why did you move to north idaho ? (Sandpoint, Grangeville: spring break, leasing)

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by threejane

Guess no matter what I do, I can't do anything about where I'm from. I can decry California attitude until I'm blue in the face, but since I'm from that state, I'm just another Californian out to wreck Idaho.

*shrug*

Oh well, I'm here to stay, even through the snow and the bugs and the long drives. The only thing I changed about the house I moved to was make the hill bigger in the back so we could shoot.

Hey now, keep your head up. If you love ID, stay, it's your right to.

[dieselperformanceidaho]

I took my winch off getting ready for winter hopefully this week will be my last time in court with my buddy from cail

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Where in CA (the rural area you were speaking of) did you move from again?

We were in the mountains above the Inland Empire area, about 90 miles east/northeast of Los Angeles. So we were not quite halfway between the ocean and the Nevada border.

[ulsterscot]

Everytime I read one of these threads about Californians moving in and ruining an area, I am reminded of the fable of the scorpion and the frog -

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The
frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion
says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

Why do Californians try to turn their new home into SoCal? It's their nature.

[Sandpointian]

Originally Posted by Sphene

Not all Californians are bad! I happen to be one looking to move to Idaho, but I am not looking to turn Idaho into California!! The reason I want to move to Idaho is mainly to get away from California, away from people who drive like maniacs, neighbors who decide its ok to play loud music or rev engines at 12AM when I am trying to sleep. I want to have a place I can afford that has a yard and trees and clean air (I am from the central valley, its bad here!) where I can raise a family and not have to worry about my kids getting into any trouble playing outside. It is unfortunate that there are those who relocate and ruin it for other people from California (and Utah and other western states) by giving a bad impression. But I hope that local communities establish codes (I think there was a city in Montana that did that?) that will preserve the way of life that makes me and others want to move to Idaho.

On a side note, I've also found that from visiting Idaho frequently (I'm there at least once a month) I've become a more courteous driver (this is the most important I think!) and a better neighbor, which kinda weirds other Californians here out because no one is used to anyone being nice and neighborly I find it quite funny!

I do not think anyone needs to turn into someone they are not. Rather, they should simply make it a point to be a good citizen, respectful, and tread lightly and with care for those around. I would rather we have good people in town who deeply appreciate the privilege of living where we do, then pseudo-Idahoans whose transformation to be all things Idaho might be short-lived.

S.

[Sphene]

Well I guess it seems like no matter what I would do, I would be always thought of as a Californian when I move to Idaho, and would always be associated with the negative connotations that go along with that until I spend enough time there that people forget I am from California The people I have met in Arco so far are pretty nice to me, but then again my boyfriend is a local, so maybe that helps a bit? I dunno, but once I get there, I plan on sticking it out and being a good citizen, etc., and maybe making the positive influence that not all Californians are created in the same mold.

[mistyriverranch]

Most of the people I know from California aren't even "from" there. It's just become a silly catch-all insult from people who are too dim to realize that every place has it's share of rotten people.
We did a fencing job in Sagle for a very nice elderly lady whose husband died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack two months earlier. Rather than her native Idaho neighbors offer condolence or help, they let stand the unbelievable tacky signs facing her property that were painted with an outline of the state of CA with a slash mark thru it and another one that said, "Go Home" Pretty low end, IMO.

[threejane]

Originally Posted by ulsterscot

Everytime I read one of these threads about Californians moving in and ruining an area, I am reminded of the fable of the scorpion and the frog -

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The
frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion
says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

Why do Californians try to turn their new home into SoCal? It's their nature.

Would you be offended if you were stereotyped as being toothless, potato-growing, sister-loving, Aryan Nations skinhead, backwoods hillbillies?

Stereotypes are stupid. They perpetuate themselves to some degree, but you also have to take people on a person-by-person basis.

[Sandpointian]

Think of it this way. We have two intersecting circles: Self-Described Idahoans & Recent Urbanites/Suburbanites.

People in the intersection of the two circles get along just fine. NID is not about them, it is about the land, the water, the kids, the community, & the future. Success on all fronts means mutual respect and mutual support. Generosity & courtesy. Trade-in-kind, whether in services or in neighborliness. Respect of privacy yet shared BBQs or ball games. Considerable exchange of information regarding each other's expertise. Really, all are in the tradition of the pioneers, who would not been so foolish as to self-segregate.

People not in the intersection see themselves in terms of their circle. Such "Idahoans" are purists who have in their minds recast that which is meant to be "truly Idahoan" into part myth, part fantasy, and part xenophobia...all the while not recognizing that their existence here comes in the final second of the final minute of the final hour in the time line of Idaho.

The "non-intersecting" urbanites/suburbanites are one of two types. They are either living the Idaho experience with a zeal that is wholly consistent with most locals (what one might see in Vermont via transplanted New Yorkers bent on getting "back to the land," albeit with designer fishing equipment, guns, and other dead-give away technical equipment that is more about the wand than the magician). These types are extreme in pushing toward the left as well as the right.

Or they are transplanting all the noise and baggage of their previous existence without much cognizance of how it might rub people wrong, offend or distort the community they newly adopted. This in your-face crowd either converts into the intersection through osmosis or they fail to make the grade and return to whence they came. I presume much of the against over Californians (code word for New Yorkers, Miamians, Washingtonians, etc.) is over her urbanite/suburbanites.

So for those not "intersecting," why not move into the intersection. The entrance fee is small: a bit of ego, a shift in paradigm, a chill pill. The rewards are great: a community of good and honest people who have a great balance of space and community, of protection and progress, and of tradition and dynamism.

A final point: the past ten years has been an amazing series of economic and cultural shocks. These shocks of blind us to the picture of the intersecting circles and what it represents. In tough times, it is really easy to point fingers at people when in fact those very people might be the very who have the most of offer our community. So perspective and patience is needed to avoid the quick judgments, almost all being counter productive and self-destructive.

I hope we can all take an extra 15 minutes out with a bottle of red or your favorite cigar and breathe in the wonders of NID and take stock of how many good people there are in these woods. I do not do so enough myself, but I will start now...

S.

[Walk In Beauty]

Just for the record, I live in CA & I can't wait to get out! I can't tell you how absurd people are everywhere - not just here. Not that we don't have our share of rude people, couple that with all the rude tourists from all over the country & around the world, and you get my drift. Then add to that the fact that this state's resources has made it a den for greedy, power-tripping politicians, and you can see why I can't wait to get out.

I, too, wonder what the heck ever happened to this country? Seems like people lost their basic sensibilities sometime over the last 20 years. I moved out of the So. Cal. to a smaller town 20 years ago, and over the last 5 years in particular, it feels like this place is too big for me, too.

Just for the record, hubby & I helped pull a few vehicles out of a snowbank not far from our campsite up in the Sierras this last spring. Didn't ask for any money, but did receive a bottle of wine from one group, and a nice big bag of gratuity items from another. No law suits, so it's not like every Californian has their head screwed on too tight. It's just that the bad ones are so bad, it makes the rest look bad, too.