Sandpoint (Boise, Coeur d'Alene: crime, credit, home)

[Simple Living]

It's like going back in time 20 or 30 years as far as the pace of life is concerned, at least for me.

And that's exactly what I'm looking for. Although I'd much prefer 50 - 100 years! (As far as I'm concerned, after they invented indoor plumbing, they could have stopped with all technology. We had all we needed at that point! I know that wasn't 100 years ago, but I can deal with that!)

[whatever]

Then you definitely should check out Lasqueti Island up in the gulf in British Columbia. No fooling! Tag me if you have any specific questions. I owned property up there for about 4 years or so.

[Simple Living]

I'd love to hear more about Lasqueti Island, but for a US citizen to move to Canada and settle down is virtually impossible. I have no special work skills that folks in Canada don't already have and I'm not rich to buy my land outright, so.... Other than that, Canada has always appealed to me.

[Asthedeer]

Simple living, just according to reading your posts it does'nt sound like Sandpoint would be up your alley. Unless I read your responses wrong. It is deffinitly not 50-100 years behind anything, or even 20-30 IMO.

If you want more rural, laid back, friendly small towns I would look more into Western Montana or even North Eastern Washington.

[Simple Living]

Originally Posted by OnOurWay2MO

Simple living, just according to reading your posts it does'nt sound like Sandpoint would be up your alley. Unless I read your responses wrong. It is deffinitly not 50-100 years behind anything, or even 20-30 IMO.

If you want more rural, laid back, friendly small towns I would look more into Western Montana or even North Eastern Washington.

Granted, Sandpoint is an exception to what's optimal for me, but it still fits in the range of what I'm looking for for other reasons. I'm a freelance writer and Sandpoint would be a great home base for that reason. I can find a rural place around Sandpoint to actually live.

Right now, I'm just in the research phase of everything and will eventually visit the places I keep on my ever-narrowing list. Thanks for your thoughtful response, OnOurWay2MO.

[esselcue]

I did not say that Sandpoint is 20-30 years BEHIND anything...I said the feeling, the pace of life felt more like 20-30 years ago to me. It certainly is not BEHIND in any way. Sorry if I was unclear.

[Simple Living]

Originally Posted by esselcue

I did not say that Sandpoint is 20-30 years BEHIND anything...I said the feeling, the pace of life felt more like 20-30 years ago to me. It certainly is not BEHIND in any way. Sorry if I was unclear.

Not at all, esselcue. You came across perfectly clear.

[Asthedeer]

Originally Posted by esselcue

I did not say that Sandpoint is 20-30 years BEHIND anything...I said the feeling, the pace of life felt more like 20-30 years ago to me. It certainly is not BEHIND in any way. Sorry if I was unclear.

It was just an opinion as I stated. Behind would insinuate, behind the times, as in compared to the past = slower pace of living etc.

I figure maybe people want an opinion and facts from someone who has lived here more than a couple years (as most on here seem to be new to the area). Guess I won't waste my time. Have a great day!

[Sage of Sagle]

Well, it's most certainly a slower pace of life. Let's see, I pull out onto the road, and there's a tractor going up the road at 20mph. Not only do I not come unglued, but nobody does behind me either, and we tool along until a safe place to pass arises. If not, no biggie....we just relax and enjoy the scenery and look for Moose or bald eagles (which are not as common as seagulls at the coast, but more common that hawks in inland SoCal areas).

It's a slower pace in that the long bridge jams up because of a parade or a Lost in the 50's event, and you don't hear horns honking or see anyone giving someone the finger over it. It's a slower pace because when the high school has a big game, the whole dang town goes to memorial field and the teens hang out at the south end while some folks are in the stands and some folks are on the grass.

It's a slower pace because it has not yet developed the "me first" attitude so prevalent in so many areas, and people actually care about common courtesy.

It's behind-the-times in that last summer I heard the employees force a mouthy teen to leave Dubs for dropping the F-bomb in the eating area with kids present, and had he not left, several of us dads present with our kids getting ice cream would have backed her up, and I'm sure he knew that. And we didn't have to fear gang retalation over it should it have come to that.

It's behind-the-times in that after the HS lets out, the local library is crowded with kids READING BOOKS, playing hacky-sack in the parking lot, or being hooligans like I did in the early 70's.

It's behind the times in that I can give my kid $20 to go buy a couple cans of spray paint at Home Depot and they DON'T have to lock it up for fear of taggers.

It's behind the times in that most neighbors have an open-garage policy, a lot of us leave our keys in our cars at our homes, and have a tool borrowing arrangement with most folks in our neighborhood.

Is there crime? Yes. Are there drugs? Yes. Do they get caught? Usually. Is there an occasional problem with graffiti? Yes. Is it common? No. Do people swear here? Of course. Do they really try to watch themselves around women and children? 99% of the time yes. Is there auto theft? Yes, but it's rare enough not to touch most of us.

So I don't think anyone should construe Sandpoint as Mayberry RFD...but it's an awful nice area to live in, and the gentrification of this area tends to mean newer residents are both more affluent and less present (more vacation homes and 3rd or 4th homes being built). So while a lot of homes are in construction, the school-age population dropped enough that they had to let go over dozens of school district employees due to the lower school attendance.

[pimit2]

Dubs, a favored hamburger/ice cream joint in Sandpoint, was brought up by Sage of Sagle to point out some Sandpoint qualities. Let me share another Dubs' story to underscore Sage's thoughts about this little town.

A friend, left her billfold with $600 in cash, credit cards, etc. on a booth seat while visiting Dubs, but didn't realize it was missing until after Dubs was closed for the night.
The next day she went to Dubs hoping for a miracle. The kids who work there handed back her billfold with everything still inside. It had been turned in by a customer.

That would not have happened in many towns IMO. This is a good town, for the most part.


pimit2 (Bob)