Coeur d’Alene vs. Hailey vs. Wallace (Boise, Pocatello: transplants, for rent)

[volosong]

Your three choices couldn't be more different from each other. A resort town which is also a bedroom community for Spokane. An isolated, historical mining town, and an affluent vacation get-away town on the other side of the state.

I'm not going to waste any time with the weather because that has been discussed here often, and is also found on the data side of City-Data. Spend some time there to learn about the statistics of various cities. And, I don't "play" politics, even though I'm on the local city council. That information is also on each city's page on the data side. Otherwise, briefly...

My paternal great-great grandparents and great grandparents are buried in Hailey. Hills in that immediate area too barren for me.

Wallace is a cool, very small town, but too remote for decent shopping and access to medical facilities.

I retired to the Coeur d'Alene area. Primarily because of the surrounding natural environment, the friendliness of the residents, and the respectful attitude of motorized vehicles toward bicyclists. If I were to move, and money was not a consideration, it would be to another city in this immediate area, (Dalton Gardens or the Avondale Lake neighborhood between the cities of Hayden and Hayden Lake).

[volosong]

Originally Posted by mangococonut

I want to know what the governor in Idaho is like as far as the Convid situation - are they mandating muzzles (masks) or mandating vaccinations (the medical device 'shot,' for corona)?

Idaho is a very libertarian state. Not the political party, but in individual freedom and individual responsibility way. And many/most are fanatical about it. The governor is doing the best he can, walking a high-wire tightrope act trying to balance managing and minimizing the spread of the disease while also trying to protect people's right to decide what course of action is best for themselves. It's a "no win" for him, but he's doing a decent job.

About the only place with a 'hard and fast' rule is Costco. Either a mask or a face shield...or no entrance. Government meetings are limited to 10 in attendance, socially distanced.

Cannot offer an opinion on vaccinations. That's still being ramped up.

[MTJoe]

Masks are mandated by the Panhandle Health district (basically the northern 4 counties) and I believe Post Falls and CDA both have city council mandates. Compliance is maybe 50/50 overall. More so in town, less so on the outskirts. Cross the border into WA and watch out though.

Gov. Little is what I would call a concerned conservative. I suggest doing some reading about him to see how he aligns with your personal ideals.
Local news sources: Krem.com KHQ.com/Spokesman Review (same owners) KXLY.com CDA Press

Krem or KHQ just had an article today about real estate in the CDA area. Something to the effect of 15-20 buyers for every property listed. Good news if you own property and don't need to buy any...not so great if you need property. Telecommuting and politics will only increase demand in our area. That is and has been my prediction for a couple years and Covid has accelerated that trend. Much to the detriment of native Idahoans.

[banjomike]

My choice?
None of the above.

There is nothing at all wrong with all three, and I've been to them all many times.

I simply like my home town the best. To me, it has the combination of things the others have in just the right mix for me.

If someone else likes the other places better, that's perfectly OK. Everyone should be happy with the place they choose to live in.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by mangococonut

Hi,

I am hoping to all of you Idahoans out there who can help me with this dilemma. I am planning to move to Idaho. I have not been there yet, but know I want to live there from research that I have compiled. I have lived all over the USA and planet, but have not been to Idaho so therefore need your input.

I am trying to compare these three towns - and need as much detail as possible. I am flexible so would be happy with any of them - but if I can find one that seems more suitable that would be great. If you could describe what these 3 towns are like - the pros/cons would be helpful.

*As of current time (January 2021) what are these towns leaning towards:
Ultra-Left (commie), Democrat (JFK era), Libertarian, Middle of the road, Republican, Ultra-Conservative

*What is the general year-round weather like (lots of snow/cold, hot summers, humid/dry, what about sunshine - I love sunshine and need it A LOT).

*I work remotely so a job is a non-issue

*No kids - schools are a non-issue

*Prefer friendly welcoming communities where people are involved

*I want to initially rent a place (as I cannot afford to buy) but the ultimate goal would be to live more rural within a 45-60 minute drive from a town (where I could shop/buy things from). If I could already Find a rental like that - I would just go to that area immediately - not sure which towns that would comprise. I want to be off the beaten path in nature. Lots of trees, water would be nice (waterfalls/lakes/anything)...

