Where to move in ID from CA? (A lengthy detailed question) (Boise: taxes, live in)

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by volosong

You just summed up why I'll grow roots in Rathdrum instead of Island Park. Still, I'm seriously considering the purchase of a small plot of dirt in I.P. Would make an awesome vacation home.


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Yup. Idaho Falls can have 6 inches of snow on the ground in a winter, while Island Park has over 4 feet of snow at the same time. Like Yellowstone, the entire I.P. region is big snow country, and that's why the year-round population is so low there.

But at the same time, US 20 gets a lot of attention all winter because it's still the only major highway in the area. It's very seldom a problem to drive 20 unless there's a storm going on during the drive, and even then, the road is almost always passable. When 20 shuts down, Ennis, W. Yellowstone, Big Sky, and some of the other small towns over the border in Montana are essentially cut off until the road re-opens, but that happens very rarely.

It used to be that all of Island Park was nearly deserted in the winter, but for many years, as the word got out, it became one of the best places in the country for riding snow machines. People now come just to ride the miles and miles of groomed snowmobile trails that are all around the area. They come to ride snowmobiles in Yellowstone, and soon discover the best rides are all in Island Park.

You wouldn't need to buy a patch of dirt, Volo- there's always a bunch of cabins up for sale there. Lots of them are trophy cabins, and as many more were built by families who all pitched in to build a cabin for use by the entire family, sort of like owning a time-share condo. As the families change, these cabins sometimes are sold because the family needs have changed over the years and the cabins aren't used as much as they once were.

Depending on the situation, if a person seriously wants to buy a cabin, there are always a few really good deals to be found if the buyer has some patience and watches what's going on in real estate up there.

I don't know a road that's scarier in the winter than 20 in the winding and twisty Gallatin river canyon in Montana. The canyon is extremely narrow and steep, and the highway jumps back and forth over the river in many places. Every bridge is icy, and the canyon is always dark as it never gets a lot of sun year round, so the roadbed is always slick with black ice, and if you slide off, there's not place to go but the river on one side and a rock wall on the other.

I had to drive that road many times- too many. It's a snake in the winter and chock full of huge RV's in the summer, and it makes for a white knuckle drive no matter how warm and dry the weather is.

The highway in the Island Park area is mostly straight, and has a center turn lane and lots of room on either side of it. At least there, a driver can see what's up ahead, and I'm always relieved when I cross the Montana line into Idaho coming south on 20.

[ShadoAngel]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello are all about the same size as CDA. Twin Falls is slightly smaller, but is fast growing, and Caldwell is similar to Twin.

...

At 60,000 up the only choices are: Boise, CDA, Nampa, and Idaho Falls. Of these, CDA and Idaho Falls are very close to the same size, and the other 2 are larger.

This is all factually correct but a bit unhelpful when trying to determine the economic or cultural pull of a city. Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, etc. are all part of the Boise MSA. There are going to be a lot more activities, groups, businesses, etc. in the Boise MSA vs the other cities listed. Moving to Nampa is a completely different experience and lifestyle than moving to Idaho Falls. It isn't 90,000 in Nampa vs 60,000 in Idaho Falls - it's more like 650,000 vs 140,000. The same is true of CDA. The city of Coeur d'Alene is fairly small at only 50,000. But there are more than 150,000 living in Kootenai county and they are just shy of 700,000 in the Spokane-CDA CSA.

If you move to Pocatello or Twin Falls, you are hours away from a decently large city and the amount of services and business options (both for shopping and employment) are much smaller than in the Boise or CDA Metro areas.

[IdaD]

Originally Posted by ShadoAngel

This is all factually correct but a bit unhelpful when trying to determine the economic or cultural pull of a city. Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, etc. are all part of the Boise MSA. There are going to be a lot more activities, groups, businesses, etc. in the Boise MSA vs the other cities listed. Moving to Nampa is a completely different experience and lifestyle than moving to Idaho Falls. It isn't 90,000 in Nampa vs 60,000 in Idaho Falls - it's more like 650,000 vs 140,000. The same is true of CDA. The city of Coeur d'Alene is fairly small at only 50,000. But there are more than 150,000 living in Kootenai county and they are just shy of 700,000 in the Spokane-CDA CSA.

If you move to Pocatello or Twin Falls, you are hours away from a decently large city and the amount of services and business options (both for shopping and employment) are much smaller than in the Boise or CDA Metro areas.

Agree. Boise metro is unlike any other city/metro in Idaho. In my opinion it actually has more amenities, culture and activities than many similar size metro areas because of how geographically isolated it is, so in many ways it actually lives larger than the population would suggest.

[susan inbody]

I've lived in Idaho for30yrs, came from Silicon Valley. CDA is where we landed. At the time total culture shock! My friend of 40yrs, came and spent a month in the area, she went bonkers! There wasn't enough to do.I personally think Spokane is a dirty scruffy town. If you like outdoor recreation it's Idaho.South Idaho is liberal north Idaho converative. They really shouldn't even be one state. CDA has just Ok schools,but a lot of private schools.Homes are expensive compared to any place but the coast.I am retired now and moving to Ft Worth can't believe what I get for my money there.Good luck with your choice!

