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I'm a native and have never been much of a conformist either.
In my view, just put a map of Idaho on the wall and toss a dart at it. If the spot has human habitation, it would probably work out for you. Folks here disagree with each other just as much as anywhere else, but in most places, not enough to get serious about it.
There aren't enough people here to make shallower things in life like petty disagreements become consequential. Old Mother Idaho likes to smile on her children, but she also likes to bite them hard often and unexpectedly, and out here, when something bad in nature happens, humans are often all alone when it happens.
This creates quite a lot of politeness. It's not that we like each other any better; it's more that Our Turn Is Coming, and no one ever knows who will be bitten next. It makes for a certain amount of pay it forward attitude. You may be helping a stranger out one day, and he may be helping you out the next.
But if you pass someone in trouble up, he sure won't stop when you are off the road and in trouble the next day. Because we are so few, we tend to remember the rights and wrongs we all receive. In the teeth of a blizzard when it's 40 below, with the wind chill bumping it down to 60 below zero, you sure want all the help you can get if you need any help at all.
I would ask if you want snow or not, that would help you determine north or south
All of Idaho gets snowed on every winter. The only difference is the amounts. On any given winter, the north may get more snow than the south, or vice versa.
But in many winters, if the snow is deep in the north, it's just as deep in the south.
It's always cold in the winters too. And Idaho is semi-arid from one end to the other. All of Idaho lies in either mountains, steppe/mountains, or alpine/mountains. The only exception is the Arco desert, which is essentially a huge lava field.
The differences are all pretty superficial, really, especially in comparison to some of the states in the mid-south and south-east.
The biggest deal in living here is the altitude of a chosen location. The higher the town is, the more winter it will get, and the longer the winter will be.
The altitude changes so much and so often that two towns that are quite close to each other on a map will have entirely different seasons, temperatures, average wind and rainfall, and other climatic differences.
Examples of these differences abound in both the north and south, so it really pays for anyone who's serious about living here to come and see what the realities are here. No one is going to learn much for real about life here without spending some time here first.
OP we might need more information because "low cost" is different for everyone. To me, most of of North Idaho is expensive, and there is plenty of different "types" of nature available all over Idaho. What is your preference? Desert? Trees? Mountains?
Facetiously - what does "dirty" mean in your title? No bathing? Or something else?
Yup. City size has a different meaning out here. Only Boise is as large as the average urban metro. All the other 'large' cities here are all far less than 100,000 people, and most are less than 50,000 people. A city here can be only 100 residents, but is still the only city around for many miles.
Cheap is also relative, as NW Crow's example shows. Arco is the largest city in its area, but it only has a population of 995. Atomic City, Arco's closest neighbor, has a population of 29, up from 25 in 2000. Carey, Arco's next-closest neighbor westward, has a population of 604.
Any of those tiny towns could have lots of available housing at cheap prices, or have none available at all. Some began small and never grew, while others once were larger than they are now. I have a friend who bought an old city lot in Leadore, pop. 70, for a couple of hundred bucks.
I would say skip North Idaho population is growing at a rapid rate and Boise area, there is so many small towns and open areas for someone like you to find a spot, it is a matter of what you need for your day to day living and medical needs but Idaho is an open book for you if you don't mind cold Stanley is an awesome spot and so is Salmon or the areas between Boise and Twin.
How many is many?
Between and around Idaho Falls and Blackfoot in no particular order:
Ririe
Ucon
Milo
Woodville
Firth
PIngree
Wapello
Basalt
Goshen
Taylorville
Moreland
Riverside
Rockford
Springfield
Aberdeen
None have 1,000 people in them. Most have fewer than 250. All are within 50 miles or less from cities with hospitals and other services.
This isn't a complete list.
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