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Old 08-13-2014, 04:29 PM
 
138 posts, read 269,194 times
Reputation: 109

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Quote:
Originally Posted by banjomike View Post
Don't expect to ever get a realistic picture of what life is like here in Idaho from the internet. The fact is, folks will find what they look for anywhere here. If someone is a conservative, he will find others, and if someone is progressive, so will he.
Just like anywhere else, Idaho is not, and has never been, a state where political agreement by everyone exists.
I get that, but being so far away that I can't just come over for a weekend at the drop of a hat, the internet is better than nothing.

I had a guy tell me tell me in the NM forum that there are conservatives in Santa Fe- yes, there are a few but with 70+% of the population voting democrat for generations, we have one very corrupt party in charge and THAT is the biggest downfall in my opinion to a place where most people vote only one way. Most of the conservatives I know are older and at a different stage in life than me. Doesn't mean I love them less, but it's not like our kids can play together

You are right about different parts of the country having different ideas of liberal and conservative. When my father lived here he was considered very conservative but when he moved to the Texas panhandle, he's actually shunned for being a hippy. Go figure.

And really all I'm trying to decipher with the politics of a given location is: will I be shunned? Or do I have a chance of making friends? Will I be able to live mostly how I want without being over regulated? My current city council has banned plastic bags, tried to restrict firearm magazine capacity, instated a $10.66/hr minimum wage, and has so many "green" hoops to jump through to get a building permit that construction has nearly stopped. Middle class people can't afford to live in the city, unless it's in the subsidized housing and trust me, you don't want to live in those neighborhoods! So while there may be more to life than politics, when you live in a place where the government is in all corners of your life, it's hard to see past the politics.

The OP noted tie dye and tattoos- I personally don't see what those things have to do with anything, LOL. I've seen some pretty inked-up rednecks AND liberals.
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Old 08-13-2014, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Lakeside
5,266 posts, read 8,718,003 times
Reputation: 5692
Quote:
Originally Posted by DagnyT63 View Post

You are right about different parts of the country having different ideas of liberal and conservative. When my father lived here he was considered very conservative but when he moved to the Texas panhandle, he's actually shunned for being a hippy. Go figure.

Weird thing: I had someone tell me I was kind of a hippy because I drive a stick shift Wrangler.
First I've ever heard of a transmission being able to reveal politics or lifestyle.


I may be progressive but I don't wear tie-dye or earthy crunchy clothes. I live in jeans and boots most of the time. I mostly gave up heels when we moved here. Happily.
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Old 08-13-2014, 05:05 PM
 
138 posts, read 269,194 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mistyriver View Post
Weird thing: I had someone tell me I was kind of a hippy because I drive a stick shift Wrangler.
First I've ever heard of a transmission being able to reveal politics or lifestyle.


I may be progressive but I don't wear tie-dye or earthy crunchy clothes. I live in jeans and boots most of the time. I mostly gave up heels when we moved here. Happily.
That's the first I've heard of a Jeep being hippy, LOL. Around here the official car is a Subaru Outback or Forester, so I admit, I'll tease my friends about their hippy cars. We don't use the term "crunchy" here, I had to learn what that meant from friends that live in other places. One of the good things about SF is everyone is so laid back, hardly anyone notices what anyone is wearing. I think the realtors are the nicest dressers.
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Old 08-13-2014, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Lakeside
5,266 posts, read 8,718,003 times
Reputation: 5692
Quote:
Originally Posted by DagnyT63 View Post
That's the first I've heard of a Jeep being hippy, LOL. Around here the official car is a Subaru Outback or Forester, so I admit, I'll tease my friends about their hippy cars. We don't use the term "crunchy" here, I had to learn what that meant from friends that live in other places. One of the good things about SF is everyone is so laid back, hardly anyone notices what anyone is wearing. I think the realtors are the nicest dressers.
I do have an Outback too but here, it's just common sense. And of course, the ubiquitous battered pickup truck.
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Old 08-14-2014, 06:46 PM
 
44 posts, read 118,940 times
Reputation: 88
Dagny,

Every 2nd car on the road in N. Idaho seems to be a Subaru Outback. From that alone you'd think this place is an Idaho version of Berkeley or Ann Arbor. It's not. It's just that Outbacks are good cars for the 4-5 months of crappy snow/ice mix weather we have to deal with every year. It's not that unusual to see a "NRA VOTER" or "ABORTION IS MURDER" bumper sticker on one of these Outbacks.