[mtngirlatheart]

Originally Posted by susan inbody

South Idaho is liberal north Idaho converative. They really shouldn't even be one state.

It's really not that cut and dry by any means. There is a mix of both all over the entire state. And FWIW, I came across more liberals in the northern part of the state (especially CDA area) than the southern region, so there's that.

[stealheadrun23]

Originally Posted by susan inbody

I've lived in Idaho for 30yrs, came from Silicon Valley. CDA is where we landed. At the time total culture shock! My friend of 40yrs, came and spent a month in the area, she went bonkers! There wasn't enough to do.I personally think Spokane is a dirty scruffy town. If you like outdoor recreation it's Idaho.South Idaho is liberal north Idaho conservative. They really shouldn't even be one state. CDA has just Ok schools,but a lot of private schools.Homes are expensive compared to any place but the coast.I am retired now and moving to Ft Worth can't believe what I get for my money there.Good luck with your choice!

I do quite like outdoor recreation. I can't really imagine being bored in this kind of place, but then I haven't really been bored in my free-time since I was a little kid. There are just far too many things to work on, to study and so forth. If anything I have trouble blanking my mind at times, and by no account would I consider myself high energy. Certainly I'm not an extrovert. I think it really has to do with the temperment of the person at hand. I can easily imagine how bored some of my friends would be in a place like CDA, going entirely off what I have learned second hand. But that circles back to the underlying point, I really need to pay a visit to the region, if ultimately for no other reason than to try the fishing and the disc golf.

As for the political divide, I'm not largely concerned given everything else I've heard. Certainly I would prefer to avoid Oregon and Washington in terms of establishing residency, but I would not mind living among liberals so long as the state laws and general living environment are not drastically affected. I suspect they would not be. Regardless, based on other factors I am strongly in favor of the CDA region.

It's really not that cut and dry by any means. There is a mix of both all over the entire state. And FWIW, I came across more liberals in the northern part of the state (especially CDA area) than the southern region, so there's that.

I wonder how the average Northern Idaho liberal compares to the average Southern California liberal. In any case, as I said above, I am ultimately more concerned with general culture and state laws than whether my neighbor might be registered as a Democrat.

[ShadoAngel]

South Idaho is liberal north Idaho conservative.

2016 Presidential election. Clinton won 2 counties:


I wonder where all those liberals in south Idaho are hiding?

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by ShadoAngel

2016 Presidential election. Clinton won 2 counties:


I wonder where all those liberals in south Idaho are hiding?

Here in Boise. That is why Ada County is not as red as a tomato on the map you posted.

2016 Election Results: Clinton Won Big (In the City of Boise) | Unda' the Rotunda | Boise Weekly

Clinton was the favorite candidate in Boise, readily winning most of the city's precincts.

[banjomike]

Those varying shades of red don't tell the real story either.
Madison county is a lighter shade of red like Ada, but not because those folks were voting Democratic; Madison is the most conservative county in the state and they were voting for 3rd party candidate McMullen, not for Trump. Just due east from Madison, Teton county was voting for more Democrats.

That's the way it always is here; Libertarians and 3rd parties always do pretty well in Idaho, along with the Democratic party and it's wavering fortunes. Blaine county has been reliably blue for as long as I can remember, always surrounded by a sea of red.

By and large, everyone in Idaho is conservative, as I've often mentioned. But here, conservatism in all shades and degrees finds its own share of voters and always has. It fits our individualistic nature, and because Mother Nature throws us all so many curve balls, everyone learns to conserve everything from leftover groceries to political opinions.

There are so few of us, and we are so spread out, herd mentality has never had much of a chance to take over. Our herds exist, but they're smaller herds than in the states with more population. That tends to create indifference to how our neighbor votes as long as he's a peaceable neighbor.

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Those varying shades of red don't tell the real story either.
Madison county is a lighter shade of red like Ada, but not because those folks were voting Democratic; Madison is the most conservative county in the state and they were voting for 3rd party candidate McMullen, not for Trump. Just due east from Madison, Teton county was voting for more Democrats.

That's the way it always is here; Libertarians and 3rd parties always do pretty well in Idaho, along with the Democratic party and it's wavering fortunes. Blaine county has been reliably blue for as long as I can remember, always surrounded by a sea of red.

By and large, everyone in Idaho is conservative, as I've often mentioned. But here, conservatism in all shades and degrees finds its own share of voters and always has. It fits our individualistic nature, and because Mother Nature throws us all so many curve balls, everyone learns to conserve everything from leftover groceries to political opinions.

There are so few of us, and we are so spread out, herd mentality has never had much of a chance to take over. Our herds exist, but they're smaller herds than in the states with more population. That tends to create indifference to how our neighbor votes as long as he's a peaceable neighbor.

I realize there are varying degrees of conservatism, but I wouldn't go as far as saying "everyone in Idaho is conservative". There are some very liberal people in Boise including members of our city council. The same can be said for Ketchum and Sun Valley.