Winter Clouds (Boise, Nampa, Coeur d'Alene: crime rates, house, to live)

[RodFarlee]

The Western Regional Climate Center
www.wrcc.dri.edu
offers overviews of the major climate variables.
On the percent of possible winter sunshine (Dec-Feb):
Albuquerque 70%
South Idaho 40%
North Idaho 30%
Average temperatures vary more with elevation than with latitude. I would argue, contrary to other posts here, that North Idaho has a slightly MILDER climate than Boise (same winter temps, but summers are not as hot and dry).

I_LUVNM, if you'd like to get out of ABQ, have you considered Los Cruces? Colorado Springs?

[I_LUVNM]

Pinkpalace - Thanks about info on Pocatello. My best friend knows that area being from Idaho (Boise) and she told me it looked like a very, very, small San Francisco to her, with the downtown's restored old brick buildings and it was near some pretty mountains she said. It is on my list to visit.

Wurd4Wurd, Thanks about Coeur d'Alene and other towns like Cascade. It is truly beautiful up there. My best friend said winters can be harsh there but she thinks global warming might be making it warmer there? I do plan on visiting the area if not to just enjoy the beauty. I am proactive for environmental causes and it hurts me to hear about all these big companies buying land and making profit out of your beautiful state as Native_Idahoan said. More on that in a moment.

Burdell, I love ABQ but it has become one huge sprawled out mega city with seas of tract homes and traffic jams. Crime is bad especially down in Central ABQ but really most areas except the richer sections like Paradise Hills but then the rich kids are on drugs too. The gangs are bad. ABQ has good things too but you have to know what area to live in and where to never go.

I just had a "talk" with people in Arkansas on the Arkansas forum about the trouble with sprawl and growth but I don't think anyone there is listening. They just think growth is the key to happiness and I know better. When growth comes and takes them over, then they will be the ones having to go look for another place to live. I just can't seem to get people to see that. Oh well, such is the life of an enviromentalist! I also urge people in Idaho to take strong measures to limit sprawl and control growth. I know negative growth is not good for cities but it needs to be finely planned and controlled and everyone in their cities needs to be involved. Oh I don't mean to be rambling on about land stripping but it concerns me a lot. Burdell, you wouldn't like ABQ now. Lack of controlled growth has destroyed yet another city.

RodFarlee, Thanks too for your input. Las Cruces is a nice city but a desert city with palm trees. I really love the mountains and pines. Colorado Springs is pretty too but again uncontrolled sprawl everywhere. One day it will grow into Denver and the way they are both growing, it wont be long!

Thanks everybody! I guess I am looking for a town that doesn't have real estate urges to sell off the land or mega box store land. It is getting hard to find just a "Mayberry" town of Andy Griffith with maybe a drug store, a chruch, a library, a grocery and some good folks. Somehow that is "not progress" to want that anymore from what people tell me on the Arkansas forum. I press on and I do plan on visiting your beautiful state. There are several towns that sound great. Whatever town I move to, I pledge to it to be proactive in making sure to do my part to help the town have responsible controlled growth. I ask of you all, please don't let them turn Idaho into another Albuquerque!

[burdell]

Originally Posted by I_LUVNM

Burdell, I love ABQ but it has become one huge sprawled out mega city with seas of tract homes and traffic jams. Crime is bad especially down in Central ABQ but really most areas except the richer sections like Paradise Hills but then the rich kids are on drugs too. The gangs are bad. ABQ has good things too but you have to know what area to live in and where to never go.

That's sad to hear. I may have a slightly different perspective on sprawl as I'm only about 8-10 miles from Manhattan. I'm certainly not in a 'rich' area but the crime rate is pretty well under control. Even Manhattan seems pretty benign if you use a little common sense (i.e. you don't wander around with a pound of gold on your neck, etc.) and the museums, restaurants, music scene are just great. It's just time for a change.

[shades_of_idaho]

I_LUVNM

Try typing in cambridgeidaho dot com . We are the Mayberry you are looking for except we do have cloudy winters for a couple months lots of snow. We are high desert here close to the trees. There are pictures on that website of the area.