There is definitely a liberal presence in CDA. It's mainly downtown. But even the liberals I know aren't THAT liberal. One of the biggest Obama supporters I know has a whole bunch of guns and her husband drives a humongous gas guzzling SUV. Go figure. There are a lot of hippy organic food stores. But again, I shop there, and I'm as conservative as you get.

What is happening though is there are a ton of apartments being built all over CDA. Interpret that as you will. To me, more apartments is not a good sign for the future of an area since it means more low income people moving in (yes I know I'm a horrible human being for not loving low income people). At the same time, there is also a never ending stream of nice expensive custom built homes going up just outside the city.

And CDA has definitely become big. I moved here less than 5 years ago and when I first got here what I loved about the area was the small town feel but big city amenities. But now, it seems like CDA is getting bigger by the day and has lost that small town feel. Or maybe I've acclimated to it and it doesn't feel as small to me anymore, compared to when I first arrived from a city of 5 million. Seems like there's no CDA anymore, it's CDA blends into Post Falls which blends into Liberty Lake which blends into Spokane. It's just one big non-stop city with malls and subdivisions everywhere.

Overall it's a good place to live, but it lost the WOW THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!! feeling I had when I first came here. I'm looking to Missoula as a place I might move to. It has more people than CDA population wise, but whenever I go there, it still has that small town feel that CDA is losing. And yeah, Missoula is Berkeley in Montana, but whatever, live and let live.
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Old 08-15-2014, 01:39 AM
 
9 posts, read 15,376 times
Reputation: 18
The OP has to be trolling, there's just no way this is real. Sorry, I'm not buying that CDA is this progressive, diversity paradise. Idaho for the most part is White and Conservative, and it's best this way.
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Old 08-15-2014, 02:58 AM
 
Location: Sandpoint, ID
3,109 posts, read 10,819,620 times
Reputation: 2628
I don't know about "diversity paradise"...but CDA (city) certainly has a pretty crunchy/progressive element as shared in this thread, even if the county overall is still 65/35 red state. Hardly trolling...
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Old 08-15-2014, 03:51 AM
 
Location: Old Mother Idaho
29,198 posts, read 22,263,933 times
Reputation: 23827
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gear3ful View Post
The OP has to be trolling, there's just no way this is real. Sorry, I'm not buying that CDA is this progressive, diversity paradise. Idaho for the most part is White and Conservative, and it's best this way.
If you take some time and read through the Idaho forum posts, you'll find Idaho is very seldom what outsiders presume it to be.
But, at the same time, Idaho is also a place where every presumption by outsiders can be confirmed if one looks hard enough for confirmation.

The real truths about our state are only learned from experience here, and Idaho has never been a state for everyone. As many people who move here end up leaving as staying. Most who leave go disappointed, and those who stay are satisfied, but few ever find their expectations match the realities of life here.
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Old 08-15-2014, 07:53 AM
 
Location: Lakeside
5,266 posts, read 8,718,003 times
Reputation: 5692
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gear3ful View Post
The OP has to be trolling, there's just no way this is real. Sorry, I'm not buying that CDA is this progressive, diversity paradise. Idaho for the most part is White and Conservative, and it's best this way.

Really? Black or Hispanic conservatives wouldn't be good? How 'bout Asian conservatives?

Because in my opinion, what's *really* not good for Idaho is the "white supremacist" stereotype. And that sounded danged close to it.
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Old 08-15-2014, 12:57 PM
 
138 posts, read 269,194 times
Reputation: 109
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gear3ful View Post
Idaho for the most part is White and Conservative, and it's best this way.
Yikes, I hope that was a typo somehow. If not I have to say "speaking of trolls...."

Quote:
Originally Posted by ediddy View Post
Dagny,
It's not that unusual to see a "NRA VOTER" or "ABORTION IS MURDER" bumper sticker on one of these Outbacks.
Really? I thought that was sacrilegious to adorn the Subaru with a right-sided sticker! Maybe my husband will let me have a Subaru eventually if we move up there.....

Last edited by DagnyT63; 08-15-2014 at 01:08 PM..
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