So I'm about to get out of the Navy and thought of moving to Thinking of moving to Couer d'Alene! (Boise: real estate market)

[TheSagens]

Hello Everyone,

I'm completely new to this forum but have been "trolling" along the site trying to soak up as much as I could about Couer d'Alene. A little side information about myself;

I am 23 years old and currently stationed in Oak Harbor WA. I'm going to be getting out of the Navy in October 2008, and decided when I first joined that I would start researching areas to move to a year out so I could get a head start. As for what I do in the military, I am a Cryptologic Technician with Administrative background skills. I am happily married to my wife who was born and raised in Washington, and I have family members who live in Sandpoint, ID.

As a kid, I always loved Idaho. It was always so clean and beautiful, and the people were so friendly. I'm originally from California but I seriously don't bring up the usual "California" mentality (I was raised to always be polite and very patient). My wife and I love to hike, ride horses and pretty much love to be out in the open air enjoying life.

Now, we are both stoked to move in the Couer d'Alene area, but we were just wondering from the lovely people who live there a couple of things.

1.) I honestly don't have any college background other then what my job has had me done in the past four years. I do however work in the intelligence field (which I hopefully will be receiving a job recommendation from my intelligence officer when I seperate) and have a mass amount of administrative skills. (I'm also very computer literate as I was raised with one since I was 9..love building em and just generally getting my hands deep in circuits! ) I was wondering how the job spectrum looked and how hard it would be for me to get a job there? Same question applies to my wife, she has plenty of experience working retail and currently works at the Navy Exchange.

2.) How is the house value up there? With the Military, we have our VA loan which is a guaranteed home loan, but I was wondering for our age (23 and 21) if it would be smarter to go ahead and rent first then after a couple years buy a house?

3.) Like stated before, my wife and I are very friendly and polite people, and were wondering how friendly the people are. I always wanted to raise my kids in a town where the community is tight and people smile/wave. (I'm a serious sucker for [SIZE=-1]The Andy Griffith Show/Mayberry atmosphere)

4.) How is the area in regard to the idea of growth. I've read there's a Barnes and noble, Best Buy, Lowe's etc in the area. Most smaller towns though hate the idea of growth since it at times brings in the wrong element with in the town.

5.) What is there to do for fun? We both love going outside and enjoying nature but some times love to get lost in present technology (a good movie theater or mall), how are both in the area?

That's about it for now. I apologize if this seemed pretty lengthy, but I just wanted to introduce myself so you have a pretty good idea where I'm coming from. Thanks again for any help I can receive on the subject, I've just learned through out the years that the better I'm educated, the better prepared I am. I have no idea where to even start when I separate, so I suppose this is our baby steps to a beautiful future.

Very Respectfully,
- The Sagens
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[SergeantL]

Originally Posted by TheSagens

I honestly don't have any college background other then what my job has had me done in the past four years. I do however work in the intelligence field (which I hopefully will be receiving a job recommendation from my intelligence officer when I separate) and have a mass amount of administrative skills. (I'm also very computer literate

I can’t answer any of you specific questions regarding Coeur D’Alene, but I would like to address your education. First, since you are in the cryptology field, it means your original test battery indicated a fairly high IQ quotient. This means you are college material.

Unless you can find a civilian GS job in cryptology with say the CIA or other intelligence service, you will probably not find a demand for your current skills set in the business market. You need to go to college and put a label on your skills. Since you like computers, you might consider software, electrical, mechanical, electronic, or RF engineering. All of these people are in high demand in the computer industry.

I faced the very same situation as you many years ago. I held Uncle Sam to his word and had him pay for my education. It was the smartest thing I ever did. With a college degree, I was able to secure employment in a field that paid very well, with excellent benefits, and comfortable retirement. My education also allows me to teach at the college level.

Bite the bullet, and at a minimum get your bachelors degree. Unlike a car, a college degree doesn’t depreciate the second you drive it off the lot.

[jufrbo]

There is a community college in CDA.

[TheSagens]

Hey guys,

I appreciate the advice, and as much as I would love to go to college due to the nature of my job and other things, college right now is out of the question. Even if I could go however, I have around 11 months before I seperate, which is not time to receive a bachlors degree.

In any case, I try to look on the positive side, and realize that I oddly enough don't want to do what I'm doing now for a living. I would love to find an adminitrative job but would even love to be outside (maybe a communications tech working for either Time Warner or the local phone company).

Does anyone have any other answers to some of the questions that I asked? Again, I appreciate any help that my wife and I can attain.

Thanks again!

[MT Pockets Ranch]

Have you thought about staying in the Federal Government?

[mejaka]

Sheesh. I agree about college. That said:


1.) Job spectrum: check the city-data stats, you'll see the situation. Somewhere in the middle.

2.) House values: climbing. Ours is a 1973 rancher on not quite 1/2 acre. Paid $140K in 2001; current value says $300K. Part of the value lies in the fact that we live very near a golf course, though we are not in the fashionable area, and the house does have 6 bedrooms (three in basement).
I think there is affordable housing still available, but I haven't looked at homes for quite a while.

3.) Friendliness: In our little town, pretty friendly. Smaller and more remote towns north of us, more yet. C d'A, still friendly--this IS Idaho, after all--but not as cozy as you're describing (which is more like Melba near Boise where my husband grew up).

4.) C d'A is NOT anti-growth. Considering Hagadones' influence here and their constant expansion plans, it couldn't be. Hayden (where I live) is trying to control growth a bit; we seem to have blocked WalMart although rumors continue. Kootenai County has been rated as the fastest-growing county in the nation within the past two years.

5.) Summers, entertainment is copious; winters, there's skiing, ice fishing, some nut having a sailing regatta next month (okay, he's a friend of mine but he's still a nut)...Winter requires either a winter-sports mentality or some creativity, but there is a huge new movie theater and a smaller less annoying one in the area. Small mall in Hayden (Sears, Macy's, Penney's, Red Oak are the cornerstones). The Plaza Shops mall near the Resort, and all of the downtown area--fun if spendy shopping, aimed at tourists and non-native locals accustomed to snobbier stores and higher prices yet. There is a theme park (largest in the NW), two water parks (one indoors, one outdoors), and a huge state park. North Idaho College has award-winning summer theater. If you understand the nature of small towns, you'll find this one has more entertainment than is typical for its size, but it's still a small town. We're close to Spokane if you need some city.

I hope you're still around and that this helps.

[ki2serenityLV]

I am wanting to move to a small town for my family do you think CDA is a good area for that?

[khurley]

My brother lives in Couer d'Alene and loves it. It's a beautiful, friendly area and there's quite a bit to do, especially if you like the outdoors. House values are higher than a lot of the rest of Idaho. I'm a Realtor in Southeastern Idaho and I was a little surprised at the prices there compared with here when he was buying his home. They're still not too bad when compared to a lot of other areas in the country, though. Now is actually a really good time to buy. Although Idaho's real estate market is MUCH better than the rest of the country, it's also more of a buyer's market than it's been in years.