Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First off I’d like to say that this forum is a wealth of information and an invaluable resource. Thank you to all that post on a regular basis.
I’ve been on this site many times, but only just now created an account. The questions I have below are things I haven’t come across yet on the forums.
About me. I’m male in my late 20’s. Currently I’m working on my masters degree and looking to move when I’m finished. I’m and engineer working in the metal casting industry. Right now I’m still in the fact finding phase and would like to know more about the CDA area.
Questions
1. Is it common to live in CDA and commute to the Spokane, WA area?
My goal is to stay in the manufacturing industry and it seems like the Spokane, WA area is more industrial based then CDA. Currently I drive 30 miles each way for work. Seems like this would a similar situation.
2. If I were to work in WA is it possible for the employer to take ID taxes from my paycheck?
Currently I work in MN but live in ND and have this arrangement. It’s known a reciprocity; simply an agreement between the two states. Makes it much easier at tax time. Plus, I like my tax money going to a place where I actually live.
3. Snowmobiling, a popular thing to do there?
When I move, my sled will be the most important thing I take with me. Seems like there are trails and riding areas not far from CDA.
Before anyone brings it up, yes I can handle the winters. I’ve spent my whole life in an area that sees winter daytime highs in the negative teens. Add in cold snaps and blizzards that can bring -30 to -40 below zero and you’ll get a pretty good idea. I love winter and that’s why I’m looking to stay in the northern latitudes, just looking for different scenery.
Hi Polaris Guy. I don't know much about your industry, but your questions seem pretty straightforward.
1) Living in CDA and commuting to Spokane is very common. Another option to cut a few miles off your commute would be the Post Falls area. Choosing a home within a reasonable distance to I-90 access will reduce your commute even further. Often a north or south commute to get to the interstate can be a decent portion of your commute time.
2) Most employers will have no problem doing this. WA has no state income tax so you don't need to worry about being taxed for both states, just make sure they processed the ID withholding correctly.
3) Very popular!
With your past winter experience, you'll probably find the area quite warm in comparison
We lived in N.ID with my DH working in Spokane for years. I think for a long while we withheld our own state taxes and paid them in a lump sum. It also seems to me the company started withholding them at some point. I will have to look back at our records to see for sure, but perhaps there is some flexibility in how it's done.
I am very curious who you work for. The casting world is a small one and there is work in Spokane, potentially.
Heya bud. Everything seems to been answered, when you get up here, there are a couple of snowmobiling groups that go up every weekend that can show you spots and such. You have hundreds of miles of trails within 30 minutes. Slednecks is the term for them up here.
Snowmobiling is extremely popular all over Idaho.
Down here in Idaho Falls, There are several custom hot-rod shops for juicing snow machines. There are 2 major distributors here as well, and there are 2 foundries I know of, but I don't know if any is specialized; they both make a lot of brass castings for ag implements and potato handling equipment as their bread and butter. One is in town and the other a few miles south of town.
Yellowstone Park has turned into a major snowmobile area. Island Park, an area in Idaho that lies very close to West Yellowstone, the major park center for snowmobiling, has also become hugely popular snowmobiling territory. Both are an hour up the road from I.F. Island park has a couple of hundred miles of trails that are groomed for the tourists, and like N. idaho, has a gaboon of wide open snowmobiling in national forests and surrounds.
There is similar stuff happening southward, close to the Utah-Idaho border. The country down there is also very popular.
I don't know much about the Boise area, but I'm sure there is a lot of snowmobiling there as well, and Boise has a lot of industry going on in the Treasure Valley. it's probably similar in Twin Falls as well.
All this is just to say- take a look at the entire state. I think there's a good possibility you will be able to find a job in your specialty, but it may not be where you look first.
I'm familiar with most of the snowmobiling areas in eastern ID along with MT and WY. Just wasn't sure of the ID panhandle area. I make yearly trips "out west" to ride in the mountains. One of my first trips was to West Yellowstone and we rode some of the Island Park area too. From what I hear West Yellowstone isn't nearly as busy as it once was before they put restrictions on what type of sled can enter YNP, approved 4 stroke models only.
I have given a look to southern ID as well but have decided against it for the time being. My reasoning is that smaller cities usually have a limited amount of manufacturing going on. Even still, engineering positions within those companies are a small group. This similar to the area I live in now, limited but good quality manufacturing with few engineering positions available (think industrial or manufacturing engineers). Boise has been an interest to me also, so its still on the radar.
A move like this would be a big deal for me, and I want to have options when I get there hence the need for a larger city like Spokane nearby this has a more developed industrial and manufacturing base. With its proximity to good riding areas and not being a large metro area (ie Denver, Salt Lake, Portland, Seattle) Spokane/CDA is attractive to me. Of course I won't be moving without a job lined up first.
Also, I'm not looking or needing to stay in the metal casting industry, that's just where I happened to end up when I finished my bachelors. With my degree I can work in almost any type of manufacturing setting/industry, large scale or small.
Cdarocks:
I work for a small all aluminum foundry in northwestern MN. Approx 150 employees. By volume we do a lot of parts for OTR diesel engines, power generation engines and others. We mainly do the air handling systems like intakes and manifolds and such.
Thanks again for all the information. I'm all ears if you have anything more to share.
OP, is there a reason you aren't considering the WA side as well (or are you?)?
Mainly because I would like to live in a smaller city and proximity to recreation east of CDA.
This is all very preliminary research and fact finding. At minimum it would be 18 months till I move. Need to finish grad school first.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
