ID, UT, CO or AZ?

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by heat seekers

Thanks for your quick replies I've been to Idaho Falls and I'm not sure its a good fit, thank you though. I am considering parts of UT as well. I'm not super familiar with the Salt Lake area but have driven through there a lot. I need to get some more info on schools and cities. I definately need to be semi close to an airport as my husband and son will be traveling. AZ hasn't been that great. I had a hard time getting use to it and although I am finally "ok" with being here I still don't love it.

My mistake--I thought you meant your husband had to do a lot of driving between MT, WY, and UT, so I thought IF would be fairly convenient. But if you and your family need to fly in and out a lot, that's a different story! You really don't want to be more than 1 hour away from a major airport. That limits the possibilities! Hope you find a good fit!

[lrmsd]

How about Couer D'alene (and surrounding smaller towns)? And you are close to Spokane for an airport-southwest flies the whole region, including out of spokane....among other airlines, of course. DdA seems to fit-based on your stated criteria.
And a partial day's drive to Seattle or Portland, too! (or quick flight). Spokane and CdA are 45 min. apart.

If you are tired of brown and dry, avoid CO!!! And SE Idaho, too.
Utah-well, it varies, but is mostly dry-though you can find forested regions....
CO, though, especially, is primarly prarie flatland, butting up against the rockies. Unless you are in the mtns proper (where you will find trees and hence green, obviously(, it's dry...and long, hot summers-sun is intense at a higher altitude. (I lived there for 3 yrs; trust me.) And, you could not find airports major enough, in the mountains proper. However, if you really are drawn to CO anyway, my recommendations are: Fort Collins [within an hour of DIA] and Co Springs [2 hrs south of denver, has it's own major airport, however]. But, CO will not provide you with lush green- like OR and WA- AT ALL. Period. Northern ID is your closest bet, of the places you mentioned, for getting that Pacific NW vibe, greenery, water, etc. But, you'll get the grey skies, too. CO does have endless sun and pretty mild winters, and an overall great quality of life, IMO. But if brown and dry are deal breakers, then skip CO.

I'd get out of Phx YESTERDAY, if I were you-lol. Seriously, it's great that you've learned to deal with it and make it work for you....but, it's not your favorite place, the area is likely going to face harder times, you are in the middle of a freakin' desert, etc.
Sorry for folks who love it-but based on OP's criteria, AZ really does not fit the bill. So I am just giving one vote for getting out of AZ. Or, look in Flagstaff area, but then you have a long drive to the airport in Phx.

My order of recommendation for you, along with school opinions:
1) ID (consider homeschooling, though Cda does have charter schools/good neighbrhood schools)
2) Utah (great schools and lots of options, from what I hear)
3) CO (mix-more like phx-some great/some terrible/lots of public montessori/other charter schools)
4) AZ (you already know)

Good luck!

[heat seekers]

I looked up Coeur D' Alene today and it is very beautiful. I will definately put it on my list of places to check out more, thanks.
I don't mind some brown as long as there's trees lol. Phoenix isn't my favorite place but my husband likes it here. The kids like being able to have a pool. But all in all I'd rather move later down the road.Especially if my husband isn't going to be here, might as well be somewhere closer to where he'll be working. Thanks for all the feedback everyone I have a lot of research to do over the next few months.

[esselcue]

I retired FROM northern AZ (near Prescott) to northern Idaho (Spirit Lake) and I would not go back to AZ if I was dragged by elephants!!! I lived there many years, had my career there in law enforcement, and could not WAIT to leave! Why? Well, heat, dust, bugs that sting, plants that sting...but mainly the politics and drama and an all around lack of respect for people in general.

The Idaho I have found, after almost eight months now, is gentle, live and let live, kind. I will be happy to shovel snow to have such wonderful neighbors and thoughtful complete strangers! A man I did not know from Adam stopped his car on the street in front of my house this morning to help me move a big boulder I was struggling to roll across the yard! In AZ he would have filmed it and put in on You Tube for entertainment.

Then again, don't move here! You'll hate it!

[Foreverking]

Well I vote for Boise, since Im moving there in 3 weeks. I just secured a job there YEAH!!!!

