Tell me about Rathdrum! (Post Falls, Hayden: real estate, crime, how much)

[Jaepley]

Hello!

Family and I are relocating to North Idaho from Montana. My husband will be working in Spokane but prefer to live in Idaho. We drove through Rathdrum a bit and loved the mountain small town feel.

We have two young kids and heard they have the best schools?

How is the crime? Is it a safe community?

We love the idea of being in a smaller beautiful community that takes pride in their city/homes. How are the neighborhoods? Do people generally take care of their properties?

Lastly, are there any areas to avoid living in?

Tried searching on this and didn't find too much on these questions. Hopefully someone can give me some insight thank you in advance!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There is a very busy rail line that runs right along the highway. If you don't like train noise, you might want to be back a bit from the highway.

Rathdrum is a very big area, but the little village itself has a nice little restaurant and some shopping, so you can get what you need for day to day. It has a rural unhurried feel to it, in a good way.

Some of the properties have wonderful views. There is a nice little lake for boating and fishing just above there and I've seen some good real estate listings on that lake

If you are in the part of Rathdrum near the village, it isn't such a bad commute to Spokane for work or shopping. Plus it isn't too bad a drive to get to Coeur D'Alene for social stuff and more shopping.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Also, this is my personal opinion, but there are some very nice areas with attractive homes on dirt roads. Myself, I don't want to live on a dirt road where it snows. Plenty of paved roads where you have a better chance that they will be plowed. You are from Montana, so you probably already know that.

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Also, this is my personal opinion, but there are some very nice areas with attractive homes on dirt roads. Myself, I don't want to live on a dirt road where it snows. Plenty of paved roads where you have a better chance that they will be plowed. You are from Montana, so you probably already know that.

On our drive to Sandpoint we have a short distance on a paved private road, 2 miles on a county maintained dirt road, and then 9 miles on a paved road (Sagle Rd. for those familiar with the area) to 95. The 2 miles of county maintained dirt road is consistently the best part of the drive during winter.

There are probably several factors that drive that, but I think my suggestion would be to look at those factors rather than simply dirt vs. pavement. I think those factors include things like:

1. Being on a school bus route - There is a bus stop at the end of the county maintained dirt road, which means it gets plowed early and sanded frequently.

2. Private vs. county maintained - Our private road gets plowed regularly, but rarely gets sanded due to the cost of bringing in someone to do that. That said, of the three roads we drive our private road is always the last of the three to see a plow in winter. We have less than a mile to travel on that road, and drive high clearance AWD/4WD vehicles, so it wasn't ever a problem this past winter.

3. Orientation and tree cover - In our case the dirt road runs north/south, and has several spots with wide open fields on one side or the other, so it gets a fair amount of sun during winter. Our private road runs east/west, and is heavily lined with trees. Relative to the road surface the sun is below the tree line all winter, so it gets no sun during winter. The 9 miles of paved road is mixed - some trees, some fields, some moderately steep parts. As a result, there are usually certain sections of the road that are consistently slick in winter and others that are not so bad.

In terms of living on or near a dirt road, I'd suggest not dealing with the dust in summer would be a better reason to avoid the dirt. We are far enough from the dirt road that it doesn't affect us at our house, but our cars are pretty much always dirty.

Dave

[Jaepley]

Another random question regarding post falls...driving through the neighborhood near the river, it's beautiful. Nice houses on established streets. HOWEVER, I notice most of the houses have security doors. Growing up in Southern California this is a huge red flag for me. I've heard post falls is a safe community but it makes me nervous seeing a lot of security doors on nice homes. After living in Montana for the past few years I have been accustomed to not seeing those so it was a little shocking. Is crime high in Post Falls?

[volosong]

Originally Posted by Jaepley

Hello!

Family and I are relocating to North Idaho from Montana. My husband will be working in Spokane but prefer to live in Idaho. We drove through Rathdrum a bit and loved the mountain small town feel.

I'd have a difficult time classifying Rathdrum as a "mountain small town". More accurately, it is a "smaller town" at the base of the hills/mountains. How much longer it stays "small" is debatable. It is growing FAST! At half the population of Hayden, I can foresee within a decade or so having a population as large as Hayden, if not larger. The population growth is to the east and south, encroaching on the prairie.

