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Old 02-10-2014, 11:16 AM
 
10 posts, read 80,154 times
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Hello all!

For the last 3 years or so I have had a strong yearning to leave California. After lots and lots of research, I've decided on Idaho.

I'm in my mid 30's, married, no children. (Plan on keeping kids out of the picture...plan on)

Initially I was bent on Boise. However, about 2 years ago I got married. Naturally, I would talk about moving to Idaho to my wife a LOT. (Of course, her initial response was: IDAHO?!?!?!) And then I proceed to tell her that it just may be the most beautiful state in the country, and then via the web, "showed her around."

So after showing her what Idaho is about, she fell in love with North Idaho/Coeur d'Alene. So I lost the "battle for Boise". But I am totally fine with that. The fact that we BOTH want to move out of CA and into Idaho is a very, very big deal. A hurdle I wasn't sure would be overcome.

We have various reasons for wanting to leave CA. Neither of us are "meant" to be here...especially myself. CA has a lot to offer, but takes away a lot more; so IMO, what it has to offer cannot truly be enjoyed anyways...so why spend an arm and a leg on an apartment? (I've run out of limbs)

Anyways...I'm not a CA native. I've lived all over the country (Born in Colorado. Lived in TX, OK, Michigan and CA...twice, family is from PA and south Jersey). Most of my life has been in CA., though. But culture change, climate changes, etc, aren't really anything new; so I'm not necessarily worried about getting acclimated.

Our main reasons for wanting to move to Idaho are as follows:

1) Calmer, laid back, slower paced environment. (Far less people/traffic)
2) Cleaner, safer
3) Actual seasons (As opposed to CA, where it's spring/summer all year round, with 3 inches of rain per year...literally)
4) The beauty
5) The lower cost of living (wife won't feel obligated to work)
6) Familial atmosphere
7) Seemingly less materialistic culture
8) Desire to simplify our lives
9) Sister lives in Washington, so we'll be closer to her
10) Prefer mountains over the beach
11) Lower state taxes
12) Less gov red tape for potential small business aspirations
13) No 101 or 405 freeways to traverse regularly
14) CA can beautiful, but is beyond crowded, is very dirty, filled with gangs and violence...and Idaho seems to be the exact opposite
15) We do a lot of volunteer work, and the lower cost of living will allow us to devote more time to this


The list could go on.

Anyways...I've a decent paying job (62k a year), and am working from home, which will allow me to relocate and not have to hunt for a job; so we're squared away as far as that is concerned. And although my wife doesn't have to work, she will freelance because she likes working. But it'll be on her terms.

We're looking to rent long term, but MAY consider buying, but are in no way in a hurry to buy a home. (Risky investment in this sick economy - never know when a layoff is around the corner)

So we're pretty much going to do this; but it'll likely be 1 to 2 years from now.

The question is: For the above mentioned, would Sandpoint or Coeur d'Alene be a better fit?

I know you guys can't "decide" for us; but just to get some honest thoughts and opinions would be helpful.

I apologize for the very long-winded post, but I wanted to give ya'll some insight into what we're about instead some vague question with no background.

Oh, and we speak French, so we know how to pronounce Coeur d'Alene...hahaha. (Everyone here says Core da lane...lol)

Thank you so much in advance!

Last edited by paleguy; 02-10-2014 at 12:10 PM..
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Old 02-10-2014, 11:49 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,389 posts, read 2,987,786 times
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Both areas are definitely rural in comparison to CA, but there is a difference of degree between them.

Just as a starting point, consider the population stats. CdA itself has a population of about 44k, and Kootenai County is about 138k. On the other hand, Sandpoint is only about 7.3k, and Bonner County is about 41k. The population density of Bonner county is about 1/4 that of Kootenai county. So I think you need to give some thought to how rural an environment are you looking for.

I'm guessing your work from home plans may require broadband access. I think if you are in either Sandpoint or CdA you will find some reasonable options, but I know that once you get outside Sandpoint itself in Bonner County it's not uncommon to find your broadband options to be pretty limited. I am not as familiar with broadband options in Kootenai county outside of CdA itself.

