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Hey there guys, Id like to start this topic by saying a little something about myself and my background first. Describe my current status, and why I am posting on here in detail, then ask my questions once thats out of the way.
My names Juan, I currently live in CA and am going to San Diego State University. I am working on my Bachelors degree in psychology and plan to obtain my masters degree to become a licensed MFT by 2012-2013. I am a 21 year old male single, (have long plans to remain single) as well as a Mexican-American citizen.
I plan to be somebody in life, and hopefully make enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle. I also care a lot about the environment, and am a proud member of greenpeace.
I am considering moving to Idaho once I graduate from my college and Im looking for some general information about the state. Idaho is one of the 3 states I am looking to move into along with Maine and Washington.
My main reason for wanting to go to Idaho is the population. I am very tired of the huge number of people in San diego CA. Im not the kind of guy who likes to go out and party all night. I enjoy park cleanings, hikes, camping, and riding my motorcycle more than any loud and wild party. I'm a very nature focused person and I have herd many great things about the wildlife and forests in Idaho. I also don't enjoy drinking or clubbing any kind of real out going activities. (I guess this is why I plan to stay single :_( My idea of a good day is going out for a nice hike, or going fishing, coming home to a nice soccer game or a movie and reading a book before bed. Thats the life in my opinion....anyhow
Second reason I want to move to Idaho is Mexico. Don't get me wrong I love My heritage and my family. I am very proud of being Latino and love my culture. What I do not love is the corrupt government in Mexico and the drug wars that are going on there. I have had 2 uncles killed already by random acts of violence in hot spots around Tijuana and Tecate, my cousin was also kidnapped for 3 weeks down there...its just to much stress. All this came right as my father passed away as well. As much as I love my culture and heritage I do not enjoy violence and crime. I want to go far away from all of the chaos and am working hard in school in fact a member of the psychology honors program in order to make that dream come true.
I guess that is a bit more than just 2 reasons...anyhow there are also reasons why I am afraid of Idaho. Some of these are very personal and I hope we can remain civil and discuss this in a respectful manner.
#1 I am a very strong democrat. I have herd from friends who live in AZ that northern Idaho is not to accepting of other ideologies. I have also looked into Idaho's majority and it seems to be a very republican state. I don't know to what extent the political parties make a difference in the life in the state so id like to know more about this.
#2 I am Latino and a single Latino man buying a home by himself in Idaho does not sound to safe to me. I don't know how racism is in the northern states because I have never left CA. In CA racism does not seem like a big problem especially in San Diego. I don't know how bad this is in Northern Idaho where all the wildlife is at.
#3 Job security. Not sure about the current state of jobs in Idaho and the need for MFT or Counselors in the state. There may not be many jobs available for me in my field.
This is basically all I want to say at this point. If You guys would be so kind as to answer my concerns with your experiences and perhaps comment on my reasons for wanting to live in Idaho I would appreciate it.
#3 Job security. Not sure about the current state of jobs in Idaho and the need for MFT or Counselors in the state. There may not be many jobs available for me in my field.
Juan,
First comment. Of the 32 cities in Idaho with population 5000+, 11 have 10%+ Hispanic population. In only two of cities >15000, is there Hispanic populations 10%+ (Caldwell and Nampa) and two more with 5-10% (Idaho Falls, Twin Falls). With such small numbers, this means that for most of Idaho the public displays of identity politics one sees in California or Miami or NY are rare to nonexistent here. This in turns means that to the extent that it exists, ethnic pride tends to be a private matter.
For those who have lived through four seasons year in and year out, you get humbled by nature and appreciate the humanity provided by community. There is little room for self-segregation of racial or ethnic politics. Instead, there is plenty of room for sharing the beauty and fun of what someone brings to the community (art, music, food, and of course the person him/herself). The challenge for you, given you grew up in an area defined almost exclusively by racial division, is whether you can truly remake yourself in a given community where the same economic and political factors for racial division do not exist, or certainly not to the same extent.
You will find no shortage of people friendly to Juan who happens to be Latino and is proud of that heritage. However, you will not find any red carpet for Juan, the flag carrying Latino who places ethnicity above character....and no red carpet for other racial flag-carriers either.
