Coeur d'Alene or Lewiston? (home, neighborhood, live)

[MomsTn]

When we lived in Kuna (not in the city), we had a meat packing plant a couple of miles from us.
We didn't mind it, unless, the wind was blowing a certain way, then, it was pretty stinky.
We didn't know when we bought our house that it was even there.
We kind of "discovered it."

So, when looking for a house, make sure to ask your Realtor if there is anything close by... like a paper mill, beet factory, turkey/chicken farm, pig farm, or meat packing plant.
You will be much happier asking, than finding out later, and realizing that it's not that easy to sell your house and move.

[6thgen]

Lewiston is stinky, but CDA is turning into California...so, it's a trade off in my humble opinion!

[MajorHart]

My wife and I lived 4 years in SanDiego (ElCajon) 12 years total in California and 12 in Arizona.

We left Arizona for good after being chased by gangs several times while out jogging and birdwatching.

We did love it there though.

We've never seen any place prettier than the foothills east of Ramona to Julian and north, and lake San Vincente northeast of sandiego.

But the city was getting many criminals and much more violence - so we left there too.

My wife and I are older now and want somewhere where living isn't too expensive and where it is pretty safe.

I lived in Lewiston a few months way back in the 70's and liked it - I saw spokane in other winters when I was living in Tacoma and it seemed dark and gloomy - the lake in CourDalene are beautiful but I prefer it a little drier and warmer and lewiston is that - as well as having a lot of birds and we like them.

We are also considering Redding, CA - we spent a lot of time there while living in Sacramento and Medford.

It's 88,000 or so and I have a website started there Page Title and several in other parts of the country. We like a town that is computer literate although thanks to the internet - you can reach anywhere.

We considered Boise too but it seems quite expensive to live there.

My wife and I were in Insurance in Oregon, and california but want to work on the internet only if possible.

Lewiston the summer I was there felt good in the summer but quite hot and I've not been there any other time. The two rivers are very impressive though.

I'll be following this to see what additional informatoin is put on here.

I was surprise that someone said Lewiston gets 29" of rain a year - I would never have believed it got anywhere near that much.

Have a good one.

John Hansen majorhart@sbcglobal.net


Seattle and Tacoma are beautiful but the constant rains get to me.

[Idaho_Vandal]

Lewiston averages 12.74 inches of rain per year and in most parts of town one can not smell the paper mill or composting facility.

Average Weather for Lewiston, ID - Temperature and Precipitation

[pw72]

I believe the weather is quite different between the two. Lewiston is much hotter in the summer, and much more mild in the winter. And Lewiston does have scenery. It is located in the valley of a confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, and there are mountain vistas in every direction. I agree with whoever said, Lewiston is "undiscovered". Problem is, very little new industry moving in, other than the usual agriculture/farming trade. Perhaps if some new modern industry started to take hold, it would start to explode. But so far, not really happening. But it really is a nice area, almost magical when viewed from the top of the "grade"!

[C_ferreira]

I live near Coeur d'Alene, and I have been to Lewiston. IMO, Cd'A is by farrrrrr the better choice over Lewiston. The summers it seems are always in the 100-110's. Not pleasant. In Cd'A the summers rarely ever get over 105. The winters in Lewiston are probably a tad bit better, I am not going to lie, but honestly, snow doesn't stay around for long in Coeur d'Alene, pretty much anywhere in Idaho gets snow; it's just a fact that you have to deal with when you move here. In Cd'A, we probably get less snow and have more mild of winters than the cities in SE Idaho. The snow is usually gone by February.
As for shopping, Cd'A is way better, we have most anything a mid-income could want, and if it is the expensive stores you like (A&F, Nordstrom, others) they are no more than a 30 minute car drive to Spokane. Also, the school district *I think* is one of the very few in the state to offer international baccalaureate (sp?) programs for the high schools. Cd'A also has a charter school, if that is what you want.
And for scenery, if you like one, you won't like the other. They are vastly differeng...I prefer the mountains, lakes, and trees, but if you like massive holes in the ground, barren fields, and smelly rivers, Lewiston is your choice.

[xboxmas]

I guess Lewiston isn't racialy diverse at all. If anybody cares.

[redwhiteblue]

Although I do like the CDA area there are some drawbacks.
The roads were not planned for growth at all, hwy 95 is backed up several times a day and there are not too many ways around it that are any better.
Downtown is really cute but still it's a downtown so you still see transients and some run down areas with people you probably wouldn't want to see at night.
The cloudy weather is very constant through the winter and spring and I don't mean just cloudy with a little sun I mean NO sun at all. Very dark a gloomy.Most days it just looks like it's going to rain but doesn't, which I think if it's going to look yucky it might as well just rain and clean the streets.
The stores are fine, smaller than you would find in bigger cities but do the job.
I found the people not to be all that friendly which was surprising to me being it's not all that big. Almost clicky as if you are in high school.
Lots of tweekers but I guess if you don't hang out with them you shouldn't have any problems.
A lot of the new homes have vinyl siding which does nothing for the neighborhoods at all.They are a little behind the times in there building practices.
I would really suggest that if you are considering a move to North Idaho that you visit multiple times to make sure the weather doesn't bother you.
And when it's raining in June and someone tells you that it is unusual they are having a memory lapse!
It is a really pretty area and like anywhere it isn't perfect but I would probably give it a 7 out of 10 overall.

[C_ferreira]

There are barely ANY transients in Cd'A! Spokane for sure....

[IndigoMoose]

I'm not sure I get it... what is so terrible about vinyl siding?

Originally Posted by redwhiteblue

A lot of the new homes have vinyl siding which does nothing for the neighborhoods at all.They are a little behind the times in there building practices.