Country home within 1 hour of meridian. Where to begin looking (Boise: homes, subdivision)

[Oregon hillbilly]

Husband wants to move from Oregon to Idaho within the next 2 months to be near his parents who recently moved to Meridian. This came as a complete surprise to me but am supportive of his wish. Inlaws are retired professionals who are happy in a nice subdivision. I'm nearly 70 and lived in mountains of Oregon all my life so the adjustment would be easier if I could stay rural. So our criteria are 1 hour or less from Meridian. Budget of 250 to 375k, large shop for husband, garden area and chickens for me and room for 3 dogs and a cat. Acreage and privacy would be a nice to have. What are the areas you would suggest we look first?

[sunflowersinthegarden]

Melba, Horseshoe Bend, Emmett, Homedale, Mountain Home.

[Oregon hillbilly]

Thanks for the speedy reply. Husband is leaving Thursday to look for homesand it's nice to have an idea where to concentrate his efforts. Ideally one would have more time for research before moving.....

[NW Crow]

Outside Emmett would seem like a good choice to me.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Oregon hillbilly

Thanks for the speedy reply. Husband is leaving Thursday to look for homesand it's nice to have an idea where to concentrate his efforts. Ideally one would have more time for research before moving.....

Congradulations!!

[nm9stheham]

Mountain Home is not mountainous. Emmet is on the edge of a plain, so you would want to go north from there to be in some lower mountains.

So if you want to be in the mountains, then your hubby needs to look north along ID 55, which includes Horseshoe Bend and even as far up as Garden City, which is right at 1 hour from Meridian and is getting well up into the mountains that you would like. Also, Idaho City is deep into the mountains and forests and is an hour from Meridian via ID21.

The higher you go into the mountains, you will get considerably more snow than in the immediate Boise vicinity. It will involve good snow tires and a few days where you won't want to go out.

If you are from the Cascades, then things are going to be considerably drier all around the Boise region.

[Oregon hillbilly]

Drier huh. Are there areas where water is scarce? I've been looking at homes online and I dont see many green lawns.

[burbsgrrl]

The Boise area is high mountain desert with little rain fall - if you do not water, it will not be green. We have wells for water and rely on mountain snow runoff for irrigation.

I’d suggest looking at Garden Valley area, more green and mountainous.

[nm9stheham]

The key for green in the northern Rockies is snow in winter that lays for a long time. That tends to come with elevation, or the farther north areas like northern ID and NW MT where the winters are cloudier and the snow lays more.

I personally like the high elevation areas in the region where you get a mix of high elevation grass and trees. But as burbsgrrl notes, when you get in the lower elevations like in the Treasure Valley like Meridian and Boise, not much snow lays and the land is more arid. Idaho City is heavily forested at around 4000'. Garden City is a slightly higher elevation (than Boise) valley area, as you might guess LOL. Even where the snow lays in winter, most of central and southern ID will get dry in mid-late summer, including the mountain regions.

[Oregon hillbilly]

A learning opportunity.
We should be able to find a place where I can grow veg garden and flower beds if we are willing to pour on the water, correct? Wells usually have unlimited water? The upside i guess is no more moss growing on everything left outdoors.