leaving california (Boise, Nampa, Idaho Falls: cul-de-sac, fit in, spring break)

[Renay Napa]

My husband and I would love to leave Ca. We are looking for a small town feel, with friendly people, and good schools. I have read hundreds of comments posted and am confused about the LDS population. As a Catholic family, are there towns we should avoid? Also, I'm an elelmentary school teacher in CA, are there many teaching jobs available?

[HDL]

Maybe I can help you some as I am originally from Northern CA and at one time actually worked in beautiful Napa . Small town feel is subjective. I feel that Boise is very small town compared to CA, and definitely there are areas and surrounding cities that may give you exactly what you are looking for. But maybe you should define what it is that you mean by small town.

Is it a place where everyone knows your name? Is it size? Is it a downtown area you can hang out in? Before I moved to Boise almost 2 yrs ago, I was told that it was family oriented, mostly conservative (unless it was North, NE or SE Boise which is considered more liberal), half Catholic and half Mormon.

Well, seeing that I was raised Catholic and I myself have found Mormons to be rather upstanding members of the community, I thought I would definitely fit in. I have found there to be quite a few Mormons here, but percentage-wise, I can't say if it's half. And the only reason why I know there are Mormons here, is because so many have businesses that I frequent and that is how I found out. I personally have never had a problem with the Mormon/LDS communities.

Here's what I have in my cul-de-sac: all liberals, with children, who are mostly educators. One known Catholic family in my court and one Mormon family with 5 children living behind me. Boise has to be one of the best kept secrets around JMHO . If you can make a living anywheres' (meaning you bring your own job or have much needed skills) and want a comfortable climate, safety and family oriented, I think this area cannot be beat . Our Govenor Butch Otter just signed a bill last week regarding teaching positions. He said that we are expecting a shortage in the future. You can 'google' for the article. It was in the Idaho Statesman newspaper.

Feel free to PM me or ask me more questions

[leo_075]

Hi!

My family and I live in Nampa for close to three years and we love it here. We are of no particular religion and one of my closest friends is LDS and never a judgement from her or her family. She has 5 great kids and it's been a great friendship. There are a lot of LDS families in the Boise and surrounding areas, however, there are a lot of other religions out here that are not LDS as well. We have never had anything pushed on us out here and to us Nampa has a small town feel to it, yet still many stores to shop at and new outdoor malls almost completed with a lot of great stores. We are from southern California, and have found this to be a great place. Also, before you start beliving all the "Nampa crime" that you will start hearing about, check into yourself first. There are a lot of people that are forgetting that Nampa has been very cleaned up in the last 3 years and we have yet to feel unsafe here. There are many nice areas to choose from in Boise as well. However, I don't think you will find the hometown feel you are looking for. Meridian is very overcrowded. Caldwell may give you a hometown feel as well, but there seem to be a lot of older areas there, I can't be sure of that though, that's just from driving around in the area.

Good luck!

[Renay Napa]

Thank you so much. I think what I'm looking for may be non-existent, but California is becoming unbearable! Being a conservative in California is like being George Bush at a Hillary Clinton rally. (ya just don't fit in)
The cost of California is really pushing us out as well. In California "Keeping up with the Jones' " is an understatement. Along with that, the taxes, housing, electric bills and so on.
As for the religion, I want a town with diverse religious beliefs. I just read several comments from different people who are being spit on or whose kids are being picked on in shcool if they are not Mormon.
We will be visiting Idaho this summer. I wish I had the time and money to spend searching the country, but I don't. We have researched and asked people we know and have just narrowed it down to Idaho and possibly Colorado.
So far on my list I want to see: surrounding areas of Boise, Idaho Falls, McCall, Emmett, and Sandpoint. I like snow, but don't want to dig out my driveway in the morning. I deffinetly need sunny days. Love nice lakes. But most importantly, friendly people.
Any suggestions?

[Sage of Sagle]

Sandpoint. The Panhandle has religious diversity (LDS is here but in the same percentage as where we left in SoCal). Sandpoint is considered "liberal" by many in Idaho, but is more conservative than just about everywhere in CA.

North Idaho is COLD, and you'll get plenty of snow, but not so much that it's unbearable IMHO. Just use a service to keep your driveway cleared. Here in Sagle, we have to plow our road, but we co-op with neighbors.

