from los osos to idaho (Boise, Coeur d'Alene: rent, crime, how much)

[pucca_2008]

hi everyone, i am new to this website as far as asking questions on idaho. me and my husband currently lives in los osos ,ca and we are thinking about moving up to idaho but have no clue of where to live. some answers i got from other people on their websites where mixed. what is the safest place to live, do out door actives, less flea population. i don't mind the snow, i love snow. anyone got any ideas suggestions? we are planning to visit idaho next year before we actually move.:

[jarkin]

Hi Pucca,

We live in Post Falls (although you'll probably hear about Coeur d'Alene more often than Post Falls cuz it's bigger and a resort town, but they're right next to each other). It's in the panhandle of the state. There's crime anywhere, and I know there have been kids hitting mailboxes and vandalizing and stealing out of cars recently, but we feel very safe here. My husband and I have left for the weekend and LEFT OUR FRONT DOOR OPEN! Each of us thought the other had gone back and locked up before leaving. Everything was fine. When spring hits we'll open our windows and find we never locked them all winter. No one ever broke in. My sister leaves her car unlocked with her entire purse on the driver's seat and her keys in the ignition, and no one has ever stolen anything (I think she's both stupid and the luckiest person on earth).

There are all sorts of things to do here. Our newspaper just printed 100 things to do in our area this past summer. Ski mountains are all around us (Mt. Spokane, Schweitzer, 49 Degrees, Silver Mountain), there is the gorgeous Coeur d'Alene lake, there's camping, hiking (up Tubbs Hill or anywhere in the mountains), huckleberry picking, hunting, fishing, shooting ranges, lake cruises, golfing, frisbee golfing...anything and everything. All 4 seasons, and it's beautiful here in any season! Lots of celebrities live and/or have houses up here, too. My brother-in-law and husband clean a lot of their houses around the lake. There's Car d'Alene, the lighting festival, the fireworks at the resort, Ironman...I've lived here for 11 years and love it. It is the perfect place to raise a family, I think. My husband and I were looking at moving to Tennessee to try out a new place, and the realtor we were talking to down there actually fell in love with our area and now wants to spend his retirement here instead of there (he moved from Michigan when he retired)!

[pimit2]

Hi Pucca,

Your questions are subjective and so will our answers be! I live in Sandpoint, about 40 miles north of Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene (core-da-lane) and while I like those towns, I'm madly in love with Sandpoint.

Other responses you might get to your inquiry will suggest other locations. It's how it is. Most of us live in a place we like and we tell you how good it is. Look, Idaho is a unique, uncrowded state with a wonderful quality of life as long as you like the great outdoors, and outdoor activities. Generally, the people who live here are conservative, friendly and helpful. Good neighbors. Or, you can choose to not have neighbors. We have lots of room and many live in rural areas outside of a town.

You say that you plan to visit Idaho. That's the way to do it. Don't just take our word for it. Come to look it over. You'll probably fall in love with a number of different areas of the state. You'll find the areas much different from where you now live.

I hope that helps.


pimit2 (Bob)

[pucca_2008]

Thanks for the feed back.. when is the snowy seasons in boise? many people on the web had said that boise and meridian is the safest place to live, is this true? what is the temp out there? here, where i live it gets in the mid 60's sometimes in the high 70's. somewhat foggy but nice and breezy. you guys have flea problems up there? i got two cats and they had fleas but not anymore. i never dealt with them before and man what a pain in the butt.
when i visit next year, what places should i visit? once again thanks for everyone that are answering my questions.

[jarkin]

I lived in Mountain Home about 5 years ago for a few months. It's about 30 miles from Boise. I travelled to Boise a lot to do things. I fell in love with Mountain Home because it was MY kind of place...it was brown and flat and hardly a tree in sight! At the time I hated the trees and mountains and everything that was North Idaho (my rebellious period...hence why I moved so far away from my entire family at 17!). It's a small town and the main road was made of brick, and it's mostly an air force town, so most of the population lives on base.

When I moved, in early May, it was 110 degrees and I acclimated really quickly. When I moved back north in late July/early August, it was in the 90s, and I was wearing a sweatshirt, having a hard time adjusting back to the different climate.

Boise is BEAUTIFUL. But it's a bit too big for my taste. I like smaller cities. But it really is beautiful, and has a vibe of just being full of history. Lots to see and do there.

Where you should visit totally depends on what you're looking for. North Idaho is gorgeous, southern Idaho seems a lot more dry and hot, but is still a nice area. As far as having a little bit of everything, I'd have to say north Idaho would be the place. Everything I mentioned in my earlier post is here. I don't know about southern Idaho. And fleas?...our dog has never had a flea problem. I didn't know an area could possess a flea problem, although I guess it could be possible. I'm sure there are pets in the area that get fleas, but like an epidemic or something, I don't think so.

[pucca_2008]

hi jarkin, how far are you from boise? you said that you have to drive in to do stuff. has anyone gone to the national forest in boise? i love the national forests. i have gone to alot in california alone. when is the snowy season and how much inches it gets in idaho? anyone know good places to sight see?

[IdahoEagle]

I lived in Los Osos For awhile when I was going to Cal Poly. I now live in the Coeur d'Alene area. Southern Idaho is comparable to the Paso Robles area where it it hotter and drier than Los Osos. North Idaho has more trees, rivers, mountains, etc. If you like going to Montana de Oro state park and hiking there are a lot of areas in Idaho where you can do that also.

If like living near a college town like SLO you might like the Moscow area.

Boise and its surrounding areas are nice but there are more people and while that creates more jobs it also creates more traffic, crime and all of the other fun things that go with a larger population.

[pucca_2008]

hi idaho eagle, how long you lived here in los osos? ilive about ten miles inward from slo and 5 minutes from montana de oro state park. any suggestions of what town that is in between these two cities in idaho? you been to bosie national forest?

[IdahoEagle]

I think I lived in Los Osos in about 1990. I would definately drive through Idaho before you pick a landing place. I think you would probably find the Boise area too populated for comfort if you like the small town atmosphere of Los Osos.
I haven't been to the Boise National Forests. I have been to a lot of the state parks and forest sevice land up here in the pandhandle. Something like 70-80% of the state of Idaho is owned by the government in one form or another. So there are lots of places to to go and hike or look at wildlife. We have a fifth wheel travel trailer that we enjoy taking out on adventures.

A lot of where you live will probably be dictated by where you can find work. It is harder to find jobs in the smaller towns.

[Hunter Wold]

I think you really need to research this forum and too visit and rent or whatever for a while.

No. Idaho distingushes itself from the "south" and No.Idaho is where I moved to in 78. Then there were signs on the bridge "If you are from California, be out of town by sunset"...and they meant it....

Well, I don't give up...we stayed and soon learned the ways and means.

The No. Idaho area is now I guess 40% Californianians...
Prices high gone skyhigh...etc.

Post Falls, and CDA are expanding at an enourmous rate...but..wages are low ...

Medical professionals have it made as well as law..etc.
Research, research, and visit for a while.

Southern Idaho Boise not that familiar about...southeastern Idaho...be very cautious unless you are Mormon...believe me .....they are great folks up to a point...

Oh, and Never ASK WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR HUCKLEBERRY'S...

We are now in NM and lovin it..

Happy trails,
HW