What is the Burley like? (Harrison: houses, rent, lease)

[boojan]

May I know something about that town? Who can tell me something about my (new) town? I am coming in Burley like an echange student from Europe, so I would like to know something about this town...
Maybe someone have pictures of this place, so if he/she can put them here...

[k1fo2]

COULD you tell me what taxes would be on a 100,000 dollar house, and i read this is a ag community is it dairy and if it is how many cows there i lve in a county with 25,000 people and 58,000 dairy cows

[mlpslc]

Burley is a great little town--in fact, it is my hometown. There might not seem like theres a lot to do there at first, but once you get to know some people they can take you place like City of Rocks, and Pomerelle (for skiing and snowboarding!) In general people are pretty friendly there, and there is only 9000 people in the town so everyone knows everyone else, or at least it seems that way. Be sure to get some Chinese food at Shon Hing and some pizza at Al's. It is hot in the summer but very cold and windy in the winter, so bring appropriate clothing. And k1fo2, sorry but I cannot tell you about the taxes on a 100,000 house as I never owned a house when I lived there. And yes it is a farming community so there are a few dairies around, on a windy day you can sometimes smell them but it's usually not too bad.

[busone]

I have lived here in burley for almost two years now. I really like Burley and the surrounding area. Overall the people are great. Like any town there are a few mean people but I don't bother with them.

It is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, we rarely get a tornado and never get hurricanes so I cannot complain. It is very dry here it almost never rains in the summer and we get little snow in the winter. You can drive 20 miles and go to the moutains where there is plenty of trees and recreation. It is really cool to go to the top of Mt Harrison and look down at the valley. It is a whole different climate up there.

Out of the big cities (Portland, Denver) I have lived in I am surprised how much better the health care is here. My wife had a very rough pregnancy and the doctors here have been excellent compared to Portland. There is almost never a wait if you have to go to the ER.

You will probably pay in the $700-800 a year range for taxes on a $100,000 house. It also depends on if you live in the city or not. If you are looking for a place in the county be sure that it has irrigation water shares. You cannot water more than 1 acre with your well without a water right. Water is a problem here. Nobody wants to give up their water rights. Many farms end up in court over disputes.

If you are going to buy an existing house prepare to do some remodeling. Most of the houses here have not been remodeled ever. My house was built in the 1950s and it was still in the 1950s when we bought it. If you are looking at any of the houses near the river look out for water damage in the basements. The water table is very high in burley and a lot of basements get water in them during irrigation season.

The job market is very good here right now. Unemployment is under 3% so it is easy to land a job. The harder part is getting a good paying job. If you live in the city or get electric serivce from the city you will be pleased with some of the lowest electric rates in the country. Burley city customers pay about 4.8 cents KWH. In the country you will either have coop power or Idaho Power which is a little higher.

Burley just built a new wastewater treatment plant so the sewer bills have gone up to $40 a month the water is still about $15 for the average family. You also get low pressure irrigation in the city. You get to use that water for your lawn and garden for a flat fee every year, it is something like $50, I live outside the city so I don't know the exact cost.

Garbage service sucks here no matter if you have PSI or live in the city and get to deal with their service. I end up having to call and remined them to pickup my garbage at least once a month.

This is a farming community so there are a lot of cows here, sometimes you will smell them if the wind blows right. You will also occasionally smell the sugar beet plant. While not a nasty smell it is not nice either.

The price of gas and diesel is slightly higher here than the national average most of the time, sometimes though it is less. If the house you buy has an oil furnace you will probably want to go to a heat pump or straight electric heat. Electricity is cheaper than heating oil these days.