San Diegan seeking best place to live in Idaho (Boise: homes, camping)

[caitlinsmom]

We live near Twin Falls in south central Idaho. The people are wonderful here. There is a lot of religious diversity (my small town has something like 15 churches). I dont think you would have a hard time not being LDS, there are so many people of different faiths here. Most of us who live in the magic valley go to twin falls for major shopping. Twin has most everything we have ever wanted, although nothing compared to what you are used to! My grandparents who lived in SO Cal for 20ish years are looking at moving up here for the reasons you mentioned.
The schools here I know are in great demand for teachers, not sure about special ed, but I do know that math is greatly sought after. A friend of our who is an English teacher was offered a job on the spot because teachers are so needed.
We really like living here and if our move to Maine never works out we wont be heartbroken. We have made a lot of friends in a short period of time and feel like a part of the community.


Hope that helps.

[MySerendipity]

Thank You. This is good to hear. We don't mind some diversity in most anything, just don't want one thing to dominate. I'm sure we can handle less of most anything. There are too many stores here ( might go through a little withdrawel), but we can manage. I have been very pleased to recieve all this information from all of you. There is nothing like talking to " Real People" and finding out the "real story". So again I Thank You all.

[donnam]

If you have any questions specifically about the differences between San Diego and the Boise area, please feel free to ask. We are lifelong San Diegans (East County) who moved to Boise in 2005 and back to SD again early this year.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the transition from San Diego to Boise.

[skittles2u]

I'm just curious why you left San Diego for Boise and then why you left Boise after 2 years? thanks

Originally Posted by donnam

If you have any questions specifically about the differences between San Diego and the Boise area, please feel free to ask. We are lifelong San Diegans (East County) who moved to Boise in 2005 and back to SD again early this year.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the transition from San Diego to Boise.

[donnam]

We discovered that San Diego truly is our home. We just never found that feeling while living in Idaho.

[MySerendipity]

Yes, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this forum. Busy, busy busy. I am courious about where in the East County you lived and yes I would love to know what took you to Idaho and what has returned you. How difficult was it for you to return. Was there anything about Idaho that you felt has been misrepresented? I live in central San Diego, very close to San Diego State University. So pretty metro.
Thanks,

[akire]

Boise seems like the best match for you.

[donnam]

Sorry, I've been off the forum for awhile, too! We live in Lakeside, but I've worked at SDSU for almost 20 years, so I'm familiar with that area, as well. We went to Idaho in search of a slower pace, fewer people, a house that we could pay for before we retired, etc, etc. I think a lot of people go for those same reasons. To be honest, maybe there was an element of escape from stressful lives involved, too.

We visited the Boise area three times before relocating. We liked it a lot when we were there checking it out. I think our first mistake in relocating was to move to a small town about 25 miles outside of Boise. That was a culture shock for us. It was a cute little town, but isolated and extremely rural. They thought Boise was a BIG city. To get to Boise/Meridian (and any kind of shopping, restaurants, etc.) from that little town it was probably equivalent to driving from your current location to Ramona. Not a wise choice!

We sold our home there after a few months and moved up to West Boise. We bought a fixer and it turned out to be a really nice home. The schools were great, better than CA, I must say. Our biggest issue with living in Idaho was the fact that it was really difficult to get to know people. We did join a church, got involved in our kids schools, etc., but I think there is resistance on the part of some locals to open up to new people. And we were from California, so that wasn't in our favor, either. I know people reading this will argue that it was our problem, but we knew other people who had moved to Boise who felt the same way we did. Apart from feeling like we just didn't fit it - we don't hunt, we're not particularly outdoorsy, I'm liberal, so on and so on, I'd say my biggest issue was the hot, hot summers there. Months of temps hovering right around 100 degrees! The snow and cold wasn't bad, but between summer and winter it's a lot of time inside a closed house with either the heater or a/c running. I was too used to be able to open my windows most of the year.

We didn't ponder these things and do enough research before we relocated. There's little diversity in Boise (compared to San Diego, at least), there isn't a community college in Boise, little public transportation, and one freeway. Not to say that any of those things are wrong - it was just too much of a difference for our family. We decided that we preferred our life here in San Diego and we were lucky enough to be able to come back.

Was anything misrepresented about Idaho? I'd say only one thing - I always read in this forum about how friendly people are in Idaho. I think that people are friendly, but they are not open or inviting. There's a difference. I call it "surface-friendly". People like to keep to themselves.

Depending on what you are looking for, Idaho may be a perfect fit for your family. It's a very family minded place and the schools are great. It's a conservative state and government is smaller there. You just stroll up to the DMV counter - no waiting!! If you're looking for a small town, slow-paced atmosphere I think Idaho is great. Even Boise still has that small town feel.

[MySerendipity]

donnam, Thank You for your reply. You have hit on a few on my concerns. Im thinking it may be a wise choice to lease our home out here and rent in Idaho to be sure that it is what we want. Ive only known San Diego and worry that the change will be too much, however I am really desiring a change. I wonder tho now that you have returned back to the faster pace more stressfull life style, if you will end up missing Idaho. I have to agree, Im always going a mile a minute and am very tired of that. Slower sounds great, but we don't want to end up tired of that too. Well, off to do more research. Thanks again.

[Avaria]

"We are a Christian, conservative family looking to move to Idaho for quality of life, political, and religious reasons. Looking for a slower pace but still need to make a living."

Idaho Falls is ultra conservative and there is a big Calvary church. However, the vast majority of people in Idaho Falls are Mormon. The only good paying work is at the Nuclear Power plant and I don't know what they pay teachers in Idaho Falls.

I would locate in Boise over Idaho Falls though. I don't like it here and have recently moved back to California. Its waaaaaaaaaaaaay to conservative for me up here.