Our first trip to Idaho (Boise, Moscow: condo, crime, hotel)

[elousv]

Thanks to this forum, NID has rocketed to the top of the short list of potential retirement locations. Forums and pictures only go so far though, first hand experience is required. We start right in town on Sherman and stay at the Flamingo, a clean and cost effective spot. The proprietor was very helpful with recommendations. Went for a walk:



Obviously there is some serious cash being invested in this area. This hotel is expensive and there are two massive condo skyscrapers right next to it. I had heard about a floating green, but did not see where it was until we were driving around the hills and got this shot:



CDA is a town we can live with, not too big, not too small, has a Costco, ATM machine does not ask if you want English press 1. AND, they serve drinks like this:



Drove around some and came across these guys:




Drove around some more:


and more:






We found CDA very nice and felt an instant "fit" to our lifestyle. I know it is easy to be enamored in the middle of July, but part of the reason we want to move north is escaping the heat. We found the roads nicely maintained, drivers courteous and actually used blinkers; you know, the whole real America thing. Drove to Sandpoint and all the way to Bonner's, the whole area is great. There were developments in the middle of nowhere that had lots for $500k, but there were nice houses on acreage with shop for that too. Traffic was not bad, except in town Sandpoint, which was the top of conversation. Had a bunch of good meals also. Areas we especially liked were Dalton Gardens and the Cougar Gulch area. Had a really enjoyable trip.

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Great pics!! Its hard not to fall in love with the place once your actually there. Good Luck!

[bigbob25]

good luck and dont say i didnt warn you hahahahaha the summers are way too short and the winters wayy too long and the economy's a nasty to deal with unless your a rich man ive lived all over the usa and the areas nasty to deal with ill say its a safe area as far as crime but safe cities dont make up for a very very nasty economy and nasty winters . Its a nice place to starve hahahahaha or go bankrupt i cant count the number of people ive talked to whove came here only to have their dreams shattered when in hopes of finding that so called dream place just be realistic and relize idahos small and slow and with that comes alot of negative things that might change yr mind awfully fast in a few short years id say come back in the winter and see the real idaho and get to know the real idahoans and you might pick another area

[Sage of Sagle]

bigbob25....

I appreciate your input and you sharing your perspective...

However, we moved here because we LIKE the cold (Alaska would have been OK with us too), and we found the local economy in NID to be chugging along just fine...I'm really not sure what you're talking about (although that would be a whole separate thread so let's not derail this one).

Point is...you've given your input here...and yes, some people have it good here and some don't....all valuable input as people consider relocation here...

[TamiSanders]

WOW, Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by bigbob25

good luck and dont say i didnt warn you hahahahaha the summers are way too short and the winters wayy too long and the economy's a nasty to deal with unless your a rich man ive lived all over the usa and the areas nasty to deal with ill say its a safe area as far as crime but safe cities dont make up for a very very nasty economy and nasty winters . Its a nice place to starve hahahahaha or go bankrupt i cant count the number of people ive talked to whove came here only to have their dreams shattered when in hopes of finding that so called dream place just be realistic and relize idahos small and slow and with that comes alot of negative things that might change yr mind awfully fast in a few short years id say come back in the winter and see the real idaho and get to know the real idahoans and you might pick another area

Ouch! What happened to YOU in Idaho???

Really? Bitterness without specifics? It's not a tough guess to infer what that means.

I grew up in Boise and went to college in Moscow and I love Idaho and consider it a wonderful piece of the Great Northwest, all of which I consider my transcendental home of homes.

The winters get cold, but I got winters just as severe in Los Alamos and Santa Fe in Northern New Mexico. Also, the cold only lasts from mid-October to mid-March, and unless you're from a coastal region or desert region (especially down South), that's not exactly a long winter. Try the Midwest winters on for size!

I'll concede to you on the economics. As I've posted on numerous threads when people want to move to Idaho but are unsure of the job market, I had to leave the area after college due to the job market. Also, I do make 3x the money in New Mexico that I'd make in Idaho for the same work, but part of that indiscrepancy is govt. contracting regulations. To add to my concession, waiting through college made clear the harsh realities of "right to work" when you have a job that calculates tips into living wage.

Finally, you're "real Idahoans" remark is a serious over-generalization. There are awful people everywhere just as there are exemplary people everywhere. Just within Idaho there are a wide variety of people, in both demographics and even cultures. Some of them enrage me just as I probably enraged some of them. Nonetheless, a civil person will get every bit of humane character you'll find anywhere else. I still call a lot of Idahoans my friends.

Ultimately, I pity whoever heeds your sketchy warning.