You won't find a nicer boating/fishing lake than Pend Oreille. And Schweitzer Mountain is only 9'ish miles from town. Check out the winter fun:

http://www.monkeyfacepricklefish.com/images/schweitzer_powder3.jpg (broken link)

[kukla1]

Originally Posted by Renay Napa

My husband and I would love to leave Ca. We are looking for a small town feel, with friendly people, and good schools. I have read hundreds of comments posted and am confused about the LDS population. As a Catholic family, are there towns we should avoid? Also, I'm an elelmentary school teacher in CA, are there many teaching jobs available?

My husband and I are also teachers (high school) and we are going to visit Coeur d'Alene over spring break. I hear it is beautiful. We wanted a town of about 30 - 40 thousand people, which maybe isn't small enough for you, but it would suit us.

Here's a tip. Although the ID schools don't pay as well as they do here in CA, the Spokane WA schools pay more. Spokane is only 30 miles away form Coeur d'Alene...and that's 30 Idaho miles (which takes 30 minutes) as opposed to 30 SoCAl miles (which can take about 2 - 3 hours during rush hour). So you might want to drive to WA while you are visiting, get a salary schedule, and maybe talk to some people at the district office.

[Torrie]

Hello,
I too use to live in Napa, CA. My parents are still there. Though I love to visit, I could not live there anymore. There is just too many people in California and you kinda get lost in the shuffle there. It is much more relaxed here than there. And you won't have the congestion like Napa on highway 29 due to tourism during the summer months. I think you will find Boise very appealing. You will find more of a sense of community here than Napa and also a better quality of life. The people are very down to earth and friendly. Don't worry about the LDS. They have been for the most part good neighbors. They are very family oriented and though my husband and I are not LDS, we have befriended many of our neighbors who are and religion has not gotten in the way of our friendship. Yes there are some who do not want anything to do with you if you aren't LDS, but they are far and few. As far as teaching, I would recommend the Boise area as opposed to one of the nearby suburbs as it pays more. I do not know how it compares to the Spokane area. Do check out that article in the Idaho Statesman in regards to the bill the Governor just signed. I know at one point they were talking about even waiving any student loans you might have if you signed up for so many years of teaching but I don't believe that has passed yet. There is a shortage of teachers here so they have been attempting to attract people into the field. As far as the weather goes, average snow fall is 21 inches a year, but we have been here for 4 years now and have only hit that number once! Occassionally we get a good snow, but it's just enough to get everyone excited and then it melts in a day or so. Boise has great airport access, no more dashes to Sacramento or Oakland if you move here. For most flights, you can arrive 45 to 55 minutes before your flight and just glide right through. No hassles, no traffic jams, piece of cake. Come check it out, if you want more info feel free to email me directly. Napa was a beautiful place to live but the cost of living is outrageous and the quality of life you will experience here in Idaho will make you wonder why you didn't move sooner. PS, just a side note;if you find you can't find your favorite wine from there, email me with the name, my husband is in the wine business here in Boise and he could tell you where you could locate it here.
Torrie

[kukla1]

Do check out that article in the Idaho Statesman in regards to the bill the Governor just signed.

Torrie, can you direct me to a little more info on that Idaho statesman's article? Maybe his name? I would love to read it!

[HDL]

Visit www.abcte.org/teacher_shortages (broken link).




ABCTE Launches Teacher Shortage Web Site


Gov. Otter, Department of Education and ABCTE Announce “You Can Teach: Improve Our Future” Seminar on March 17 (broken link)

Event is first-of-its-kind statewide conference to recruit new teachers


March 13, 2007


Press Room


Boise, Idaho (March 12, 2007)-With Idaho facing critical teacher shortages and a need for approximately 2,500 new teachers every year, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna today announced that the state will hold a statewide seminar on March 17, 2007 to recruit new teachers for Idaho's schools.

[Torrie]

Originally Posted by Renay Napa

My husband and I would love to leave Ca. We are looking for a small town feel, with friendly people, and good schools. I have read hundreds of comments posted and am confused about the LDS population. As a Catholic family, are there towns we should avoid? Also, I'm an elelmentary school teacher in CA, are there many teaching jobs available?

Hey Renay,
Just wondering, but do you know anyone from Vallergas Markets in Napa? I use to work there way back when and still know a few people who are there. And actually two of the people I use to work with got married and live in Boise! My parents still shop there as they live fairly close by. Just wondering