Choosing a city to relocate...need your suggestions, please (Boise: real estate, condo)

[misskmac]

My husband and I are looking to relocate within the next year and still trying to determine the best possible location for us. We are both 34 and will be starting a family in the next few years, so a safe family friendly neighborhood is preferred, above average school ratings are ideal. A little bit about us – my husband works from home, with the luxury of working anywhere in the US (although he would prefer Pacific or Mountain time zone). Once we move, I will be resigning from my current position to put more time and energy into my side career/real passion of personal training/nutrition. This will allow me the freedom to be a stay at home mom when we decide to start a family, as well as still earn some additional income. Below is a list of other parameters for our future home location:

• 3-4 bedroom home under $250k (closer to $200k is strongly preferred)
• Climate – coming from San Diego we understand it will be a downgrade in weather, wherever we end up. However, we are both looking forward to actual seasons. We don’t mind the snow and a little rain – but would prefer less than 30 inches of annual rain.
• Outdoor recreation/activities // community is generally health conscious
• Strong preference for walkability – being within walking distance of coffee shops/cafes/breweries/local farmers’ markets would be awesome
• Golf courses within 30 mins as my husband is an avid golfer
• International airport within 45 minutes
• Would prefer a more liberal area vs. conservative

Here are a list of cities that have piqued our interest (in order) thus far:
• Spokane
• Post Falls (Idaho)
• Surrounding Portland neighborhoods (although it rains a bit too much for us)
• Bend
• Eugene
• Tacoma
• Northern California
• Boise


Any suggestions on neighborhoods to look into (or avoid) would be appreciated!!
We look forward to creating a life in a new friendly community.

[banjomike]

You might want to take a look at South East Idaho in addition to your other locations here.

There are a string of cities in a corridor along the S.E. border; it's a large area, and parts of it are growing rapidly, as is the economy.

Another hot spot in the state is Twin Falls, the largest city south of Boise in South West Idaho. Each area has it's own advantages and disadvantages, but one thing that is shared everywhere here are outdoor recreation and activities. They abound in all their forms in Idaho.

An international airport is going to limit your choices. Spokane probably is closest to that requirement, with Boise second, and Idaho Falls 3rd, but the only truly international airport from Boise southward is in Salt Lake City. The others all have connections to SLC.

Idaho Falls' airport is the closest to SLC, but connections out of I.F. are more expensive; there is an airport shuttle service that originates in the Idaho Falls area that drops travelers off at the SLC airport, which often pays for itself in the cheaper fares. The drive takes about 4 hours by the bus.

I live in Idaho Falls. It's the largest of the hub cities in the S.E. corridor, so I can answer regional questions as to it, and the folks who live in NID will provide good answers for the panhandle.

I have 2 sons who presently live in Portland. Personally, I'm too much an Idahoan to ever be happy living there; it's too big for me. They both love their lives there, but housing is expensive, difficult to find, and so are jobs. Portland deliberately closed its city boundaries a while back as a way to prevent urban sprawl, but it hasn't stopped folks from moving there. Recently, one of my boys said there are 130 newcomers moving there every week, and it is straining the city. They've both lived there for 20 years now, and they have noticed the strain quite a bit.

One thing for sure is the hassle of a commute into Portland. Depending on the outlying town, many commutes are mostly on city streets with many stoplights and very slow traffic. Portland intentionally avoided making multi-lane highway access to cut down on sprawl, and the geography of the area, with the convergence of several rivers, canyons, etc. also makes commuting more difficult than it is in San Diego.

You might want to check out the Oregon forum re/ Bend and Eugene.

Spokane lies very close to Idaho's border; Coeur d'Alene, the largest city in North Idaho is only about 25 miles away, and the two have almost blended as both have grown. You may want to check out the Washington forum re/ Tacoma.

And be sure to check out the Boise and Idaho Falls sub-forums here. Idaho is unique in it's terrain; it has always been essentially 2 states that share a single boundary, with only one road connecting north to south. Until you have visited here, you really won't understand our differences, but north and south are both similar and much different at the same time. The more you read through the Idaho forum, the better your overall picture will become.

[boiselover]

northern california is beautiful and still has decent weather. boise has all the seasons and is perfect in most other ways imho

[Clark Fork Fantast]

If you want a more liberal area, you will probably not enjoy living in Spokane--there is a constant feeling of political tension between Eastern WA and the liberal government in Western WA. CdA is considered a fairly liberal place because of the college, but that is a relative perception. Compared to SoCal I wouldn't call CdA liberal.

I suggest you take a look at Chico in NorCal. Pretty, walkable place, university vibe, close to the Sierras, and not too far from the Sacramento airport.

