Moving away from Texas, husband Civil engineering related field... (Boise: 2014, homes)

[Danimarie]

So, I want to get away from Texas. Been here for 4 years. They are full of fire ants even on the playgrounds and my family has severe fire ant allergies and the heat is unbearable. I'm from Northern Minnesota. We are in our 30's and have 4 kids, 9 and under. We homeschool. My husband specializes in autoCAD Civil3D (Civil Engineering field) and is an expert and has helped co-author books on the subject. I'm checking out states that have laws that are good for homeschooling.

Would Idaho be good for our family? Should we consider it? Anything we should be aware of? Where in Idaho would you recommend. Thanks!

[Cnynrat]

Welcome to the Idaho forum.

There are at least a few regulars here who home school their kids, so I'll let them chime in on that subject.

Since a part of your motivation for moving is climate, you might start by looking at the climate in different areas of Idaho. Much of the southern part of the state is classified s high desert, and it can get pretty warm there in the summer. They do have 4 seasons though. On the other hand, the northern part of Idaho isn't quite as hot in the summer, but you get more of a winter up there. You'll have to decide which fits your desires best.

I would guess that from a career perspective somewhere around Boise or one of the other larger cities would meet your husband's needs better, but that's hard to say without knowing more about what sort of work he wants. Regardless of the area, most would recommend you have job(s) lined up before you move.

Beyond that it's difficult to make recommendations without knowing more about what you are looking for in your new location.

Dave

[Steelhead69]

Idaho is one of the better states for homeschooling. Like Texas there are no regulations regarding how or who educates their kids. Lots of groups around the population centers, most of them religious based but there are also a lot of non-affiliated resources I've found for curriculum etc. The presence is enough to prompt local establishments to acknowledge and accommodate (free homeschool day entries on certain days etc).
...and no fire-ants.

Best of luck.

[Danimarie]

Thanks for the info. I prefer 4 seasons. I don't mind a bit of heat, but Texas takes it to an extreme. I used to live in Billing, Montana for 3 years before Texas and have been to Coeur d'Alene on vacation once.

Hooray, no fire ants! And, hooray, for good homeschool laws! Good to hear there are quite a few homeschoolers around as well.

[remington79]

I lived in CdA and with the exception of the winter of 07-08 and 08-09 I found the winters to be mild. Those two winters we had a lot of snow. The following winters there wasn't a lot of snow. There were times it was in the single digits but it didn't seem too bad and at most it would last a week at most. In my experience because of where its situated we don't get as much snow as other places. The rain and snow will miss and will hit Missoula instead.

Having lived in the northeast and currently being stuck in Texas again the cold in North Idaho doesn't feel as bad because of the lack of humidity. If its sunny with no wind you could get by with a sweatshirt while in Texas you need a winter jacket when its 40-50 out. Following the weather Bozeman is always cold. For various reasons we can't wait to get out of here again and hope to leave this year.

[Danimarie]

I see I'm not the only one wanting out of Texas. Thanks for the info remington. I'm not huge on snow, I could take it or leave it. Your description of winter in Idaho sounds quite alright.

[IdaD]

CdA winters aren't generally all that harsh. They're noticeably darker than you get in southwest Idaho, and wetter/snowier, but not generally any colder. In fact I think the average low in Boise in December and January is a little lower. The harsh winters in Idaho are in the central or eastern parts of the state.

I'd also note that while Boise does have hot summers, it isn't hot for very long and it certainly isn't hot by Texas standards.

As far as where to live in Idaho, it depends on what you want. The Boise is obviously the population center which is both good and bad depending on how you look at it. Outside of the Treasure Valley the only other cities with much size are CdA, Lewiston, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls, and none are much over about 50,000 people. Moscow and Rexburg are both mid-20s. It goes down rapidly from there.

Do you want high desert? Mountains? Trees and lakes? Agricultural areas? City or rural? Idaho is a big state and offers a lot of variety.

[Syringaloid]

The OP may find it interesting that the high desert also has mountains with forests. If you aren't living in the forests they tend to always be nearby in Idaho.

[remington79]

Originally Posted by Danimarie

I see I'm not the only one wanting out of Texas. Thanks for the info remington. I'm not huge on snow, I could take it or leave it. Your description of winter in Idaho sounds quite alright.

My wife and I moved up to CdA in 07 and we moved back down to East Texas in 2014. She has family here so we moved to be closer. After about a year we had enough of it down here and would have moved last year if it wasn't for money. Our quality of life went downhill. I lost a good job in CdA and were broke. We've been low on money here to but our quality of life was MUCH better up there. If you have kids you'll like the parks up there. They are in good shape and they keep them clean. Here they are run down and always have litter. This town is the same size as CdA. They built a new park (McEuen Park) that greatly divided the city. The park did turn out nice though. The only downside is the lack of free public parking and instead they have a private company pay to park.

[Danimarie]

I do prefer a bit more to see - like mountains, forest, lakes, but job market is more important and places with the highest population would be ideal for my husband's line of work. And, if cool things are within a reasonable driving distance, that's good enough. Snow doesn't bother me. Why is there no sun for 4 months of the year? I guess because it's behind clouds? It's like that where I grew up in Minnesota, too and as long as there's daylight, that's fine.

"-You will not find fire ants here that kill everything and bite the hell out of you and the kids." - Yes!!!