Funny how my husband was considering moving to New Mexico. I am not wanting to move this is a wonderful house we have here.:^(((

Chris

[I_LUVNM]

Thank you Shades_of_Idaho, I will go there right now to the website and have a looksie. Tell your husband that Idaho has NM beat. There is a lot of poverty in NM. There are a few good cities and I'll list them below but as for me, I really love the state of Idaho, it is hard to beat. Thanks!

Burdell, there are a few cities you might look into in NM, I list them below. Keep in mind NM has a lot of poverty and over 70 percent of NM is Hispanic but that isn't an issue with me but might be for some.

OK, Silver City - a nice town in the mountains but looks a little desert like to me though north of there it is pretty. Los Alamos - very pretty but the nuclear thing is kinda creepy if you know what I mean. Red River - very pretty but too cold for me can often be minus 10 to minus 20 at night in the winter. Ruidoso and Cloudcroft - it is just Texas in NM. Most everybody there is Texan and I don't like the casino like atmosphere. Angelfire - very beautiful! Too cold for me same as Red River. Most of the rest of the cities are desert. Las Cruces and Farmington NM - are probably the best two. The desert cities have hot but arid summers and mild winters with no snow and the high desert has some but not much snow. If your heart is still set on ABQ, Tijeras, Cedar Crest, north ABQ about where the tramway is located, Paradise Hills and Rio Rancho are where I'd look. They are the safer areas to live. I used to jog but just too dangerous now and a woman was murdered recently just a few houses down from me plus I hear gun shots go off at night with the gangs. Also I have a baby girl and I don't want her to grow up with all the violence. Another thing is rattlesnakes are too common here. I have seen quite a few. I think because of all the new houses all the land has been disturbed and are now homes. They just come on in and make themselves at home but I won't kill them and they discourage killing them because the rattlers eat mice and NM has black plague, the kind that killed millions in the Middle Ages, and Hantavirus, as well as other diseases mice carry so we have to have the snakes to take care of the mice. But my next door neighbor has a outside dollhouse and her daughter found a rattler coiled up and the rattler jumped at the girl and her mom and her husband came home but couldn't find it and I am concerned my little girl playing around could get bit. I have seen about 20 rattlers in about 4 years. Just too many for me. I don't mind non poisonous snakes or even if there were some poisonous snakes in the area but not commonly found in your yard and I have found at least 7 in my yard in the 4 years I have been here and the rest I have seen in the roads or while I was jogging.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by I_LUVNM

Burdell, there are a few cities you might look into in NM, I list them below. Keep in mind NM has a lot of poverty and over 70 percent of NM is Hispanic but that isn't an issue with me but might be for some.

.

Ethnicity isn't a problem, where I grew up and still live is like the United Nations. The poverty is a concern because it affects the crime rate. I've only visited the Boise area of ID and liked it, sure I could see a a lot of growth and people have their issues with sprawl and things not being like they were but they rarely are, anywhere. I'd like to be in an area with a University as that usually means there'll be touring artists coming thru the area and giving concerts, good libraries, and other things I'd like. As much as I may like the romantic image of a large piece of western land to myself, not having a family of my own I'd like to live in a neighborhood.

Crime rate in NM seems to be a concern no matter where I look for info, it may have been an acceptable downside when I was younger but at this point in life (late 50s) it just seems like too much extra aggravation to deal with.

[shades_of_idaho]

Burdell you better look into the news stations of Boise and Nampa if you are concerned about crime rates. Not trying to turn you off of the areas but crime is also high. We cringe every night while watching the news. Try ktvb dot com for Boise news.

Chris

[burdell]

Originally Posted by shades_of_idaho

Burdell you better look into the news stations of Boise and Nampa if you are concerned about crime rates. Not trying to turn you off of the areas but crime is also high. We cringe every night while watching the news. Try ktvb dot com for Boise news.

Chris

This is something I'd love to hear more about from people living there, it's extremely difficult to get a realistic view from just the media. At times the news seems to condemn an entire area for an isolated incident, it's what sells papers and ad spots on TV and most Chambers of Commerce wear rose colored glasses when describing their areas.

