City-Data.com...connecting the world (North Idaho and Paris, France) (Sandpoint: fit in, sales)

[Sage of Sagle]

You'll see in Heather's post that they have bought a house in CDA in a great neighborhood.

What I'm excited about is that we got to meet Heather and her husband for dinner this week. We went to the Beach House for a steak dinner, which is right on the city beach, with expansive views of Lake Pend Oreille. We introduced them to Huckleberry Lemonade, and they brought us some amazing French sparkling wine.

We found them to be charming and engaging, and we actually wound up talking for hours after dinner as we walked around Sandpoint a bit (had to get Starbucks) and even just stood around our cars chatting on and on.

I think it was so neat to have met someone from so far away, where our common interest was to relocate to this area and help others do the same. It was a very rewarding time, and I think I learned more about social life in Paris than I ever would by reading a blog or article. Her husband is one of the most down-to-earth guys you could want to meet...which for just underscored the truism that no matter where you go, good people are good people and make the world a better place, be it North Idaho or Paris, France.

Heather, welcome to North Idaho...we look forward to having your entire family over for dinner when you get here this summer!

[shades_of_idaho]

That is SO GREAT Sage!!! Ruby from City Data ,her hubby, and I and my hubby, got to meet a couple of years ago and she and hubby were able to relocate to Idaho too. They were not as far away as Paris France. We still had a great time. Even gave them a hand in moving in. Just got to visit with her yesterday and saw their new family addition. We NEED to get after her to show us the livestock of Idaho and her new little Chicken Hill Lil.

City Data is a very good place. Glad you had a good time and told us all about it.

Chris

[Always a NW Girl]

Just had to chime in and say, how fun!

My husband and I are also relocating to SE Idaho in three weeks from NW Germany! This forum has been tremendously helpful!

[cleosmom]

Sounds like the begining of a new friendship

I've also met a really nice person that moved to south east Idaho from WA.

[esselcue]

When my time to relocate to No Idaho arrives (This time next year) I hope I can fit in as well. Pretty sure I can, but it's still great to read how easily your new friends have made the move. I am a firm believer that we get back what we give out and obviously Heather & her hubby have given their best!

[heatherriviere]

Just wanted to say that we met up with pacalady and her hubby this week for a quick visit and they are just as charming in person as they are on this forum! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to seeing them again soon.

We have been lucky to meet many people like pacalady, sage and cdachick, actually, here in CdA...open, warmhearted, caring, interesting...

For example, our neighbors have been amazing! Several families have brought over cookies, brownies or banana bread to welcome us to the neighborhood, they have invited us to their family gathering for the 4th of July, helped us rototill a huge part of our backyard and then install 2300 sq ft of sod (can you believe!?), lent us their lawn furniture or their living room couch while we wait for our container to arrive, invited us over to their summer cabins on nearby lakes or for rides on their boats, to explore the downtown farmer's market or to hit the sales in the shops...
(Man! we're wondering why we didn't move here earlier!!!)

There is definately something to be said for panhandle hospitality....
Beautiful people, beautiful scenery, we're LOVING it here!

[Trace_Rinaldi]

OUTSTANDING!! What a great thread! This is what its all about. It seems like good folk have been gravitating to NID for quite some time, and will continue to move there. Im happy and excited to be a part of that. Its been a long time dream for me(10 years), and its finally getting close to coming true. In my head I already live in NID, I just exsist in California.. Im sure there will be challenges, there always are when you relocate, but reading things like this just bolster my resolve.

Thanks to the members who make this a great forum!!

BTW I took a friend of mine from France to NID on a road trip last year, and he REALLY liked it too. Once his place in Montana sells I wouldnt be suprised if he bought a little piece of land in NID;-)

[whitestone]

Well, this thread has long since past its usefulness, but I lost contact with this site (again!) and just came across it in another unrelated Google search and the memories came back (specifically of heatherriviere's original thread) and it was great to go back through it and see how everything worked out and that they made the move and have settled in. If you read this heatherriviere, hope you're still enjoying North Idaho and would enjoy hearing your thoughts now that you've had a little while to settle in and absorb everything.