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Excellent post Stingray. I dont know why, but its like there is this small minority of people who want others to believe Idaho is full of Nazi's, Mormons, rednecks, Winter 12 months of the year, crazed Native Americans, and no hope of ever getting a job.
Bigbob says he has lived all over the US. Sounds like he has never been happy anywhere, especially as bitter as his post read.
I sort of think its probably Idahoans tired of new people moving in, perpetuating these false claims to keep people out. I can make a living on my own, and will be fine in Idaho. I will keep to myself, and not try to change anything about Idaho, and hopefully be a welcome addition to the state. Heck I might even bring a few jobs with me! All I know is I have lived where the weather is "good" and Im sick of it. I look forward to moving North with ALL that goes along with it.

[elousv]

I have seen references on this forum that certain individuals attempt to dissuade people from moving to CDA. Now that I have been there, I can understand the motivation. I don't see it getting huge though as there are lots of big lots around, National Forest just out of town, and reservation to the south. As far as the stigma of superiority groups, they are alive and well. Most of the friends and people I talk to down here go WHOA when I tell them the NID is one of our potential retirement locals.

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by Trace_Rinaldi

I sort of think its probably Idahoans tired of new people moving in, perpetuating these false claims to keep people out.

Well, if that's their intention, then good for them. It was a travesty every time Easterners would buy up a bunch of land from the locals, who were good stewards, and then proceed to build a bunch of cabins and fences. They didn't stop there, either. They destroyed Cascade Lake. I can still remember the "really good fishing" year when it turned out that the perch had to resort to cannibalism because pollution from boating/construction had thrown off the pH balance and killed off their food supply. You could catch a half dozen perch on one hook that year (all gnawing on each other), and the next year... nothing. Also, they all showed symptoms of toxemia, so we threw them back. That was just to top off the fact that all the good campsites were now unfitting New England-esque neighborhoods. I'm grateful to those who stuck with the log cabin motif, which at least appears less invasive.

The least we can hope is that the type of people who are prone to believe stereotypes are dissuaded, and people like bigbob drive off their own kind.

All the same, there are two sides to most every issue for a reason. With your open attitude and self-sufficiency, you will be quite welcome in Idaho. Especially if you bring jobs, 'cause those rumors are exaggerated but still very true. That alone will make you more than welcome.

I remember when Boise began to grow and sprawl substantially, there was a lot of opposition to the development that began targeting newcomers. I must admit I agreed with it on some fronts, especially when the infrastructure got hosed up and my new peers in school had some self-righteous, condescending air about them. When people come to Idaho, it definitely gets really annoying hearing this "What the f*** is wrong with this place??" attitude, which was no doubt worsened since a lot of people who were my age then had moved against their will. I can certainly see that in retrospect.

But in the end, the surge in small business REALLY did a lot of good for the area, and a lot of the politics were balanced out as well (which I can appreciate as a young, single, college-grad demographic). Idahoans did tend toward conservative and libertarian values (NOT Mormonism!). The development in the foothills was unwelcome, but most of the sprawl just filled in desert and subsidized farmland. I remember a few farmers who were eager to sell off their "land of no returns", and they pretty much told protesters, who considered them a guard front against growth, to shove it. There are many reasons at least the urban area of Boise was improved by the population surge.

This post is talking about CdA, though, and elousv (you apparently went to the wrong church or something if racism was apparent) is right that it can only grow so far. Not to mention, with Spokane and Post Falls just to the West, anyone who wanted population/tourist control in that area has been fighting a losing battle for some time now.

Last but not least, all of my friends from CdA are really more likely to become physically violent toward a bigot and buy a drink for a minority. There may be bigots in that area, but I wouldn't say that their message is "alive and well." That and other untrue stereotypes only make it harder for Idahoans who do have to leave the state, so I consider it an affront to my friends and myself. To those who want to prevent newcomers, just keep bad-mouthing the job-market, 'cause that is actually true and keeps the stigma off the citizens themselves.

[stingraynm]

Last but not least, all of my friends from CdA are really more likely to become physically violent toward a bigot and buy a drink for a minority. There may be bigots in that area, but I wouldn't say that their message is "alive and well." That and other untrue stereotypes only make it harder for Idahoans who do have to leave the state, so I consider it an affront to my friends and myself. To those who want to prevent newcomers, just keep bad-mouthing the job-market, 'cause that is actually true and keeps the stigma off the citizens themselves.

Repeated on its own because it's THAT important to fight misinformation that hurts others. Whether it's a bigot writing hate speech or a rumor that a group of people are bigots, it does the same harm and is equally reprehensible.