Sandpoint (Paul, Clark Fork: to buy, construction, school)

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Originally Posted by esselcue

That is the best way of describing So. Californians that I have ever heard: Everyone has an agenda!!!

I, myself, was born in Orange County (Tustin) waaaaay back in 1946 and that area was a virtual Paradise until the 60's when the great land rush began! With the new people came the new lifestyles, new money, new growth, and new agendas! Left there for AZ 22 years ago and never looked back...but now I am ready for yet another move and another (perhaps last) chapter in my life in Idaho and a simpler pace of living. I visited Sandpoint last fall and just loved it...also CdA and other areas there. It's like going back in time 20 or 30 years as far as the pace of life is concerned, at least for me.

My only California agenda is to save enough money to get outta here, and get up there. Going to a job interview Wednesday with our local utility (Southern California Edison) that will hopefully further my long term goals to get outta here.

[esselcue]

Great post, Bob!

[Sage of Sagle]

And compare that to SoCal (I'm here for a few days visiting family)...where we went to Mission Beach and had to lock our cars in the parking lot 30' from us because of the transients walking around looking in car windows in the parking lot...and I had to remind my wife to take her purse off the front seat of the car when we stopped places....yeah...it's different...

[gc57]

Let me jump in here for a minute. I haven't been to Sandpoint since 2000, what's changed there if any? Also, how 's the road biking and mountain biking there. Paved bike trails there?

[Gnumilk]

Ha, I was trying to find the median home price in Sandpoint and happened on this thread. I agree nearly 100% with Sage of Sagle and esselcue ... it really is an amazing area and the perfect place to raise a family. Crime is pretty much non-existent, people are friendly, the general feeling is one of contentment, and the recreational opportunities are boundless. A few drawbacks are: lack of employment, somewhat poor infrastructure, technology (cellular is spotty shortly outside of town and broadband internet borders on "yeah, right") and home prices do seem fairly steep for a remote community. That being said, my wife and I have lived here nearly 8 years and have no plans to leave ... it's our little slice of perfection

@gc57: there are plenty of opportunities for all kinds of biking. Paved and off-road trails abound! However, if you're curious about what is available in general check out 1kTODO. Sandpoint, Coeur d'Alene and Spokane are featured ... there is SO much to do here!

[calicoconnie123]

I was wondering what the downtown area if Sandpoint is like....does it have that quaint village feel to it?

We are retiring there and we wanted to live in the downtown area so we could walk to downtown.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Connie

[Sage of Sagle]

I don't know if I'd call it quaint "village" feel...but it has a "historic old town" feel to it. Cute shops in 100 year old brick buildings...and it's a walking town. You'll enjoy it I'm sure...

[MEfree30]

Originally Posted by Gnumilk

...A few drawbacks are: lack of employment, somewhat poor infrastructure, technology (cellular is spotty shortly outside of town and broadband internet borders on "yeah, right") and home prices do seem fairly steep for a remote community.

What is the main problem with broadband internet service? Lack of availability, lack of speed, lack of consistency (getting dropped) or something else?

Also how is the air and water quality? I expected it to be good, but saw that Sterling's best places only gives it a 35 & 48 with 100 being best and 48 & 55 being the US average. I tried doing some additional research, but it seems as if they track less air quality data than they did 5 years ago (no PM10 now, if I remember correctly) and they don't have complete enough data for the American Lung Association to give a 2007 particle grade (and no data for ozone).

Thanks

[Sage of Sagle]

Broadband: No DSL/Cable available in most places. Satellite internet sucks...not bad in download speed and not bad packet loss, but horrible latency. Surfing light pages like Yahoo is much slower than dialup. Surfing YouTube is livable since I can open several concurrent browser windows and it's mid-DSL download speeds (300-500'ish).

I don't know why they rate air/water quality lower...NEVER EVER smog, and the lake is clean and nice, and everyone we know fishes it and eats the fish. We don't get any warnings or "don't swim in the lake" or "don't eat lake fish" notices (like the Spokane River).

Maybe because this area allows burn piles which causes unregulated smoke? I don't know...but I can tell you that compared to many places (including where I moved from) the air is night-and-day better up here...

[MrGerardo]

Originally Posted by 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)

You try doing that in Chicago. If you give lost money back to the owner, people would taunt you like you were an idiot. I guess people have never heard of doing unto others as you would have done unto you. I only live here because my parents need me; otherwise, I would have left years ago. I was looking at either northern Idaho, eastern Washington, or even Boise. I may be open to Salt Lake City, but I've heard it's run by overzealous Mormons.