Second comment. There are 19 cities with population 10,000+; 8 cities with population 40,000+; 5 cities with population 50,000+; and 2 cities with population 75,000+. A field like MFT (which I am guessing is marriage family therapy) thrives in New York b/c New York is a high population pressure cooker. Your pool of potential clients is proportional to stress, diversity, adultery, pressure, disfunction, alcoholism, abuse, etc. The last thing you want for your business is happy, content people! Woody Allen's humour would not have been generated from rural America but urban America.
It seems to be that you have two things you have to fit together. Juan the young guy wants to live a well-grounded lifestyle, the kind he would recommend to his clients. Plenty of room for that Juan in Idaho. However, Juan the MFT needs to have a large enough client pool to have a viable business, i.e. he needs densely packed urbanized areas which generate those clients. But alas, Idaho does not offer many such incubators! Here, the data is pretty clear. You have two choices. The Boise area (Ada and Canyon Counties, with 1/4 of Idaho's biggest cities (including the top 3: Boise, Nampa, Meridian) or a job in a place where your job security won;t require you finding the clients--they come to you (say a job as a civil servant or a job in a university).
Juan, I'm down in your general area (with retirement property in Idaho), and years ago I taught at SDSU. Sandpointian makes good points from start to finish, so I won't comment on that, but here's my suggestion: This "winter" (with our brutal 70+ temperatures ) you read all about Idaho as if you were researching a term paper, just for the fun of it. And that includes reading relevant old threads on this forum. Then you start planning your summer vacation, and next summer you take your motorcycle on a road trip to Idaho, all the way from Southern to North Idaho and see for yourself. Allow yourself enough time in different areas (like the areas suggested by Sandpointian) to get to talk with people and get a feel for the state. You will know, within a very short time, whether Idaho might be for you, at the personal level, because if that doesn't work, the professional level is probably not going to work for you, either. It should be a great vacation, you'll see amazing scenery, and you will have gathered invaluable information. You should also include WA in your research and road trip plans. Chances are that you'll find a more promising personal/professional future in Western WA, with its democratic political traditions and higher urban density, and you'll still have beautiful wild country to camp in. Consider traveling inland up to ID, and then west through WA, and back to San Diego along the OR/CA coast. That's a fantastic trip in itself, and you will have a much better idea of what to do next.
Juan,
I am a Hispanic transplant to SE Idaho and aside from ignorance I have not faced any "threats" to me or my family. At some point in my life I decided to assume positive intent because I knew that the ignorant comments were not meant to insult but because they didn't know any better. SE Idaho is very conservative, it may frustrate you politically. SW Idaho is a bit more liberal and there may be a significant number of democrats there but I don't know for sure. I have never been to NID so I can't comment there.
I lived in western Washington for 6 years and they are more environmentally conscious and there are quite a bit of liberals there. Oregon is more liberal than that and plenty of places that are sparsely populated.
Sorry to hear of your "ignorant" run-ins, Poqui, but that tends to happen in lots of places - I've seen just as much ignorance in the south, and in large cities like Chicago and Phoenix. That said, I welcome a little diversity to this area - makes me feel more at home (i.e. like the larger cities).
Juan, I think CFF lays out an excellent idea; just plan a tour for yourself to see with your own eyes, to experience for your own self. I know that when we first came through here in 2006, we observed with the idea that we might move here, but wouldn't have known which area we would've be happier with if we hadn't gone to those places ourselves.
Finish College First, Get Training, Degree and Licensed as LMFT then Post these questions, IF jobs are available.
Juan,
You've been given some superb advice, between Sandpointain, Clark Fork Fantast and breer 23. I really like CCF's advice about you researching this thread as is if it were a term paper, or research project for a quarter. See what you can learn from what has already been written. Plus planning to tour the state this summer will allow you to experience different environments, from temps to metro, small and very small populations.
Secondly, I disagree slightly with Sandpointain, but not in principle. Juan, how many LMFTs are currently in practice in Idaho? In no way are my comments meant as any type of a put down to you, or trying to discourage you at all. Rather, I have the voice of experience being licensed in Idaho as well as other states I opt to keep my license current, of the realties of being a licensed practitioner. To be 100% clear, I'm not an LMFT, but do have an ID license and know what it required for me.
