Moving to CDA/Rathdrum/Hauser area; questions? (fit in, home)

[dirtfreak]

Hello, my husband and I are looking to move to the CDA area after living in Reno for the last 6 years. We are wanting to get away from the terrible schools, terrible desert weather, and unfriendly people. My husband has already been offered a job in Spokane Valley with his company, and I am 6 months pregnant and planning on staying at home for a few years before returning to work in the medical field.

Our plan is to purchase 10-20 acres of land no more than an hour away from Spokane Valley and build our home, we have spoken with Timbered Ridge and they seem like a good way to go. We are already big hunting and fishing fans, but we would also want to have some livestock (maybe a dairy cows, some goats, chickens, etc).

It is my understanding that the schools here are amazing - in any case, Nevada is the worst in the country, so anywhere would be better than Reno. I have also heard that Lakeland School District is the best around, so Rathdrum really seems like a good option.

I just want to make sure we have a good understanding of the area, demographic, and economy before relocating. I love the friendliness of the people and respect that they don't want outsiders "tainting" their way of life. Our goal is to raise our family with the views and beliefs established here, so I'm not worried about "fitting in."

I would greatly appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer, especially if there is anything I am off about. I have been wanting to get out of Reno pretty much since the moment we moved there, so I am really really hoping this would be a good move for us. Thanks in advance!

[Disciple1975]

Rathdrum is a great community and you should be able to find 10 acres in the surrounding area without to terribly big of a hassle. 20 good ones within an hour of Spokane Valley might be a little tough. Spirit lake is also a GREAT area and community and is just within your hour criteria.

As long as you are willing to assimilate, not bring any garbage with you, want to keep Idaho great, and are friendly yourselves then you will fit in just fine and love it here culturally.

Make sure you can handle the winters and not seeing the sun much for up to 3 months as coming from Reno, it will be a BIG change.

Also, you really need to research A LOT online and make a visit or three if possible before relocating so that you know the are as well as possible. A better alternative would be to relocate to a temporary housing situation and then buy a permanent place once you are here and feel secure in buying a place. That's what we did.

[Sage of Sagle]

I would encourage you to spend hours reading through many pages of threads on the Idaho forum. There is a wealth of information on the exact topics that interest you. And then many of us are willing to help with additional (and more specific) inquiries.

Welcome to CDF!

[banjomike]

Best of luck, dirtfreak.

I gave Reno a shot many years ago, and while I had an excellent job there, even back then Reno wasn't the town for me.
I found exactly all the things that bother you most there, long ago, and I fully understand why you want to move. I only lasted 30 days- the money vs. the quality of life was a no brainer for me. I came back to Idaho and was happy doing the same work for a lower wage.

I'm sure you will be happier here no matter when you finally touch down. Sage's advice is the best- take your time and look the entire state over as much as you can on the net, then plan to come up and take a look for yourself.

When planning your trip, try to use the 2-lanes here more than the Interstates. The 2-lane highways are the ones that will really show you all the huge variety of landscape and possibilities here. Be sure to read as far back on this forum as you can, and then, don't be afraid to ask questions. Idaho isn't like any other state in the lower 48. It's actually 2 or 3 different states that share a common boundary.

[Shaner]

Timbered Ridge is a great builder, I just had one of my clients build with them. What project were you looking at? The schools out there are great, the only thing you need to ask your self is do you need high speed internet? If you do, your only option is one of the projects on the route to Bayview and they had cable brought in and the newer developments have taken advantage of it.