Within 10 miles of my house there are some towns I wouldn't like to visit in daylight, never mind at night, there's gang activity, drugs, poverty and the situation isn't good. There's no place in my own town I'd hesitate to go night or day, we have the occasional burglary, car break-in, etc. but not too much violent crime. I have my doubts that many 100% crime free areas exist anymore. There's been meth labs busted in isolated farm towns in Nebraska. I visted Boise in '04 and stayed with a friend in the NW part of town, a bit west of the fair grounds and south of Chinden? Blvd., seemed like a pretty peaceful, safe area at the time.

I welcome any input, I have simple tastes, would just like to settle somewhere that alows you to go work and enjoy the time you have off.

[wurd4wurd]

I wanted to clarify a few things regarding Coeur d'Alene. The winter weather for the last two years was very mild with little snow. In 2004, I was able to wear a fall jacket all winter - not so in 2005. It was a bit colder here for a few weeks in '05 than the winter before and we definitely had more snow - for which the ski areas were quite thankful. Still, neither winter was harsh. That being said, someone originally from a warmer climate might think this area is very cold in the winter. We are orginally from Vermont (30+ years there) and used to Vermont winters where it is common to have temps of -30 degrees with a windchill of -40 to -60 for weeks at a time with total snow accumulation anywhere from 10 to 15 feet and sometimes more. According to my neighbors (North Idaho natives) and other long time residents, very harsh winters are a thing of the past. Perhaps the most obvious indicator of this is that Lake Coeur d'Alene no longer freezes solid. In fact, typically there is a very thin layer of ice and it doesn't extend from shore to shore. Interestingly, my neighbors remember people driving across the lake (Cougar Bay) in their trucks and cars many years ago. Also according to native Idahoans and long time residents who I know well, while Coeur d'Alene no longer has the harsh winters of many years ago, we can expect to have much more snow and much colder temperatures about every 6 to 10 years.
While this thread was originally about weather, other issues have been brought to the forefront and I wanted to take a minute or two to address a few items.
All three of my teenagers are employed part time. Two work in the service industry (bus tables on the lake) and they average between $10 and $12 an hour. My other teenager works for a landscaper and makes $15 an hour. My now 25-year-old son who has his associates in CADD was offered $30 an hour over a year ago to work for a company in Spokane. While the job was very tempting, instead he chose to return to school (Boise State University) in order to obtain his degree in Mechanical Engineering. Idaho is a "right to work" state and because of that wages are affected. Hopefully, at some point this law will be repealed. In the meantime, many people in this area opt to make the short drive to Spokane where they are able to increase their earning capability signifcantly.
Real estate prices in this part of Idaho have certainly increased over the last few years as has the population. While many native Idahoans are having sticker shock, really what's happened is that the Pacific Northwest has caught up with other parts of the country. While there are developers that build huge houses and cater to people of tremendous means, there are other people (like myself) who aren't wealthy that are able to buy homes, settle down, and enjoy life here.
The tremendous beauty of Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, McCall and other towns used to be a very well kept secret, but that is no longer the case. People come in droves to vacation and some visiters choose to relocate here. We relocated here during the summer of 2004 and not for one minute do we regret our move to Coeur d'Alene!

[shades_of_idaho]

Burdell,

We do not live in Boise or Nampa Caldwell area. Almost every night we hear on the news about someone being stabbed or arson, road rage, bank robberies and drive by shootings. We put off going down to Boise to get new glasses because of all the violence we hear about. When nwe did go down we had no problems but we did not stay to shop or spend any time there. Maybe I am just freaked and Boise is fine. I know several people that do live there. There are pictures on the news so they are not making it up. I think when you do get a large concentration of people in one area the potential for crime is there.

Since we are not looking for the same things I can not say what would be the place for you to live. You just mentioned crime and wanting to avoid it and moving to Boise is NOT avoiding high crime. There was a thread here earlier about the crime in Boise Nampa Caldwell area. Go back to when the boards first started. I do not remember the title but it had lots of comments to it.

Here is a link to the post about Sex offenders in Boise and there was information about crime also. Not sure if you have read it yet.
//www.city-data.com/forum/idaho...ers-boise.html

Chris