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There are a lot of LDS who live all over Idaho. And all over all the surrounding states as well. The Mormons settled the entire intermountain west, and much of California. Their influence is just as strong in eastern Washington and Oregon as it is here, Wyoming is mostly LDS, as is much of W. Montana.
I've lived among them all my life, and I've found there are a lot of regional differences that exist within their church's social side. Someone who isn't as familiar with the faith might not notice them, but I can often spot a Montana Mormon from and Idaho Mormon. Utah, since it was where they all came from originally, has more shades of Mormonism within it than all the other states have. All in all, the most notable social aspect to them is their intense family orientation. They all tend to spend tons of time in family activities.
Back when I was your age, 40+ years ago, Salt Lake City was a dope-smokin' hippie hotbed in some of its quarters. Boise, on the other hand, was a lot more straight laced, as were all the larger cities in Idaho.
The thing to understand about the religion is it's old here, so well established that it's very similar to living among the Baptists of the South or the Catholics in the Northeast. The Mormons aren't all fervent believers here by a long shot; about half of them don't go to church regularly, especially in the larger towns, and they enjoy all the same stuff all the others do.
In smaller towns, especially where the church is about the only central social activity there is, outside of the local bar and grill or the service station, the LDS influence is naturally stronger, but the members aren't necessarily any more churchy. Some are, others aren't.
Either way, it can take some time for an outsider to make some strong friendships with the LDS, but once they get to know a person, it's hard to find better friends. The LDS are very polite, very quick to help others, and don't try to convert locals very much at all. Like any religion, there are some hell-raisers on one end and some prudes on the other, but the middle is pretty big and laid-back.
Thank you for this information. Again, I have LDS friends, so I'm at least a little familiar with the CA brand. I will probably be gravitating more towards a relatively larger town/ city, which is why I'm considering CDA.
Thank you for this information. Again, I have LDS friends, so I'm at least a little familiar with the CA brand. I will probably be gravitating more towards a relatively larger town/ city, which is why I'm considering CDA.
Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello are all about the same size as CDA. Twin Falls is slightly smaller, but is fast growing, and Caldwell is similar to Twin.
Throw in Boise, which is over twice as large as all the others, and you have all the major cities in the state.
All the others are about half the size of those mentioned above or smaller, and small here is really small. 10,000 to 30,000 is a pretty large city here. The list above are all more than 30,000; they are all between 40,000 and 65,000 people.
At 60,000 up the only choices are: Boise, CDA, Nampa, and Idaho Falls. Of these, CDA and Idaho Falls are very close to the same size, and the other 2 are larger.
The Boise metro includes the suburban towns of Meridian, Eagle, & Star. Meridian has 90,000, making it the 2nd largest city in the state, but it and Boise have no separation now.
Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello are all about the same size as CDA. Twin Falls is slightly smaller, but is fast growing, and Caldwell is similar to Twin.
Throw in Boise, which is over twice as large as all the others, and you have all the major cities in the state.
All the others are about half the size of those mentioned above or smaller, and small here is really small. 10,000 to 30,000 is a pretty large city here. The list above are all more than 30,000; they are all between 40,000 and 65,000 people.
At 60,000 up the only choices are: Boise, CDA, Nampa, and Idaho Falls. Of these, CDA and Idaho Falls are very close to the same size, and the other 2 are larger.
The Boise metro includes the suburban towns of Meridian, Eagle, & Star. Meridian has 90,000, making it the 2nd largest city in the state, but it and Boise have no separation now.
This list also shows which cities are growing and which are losing population.
Very informative, thanks a ton. Based on all of the other factors I have considered I'm still strongly leaning towards Northern Idaho. In terms of career I like the prospect of having access to multiple relatively large cities within a 40 or so minute drive (CDA, Spokane). And CDA appears to meet my leanings for fishing, disk golf, politics, and food. The weather I can deal with. I could do my own research but that hasn't stopped me from asking any questions thus far, so I proceed, do you know what the LDS presence is like in the CDA area?
Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello are all about the same size as CDA. Twin Falls is slightly smaller, but is fast growing, and Caldwell is similar to Twin.
Throw in Boise, which is over twice as large as all the others, and you have all the major cities in the state.
All the others are about half the size of those mentioned above or smaller, and small here is really small. 10,000 to 30,000 is a pretty large city here. The list above are all more than 30,000; they are all between 40,000 and 65,000 people.
At 60,000 up the only choices are: Boise, CDA, Nampa, and Idaho Falls. Of these, CDA and Idaho Falls are very close to the same size, and the other 2 are larger.
Minor clarification, and technical in nature. The population of CdA, (according to the link banjomike provided), is just over 49K. However, if you include Post Falls and Hayden, which are only separated from CdA by the double-yellow line running down the middle of the street, the population is almost 94K. Throw in Rathdrum, about four-five miles across the prairie, and you have over 100K concentrated in a small area. The "town" feels smaller that the stats indicate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anglerte
And CDA appears to meet my leanings for fishing, disk golf, politics, and food. The weather I can deal with. I could do my own research but that hasn't stopped me from asking any questions thus far, so I proceed, do you know what the LDS presence is like in the CDA area?