The fastest route to Spokane is south on the 41 to the freeway, then west. Be advised that starting soon, the 41 will be expanded four lanes, two northbound and two southbound. Construction will start at the south end and work its way northward. Expect the commute from hell during construction.

Originally Posted by Jaepley

We have two young kids and heard they have the best schools?

I have heard this too, but not having school-aged children, I really couldn't say.

Originally Posted by Jaepley

How is the crime? Is it a safe community?

As with most of North Idaho, Rathdrum is safe. You can find crime statistics on the data side of C-D.

Originally Posted by Jaepley

We love the idea of being in a smaller beautiful community that takes pride in their city/homes. How are the neighborhoods? Do people generally take care of their properties?

Some neighborhoods are nice, some not so nice. Yes, generally people take care of their properties. Google street view is useful for looking at neighborhoods.

Originally Posted by Jaepley

Lastly, are there any areas to avoid living in?

I wouldn't be comfortable living near the train tracks. Anywhere else is fine. I like to sleep with my bedroom windows open, and I can hear the trains, even though I'm not very close to them. I'm at the south end of town, but there are a lot of trees and a few buildings between me and the tracks. Enough to muffle the sound most of the time.

I'm glad I chose Rathdrum for my retirement home. So far, I like it. Far enough away from the circus that it's pretty quiet; but close enough for those times when I want some action and excitement.

.

[Jaepley]

Originally Posted by volosong

I'd have a difficult time classifying Rathdrum as a "mountain small town". More accurately, it is a "smaller town" at the base of the hills/mountains. How much longer it stays "small" is debatable. It is growing FAST! At half the population of Hayden, I can foresee within a decade or so having a population as large as Hayden, if not larger. The population growth is to the east and south, encroaching on the prairie.

The fastest route to Spokane is south on the 41 to the freeway, then west. Be advised that starting soon, the 41 will be expanded four lanes, two northbound and two southbound. Construction will start at the south end and work its way northward. Expect the commute from hell during construction.



I have heard this too, but not having school-aged children, I really couldn't say.



As with most of North Idaho, Rathdrum is safe. You can find crime statistics on the data side of C-D.



Some neighborhoods are nice, some not so nice. Yes, generally people take care of their properties. Google street view is useful for looking at neighborhoods.



I wouldn't be comfortable living near the train tracks. Anywhere else is fine. I like to sleep with my bedroom windows open, and I can hear the trains, even though I'm not very close to them. I'm at the south end of town, but there are a lot of trees and a few buildings between me and the tracks. Enough to muffle the sound most of the time.

I'm glad I chose Rathdrum for my retirement home. So far, I like it. Far enough away from the circus that it's pretty quiet; but close enough for those times when I want some action and excitement.

.

Thank you for the info!

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by Jaepley

Another random question regarding post falls...driving through the neighborhood near the river, it's beautiful. Nice houses on established streets. HOWEVER, I notice most of the houses have security doors. Growing up in Southern California this is a huge red flag for me. I've heard post falls is a safe community but it makes me nervous seeing a lot of security doors on nice homes. After living in Montana for the past few years I have been accustomed to not seeing those so it was a little shocking. Is crime high in Post Falls?

Probably the reason for the security doors is two-fold. A lot of homes are seasonal and don't have anyone in them for months at a time. Also, a lot of former Californians live in the area, and they're used to having security doors and maybe don't feel safe without them. My parents put a security door on their house after leaving California... and they live in a town where nobody locks their doors!

[Dangerous Dave]

And to answer your question, Rathdrum is pretty safe. I live in the south part of town in the newer housing developments. Rathdrum has a lot of growth and new homes being built, and rumor has it a new high school is coming. The schools are about the best in the state and highly rated on the national scale.


Inside of the "downtown" area, there are some run-down houses and a large trailer park. But I'd now say the overwhelming majority of homes in Rathdrum are less than 20 years old and well-kept.

[dcisive]

The place I'm looking for a semi retirement living ideally won't have much in the way of a significant school system. With those comes higher taxes. I'm stuffed with them in Salt Lake area now and want OUT of that scenario. It's just nuts. year after year another new school needs to be built because they breed kids around here like popcorn at the movie theater.