[heatherriviere]

Hey there! Haven't been back in months but got a message from Sage (sorry we have been out of touch for about as long also!!!) and actually remembered my password etc to get in here!

We are LOVING it here in CdA. Wouldn't leave if you paid us. We're coming up on 1 year since we got off the plane on June 29th and have been marveling at all that we have accomplished since our very first visit to CdA in March/April a little more than a year ago....

The kids have settled, a few bumps along the way but things are ironed out now. The dog got situated quite quickly and now we even have a new cat...well, kitten. A cute little calico from the Humane Society...

The hubby took classes (FREE!) at NIC this year, about 1 1/2 hrs a day, four times a week. THey were GED preparation classes, officially, I think but there were many ESL students learning English so it was a good fit. He has made a lot of progress even though his accent is still so thick you could cut it with a knife, lol, and hasn't let a lack of vocab get in the way yet! He's been a real trooper, if you ask me!

I'm in the process of getting teacher certification thru Lewis and Clark and should be able to do my student teaching in the spring! Woohoo! I'll be able to teach French in the high schools FT starting in the fall of 2010 (boy, that sure seems like a long time off yet...) I'll continue to substitute teach for the French teachers when they need me, in the meantime...

And this summer I'm teaching a couple of workshops via a local Upward Bound program - French Food and Culture...can't wait to see the look on the students' faces when I pull out the escargot during our meal this Sunday hee hee hee

And there's an active French Club in town! What more could we ask for? (well, if all our friends in France could move here, then life would be perfect, but we'll have to settle for visits in the summer and contact via telephone and email the rest of the year...)

And speaking of visits, we have a slew of them this summer already so we'll soon be the specialists on Yellowstone, digging for garnets and finding fossils (near Clarkia), Silverwood Amusement Park, Triple Play, etc as well as all the free stuff you can do around here : hiking on Tubb Hill, camping in Farragut State Park, sailing up on Pend Oreille, picking huckleberries, hanging out at the beaches, taking in the music downtown at the free outdoor concerts, the library story hours for the kids, Art Walk, Art on the Green...ah, the list goes on and on!

CdA is truly the Pacific Northwest's best kept secret...

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by Sage of Sagle

You'll see in Heather's post that they have bought a house in CDA in a great neighborhood.

What I'm excited about is that we got to meet Heather and her husband for dinner this week. We went to the Beach House for a steak dinner, which is right on the city beach, with expansive views of Lake Pend Oreille. We introduced them to Huckleberry Lemonade, and they brought us some amazing French sparkling wine.

We found them to be charming and engaging, and we actually wound up talking for hours after dinner as we walked around Sandpoint a bit (had to get Starbucks) and even just stood around our cars chatting on and on.

I think it was so neat to have met someone from so far away, where our common interest was to relocate to this area and help others do the same. It was a very rewarding time, and I think I learned more about social life in Paris than I ever would by reading a blog or article. Her husband is one of the most down-to-earth guys you could want to meet...which for just underscored the truism that no matter where you go, good people are good people and make the world a better place, be it North Idaho or Paris, France.

Heather, welcome to North Idaho...we look forward to having your entire family over for dinner when you get here this summer!

I can't rep you, Sage, so I'll include your post here.

What a great thread to have brought up from quite a while ago. I remember when Heather was writing back and forth to get information. Hard to believe it will be a year in just days.

There are good people everywhere if that is what one is looking for, and there are people who have a shadier side to them everywhere as well. It is really nice to see people connect who have done so by Internet messages.

Congratulations Heather on all your family has been able to accomplish this past year. Next thing we know, you'll probably be opening a French restaurant and French bakery, or maybe you have friends in France who will move over and open those establishment. I'm glad this has been a good experience for you and your family.

MSR