Is Coeur d'Alene crazy lefty-liberal like Seattle, Portland? (Boise, Post Falls: home, neighborhood)

[joerose]

You guys are great. Thank you so much for your help and for taking the time to answer my questions. It is such a beautiful area. Actually, I think the whole state of Idaho is gorgeous. If I were to move there, I wouldn't say anything about the hunting. I know that would offend people and it is not something I would do. I will definitely think about it though. I don't think there is a place where there are rural areas where people don't hunt or raise livestock.
So, I'll put my application in and see what happens.
Thank you again!

[Seeker5in1]

Originally Posted by lovecda

This is City-Data's list of religious demographics for CdA based on Kootenai County, 2010.
Catholic: 36.1%
Assembly of God: 14%
Mormon: 13.6%
Lutheran: 6.5%
Evangelical Lutheran: 5.5%

That's compared to say, Idaho Falls in southern Idaho:
Mormon: 70.9%
Catholic: 14.9%
Southern Baptist: 2.7%
United Methodist: 2%
Lutheran: 1.8%

So there are lots of Mormons, even in north Idaho, but it's nowhere near the percentage seen in southern Idaho.

As far as your political views, you may find them challenged from time to time if you decide to discuss them with someone, but Idaho is generally live and let live--as long as you don't make your views an issue, they won't be an issue for anyone else.

How would an Independent Baptist fit in?

[Bideshi]

Hi folks, allow me to introduce myself: I've been planning to retire in Colorado for years, but the liberal controlled state government has pretty much voted me out of the state. Do you mind if I hang out here for a while? I promise to behave!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by joerose

You guys are great. Thank you so much for your help and for taking the time to answer my questions. It is such a beautiful area. Actually, I think the whole state of Idaho is gorgeous. If I were to move there, I wouldn't say anything about the hunting. I know that would offend people and it is not something I would do. I will definitely think about it though. I don't think there is a place where there are rural areas where people don't hunt or raise livestock.
So, I'll put my application in and see what happens.
Thank you again!

Joe, not everybody hunts; a neighbor of ours is adamantly opposed to hunting. A bit of friction arose with other neighbors, but now everybody gets along. And many people have "no hunting" signs posted on their property because they don't want anybody to come onto their land to hunt, so if you post such a sign nobody will necessarily assume it's because you're against hunting. We're non-hunters, but not opposed to hunting, so you'll find many different attitudes, and they're generally all respected as long as nobody tries to infringe on the liberty of others.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Joe, not everybody hunts; a neighbor of ours is adamantly opposed to hunting. A bit of friction arose with other neighbors, but now everybody gets along. And many people have "no hunting" signs posted on their property because they don't want anybody to come onto their land to hunt, so if you post such a sign nobody will necessarily assume it's because you're against hunting. We're non-hunters, but not opposed to hunting, so you'll find many different attitudes, and they're generally all respected as long as nobody tries to infringe on the liberty of others.

Same here. We're not hunters but not opposed to it. It's how so many people here feed their families and they depend on it to fill their freezers every fall.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by lovecda

This is City-Data's list of religious demographics for CdA based on Kootenai County, 2010.
Catholic: 36.1%
Assembly of God: 14%
Mormon: 13.6%
Lutheran: 6.5%
Evangelical Lutheran: 5.5%

That's compared to say, Idaho Falls in southern Idaho:
Mormon: 70.9%
Catholic: 14.9%
Southern Baptist: 2.7%
United Methodist: 2%
Lutheran: 1.8%

So there are lots of Mormons, even in north Idaho, but it's nowhere near the percentage seen in southern Idaho.

As far as your political views, you may find them challenged from time to time if you decide to discuss them with someone, but Idaho is generally live and let live--as long as you don't make your views an issue, they won't be an issue for anyone else.

Those demographics really reflect the two regions' histories.
Most of the early migrants to N. Idaho came to work in the mines and forests as loggers and miners. There were a lot of Italians, Germans in particular who immigrated. The Cataldo mission was the first mission in Idaho, and it, too, converted a lot of formerly non-religious folks to Catholicism.

Idaho's silver and gold mines were the largest reason Lincoln created the Idaho Territory. At that time, the gold mines in central Idaho were producing the most gold in the nation.

During the Big Trouble (the mining strikes and riots of the early 20th century), the mine owners brought in large numbers of Cornish miners straight from Cornwall as strike-breakers, and even though there were a lot of fights between them and the other miners, they too, stuck. The Cornish were also mostly Catholics.

Down south, a lot of early Mormons moved into Idaho believing they were still in the Utah territory, but Idaho really opened up for them when the Oregon Short Line was laid. This railroad made it possible for new converts, mostly from England, to take advantage of the church's offer to pay their way to the New World. Immigrants to S. Idaho could ride the railroads all the way from the E. Coast all the way to Idaho as far as Boise.

Before the railroad, S. Idaho was very lightly populated. The Northern Pacific built the northern rail route over 50 years before the Short Line was built, and the N.P. went through what is now Montana and Wyoming to it's Utah junction with the Union Pacific. It skirted all of S. Idaho.