I do know that there is a frisbee golf course in Farragut State Park. Surely there must be more in the area.
There is a LDS presence on the Rathdrum Prairie, but not like in SE Idaho or Rexburg. C-D's own data page for Kootenai County, for 2010, show Evangelical Protestant at 43.8%, None at 42.3%, Other at 6.1%, Catholic at 5.5%, Mainline Protestant at 2.2%, and Orthodox at 0.1%. LDS are included in Other, (based on the C-D Rexburg data stats page).
Minor clarification, and technical in nature. The population of CdA, (according to the link banjomike provided), is just over 49K. However, if you include Post Falls and Hayden, which are only separated from CdA by the double-yellow line running down the middle of the street, the population is almost 94K. Throw in Rathdrum, about four-five miles across the prairie, and you have over 100K concentrated in a small area. The "town" feels smaller that the stats indicate.
I do know that there is a frisbee golf course in Farragut State Park. Surely there must be more in the area.
There is a LDS presence on the Rathdrum Prairie, but not like in SE Idaho or Rexburg. C-D's own data page for Kootenai County, for 2010, show Evangelical Protestant at 43.8%, None at 42.3%, Other at 6.1%, Catholic at 5.5%, Mainline Protestant at 2.2%, and Orthodox at 0.1%. LDS are included in Other, (based on the C-D Rexburg data stats page).
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Yup. Very true.
But it's also as true with Boise and all the other cities as well. They all have nearby small towns that supply workers for the jobs in the hub cities.
One thing that differs in S. Idaho are the traveling distances to the jobs. CDA and Boise's jobs have shorter commutes than in the eastern corridor; folks who work in Idaho Falls make commutes that can be over 60 miles (or more) one way, especially from the north- the upper Snake River valley's big employers pretty much end in I.F., but there are lots of folks who live north of the city. The commute's numbers are the reason why U.S. 20 became an in-state Interstate from I.F. to just south of Ashton, where it goes back to a 2-lane again.
A worker who lives in Ashton is making a 130 mile commute daily, and there are folks who live even farther away than that who work in I.F.
CDA definitely has an advantage there- even the commute to Spokane isn't as long. The commute in the panhandle is also an easier one in the winters, too- the farther north one goes on US20, the worse the snow becomes in winter, and the drive can become treacherous after a blizzard in part of it, as the elevation constantly increases northward. Ashton is over 1000 feet higher than I.F. Island Park, just north of Ashton, is over 1000 feet higher than Ashton. That means a lot more snow in the winter, and a lot more snow storms.
You just summed up why I'll grow roots in Rathdrum instead of Island Park. Still, I'm seriously considering the purchase of a small plot of dirt in I.P. Would make an awesome vacation home.
CDA definitely has an advantage there- even the commute to Spokane isn't as long. The commute in the panhandle is also an easier one in the winters, too- the farther north one goes on US20, the worse the snow becomes in winter, and the drive can become treacherous after a blizzard in part of it, as the elevation constantly increases northward. Ashton is over 1000 feet higher than I.F. Island Park, just north of Ashton, is over 1000 feet higher than Ashton. That means a lot more snow in the winter, and a lot more snow storms.
So commutes from CDA to Spokane would be less hazardous in the winter time relative to other parts of the state?
So commutes from CDA to Spokane would be less hazardous in the winter time relative to other parts of the state?
"Less hazardous"? I'm not sure how to interpret that. I would guess that south Idaho would have an easier time of it. Just not as much snow, especially in the mid-south going west.
Up north, they keep I-90 plowed pretty well and also the secondary roads. However, expect ice throughout the winter. Your commute times will be longer, but nothing terrible, (by CA standards).
So commutes from CDA to Spokane would be less hazardous in the winter time relative to other parts of the state?
Most of the roads aren't hazardous for very long, and a lot depends on the weather itself; a drive in the early hours of the morning on a winter's day might be icy until the sun comes up, but by the drive home, the same road can be completely dry.
If a windstorm kicks up, drifting snow can become a hazard even if the road is dry due to poor visibility.
As much depends on the particular road being used. If a person is living out of town on a country road that has few homes along it, that road could be unplowed longer than a road that gets a lot of heavy traffic. Roads that have light traffic tend to be plowed later, and once plowed, can become icy just because there is less traffic on it.
I mentioned elevation in my earlier post because it makes a really big difference in the winter. The higher it is, the more snow it gets and the longer the snow stays. 1000 feet of elevation can mean the difference between a snowy road and a clear dry road on the same day.
Wintertime driving is just something that can only be learned through experience. Trying to describe all the winter conditions that are possible is impossible. But learning isn't hard. The main thing is to learn to just drive slower than during the summer.
This sounds too simple, but almost everyone continues to drive too fast for a while after the first snowstorm of the season. We all forget winter conditions, no matter how long we live here. One winter is all it takes for a driver to learn how to drive in snow country.
Even when Freya is clear, many of the side streets can be downright treacherous.
The I90 is usually clear between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane just form the shear number of cars. There are times though that only one lane is down to pavement and venturing into the left lane can be dicey.
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