[CAHntr]

If you're looking at Northern CA, Sacramento is the northernmost International airport in CA. Chico is an hour and a half away. I don't know how firm that requirement is. As far as housing under $250K, you can find it but it may not be a neighborhood you want to live in. Chico tends to average about double the rain in Sacramento. Neither has snow but it's not a far drive to the mountains for snow if that works. Both average 250-260 days of sun per year (can be important if either of you is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder). If your 45-minute requirement from an International airport isn't firm, you would probably like many of the smaller towns on the coast of Northern CA. Good luck with the process.

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by misskmac

• 3-4 bedroom home under $250k (closer to $200k is strongly preferred)
• Climate – coming from San Diego we understand it will be a downgrade in weather, wherever we end up. However, we are both looking forward to actual seasons. We don’t mind the snow and a little rain – but would prefer less than 30 inches of annual rain.
• Outdoor recreation/activities // community is generally health conscious
• Strong preference for walkability – being within walking distance of coffee shops/cafes/breweries/local farmers’ markets would be awesome
• Golf courses within 30 mins as my husband is an avid golfer
• International airport within 45 minutes
• Would prefer a more liberal area vs. conservative

Here are a list of cities that have piqued our interest (in order) thus far:
• Spokane
• Post Falls (Idaho)
• Surrounding Portland neighborhoods (although it rains a bit too much for us)
• Bend
• Eugene
• Tacoma
• Northern California
• Boise

I was going to ask what was it that drew you to this list of locations? Obviously, it's quite diverse, and there may not be many here that can provide a lot of insight on all those locations.

Regarding climate, there is plenty of objective data on that question available on the web, including over on the data side of City Data. I suggest you establish some criteria and look at the data to rule in/out your candidate list. I have to say, I find it interesting that on the one hand you say you want seasons but then Portland has too much rain. If you are starting out with the perspective that moving away from San Diego is automatically going to be a climate downgrade, perhaps you aren't really ready for a different climate. Just a thought.

You are probably aware that Idaho overall is not a liberal area. Post Falls is certainly not IMO, although the cities of Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint have their liberal side. I'm not too familiar with Boise but it seems to have little more balance. If that is an important criteria I'd suggest you may want to limit you search to locations in CA, OR and WA (from among the list you gave). Politics at the state level will still be a factor no matter what happens locally, and at the state level Idaho is definitely conservative.

I don't think Post Falls will meet your walkability criteria. It's sort of a bedroom community between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane.

Tacoma meets your requirement for proximity to an international airport, but it rains a lot there. It's not really a walkable place from what I've seen (I traveled through there a lot when I was working to visit various Boeing facilities). Being in western WA it is a liberal area. I don't know real estate prices there, but would be surprised if it was as cheap as you are looking for. Also, it's not on your list of criteria, but traffic in the Seattle area is horrible, perhaps even worse than north San Diego.

Dave

[NW Crow]

If you strongly prefer a house around $200,000, you will likely need to be willing to buy an older home, a smaller home or a home in a less desirable and / or further out neighborhood or satellite town in most of those areas. To get "walkable" and "safe" will be difficult at that price point. $250k somewhat less difficult but still requiring compromises. The housing issue would suggest imo that you focus on Boise and Spokane / Post Falls, the only places on your list where the average home price is $200,000 or less. Neighborhood is key and you will have to have a good real estate agent and visit to decide. Both areas are more moderate to conservative than liberal but there are more liberal neighborhoods.


Getting a house you can afford / like will probably be the most important task. The areas vary on your other criteria but find places that are doable on house first (using websites) then decide among those that qualify.


Albuquerque NM might work for some. Lubbock TX isn't a highly considered destination but it has some pluses / fit with your interests (if you are flexible).


Having kids is a big topic. I don't want to intrude but there are increasing risks with age. You may already be aware. I was kinda uncertain about the level of risk. fwiw I came across this brief article with a few facts from a medical professional http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...5/bgp-20055825

[Radaghast]

If it weren't for your price range on housing, I'd agree with the others that Chico would work, but you're not going to find anything in that range right now. As it is, there are only four homes on the market between $200K and $250K, and none of them are particularly decent homes. You might be able to find something in nearby Paradise though, it's about a 10-15 minute drive up the hill east of Chico.

[Shaner]

I would mark N Idaho off your list if you only want 30 inches of rain/snow a year.

Southern Idaho or maybe N Cali\OR would be your best bet.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by misskmac

..........

• 3-4 bedroom home under $250k (closer to $200k is strongly preferred)
• Surrounding Portland neighborhoods (although it rains a bit too much for us)
• Bend
• Eugene

For $250,000, in Portland, Eugene, or Bend, you might be able to buy a bare building site or maybe a really old mobile home on it's own tiny bit of land. $250,000 might get you a small condo in Bend or Eugene. It won't get you anything in Portland.

Eugene rains as much as Portland.

No place , not anywhere , in Oregon has above average ratings for the schools.

If you want liberal, Portland and, especially Eugene, are about it for your list. But they are way out of your price range and have a heck of a lot more weather than you want to deal with.

I think for your wish list, you need to seriously increase your budget.