Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene areas (Athol: fit in, motel, homes)

[JamiChristine05]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

What is considered expensive? I don't have kids and do not want to live near a school where there are alot of kids and traffic. Prefer privacy and seclusion.

With that criteria, you'll be able to get an awesome place with acreage for under 400k (and I'm taking a large house, if you want something small on acreage, you'll be able to get under 300k). If you want to live near a school, or in the downtown cda area, things get pricey. But if you're fine with being 15-30 minutes away from CDA, it's very affordable. The same is true with sandpoint. The closer you get to the lake, the more expensive, but there are areas outside city limits that again 400k will go a long way.

I would recommend checking out Athol Idaho if you don't mind a commute (depending on where you work 30-40 mins). There's a lot of room and a lot of farm land without much by way of people.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by javatom

The trick to moving to north idaho is to have employment lined up ahead of time.

I WILL be retired. No more commuting for me.
I just want peace n quiet with no traffic. Looking forward to seclusion and privacy.

[Jimbo302]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

I WILL be retired. No more commuting for me.
I just want peace n quiet with no traffic. Looking forward to seclusion and privacy.

You don't want CDA, then. In town, the population and traffic can be dense.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by JamiChristine05

With that criteria, you'll be able to get an awesome place with acreage for under 400k (and I'm taking a large house, if you want something small on acreage, you'll be able to get under 300k). If you want to live near a school, or in the downtown cda area, things get pricey. But if you're fine with being 15-30 minutes away from CDA, it's very affordable. The same is true with sandpoint. The closer you get to the lake, the more expensive, but there are areas outside city limits that again 400k will go a long way.

I would recommend checking out Athol Idaho if you don't mind a commute (depending on where you work 30-40 mins). There's a lot of room and a lot of farm land without much by way of people.

I will be retired.
I do believe I added Athol Idaho on my Zillow search list. Mostly interested in Northern Idaho and Northern Montana. Will consider Northern Wyoming and West Wyoming as homes there appear to be even less in cost. I don't want to be near that Tornado Alley East towards Nebraska, Dakotas


I would rather have a newer house with more space 2000+ sq. ft than land and don't want all of that maintenance that may come with lots of acreage but I do realize that acreage is a safety cushion for privacy and will make trade offs. I hate stop and go driving so I don't want any traffic signs or signals.


I don't want to be close to a school or railroad tracks because of the traffic, noise or have kids drag racing or running up and down the streets like they do here.. Being near lake is fine for fishing but I will trade off that for distance to get more privacy and away from tourism to be further away.


Most important thing is that there be a Costco and or Walmart within 1 hr. drive max from home with attached 2+ car garage, 2005 or newer (no fixer upper or heck of a wreck homes) , 3+ bed, 2+ bath, 1 acre minimum or as long as neighbors homes are out of sight.


Also I don't like lots of sun or heat. I would prefer cloudy weather over that.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Jimbo302

You don't want CDA, then. In town, the population and traffic can be dense.

Maybe a few miles out in a rural area if that exists? Just in case I need a mechanic for car or some supplies.

[Jimbo302]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

Maybe a few miles out in a rural area if that exists? Just in case I need a mechanic for car or some supplies.

Absolutely , anything around Sandpoint is usually less populated , I like Sagle.
CDA is quite a bit more densely populated but offers more choices in the commercial/industrial arena.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Jimbo302

Absolutely , anything around Sandpoint is usually less populated , I like Sagle.
CDA is quite a bit more densely populated but offers more choices in the commercial/industrial arena.

Thanks...I did add Sagle to the search as well as Sandpoint.

[sierra don]

nowhereman427,

Here are some other tools that really helped me when I was property hunting over the last few years, just moved up here last March from Pollock Pines Ca., between Placerville and Lake Tahoe.

I used Google Earth to see what the surrounding area looked like for properties that interested us. In Google Earth you can key in the street address for the property and GE will zoom right into the location. You can also pin the location so that you don't have to re-enter that address info again. When using GE and you are curious what the elevation is on a specific property just put the mouse cursor over the property and look at the lower right corner of GE you will see the elevation, it will change as you move the mouse around.

