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Are experimental housing and off grid living accepted in Idaho?
Is Idaho majority Mormon like Utah?
Where are the good hospitals?
How bad are the winters (really)... Does the snow really stick and the skies stay gray like the Midwest? Is it more wet and drizzly like the PNW? Blue skies and thin air like Colorado? If it's a regional thing, help me out with your experience of the region with the good hospitals and experimental housing.
What do y'all do for sports? Is there any hockey up there?
Are Idahoans more Rancher or Lumberjack? Like, what's the 'type' out there? Wisconsin is lumberjack, al the way... Texas and Nevada, ranchers.
Welcome to the Idaho forum! Great questions, and you'll find a lot of them answered if you do a few searches in this forum. Very helpful posts over the years, about hospitals, religion, off-grid living, and so forth.
Since you're not new to City Data, you probably know of all the great weather statistics (and more) on the main C-D page.
If you can specify which part of Idaho you're interested in, it will be easier to answer your questions. Idaho is a very long state, with different climates, landscapes, economics, cultural traditions, history, and, well, "types." I am not a great fan of stereotyping, but if you want it broken down into two types, there's more ranching/cowboy culture going on in Southern/Eastern Idaho, and more "lumberjacking" in the north, except the actual lumber industry is on the wane/taking a breather. But you have old mining traditions, too, and there are farms everywhere. Plus modern urban culture!
Have some fun looking up Idaho outdoor activities. It's one of the most vibrant outdoors states I've ever known. Different seasons, different sports. Fishing, hunting, bicycling, ATV-ing, canoeing, kayaking, white water rafting, skiing, and just hiking. Have I forgotten something? (Of course there are also the usual organized sports. Not my area of interest. My personal favorite sport: HWC, Hiking With Camera...)
LDS / Mormons are majority to super-majority in southeast Idaho, about 25% of total in southwest including Boise and Twin Falls, fairly small minority in north.
The biggest hospitals will be in Boise, CDA, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Sandpoint. "Best"? Maybe check Google for best hospital lists from U.S. News &World Report or other hospital rating groups.
Any housing has to meet county regulations. Size alone makes no difference there.
The regs vary from county to county. Other restrictions may apply in cities.
As it is everywhere, there is a growing interest here in tiny houses. But as far as I know, there are no neighborhoods that are in construction. I don't know if any are planned, but I think Boise may be the only place where any might be in the planning stage.
The idea isn't new here; I've spent a lot of time in cabins that would be called tiny houses. I always thought that living in one would be like living in a small boat or a little travel trailer- gotta keep them stowed and tidy to move around in them. I'm way too messy for life in one, myself, and I can't imagine raising a kid in one, although I know folks do it.
Depending on location, cabin fever might be a problem, too.
Are experimental housing and off grid living accepted in Idaho?
Outside of city limits, you find more creativity. The biggest issue of non-typical homes is financing them and reselling them when you decide to move on. There are places like Boise County where you will find everything from homes built out of straw and hay bales, mobile homes, shell cabins without indoor plumping (out houses), log homes, and massive custom built estates. Being off grid is harder now due to building departments requiring emergency access, etc.
Is Idaho majority Mormon like Utah?
Some areas have higher while others lower depending on which parts of each state you are comparing to the other. To me, it is a non-issue.
Where are the good hospitals?
Depends on what part of the state and what type of hospital is needed.
How bad are the winters (really)...
Idaho has 83,642 sq. miles that is pretty diverse so it depends a lot on where in Idaho. Places like McCall will have snow on the ground through the winter and yet Boise won't.
What do y'all do for sports? Is there any hockey up there?
Sports is mostly high school and college based and a few club sports. The Idaho Steelhead Hockey team plays in Boise at the CenturyLink arena.
Are Idahoans more Rancher or Lumberjack?
Will depend again on the part of the state, but I would say a blend of rancher and business casual with a touch of redneck.
We're not pretentious in Idaho. Out here, "tiny houses" on wheels are actually called trailers. And yes they are well accepted, either commercially made ones, or homemade ones.
There is a good bit of "off grid" in the area. Largely due to the cost of running power to remote locations.
Winter weather, especially the grey comment-will get a lot of different responses. Being from the Buffalo area (which is nothing but grey for 4-5 months) I find our winters (here in N. Idaho) pretty sunny and pleasant. Others have a different opinion based on what they grew up with.
The terrain varies greatly throughout the state, and even within an hour drive. The north is predominately mountainous (not terribly high ones, 6-8k or so) and heavily timbered. The south is much (MUCH) more open and barren-more high desert. You can see to the horizon. So you really need to narrow down your area when looking at generalities. Every place I've been has offered something nice and has had some great, welcoming people.
Last edited by Toyman at Jewel Lake; 08-29-2016 at 10:28 PM..
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