Looking for safe, creative--good vibes--type community in Idaho: Help please. (Boise: ski resort, house)

[cassidy2]

Hi, I am a writer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated in my relocation endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

I am in dire need of a strong community that is humanitarian based. I believe this critical to my success.

That said, I need a location that offers: Reasonable rent, health food store and an abundance of nature. Note, I would also like access to a vibrant downtown area.

I feel drawn to Moscow...however, I 've never been. Please note, I have a cat. Her safety is paramount.

Thanks in advance.

[banjomike]

Moscow would be a good choice for you.
'Vibrant' has a different meaning here, but Moscow is a college town, an old one. So the youth culture is strong there, but in Idaho fashion.

Nothing in Idaho is very close to big-city living anywhere except Boise, which also may be a good choice if you want an urban lifestyle.

There are actually a lot of writers here. Some are very well known. If that's your profession, Boise would probably be the better choice.

Ketchum is where some of the best-selling authors choose to live, but life is expensive there and it's essentially a little town smack dab in mountain wilderness that's very close by. Full of rich folks, and finding a good job is difficult for most working folks. Ketchum is the home of Sun Valley, the famous ski resort. It's the home of several other resorts as well, so it's like Vail in many ways.

[cassidy2]

Thank you for responding to my post. Yes! Idaho seems to welcome writers. I can't wait....

[banjomike]

Idaho isn't like Montana, where a lot of writers moved to be among other writers, but I know a couple of novelists who ended up here.

They moved here because they needed to get away to somewhere with no hustle-bustle and the distractions of the big cities so they could write in peace and quiet.

And be left alone so they could get some work done. Idahoans tend to ignore fame. A famous person doesn't get a bunch of hangers-on here like they do in other places.

If the writer is a nice person who gets along with the neighbors, we generally don't care how famous they may be somewhere else- they're just getting by and doing their job like the rest of us.

As long as they take us and where we're living for life as it is here, not where they came from. Those who come and expect to find all the big-city stuff have a harder time fitting in. That's why there are always a few movie stars, singers, etc. who come to live here. Those who adapt quickly to our laid-back ways always end up doing well. Those who don't adapt eventually go back to where they came from.

Hemingway was so famous that he was instantly recognized as soon as he arrived, but he was happy to stand in line at the grocery store and chat with the customer next to him, and he was soon just another guy in the neighborhood. It's all in the attitude a person brings with them.

Writers have a big advantage though- people generally know their names more than their faces. A writer can be very famous, but won't be spotted in a crowd like a movie star.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by cassidy2

.........I have a cat. Her safety is paramount..........

For your cat to be safe anywhere in Idaho, your cat will have to be a 100% indoor cat. All over Idaho, there are critters that will eat a house cat without the slightest twinge of guilt.

Your description of your desired place to live sounds like Ashland Oregon to me. Ashland is very long on artistic community and health food stores. Lots of Holistics and that sort of thing.

[NW Crow]

Sandpoint might work. More immediately surrounded by forest than Moscow. Smaller but the county has 40,000 some people. Has art / music, probably writers.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

For your cat to be safe anywhere in Idaho, your cat will have to be a 100% indoor cat. All over Idaho, there are critters that will eat a house cat without the slightest twinge of guilt.

Your description of your desired place to live sounds like Ashland Oregon to me. Ashland is very long on artistic community and health food stores. Lots of Holistics and that sort of thing.

Ashland is a good place for all that.

[cassidy2]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

For your cat to be safe anywhere in Idaho, your cat will have to be a 100% indoor cat. All over Idaho, there are critters that will eat a house cat without the slightest twinge of guilt.

Your description of your desired place to live sounds like Ashland Oregon to me. Ashland is very long on artistic community and health food stores. Lots of Holistics and that sort of thing.

Thanking for responding. I am hoping to find a dwelling w/a kind of enclosed patio and/or backyard area. That said, I did not favor the climate in Oregon. It was very wet.

[Syringaloid]

Boise sounds like a perfect match for you based on your criteria and Boise has a vibrant writing community.

You mentioned you were drawn to Moscow, so are you looking for a small town and is a city the size of Boise too large?

Here are a few links you might find interesting:

http://www.thecabinidaho.org/

http://www.idahowritersguild.com/

https://territory-mag.com/articles/a...se-and-poetry/

[volosong]

Originally Posted by cassidy2

...I did not favor the climate in Oregon. It was very wet.

East of the Cascades is fairly arid or semi-arid. Nothing like Portland. Ashland is somewhere in the middle, just under 20" average of rainfall per year. The Moscow average is just over 27" per year.


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