I lived in Colorado...NOPE too brown, but lots of sunshine. I lived near Fort Collins in a town called loveland...what a rat hole that was. Denver is very brown looking with few trees..unless someone planted one. We had to move to Phoenix to see more greenery ironically.

I lived in Oregon and Washington for the majority of my life. Want to move to Seattle but as long as I have a child, the crime is too high..unless you can afford the very affluent neighborhoods (Im a middle class guy). Oregon is so broke, Im not sure what to think of it anymore, besides the property tax along with income tax makes it a little expensive to me.

Boise isn't that lush green town that lets say Bellingham Washington is, but its soooo safe, and it has so much charm. The weather from what I hear is great mostly year round. Trees: its called the city of trees, and there are allot of large leafy trees unlike here in Gilbert, where all the trees looks strangled and desperate, with those little tiny leaves. I tried it in AZ for 2.5 years....they said just give it time...well Im getting older and its not getting anymore fun...it has adjusted to tolerable for most days. I hate having to drive to 2 hours to see a squirrel instead of a lizard.

Thats my take.

[dnvrsoul]

Denver is brown? You are kidding right? Maybe in Loveland...

I vote for CO or ID-Boise is beautiful...I like Utah as well but I have never been for more than a day or two-
I wouldn't move to Arizona-it reminds me of LA in the desert...I would agree with Esselcue, a few of my friends moved for jobs and hate it (crime, traffic).
I would maybe try to visit the top two on your list..good luck

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by dnvrsoul

Denver is brown? You are kidding right? Maybe in Loveland...

I vote for CO or ID-Boise is beautiful...I like Utah as well but I have never been for more than a day or two-
I wouldn't move to Arizona-it reminds me of LA in the desert...I would agree with Esselcue, a few of my friends moved for jobs and hate it (crime, traffic).
I would maybe try to visit the top two on your list..good luck

Denver is sits on the prarie, and the only trees are man planted trees. Maybe there are some green areas, but look at google earth, the place is brown.

[heat seekers]

LOL Esselcue, you are right the people here are not friendly at all. They wont even smile at you in the store (well very few will). Its so different from where I grew up and drives me crazy. I only know one neighbor after 2.5 yrs lol. And if you leave something outside it'll be gone in a blink of an eye.
foreverking and dnvrsoul, I would love to move back to Oregon. It was the job market that forced us to come to AZ I sure do miss it there, and I worry about the crime here everyday too. I lived in WA for 30 yrs. I loved it but wouldn't want to live in seattle. Maybe a surrounding city. They are all pretty and close to the sound. I lived in Lynnwood, Stanwood, Marysville, Camano IS and in eastern WA as well.
I will definately try to visit some areas before moving I'm getting so good input, thanks.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by heat seekers

LOL Esselcue, you are right the people here are not friendly at all. They wont even smile at you in the store (well very few will). Its so different from where I grew up and drives me crazy. I only know one neighbor after 2.5 yrs lol. And if you leave something outside it'll be gone in a blink of an eye.
foreverking and dnvrsoul, I would love to move back to Oregon. It was the job market that forced us to come to AZ I sure do miss it there, and I worry about the crime here everyday too. I lived in WA for 30 yrs. I loved it but wouldn't want to live in seattle. Maybe a surrounding city. They are all pretty and close to the sound. I lived in Lynnwood, Stanwood, Marysville, Camano IS and in eastern WA as well.
I will definately try to visit some areas before moving I'm getting so good input, thanks.

Heat seakers...I hear ya buddy, I grew up in Roseburg Oregon, moved to Eugene, then Portland, I have also lived in Bellingham, Oak Harbor...NOTHING will make up for the Pac NW. Idaho comes darn close though, if you can find work I guess, I did find work in 1 day, Im in sales and could find work in just about any mid-size city in the USA if I wanted to. The Homes are more like what I was used to in the Pac NW, there is wild life everywhere, there is a very convenient airport, there is cool air in the morning during summer (and I bet alot of cool air in Winter), I am looking forward to getting in shape out doors nearly year long. There are good schools in the Boise area, just check out greatschools.net.

I