Hello Idaho, what do you think... (Post Falls, Sandpoint: housing, rent, income)

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

[SIZE=3]Hello Idaho,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] I will be leaving the military in about a year, I’m from Georgia but I’m thinking about maybe moving to another state. I have done a lot of research on Idaho, but would like to know what the residents think. What are some good places (cities) to live? Things like crime, schools, economy, state taxes, cost of living, are all important but a couple of things I’m looking for as well is “hospitality”, a sense of neighbor hood, and politeness. I’m looking for a place that has community events (festivals, parades, carnivals, fairs, concerts), with beautiful scenery, hunting, and fishing. I’m currently in the US Army serving in Iraq, I built power lines before I joined and I’m a (25L) Signal Corp Telecommunications Lineman inside the Army. I will be looking for work in the power lineman or telecommunications field when I separate from the military. My wife is a Registered Nurse (RN) and will be looking for a job as well. So any info on power companies, telephone companies, and hospitals in those areas would be greatly appreciated. Best place to raise a family? So what’s your states “Mayberry”? [/SIZE]

[Sage of Sagle]

There are still lots of "Mayberry-esque" place in Idaho, but a big issue is that the jobs just aren't there to support population growth. So if you out as a Verizon lineman...but there's already ONE lineman in the remote area, you wait until they retire/move/die to get his job, etc.

I would say when you get out of the military you take a visit to several parts of the state to get a good feel for what you like...spend a week or two checking out places where you have found some potential jobs, then compare those places. But your JOB is going to drive the radius of your search criteria for housing IMHO.

[ejay]

Here ya go buddy here is the web sites you can look at.

Kootenai Electric Cooperative

Avista - Electric IRP

Northern Lights Inc. Electric

PacifiCorp

Here are the places I would look for a nursing job! I would not recommend working in Idaho if you wanted to live in the CDA Post Falls area I would drive to spokane the pay is way better for nurses over there.

Deaconess Hospital - Careers

Sacred Heart Medical Center :: Spokane, Washington :: Careers ::

There are others out there but these are the main two hospitals in spokane WA wich is only a twenty to thirty min drive from my house in post falls. I have had a better experience at Deconess the staff there is very good can't praise them enough.

There are other areas close to here like Hauser lake wich has a small town feel to it. And in WA there is Newman lake wich is a small community and WA has no income tax or food tax but the other taxes are high.

The only places that have that true small town feel also have small town poverty and ya gotta drive a bit to get to work. But here goes Bonners Ferry is pretty nice and small.Sandpoint is no longer small town but it does have a great feel of being a small town. I guess its all relative to where ya came from. LOL You can also look at the google Google Maps and get an idea of whats around too. Best of luck to ya!! I hope I was able to give you a starting point!!

And I would also like to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR MILITARY SERVICE!! It's greatly apperciated by me and many others you are always welcome here!!!

Massive ammounts of fishing and hunting here too bring your guns and fishing poles!!!

[Not a Liberal]

I've lived in North Idaho since '06, worked in Post Falls for about 6 months. PF definitely had a smalltownish feel to me. Maybe it's because of where I'm originally from, but last time I checked, it only had a population of about 15,000 or so.

But I really wish people from Washington, California, and other states would stop moving here. These small towns are getting way too overcrowded, and are growing too fast.

[Dangerous Dave]

Not a liberal...
There's always Wallace!
Not bagging, I love it there. Wish I could find a job there, I'd be gone tomorrow!

But GABOY, since your wife is a nurse, I'd think the sky is the limit. You could just move to N. Idaho and let her support you until you find something.

Also check BPA.gov. They have a large station there in Spokane.