What do I need to know about Moscow, Idaho? (Pocatello: home, universities)

[pnwguy2]

I'll try to offer some objective opinion here.

This area isn't for everyone, but it can be for someone. I am a Seattle native who like many ventured to Pullman to go to college at Washington State. 8 miles away was Moscow. But what it really meant back in the day was it was 8 miles away to be able to consume alcohol. Yep, in the late 70's, Idaho's legal drinking age was 19, where Washington's was 21. Talk about a dangerous highway. But we survived somehow.

Today, both towns are still smallish, but Pullman seems to be growing faster. Moscow is also growing, but I don't perceive as much as Pullman. You have some big box stores, mostly in Moscow due to more accessible land, and it certainly offers a lot of usual student hangouts. You will find many western WA students in Pullman, and many northern ID students in Moscow, as well as a good population of residents from other parts of Idaho.

Weather is very similar to Spokane, meaning cold, grey winters with a good chance of snow. Summers are warm to hot, but rarely humid.

Moscow is somewhat isolated. Boise is atleast 6 hours away, and Spokane is actually the nearest metro at about 2 hours. Seattle is about 5, as is Portland.

Some people go to college here and love it and never leave. Most leave. And that isn't meant to be a diss, just a fact.

[Syringaloid]

I've been up to Moscow a few times and always thought it looked like a small historic New England town with great architecture that was plucked up and set down in Idaho.

[AlisonA]

Hmm we are looking at this area, and I was very interested until I read the part about gray winters. We don't mind cold, but we prefer sunny winters if possible. Any recommendations for other small-ish Idaho towns with sunnier winter days? Thanks!

[Keim]

Originally Posted by AlisonA

Hmm we are looking at this area, and I was very interested until I read the part about gray winters. We don't mind cold, but we prefer sunny winters if possible. Any recommendations for other small-ish Idaho towns with sunnier winter days? Thanks!

That crosses northern Idaho off your list.

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by AlisonA

Hmm we are looking at this area, and I was very interested until I read the part about gray winters. We don't mind cold, but we prefer sunny winters if possible. Any recommendations for other small-ish Idaho towns with sunnier winter days? Thanks!

Rexburg.

....or Sun Valley

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Rexburg.

....or Sun Valley

Or just about anywhere in South Idaho except for Pocatello. But even Pocatello has more sunny days than NID.

There's always some trade-off here in the winter. NID has less wind, and is often a few degrees warmer, but it's always cold here and snowy in the winters. It all depends on what's tolerable or not to the person with the stuff that comes along with the cold and the snow.

[AlisonA]

Darn, but thank you for the honesty. Would Idaho Falls be a better choice if we hope for more sunny winter days?

[AlisonA]

Thanks, BanjoMike and Syringaloid - that's helpful to know. When we moved from CA to Wyoming, we really didn't mind the cold or the snow, but we loved that the area we chose (Buffalo, at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains) was sunny year-round. Sure, it was grey on the days that it snowed heavily, but some grey days helped us appreciate the sun even more. And more often than not, the grey would give way to crisp blue skies with sparkling snow reflections from the bright sun. It also made shoveling more fun, although to be honest, buying a snow blower made shoveling more fun, haha!

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by AlisonA

Thanks, BanjoMike and Syringaloid - that's helpful to know. When we moved from CA to Wyoming, we really didn't mind the cold or the snow, but we loved that the area we chose (Buffalo, at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains) was sunny year-round. Sure, it was grey on the days that it snowed heavily, but some grey days helped us appreciate the sun even more. And more often than not, the grey would give way to crisp blue skies with sparkling snow reflections from the bright sun. It also made shoveling more fun, although to be honest, buying a snow blower made shoveling more fun, haha!

That's beautiful country over there in the Big Horns.

You would find Idaho Falls similar to Buffalo, Alison, except I.F. is much larger. We are southward of Buffalo, so our days are a little longer, but overall, the climate here is pretty similar to Buffalo. And we have some pretty good mountains of our own; the Tetons.

The Tetons are officially in Wyoming, but their western slope is in Idaho.

Right on about the snowblower. By the 5th snowstorm, the blower is definitely more fun than a shovel.

[AlisonA]

Thanks, BanjoMike. Hearing that IF is similar to Buffalo helps us narrow down the search area. We are pretty comfortable with all the other things that come with winter, but we do know that living in an area with grey days for months on end is not our thing. I grew up in California's Central Valley, and while we didn't have snow there, the fog and cloudy skies went on for months. Sometimes we drove to the coast or the south, just to get a glimpse of the sun.

While we were in Wyoming, we didn't get over to the Tetons as often as I would have liked. It sure would be fun to explore them from the Idaho side.

Funny story... we had a neighbor who didn't really know how to live in or deal with snow. Because the guy got himself into the silliest messes unless someone helped him out, my husband often shoveled that guy's sidewalk from his front steps to his car, and part of his driveway, too. We finally bought the blower at the start of our third winter there. Of course, like most guys with a noisy new toy, er, TOOL, my husband was having a blast with it. The neighbor came out in his bathrobe to make some suggestions about a better way to clear the snow. My husband, who is normally so patient and kind with the most difficult people, *accidentally* turned around to hear what the guy was saying and just happened to spray him with a huge wave of snow. No further suggestions were ever made.