The fact you haven't completed your undergrad training yet, it seems to me you are putting the cart before the horse a bit. You first must complete school for your advance degree, due the required intership hours etc. to pass licensing tests. How does Idaho license LMFTs?
I believe it is one thing to have completed training and licensing and wondering about moving to a state where one has been offered a job in real time (in this case 2009). You are talking about finishing school in 2012-13, if you are accepted into grad school, able to attend like you have planned etc. Sometimes, life doesn't work like that.
If you question is about finishing your B.S. in Idaho to gain access to graduate school within Idaho or a neighboring state, that is a different question. For now, I think you are too far ahead of yourself and making some assumptions that may not be fact. I strongly believe in planning for one's future; I also believe in having the training, licenses and a job where one wants is wondering about living.
There may be no job opportunities for LMFT's in Idaho when you finish your advance training.
I'd recommend you get in touch with some of the LMFTs in Idaho and see what advice they would have for you in general. Idaho has no lack of LMFTs. Perhaps a distribution problem of those licensed to practice as LMFTs, but not a shortage of them. I'd encourage you to focus first on getting accepted to a graduate program and then completing than program before assuming all things will go as planned. Perhaps you've been accepted already and if so, that is good. However, many people are not accepted to advanced programs the first time they apply.
I'd encourage you to take the feedback you've been given here and post again, if appropriate. If you are hoping to get into an Idaho-based program, per your own research, you have access to know where in Idaho LMFT training is offered and whether one needs to be a resident or not.
It does not matter what the professional license is in. The world is a little different when one is a student answering questions for a practicuum or exam vs. being the professional signing a report that can be challenged by other professionals, or you can be sued for your treatment provided, or you can not find a job opportunity in a state or area you like.
I'd recommend you not define yourself so narrowly, until you've completed training, and as a licensed professional and have a few job offers and opportunities in various states, you may have the opportunity to be more selective. Once you are a small business owner yourself, paying employer and employee taxes, or if you decide to work for an employer at the location the employer wants, you may find you get further by being more flexible than what your OP states.
Good luck in finishing your B.S. in Psychology. I hope you get accepted to the advanced training program you want. When you interview, ask about the opportunity of doing some of your practicuums or clinical placements in Idaho. Then you can further assess areas of Idaho and where you may like to practice. You will also know how many LMFTs are in Idaho and in what counties.
Then your questions at CDF will be a little more relevant as they will not all theoretical or simply your desire, but a reality that you've been offered a job as a licensed professional.
I would also say that Sandpointian gave you some outstanding advice.
My take...
#1 - North Idaho is awfully Libertarian. So while it's not "Obama Country" by any stretch, neither was is "Bush Country" to the degree many would think. If you come here and have a different political view than most of us, handle it with care and respect and you'll do fine. Start pounding your fist about banning guns/hunting/fishing and boy...you may as well be a child molester. But if you're being a "good neighbor" you generally avoid discussions about politics since it's not generally conversation that leads to amicable meeting of the minds anyhow. It's like religion...rarely are two people exactly on the same page, and people get ugly fast...
#2 - Nobody cares what race you are. Seriously. If you're a decent guy, that's all folks are going to care about.
#3 - Don't come here without a job, or without a realistic expectation that you'll be broke for a few years while you launch a practice. Most people who come here without jobs or savings to live on while launching a business wind up broke or leaving.
#2 I am Latino and a single Latino man buying a home by himself in Idaho does not sound to safe to me. I don't know how racism is in the northern states because I have never left CA. In CA racism does not seem like a big problem especially in San Diego. I don't know how bad this is in Northern Idaho where all the wildlife is at.
.
Why exactly do you think it would be unsafe? You think the local rednecks are gonna come lynch you in your yard? You've never been there, never left CA in fact, yet somehow came to the conclusion that people in Idaho may be dangerous? Isn't that having an uneducated, preconceived notion of people? Don't they call that racism Juan?
