Idaho "Homesteading" (Idaho Falls, Kimberly: transplants, for sale, new home)

[Tessa_]

We are a couple in our early 30's with two school age children. We live in a wonderful small town on the Central Coast of CA. We've lived on the Central Coast for years and have been sadden to see it changing. It seems that people move here to enjoy the slower pace and local business but then they don't settle down and they bring with them the big chain stores. We thought we and found the perfect place. A small unincorporated community of less than 1,000. We have a few restaurants, two bars and a gas station. You have to drive into the next town for groceries. We have a small elementary school and a park- that's about it. There is a HUGE sense of community. There is a major emphasis on the holidays, Town wide Easter Egg Hunt, 4th of July parade, Christmas Tree Lighting. We have monthly community potlucks in the park in the summer time. Pretty great, right? The issues is that we have rumblings of development coming out way. 150 new homes coming (that's just the first phase) and the are talking of revamping the "downtown" area.

We have felt for years that CA is not the place for us but have stayed due to family in the area. But at this point that may not be enough to hold us here. We have strong morals, good values. We believe in hard work, family and country.

We're seeking a town that is basically stuck in time. We'll keep is a secret, once we find it we'll not try to change. We looking for a place where we can buy property and work it. We both have farming in our family and would like to return to that sort of lifestyle.

Do you know where this place might be?

[banjomike]

Wow. Finding anywhere that's trapped in amber is going to be tough, Tessa.

Somer still exist here in Idaho, but i would not want to raise a kid in any of them I know of. They are all very remote here, in a remoteness you have probably never experienced unless you've lived somewhere for a long time without electricity, a civic water supply, and no land line telephones.

Even most of those places here have adapted; the internet, cell phone satellites, and solar power cells have changed a lot of that primitiveness forever. But you won't find a nearby doctor or dentist, a modern well equipped school, or good roads that are reliably snow free year round.

On the other hand, we have lots and lots of places you might think are remote at first, but really aren't, by our definition. Just about everywhere here has a lot of home-town feel to it, no matter how small or large the community is. I'm sure we have several that are just your perfect size, with all the right stuff.

What you will find is more astonishing, jaw-dropping, awesome natural beauty than you ever knew existed, and that if you get into any trouble in most all of it, you will be the only one to get yourself out. Our outback is out. back. Just a few miles or less than anywhere you live here, even if you live in our largest cities.

Come on out on a visit that is long enough to actually go out and learn what remote truly means. Love it or not, be prepared to be amazed. Once a person leaves an Interstate, this state becomes an entirely different place, and it defies all expectations.

[Tessa_]

Thanks for the input. We've been out there once (Kimberly area) and are coming out again the summer. I'm researching our trip now so that we can check out potential towns.

[quenton]

Originally Posted by Tessa_

Thanks for the input. We've been out there once (Kimberly area) and are coming out again the summer. I'm researching our trip now so that we can check out potential towns.

You might be saddened to realize that Idaho is a fast growing state with many transplants.

Will you bring work with you? Most of the communities you appear to single out have very little opportunity for yourself and for your children in the future. Sad... I know, most of my friends from high school left town after graduation and never went back.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by quenton

You might be saddened to realize that Idaho is a fast growing state with many transplants.

Will you bring work with you? Most of the communities you appear to single out have very little opportunity for yourself and for your children in the future. Sad... I know, most of my friends from high school left town after graduation and never went back.

I agree with quenton. As you look at possible areas you'd like to consider, I'd first find an area where employment can be secured. If you are self employed, what would you need for supplies for your business, or internet services etc.? From what cities would obtain those goods/services needed for your business? Shipping and receiving goods can be very difficult in a small town.

When you visit I would encourage you to explore more than one area and know the answers of how you would support your family. We understand even more CA and other residents want to move to Idaho. For many, it takes years to get everything secured for a successful move.

Good luck when you visit. I hope you can start making solid plans soon where would be right for your family.

MSR

[Tessa_]

All good questions. We have lots to plan for and understand that this sort of move may take several years. My husband is in law enforcement now but we may be transitioning to self employment.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by Tessa_

Thanks for the input. We've been out there once (Kimberly area) and are coming out again the summer. I'm researching our trip now so that we can check out potential towns.

Good on you. Make sure you look before you leap. Once you make a decision to move, and you find its not going to work. It will be tough to go back to where you came from.

Try making one of your trips during the winter to be sure of the weather, and can adapt to the lifestyle. Be sure to make as many trips as you can before you make a decision.

That's what i am planning myself. I figure summer is a wash. It's the winter i have be able to adapt physically and mentally.

Best of luck in your search.
Scott

[revelated]

Originally Posted by Tessa_

We are a couple in our early 30's with two school age children. We live in a wonderful small town on the Central Coast of CA. We've lived on the Central Coast for years and have been sadden to see it changing. It seems that people move here to enjoy the slower pace and local business but then they don't settle down and they bring with them the big chain stores. We thought we and found the perfect place. A small unincorporated community of less than 1,000. We have a few restaurants, two bars and a gas station. You have to drive into the next town for groceries. We have a small elementary school and a park- that's about it. There is a HUGE sense of community. There is a major emphasis on the holidays, Town wide Easter Egg Hunt, 4th of July parade, Christmas Tree Lighting. We have monthly community potlucks in the park in the summer time. Pretty great, right? The issues is that we have rumblings of development coming out way. 150 new homes coming (that's just the first phase) and the are talking of revamping the "downtown" area.

We have felt for years that CA is not the place for us but have stayed due to family in the area. But at this point that may not be enough to hold us here. We have strong morals, good values. We believe in hard work, family and country.

We're seeking a town that is basically stuck in time. We'll keep is a secret, once we find it we'll not try to change. We looking for a place where we can buy property and work it. We both have farming in our family and would like to return to that sort of lifestyle.

Do you know where this place might be?

It sounds to me like you only have experienced a small part of California.

Yreka, Eureka, Avenal (to a degree), Red Bluff, Greenville (Yuba)...there are TONS of parts of California that I assure you will have no such growth in the near future. Too remote, nobody wants to live there.

Specific to what you're describing? Yreka fits to a T on the conservative end, Greenville fits on the extreme end. Avenal is in the middle; good for farming but they are doing some development. Nothing major.

[banjomike]

If you are laid back in California, you will find Idaho to be even more relaxed than you are now.

Look to the south if you are serious about farming; the eastern corridor, from the Utah border to the Montana border has the longest stretch of un-interrupted farm land in the nation. The reason this is so is due to the aquifer which lies under the entire area. While most farms are big these days, there are still a lot of old small family farms that come up for sale with anywhere from 40 to 160 acres, and it's hard to beat a summer evening here after a day's farming. The twilight lingers until 9 pm, and the sunsets will blow you away.

I was raised on a farm just north of Idaho Falls, and although I've lived in town for decades now, I still miss those peaceful evenings out on the farm. That farm experience was typical of all the farms that surround I.F. and it still exists.

Idaho Falls is a hustle-bustle city during working hours, but it still becomes small-town quiet in the evening.

If you lived here, you would miss the coast, I'm sure, but we do have substantial natural pleasures here abounding. I can't say we are better or worse- just different, but I think it's your kind of different.

[ebiru]

Hey Tessa, I am wondering if you have made the move and have found this place? That's a bit what we are looking for too...