Lewiston, ID Area (Boise, Moscow, Clark Fork: fit in, 2015, condos)

[Cowgirl Kathy]

My spouse and I are considering a move from California to Lewiston after I retire in 2015. What do I need to know and understand about the region? California has become a scary place to consider as a retirement location, even though we have lived in the outer regions of the SF Bay Area for more than 30 years. Are there areas of Lewiston we should avoid with respect to crime (as an older couple)? Tell me about water issues - a serious concern in California right now with the drought - we are challenged understanding water rights. What are the hazards of being outside of city limits and having wells/septic? In California, they are wanting to regulate and limit well water quality on private property. We would like to have an acre+ so we might have horses/lifestock, but it may not be an option. What are the "hazards" of being California natives trying to fit into the community?

It's time for us to get out of California - we just don't fit into the political genre of the state. Any advice or insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

[Need4Seasons]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl Kathy

My spouse and I are considering a move from California to Lewiston after I retire in 2015. What do I need to know and understand about the region? California has become a scary place to consider as a retirement location, even though we have lived in the outer regions of the SF Bay Area for more than 30 years. Are there areas of Lewiston we should avoid with respect to crime (as an older couple)? Tell me about water issues - a serious concern in California right now with the drought - we are challenged understanding water rights. What are the hazards of being outside of city limits and having wells/septic? In California, they are wanting to regulate and limit well water quality on private property. We would like to have an acre+ so we might have horses/lifestock, but it may not be an option. What are the "hazards" of being California natives trying to fit into the community?

It's time for us to get out of California - we just don't fit into the political genre of the state. Any advice or insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

I was raised in Northern California (Weed, Mt. Shasta, Redding) area and also lived in Sacramento and Oakland by Lake Merit but left that state as a teenager. We are currently in Alaska but lived on both the East and West coast including the Pacific Northwest. I am interested to see what type of feedback you get but will also provide my insight where appropriate. Good luck and hope to see you in Boise!

[grmi66]

You may want to post this in the Idaho forum and not the Boise forum. Lewiston is 5 hours away from Boise.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Assuming that our moderator Sage will move this thread to the general forum: What you need to plan on, before making any further plans, is a trip to Idaho, to see for yourself. I assume you haven't been there, since this was posted in the Boise forum. Do you have a special reason for choosing Lewiston, other than warmer winters? If you are going to look for a place outside of city limits, 5 acres is the usual minimum, in some areas 10 acres. And if you plan on grazing horses on your own property, you'll need a lot more than that. No hazards of being CA natives fitting in, as long as you refrain from trying to turn your corner of Idaho into CA...

Take a look at existing Lewiston/Moscow threads here; some of your questions may already have been answered.

[Cowgirl Kathy]

Thank you Clark Fork Fantast, for your response, and I hope that the moderator will move the thread; I posted it on the Boise forum because it appeared to me that was a better choice than the IF group. And milder winters is one reason we are considering the Lewiston area, but not the only one. We have a lot of questions, particularly pertaining to water rights, but figure we can get those answered eventually.

We are planning a trip to Idaho in July, and are actually considering two diverse areas in the state as a potential retirement location; it's been at least a decade since we passed through on our way to Wyoming. We're not sure we are going to go ahead with keeping horses on our own property, but I'm not sure what the situation is with boarding - any info on that?

It's good to know we will be welcomed despite our state of origin (the land of fruits and nuts), and we have NO desire to create a mini-California with us...the state of the State of California is the reason we are looking to move to your area!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Hey Cowgirl, I should have started by wishing you welcome to C-D! The way it works is that every state has a general forum and one or several city-specific forums. So your thread belongs in the general forum. There is already a Lewiston-Clarkston thread you may want to look at.

I'm currently in SoCal myself, and our connection to North Idaho is our 5 acres in Clark Fork where we're building a retirement home . I've never encountered any kind of hostility in Idaho because of our CA license plates. Montana--now that's a little different!

You shouldn't worry about water rights. If you dig a well, you have the water rights, unless your deed specifies something else. Some waterfront properties may have special restrictions, but that should be clear in the deed, too.

So come on up in July and have a great time! Keep asking questions, and we'll do our best to help.

[wildflower82]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl Kathy

My spouse and I are considering a move from California to Lewiston after I retire in 2015. What do I need to know and understand about the region? California has become a scary place to consider as a retirement location, even though we have lived in the outer regions of the SF Bay Area for more than 30 years. Are there areas of Lewiston we should avoid with respect to crime (as an older couple)? Tell me about water issues - a serious concern in California right now with the drought - we are challenged understanding water rights. What are the hazards of being outside of city limits and having wells/septic? In California, they are wanting to regulate and limit well water quality on private property. We would like to have an acre+ so we might have horses/lifestock, but it may not be an option. What are the "hazards" of being California natives trying to fit into the community?

It's time for us to get out of California - we just don't fit into the political genre of the state. Any advice or insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

I would compare Lewiston area to Oroville, Ca, outside of Sacramento, except bigger. Same kind of terrain, same weather, except less sun in the winter. If I were you I'd come stay for a week and see it, before making decisions. The papermill is not a smell most people can live with. Lewiston and the surrounding area is very safe. You might even look at a little town over the border in Washington, it's Palouse, WA nice quiet town.

When you come don't make a big deal about being from CA. Once talking to others you will find most of us came from their also!

[brokencrayola]

All I know is I could not handle smelling that paper mill 24/7.

[Keim]

...And a lot of people hardly notice the smell of the mill.

[Cowgirl Kathy]

@3~Shepherds - thank you for the information comparing Lewiston to Oroville. We were considering a move to Paradise, just up the hill from Oroville, but my spouse didn't really like the town, and he much prefers the rolling hills of the Oroville region.

The paper mill doesn't concern me overmuch, since we lived less than a mile from the now-closed mill in Antioch, CA many years ago and I have been working at a large wastewater treatment plant for the last 18 years , so I'm rather accustomed to a malodorous environment. But I would be curious to know about the mill's location relative to the city proper, if there are prevailing winds and from what direction. My opinion is you can't complain after the fact if you've exercised due diligence to know the negatives of the region. It amazes me the number of complaints we get from the neighbors to the plant - I keep wondering if the developer didn't disclose and/or they didn't survey the area before they purchased their condos less than one mile downwind of the treatment facility!

I'm getting excited about making a visit and getting out of the Bay Area for a few weeks! I won't have a full week to spend in Lewiston, since we want to look at a couple of other areas in the state before we zero in on a final destination. We've briefly looked at the area near Palouse, but it may be a bit far north for us. Maybe we'll take another look just to be sure we're dotting the i's and crossing the t's - thanks for the info!