Sandpointian, MSR, CFF, and Sage pretty much covered anything I'd have to offer, and you sound like a stand-up, good ol' guy, so you should have nothing to worry about in Idaho. You apparently have an autonomous, self-sufficient spirit and a strong enough sense of self to pick and choose the correct portions of your ethnic heritage to pride or shirk. That alone makes you as Idahoan as any of us Euro-mutts. Some people may need to feel you out in more back woods areas where you will be a sort of novelty (of all the Idaho Latinos there are [there are more than you'd think], few are found far from their cars in the wilderness, quite frankly); but if you don't act like a raunchy gang-banger stereotype (and you definitely won't if your post is any tell), you'll get a happy welcome and warm conversation.
One thing I can add is that, as a hiker, you will want to be open to people who enjoy riding ATVs and hunting. People in Idaho like mellow folks who mind their own business and respect wilderness (this is defined a bit more libertarian than in Cali), including the variety of hobbies that metriculate therein. I know some Californian camping pals of mine can get rather opinionated and like to "interfere" with hunters and off-roaders, and the condition when they camped with me in Idaho was the proverbial short leash (i.e., self-restraint in this case, they're not like animals [most of the time]). Enjoying participating in that sort of interference/sabotage mischief would be the only sure-fire reason to fear Idaho back country.
Sage also gave some noteworthy advice about talking politics. Most people (not all, sadly, so be warned) will entertain discussion, but once someone's liberal leaning gets too whiney or pushy about their take on the local politics, that's a good way to get alienated in many towns. Really small towns will make sure an "activist" or "radical" type wants to excommunicate himself/herself in the end. You really have to work to bring that upon yourself, though, because people do like to live and let live, above all else. Some people just don't want to hear how you "live" in some ways, if you know what I mean. Places with colleges are exceptions, of course, as a lot of Boise, Moscow, or Pocatello will remind you more of SoCal than Texas politically, if you will. Those areas abound with liberals and the Latah (Moscow) and Bannock (Pocatello) counties are actually blue just about every election even though Idaho is red.
You sound like you're all about enjoying your space and respecting others' space, though, so on that note I think you'll fit right in better than you could even know at this juncture. Idaho is a refreshingly peaceful place for anyone who doesn't try to disturb the peace themselves. Violent or obnoxious people get a personally tailored lesson from police demonstrating exactly why Idaho stays so peaceful.
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) you read all about Idaho as if you were researching a term paper, just for the fun of it. And that includes reading relevant old threads on this forum. Then you start planning your summer vacation, and next summer you take your motorcycle on a road trip to Idaho, all the way from Southern to North Idaho and see for yourself. Allow yourself enough time in different areas (like the areas suggested by Sandpointian) to get to talk with people and get a feel for the state. You will know, within a very short time, whether Idaho might be for you, at the personal level, because if that doesn't work, the professional level is probably not going to work for you, either. It should be a great vacation, you'll see amazing scenery, and you will have gathered invaluable information. You should also include WA in your research and road trip plans. Chances are that you'll find a more promising personal/professional future in Western WA, with its democratic political traditions and higher urban density, and you'll still have beautiful wild country to camp in. Consider traveling inland up to ID, and then west through WA, and back to San Diego along the OR/CA coast. That's a fantastic trip in itself, and you will have a much better idea of what to do next.
Finish College First, Get Training, Degree and Licensed as LMFT then Post these questions, IF jobs are available.
I hope you get accepted to the advanced training program you want. When you interview, ask about the opportunity of doing some of your practicuums or clinical placements in Idaho. Then you can further assess areas of Idaho and where you may like to practice. You will also know how many LMFTs are in Idaho and in what counties.
Some people may need to feel you out in more back woods areas where you will be a sort of novelty (of all the Idaho Latinos there are [there are more than you'd think], few are found far from their cars in the wilderness, quite frankly); but if you don't act like a raunchy gang-banger stereotype (and you definitely won't if your post is any tell), you'll get a happy welcome and warm conversation.
]). Enjoying participating in that sort of interference/sabotage mischief would be the only sure-fire reason to fear Idaho back country. 
Places with colleges are exceptions, of course, as a lot of Boise, Moscow, or Pocatello will remind you more of SoCal than Texas politically, if you will. Those areas abound with liberals and the Latah (Moscow) and Bannock (Pocatello) counties are actually blue just about every election even though Idaho is red. 