Link to download Google Earth if you don't already have it........https://www.google.com/earth/


Another great tool to use if you are looking into re-locating to Bonner County (Sandpoint, Sagle, Clark Fork, Priest River, Priest Lake and so on) is the Bonner County Viewer. It's a map tool that will show lots of great info about a property such as is the road maintained by the county, the property lines of all the private property, where the house is located on the property in relation to the property lines, shows where National Forest is in relation to the property and lots of other good information.

Once off the main hiways up here in North Idaho most of the roads are dirt/gravel but they do get plowed if it a county road as is mine and I am 2 miles from the hiway on a separate dirt road from the main dirt road, and the main dirt road gets plowed for at least another 10 miles......this is the kind of stuff the viewer will show you.

In the viewer you can enter the street address of a property and the map will zoom into it. On the right side of the map is a separate window where you can select different options to view specific information under different categories such as address, transportation, parcels and so on.

Example: To see the county maintained roads, click on the (+) sign next to the transportation label, the transportation categories will be expanded, check the box next the label "county maintained roads" and all roads on the map that are county maintained will be highlighted in green.

Bonner County Viewer: Bonner County Viewer

Another area that might interest you is Priest River. The town of Priest River sits right on the Pend Oreille River 20 miles west of Sandpoint on Hwy 2. This is where I live though I am closer to Priest Lake than PR, 20 miles up Hwy 57.

I'm kinda off the beaten path, it's 10 miles to the nearest place to buy anything, gas station w/small store, 20 miles to the nearest market, 28 miles to the nearest Safeway and 45 miles to the nearest Walmart. Spokane is about an hour away with absolutly no traffic and it's an enjoyable drive as long as you don't have to go past the "Y" (where hwy 2 and 395 meet).

Good luck on your search.......

-Don

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by sierra don

nowhereman427,

Here are some other tools that really helped me when I was property hunting over the last few years, just moved up here last March from Pollock Pines Ca., between Placerville and Lake Tahoe.

I used Google Earth to see what the surrounding area looked like for properties that interested us. In Google Earth you can key in the street address for the property and GE will zoom right into the location. You can also pin the location so that you don't have to re-enter that address info again. When using GE and you are curious what the elevation is on a specific property just put the mouse cursor over the property and look at the lower right corner of GE you will see the elevation, it will change as you move the mouse around.

Link to download Google Earth if you don't already have it........https://www.google.com/earth/


Another great tool to use if you are looking into re-locating to Bonner County (Sandpoint, Sagle, Clark Fork, Priest River, Priest Lake and so on) is the Bonner County Viewer. It's a map tool that will show lots of great info about a property such as is the road maintained by the county, the property lines of all the private property, where the house is located on the property in relation to the property lines, shows where National Forest is in relation to the property and lots of other good information.

Once off the main hiways up here in North Idaho most of the roads are dirt/gravel but they do get plowed if it a county road as is mine and I am 2 miles from the hiway on a separate dirt road from the main dirt road, and the main dirt road gets plowed for at least another 10 miles......this is the kind of stuff the viewer will show you.

In the viewer you can enter the street address of a property and the map will zoom into it. On the right side of the map is a separate window where you can select different options to view specific information under different categories such as address, transportation, parcels and so on.

Example: To see the county maintained roads, click on the (+) sign next to the transportation label, the transportation categories will be expanded, check the box next the label "county maintained roads" and all roads on the map that are county maintained will be highlighted in green.

Bonner County Viewer: Bonner County Viewer

Another area that might interest you is Priest River. The town of Priest River sits right on the Pend Oreille River 20 miles west of Sandpoint on Hwy 2. This is where I live though I am closer to Priest Lake than PR, 20 miles up Hwy 57.

I'm kinda off the beaten path, it's 10 miles to the nearest place to buy anything, gas station w/small store, 20 miles to the nearest market, 28 miles to the nearest Safeway and 45 miles to the nearest Walmart. Spokane is about an hour away with absolutly no traffic and it's an enjoyable drive as long as you don't have to go past the "Y" (where hwy 2 and 395 meet).

Good luck on your search.......

-Don

These google maps and birdseye view help in seeing the surrounding land and terrain. Thanks for the above tools. I will use them. Does this area require a special vehicle to get around in?

[Cnynrat]

Many (most?) people have 4WD/AWD cars for the winter, but other than that you don't need a special car to get around up here. The roads that are dirt are generally well graded. A little muddy in the springtime, but it's not like you need an "off road" vehicle to get around.

Dave