In the end, there is no substitute for making a trip up there and seeing the area for yourself.
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Old 02-10-2014, 12:05 PM
 
10 posts, read 80,154 times
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You know what? I didn't even think about broadband access. I'm glad you brought that up, because all of my work is online.

Ya, we'll be making a trip up there in the fall of this year. We'll poke around and get a feel for what it's like up there. Not looking for no population, just significantly less; so Sandpoint actually sounds very appealing. But your points are good, and something I didn't think about too much. So thank you.
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Old 02-10-2014, 12:56 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,389 posts, read 2,987,786 times
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So, for calibration, even Kootenai county will feel extremely rural compared to SoCal. LA County population density is 2,420/square mile, and Kootenai County is 111. Bonner County is 24. It's a very different world up there compared to SoCal.

Not sure if your work will require you to travel at all, but you might also give some consideration to airport access. You can get from the Spokane airport to the Rt90/Rt95 junction (which is more or less CdA) in about 30 minutes. Obviously, your drive to the airport can be a lot longer from other locations in Kootenai county, particularly if you get on the east side of Lake CdA. On the other hand, Sandpoint itself is about 2 hours drive from the airport. We'll be living south of Sandpoint in Sagle, and the drive from our house to the airport will be closer to 2-1/2 hours. Not a problem if you don't need to fly frequently, but if you will have to travel much that might influence your decision.
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Old 02-10-2014, 02:48 PM
 
Location: Idaho
836 posts, read 1,654,110 times
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Your reasons for moving are all valid and accurate.

For internet, shopping and accessibility purposes I suggest CDA (and don't bother with proper pronunciation; no one here does it)

There are plenty of places right in CDA and near (like Rathdrum) where you can enjoy country living right close to city.

I think you would quickly find Sandpoint is more rural than you're looking for and the drive to/from CDA for shopping gets tougher in Summer or snow.
Plus- sounds like there are more oil trains gonna be coming through.

Just my 2 cents - have fun.
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Old 02-10-2014, 03:47 PM
 
10 posts, read 80,154 times
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Very good info, Cnynrat. I will not be traveling much at all, at least for work. But airport access is very important, for we do travel privately quite often. (I have family all over the country). Thanks for this info, it's very helpful.
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Old 02-10-2014, 03:54 PM
 
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@notoriouskelley

Those are all valid reason for CdA, and things that are definitely to be considered. Thanks so much for that info!!!
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:08 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
2,389 posts, read 2,987,786 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by notoriouskelly View Post
Plus- sounds like there are more oil trains gonna be coming through.
This is something to think about that may not be apparent at first. The BNSF rail lines come thru Sandpoint, and then make their way over to Spokane. There are a significant number of freight trains that come through the area every day, including the oil (and coal) trains referred to by NotoriousKelly. Depending on how sensitive or concerned you are about train noise, you should keep that in mind.

Also, there are still quite a few grade level crossings in N. ID, so beware of that as well as you start to home in on a specific location. Here's an interesting article that has an analysis of what sort of traffic delays might be caused by train traffic in the region. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this particular study, but it's certainly true that this can be an issue if you need to traverse one of these grade level crossings frequently.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:16 PM
 
719 posts, read 1,556,834 times
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I'd drive or fly through the Boise area on your way if you can to check it out in person. I've lived up north and in Boise and prefer the latter as I feel like it has a better mix of what I'm looking for (biggest factor being a lot more employment opportunities, but there are other reasons as well). I love it up north too, so I'm not trying to discourage you from going up that way. Just thought that you might want to let your wife see Boise in person before ruling it out.

If I were choosing between CDA and Sandpoint, I'd probably opt for the former as it has more amenities and closer access to Spokane. Sandpoint is beautiful, though.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:46 PM
 
Location: Idaho
836 posts, read 1,654,110 times
Reputation: 1561
Good article, Cnynrat/

I was looking at a place on Woodland and didn't realize that's 'wrong side of the tracks' until train came thru and many turned around.

Not a short detour going back up by Walmart & around so gave me food for thought.
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