustling downtown and rather busy retail areas. But living in town means double the property taxes of living in unincorporated Bonner County.

We have had several people we know buy land to the north...Elmira, Naples, etc and Bonners Ferry, and it's considerably cheaper there.

However, as Dave said, if you live here, you need to work here. You can commute from Sagle/Cocolalla to CDA in about 45-50 minutes. But you wouldn't want to do it from any further north. 95% of the people I know who live in BF also find work there...whatever they can find. Same with Bonner County.

[Ailed]

Thanks
We want to live a simpe life, is it possible there?

[Sage of Sagle]

Not just possible, but quite normal. We live a quiet life on our acreage and some weeks only get to town (Sandpoint) a few times.

[Heartbeats & Brianwaves]

Instead of starting a new thread I am bumping this, since this thread is exactly the same question I was looking to ask.

Does anyone have any more information they would like to add. I am very interested in both counties. Thank you.

[aiden_is]

As someone who lives in Boundary county, I can tell you we find ourselves in Sandpoint (Bonner County) at least once a week, with kids' activities, shopping (Walmart, Home Depot, etc). Restaurant choices are more plentiful, etc. Sandpoint is also the gateway to Priest River and Priest Lake, as well as being situated nicely on Pend Oreille. Both Sandpoint and Bonner's have year round activities, but Sandpoint has a much higher seasonal visitor population due to the lake and ski resort.

Bonner's Ferry is a much smaller community, which means we get to know each other pretty quickly (good and bad). High speed internet is hit and miss up here because of the varied topography and low population. There isn't a lot of incentive for communications companies to invest a lot of money in infrastructure for such a small return. In my opinion, traffic to and from Canada is too high for the 2 lane road through the southern part of town. Sandpoint handled that problem when they opened the bypass years ago, and it works very well.

There is plenty of land for you to get lost in both counties. But after having been here for a while, I can see distinct advantages to being closer to Sandpoint. Remote and private locations do exist to the north east of Ponderay, to the west near Priest River, and south in Sagle.

The question is, how close do you need to be to urban facilities, like hospitals, shopping, etc. Your best bet will be to visit both regions and see for yourself, honestly.

[Heartbeats & Brianwaves]

What do you know about Naples, Idaho?

[aiden_is]

Originally Posted by Heartbeats & Brianwaves

What do you know about Naples, Idaho?

Lots of good properties in the area, and also summer houses from out of state buyers. The general store is nice. The local fire chief is a very intelligent man and a genuinely nice guy. The big employer is the sawmill, so there are a lot of trucks in and out throughout the day.

What are you wanting to know?