Need help finding which Northern Idaho town is best for us! (Hayden: homes, buying) - (ID) - City-Data Forum

seaswirl · 05-04-2010, 10:31 PM

My family and I are planning on moving to Idaho in the next year or so, and would like some ideas on suitable towns and schools in Northern Idaho. I have been researching Sandpoint and the surrounding areas, but would like to hear from locals as to which small town best suits us... Our interests are snowmobiling, dirt biking, horseback riding, snowboarding and wakeboarding. My kids are 16 and 14 and VERY into sports - football, baseball, volleyball and softball. We also have a newborn, so a good elementary school is a must also! I prefer a small town/school with 10,000-3,000 people - any insight would be greatly appreciated???

flatlander dave · 05-05-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seaswirl

My family and I are planning on moving to Idaho in the next year or so, and would like some ideas on suitable towns and schools in Northern Idaho. I have been researching Sandpoint and the surrounding areas, but would like to hear from locals as to which small town best suits us... Our interests are snowmobiling, dirt biking, horseback riding, snowboarding and wakeboarding. My kids are 16 and 14 and VERY into sports - football, baseball, volleyball and softball. We also have a newborn, so a good elementary school is a must also! I prefer a small town/school with 10,000-3,000 people - any insight would be greatly appreciated???

seaswirl, if you want to be able to ride from your property (i.e. sleds, atv's, horse, etc) i recommend rural bonner county or boundary county. not sure what you are looking for as far as property. when we were looking at property 6 years ago i noticed some areas of bonner county that frowned on atv's and sleds. we ended up buying in boundary county, there is much more access to public grounds. if you have a priority list i may be able to make some more specific recommendations. good luck

Toyman at Jewel Lake · 05-05-2010, 10:03 AM

First, all of NID is good for what you're looking for, you can't go far wrong. Sandpoint is nice, but if you're really focused on dirt biking, the Bonner County area is a touch more limited than some others. Much of the national forest in this area is off limits to motorized rec. The greenies got a lot of areas shut down as grizzly bear and caribou recovery areas. Having said that, there are still a number of places to ride, and there are more areas open for winter rec (snowmobiles) than summer time. The Bonner/Boundry county areas have some great, off trail, steep and deep extreme snowmobiling. You might want to research Priest Lake as well.

For summer-time motorized rec (dirt bikes/atvs), Wallace is referred to as the "center of the universe" for good reason. It's recognized as one of the premere ATV sites in the country. I personally like the town, it's smaller than CDA or Sandpoint, with more of a community feel and less of a "granola" influence. I can't comment on school or job opportunites though.

Flip side is, given your water-based interests, Sandpoint offers great access to Pend Orielle and would really let you do it all.

Given your interests, NID will suit you well. You'd do well to come out on vacation and get a feel for some of the towns you are considering and see as what really feels like home to you.

Grofica · 05-09-2010, 04:18 AM

i say it all depends, i have never had any good experences in sandpoint. Athol is a small town (closer to CDA) and isnt so uhmmm backward....

SilverValley is a nice little area too...

Cdarocks · 05-13-2010, 11:10 PM

I am so glad you are looking at Idaho to be your home – it is a wonderful place. I am making the assumption you have been here and are familiar with the areas that are being recommended to you. I notice that in your original post you state that you must have a good elementary school. Someone please respectfully correct me if I am wrong, but I am not sure the afore mentioned areas are known for their good schools – with perhaps the exception of Sandpoint. My kiddos attend private school, so I cannot make a personal recommendation. However, I have good friends whose children attend schools in Hayden and they have been very pleased

Shaner · 05-14-2010, 02:47 PM

I don't know anything about sandpoint schools, but i know that silver valley has some pretty decent schools, and if you go a little north, athol or something like that would be a good choice as well. Maybe even Priest Lake?

mistyriver · 05-14-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaner

I don't know anything about sandpoint schools, but i know that silver valley has some pretty decent schools, and if you go a little north, athol or something like that would be a good choice as well. Maybe even Priest Lake?

Priest Lake only has a tiny elementary school and then the kids go into Priest River schools. Not so good, and jobs are quite scarce in this area as well since the timber market splatted.

seaswirl · 05-20-2010, 12:41 PM

Thanks for the responses! Snowmobiling is definately first on the list of activities we enjoy!!! As far as small towns, we now live in a VERY small town (1,500 pop.), 1 1/2 hrs to the nearest shopping and dining, and are looking for something a little bigger... between 2000 and 8000 would be ideal - still small, but more to do! Sandpoint is very similar to the town we live in now, I think that is why we are so interested in it!?! As far as work, my husband is in the process of medically retiring from the state, so a jobs are not a factor. I really appreciate any input...........

Clark Fork Fantast · 05-20-2010, 03:27 PM

In NID terms a pop of 1,500 is actually not all that tiny, IMHO--Clark Fork has only about 600, and it's big enough to have a post office, a high school, a market, a couple of good restaurants, etc. Go to the City-Data Forum homepage and check out pop stats for various NID towns. Just to give you an idea: Bonner's Ferry has about 2,500, Kellogg around 2,200, Sandpoint is slightly above 8,000, Rathdrum is close to 7,000 (hard to believe--can that be right?), and St. Maries is around 2,600.

NW Crow · 05-20-2010, 05:43 PM

Priest River is about 2,000 and in your size range is the closest to Sandpoint.

Rathdrum is the only one I can think in N Idaho in the upper part of your size range (besides Sandpoint itself and unless you can and would consider Hayden at 9,000+). Rathdrum is likely to get bigger, with the plus and minuses of that.

"If" Rathdrum seemed too big, Spirit Lake is pushing 2,000 and might be another alternative. I'd guess it will grow some more and it is pretty near Rathdrum and bigger stuff beyond.

Grangeville, further south, is about 3,000. The resort town of McCall is about 2,500. In the northeast part of the state, there is Salmon at 2,500.

If you are even more flexible, about the state, and want further options, across the border in WA, I'd mention Deer Park WA (about 3,500), Chewelah WA (about 2,000) and Colville WA (about 5,000). Liberty Lake is about 6,500 but is more suburban. Libby MT is about 3,000. Enterprise, Oregon is about 2,000, while Baker City, OR is about 9,500. LaGrande OR is about 12,500 and has gotten some good press.

The population figures are for the towns themselves. The nearby rural homes would add some to any of them.