Considering a move to Idaho, Challis, Salmon, MacKay area... (Idaho Falls: fit in, crime)

[jiminbimn]

I'm a single guy that works from home mostly. Considering a move to the area's mentioned. I don't have a lot of need for the big city life. Have lived in big cities (Phoenix etc.) but live in a little town now (1k) and love it. Used to traveling to a bigger city for major shopping etc. I like outdoors activities like hiking, fishing, prospecting, etc. so this area seemed to be good. I'm currently in central Minnesota, so very used to long cold winters. I also lived many years in Az., so used to warm dry climate. Where ever I end up, I may want basic part time work (unskilled) as a supplement to my home-based income.

Anyone have any pointers or other things I should consider? Thanks for your time.

[banjomike]

Is there any particular thing you want to know about those 3 towns? While each is about the same small size, they are all slightly different, just as it is anywhere.

Salmon is the largest, and is a mini-service city for quite a large and remote surrounding area, but the closest 'big'city to them all is Idaho Falls. Salmon is the farthest away from I.F. at around 110 miles, and it lies in the middle of another set of mountain ranges than Challis and Mackay. They are both farther west.
Challis is closer to Salmon, but the distance from Challis to Idaho Falls isn't much closer than the distance between Salmon and Idaho Falls because of the mountains that get in the way. Mackay is about an hour closer to I.F.

Out here, distances are measured in hours, not miles, and 'remote' has an entirely different meaning than it does in most places.

Outdoor activities are a given here. In towns the size of those you're considering, that's about all the recreation that exists outside of the local saloon and/or church house.

I don't know what you make your living doing from home, but if it involves the internet, you had best come and look all your choices over before making a move.
It's quite possible the only internet you will have is over a dial-up modem. And that will only happen if there's a telephone line that's nearby.

That area is hell for scenic, though, and has all the most spectacular stuff in a very spectacular state.
It has the highest mountains, the ruggedest mountain ranges, the clearest and most beautiful lakes and streams, the coldest cold, the deepest snow, the most wildlife, and is on the border of the most primitive region still left in the lower 48.

Life in all 3 towns isn't always easy, for sure.
I know more people who are from Challis than live in Challis. Same with Mackay. I don't get over to Salmon as much, so I really don't know as much of how it is there.

The region is a great place to visit, but it may be a bit more hardy to live in than you might like. You'll have to come and spend some time here before you could really decide which, if any, is the best place for you.

[jiminbimn]

Thanks for the reply Mike. There's nothing in particular that I can think of honestly. I'm a guy with few real needs, but yes, dsl is one of them, and that's available. Also satellite internet. I've been doing a lot of surfing the internet and have found that it has pretty much everything I would need in either Challis or Salmon. Although I didn't find a Chinese food place anywhere! Guess that means I have to go to IF once a month! As for anything else, I'm sure it can be ordered online and delivered via UPS or FedEx Ground. What are the people like in that neck of the woods? I'm somewhat conservative in my politics and mind my own business. Are they the same way? I'm fleeing a big government liberal state, so not looking for more of the same where I end up. One thing I have heard is that Custer County politics are not very constituent friendly, but that was from only one source so maybe they got it wrong...

[LadyKatie3]

The places sound remote. Aren’t you looking for a wife?

[NW Crow]

Of the 3, I'd probably pick Salmon, at least to start. Salmon has a tourist industry (including rafting) and it getting a few more restaurants and other new businesses. It had a Chinese restaurant in recent past and may again in future. Hamilton and Dillon MT have one.


Plenty of snow in the mountains to west and north but not that much in town. 150 miles to so to Idaho Falls or Missoula if you want other options. Only 100 to Hamilton, which has a pretty good downtown.


You'll want to check specifics but your best internet options will be at in-town addresses.

[jiminbimn]

Originally Posted by LadyKatie3

The places sound remote. Aren’t you looking for a wife?

No, actually I'm not. I've been that route. I can be plenty happy being single, but if I should make friends with a nice woman, that's fine too.
Thanks

[jiminbimn]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

Of the 3, I'd probably pick Salmon, at least to start. Salmon has a tourist industry (including rafting) and it getting a few more restaurants and other new businesses. It had a Chinese restaurant in recent past and may again in future. Hamilton and Dillon MT have one.


Plenty of snow in the mountains to west and north but not that much in town. 150 miles to so to Idaho Falls or Missoula if you want other options. Only 100 to Hamilton, which has a pretty good downtown.


You'll want to check specifics but your best internet options will be at in-town addresses.

Thanks NW Crow. Working from home means internet is a must, but it should be available from what I've seen on broadband.com pretty much anywhere in these 3 towns. I used to live about an hour outside of Albuquerque over the Sandia mountain range, so I'm familiar with long treks to major cities once or twice a month for supplies.

As someone else eluded to, the area is seculded, and that's actually right up my alley. I'm happy in the great outdoors away from the cities, crime and congestion.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

My only contribution is that basic Chinese food is very easy to cook. Anyone who can read and follow directions can do a good stir fry.

Costco sells good frozen Chinese dumplings and a few other things, if you have any way to get frozen food home. A grocery store probably sells them, too. Nobody has to go without Chinese food.

[jiminbimn]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

My only contribution is that basic Chinese food is very easy to cook. Anyone who can read and follow directions can do a good stir fry.

Costco sells good frozen Chinese dumplings and a few other things, if you have any way to get frozen food home. A grocery store probably sells them, too.

It was kinda a joke. Not a deal breaker....

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by jiminbimn

Thanks NW Crow. Working from home means internet is a must, but it should be available from what I've seen on broadband.com pretty much anywhere in these 3 towns. I used to live about an hour outside of Albuquerque over the Sandia mountain range, so I'm familiar with long treks to major cities once or twice a month for supplies.

As someone else eluded to, the area is seculded, and that's actually right up my alley. I'm happy in the great outdoors away from the cities, crime and congestion.

Don't trust what you read on the net. In the mountains here, 2 miles can make all the difference in internet usage.

I don't want to comment as to how well you may fit in with the locals; since I'm a native, and these places are part of my lifelong stomping grounds, my perceptions are probably much different, because even though I live in the 'Big city', I'm completely at ease whenever I'm in any of them.
Longtime natives all get to know other folks here. While I might have never met someone before, its likely I will know a relative or a friend when I'm introduced to a stranger. We all walk and talk the same.

Of those 3 towns, Salmon is the largest and most diverse, I think. Salmon has some retirees who moved there, and so close to the Montana border, there are a lot of Montanans coming and going, which helps the diversity. Salmon is also a bit more touristy than the others, which also makes for more diversity.

So my first advice is still the best, I think. If you were to come for a month or more, and spend some time in all 3, I'm sure you would have these questions answered.

In general, newcomers either fit in right away or not at all, it seems to me, but those perceptions are based mostly on folks here in Idaho Falls, which is large enough to allow different folks different groups of people here who have some things in common from the first.

In our smaller towns, there isn't as much diversity that way. People here are friendly, but finding deep friendships is hard here for some newcomers who don't have much in common with the locals. As you have already lived in some tiny towns, you might not have a problem at all, but I can't really say that with any accuracy.