Immigration over the Oregon Trail brought the first immigrants to S. Idaho; the Snake River crossing near present Burley caused some immigrants to stop, and the Blue Mountains in E. Oregon also stopped some, who decided to go back downhill and settle in the Boise basin instead. The Snake River crossing was treacherous, as was the mountain crossing, but more wagons and equipment were lost to both than people. Once a migrant's wagon or team were gone, the settlers were afoot and often busted, so it was impossible for many to turn around and go back East.

Taylor's Crossing, the site of present day Idaho Falls, was the only spot on the Snake were the river was narrow enough to build a bridge, and the Taylor brother's toll bridge opened the only route into the upper valley and the mines eastward in W. Montana. The bridge was built in 1870.

[lovecda]

I think one of the biggest problems Idahoans have with those who move here (and this is a broad generalization) is that many people move here and try to change things. It's like moving in next to an airport and then complaining that airplanes fly over your house. It baffles me, but some people actually do that.

"Idaho is great, but I miss XThing from YPlace...Idaho needs XThing." You get enough of that, and you turn Idaho into YPlace and then complain that somehow YPlace's problems are cropping up in Idaho. So we're somewhat leery when people come here and then try to change Idaho. It takes many forms from very benign things like restaurants from the old place to extreme environmental measures from the old place.

So as long as you're not moving here with the idea that you'll be a loud advocate against hunting or something like that (not that you would, but some do), you'll probably fit right in. Idahoans are largely very accepting of everyone, until the transplant decides he or she wants to fundamentally transform what Idaho is. Idahoans don't care what your race, ethnicity, religion, etc, etc, etc is as long as you're not trying to make Idaho more like some other place. Idahoans like Idaho because it's Idaho, not because it could be more like New York, Massachusetts, Colorado or That Place..... Essentially no sentence that starts out, "Idaho is great, but..." can possibly end in something an Idahoan will agree with.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone, please don't take it like that. This is just a general "how to blend in" post applicable to anyone moving here.

[lovecda]

Sheesh, make a statement like that and then someone comes up with something. Luckily I covered my rear by saying "essentially."

One of my beloved non-native Idahoan friends commented to me, "Idaho is great, but I had no idea it was even prettier than the first time I saw it."

[Seeker5in1]

Originally Posted by lovecda

I'm not trying to pick on anyone, please don't take it like that. This is just a general "how to blend in" post applicable to anyone moving here.

I promise I'll only try to make one change: I will encourage more people to play darts during those long winter months! Other than that I wouldn't change a thing, it's just fine the way you have it now.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by lovecda

I think one of the biggest problems Idahoans have with those who move here (and this is a broad generalization) is that many people move here and try to change things. It's like moving in next to an airport and then complaining that airplanes fly over your house. It baffles me, but some people actually do that.
...

Yup.
Many of the assimilation problems come from lifelong urban ways of living smacking up against lifelong rural ways of living.
A good example of this is a cattle feedlot down here. The feedlot has been owned and operated for 70 years by one family, who have owned the land it's on for over 100 years.

The feedlot meets all state and federal environmental requirements. It's well drained properly, and the corrals are kept as clean as required. Since the cattle are bought to fatten before re-selling, they are given wholesome feed with no drugs or antibiotics; because the lot is clean, there's no need for the antibiotics.

But when you put 200 cattle in a confined area, they stink. All feedlots stink.

About 20 years ago, a developer got a good deal on some adjoining land and built a rural subdivision there. Because the feedlot stunk, the homes went for really good prices, and were not high quality construction to begin with. Each lot was large; around 2 acres. The subdivision offered a taste of country life.

Nontheless, the owners soon began to complain about the smell coming from next door when the wind was blowing it their way. For many years the county commissioners, all natives, told them the feedlot was totally legal and was zoned properly.

They also complained about how slow the county cleared their streets in the winter. Clearing that subdivision took as long as it took to clear miles of surrounding country roads. The farmers never complained, but that bunch of homeowners sure did, every winter.;

Eventually, after continual legal actions against them, the feedlot owners came to the point where the court costs were ruining their bottom line, even though they won lawsuit after lawsuit.
A few years ago, the family finally gave up, closed the lot and sold out. About 20 employees, mostly old ranch hands, lost the only jobs they knew how to do, and the county lost another part of it's tax base. Local cattlemen lost a good place to sell their calves. Another old Idaho business bit the dust forever, and another part of country living disappeared.

The vacant feedlot property remains unsold, and the subdivision never grew past it's original boundaries. The homes haven't increased in value, as they were cheap to begin with, and there are better deals to be found closer to town.

Who is right or wrong here? No one ever complained about the feedlot at all for generations. It was located in a convenient place for the ranchers who sold their cattle to the lot, and everyone got along fine.
All the newcomers who bought those houses knew beforehand what was next door, but they wanted the cheap houses.

I'm not supporting either side. All this is city folks who wanted an imaginary country life vs. country folks who lived as country folks have always lived. The conflict was the imaginary vs. the reality of living in the country.