*I like that 'small town feel' a walkable town would be nice - but not mandatory.

Thank you for any input you can offer!!

I know you do research, and you have experience living all over the planet, but no research on earth can tell you where to move (permanently) based on a checklist. You need to come out for a visit. Based on where you are now, and the COVID situation, that can of course present a difficulty, but judging from your previous posts you seem more inclined to go for warmer climates. As for Idaho, you can either get lots of sunshine (South, East), or lots of trees, rivers, and lakes (North and Central). That's a little too schematic, but overall you have to decide what is more important to you. If you're just looking for a place to have a new set of experiences for a few years, I'd say you can take some chances based on a checklist and the opinions of strangers, but if you're looking for a permanent home you need to come up and breathe the air. (With or without a mask.)

[nm9stheham]

Hailey is a 'burb of Sun Valley. So its economy is more resort oriented, but only so during the winter months. Hailey is more of the family town in that valley and where a lot of middle class folks settle, simply due to affordability. I would expect the politics to be pretty much in the middle. (Going north in Sun Valley to Ketchum, I'd expect more liberal politics.)

As for sun, look at the 'sunny days per year' statistic on various sites that give that type of data. CdA is going to be more cloudiness in winter. IDK about Wallace. Hailey is on the edge of the sunny region and is right at, or slightly above, the US average for sunny days. But it is also in a deep valley, only 1-2 miles across with high mountains east and west. Plenty of winter snow in Hailey... it IS Sun Valley after all!

Rentals may be harder to come by. But once winter is over and the skiing demand has abated, then look.

I would expect Hailey to be a pretty open place for people; sports areas often are, as they see a lot of people come and go. Plus a lot of folks will settle there from outside.

Lots of trees in the valley there. And lots of natural beauty. Winter sports abound, and there is tons of hiking in the spectacular mountains all around. Go north over Galena Pass and you are in the long, beautiful valley east of the Sawtooths, where the head waters of t,he Salmon River rise. Many beautiful glacial lakes there, including Redfish Lake, the most famous of them. If you are looking for a region with bountiful rugged, natural beauty, this area is going to be hard to beat.

Shopping is kinda limited but there are a few good grocery stores in Sun Valley. The small regionally owned department store in Hailey went out of business a few years ago. For bulk shopping, then the nearest Walmart is south in Jerome, just outside of Twin Falls. And then you can go to Idaho Falls once in a while to get to bigger box stores. Boise is about a 2.5 hour drive from Hailey/Sun Valley.

As for your last point..... there are a lot of good places out there that meet your long term criteria, IMHO. So why the focus on these 3 particular towns? If you can tell us that, then maybe we can better focus on going to the long spot.

[oldafretired]

I think the mask mandates in ID are local and not by the governor. Kootenai County still has a mask mandate and I don't go to CdA very often but it looks like a lot more people wear masks there than where I'm at. I'm about 30 minutes north of CdA in Spirit Lake. Hardly anyone wears masks. And those that do are probably older people who might have health issues so they are being careful.

I go to the local cafe at least once/week and I've only seen probably less than 10 people in total wearing masks since this craziness started. People are much more independent up here and don't have that communist/socialist collectivist attitude. Even at the large supermarket in Athol where I think I saw a sign at the entrance asking people to mask up, most of the customers don't don masks and even a lot of the employees are maskless.

[Cdarocks]

You mention you need a lot of sunshine. You put A LOT in all caps when you referred to it. On that alone, Idaho isn't the place for you. If you do want to check it out, and you absolutely should if you decide sunshine isn't more important than your other considerations, make sure you rent. But seeing it is very difficult to buy due to lack of inventory, that will probably be your only choice anyways.

[pnwguy2]

What an odd combo of choices. Hailey is basically Sun Valley and parts of the area are super expensive. Wallace is an old time town tucked into a narrow mountain valley. It actually still feels like the 1890’s. Then you have Coeur d’Alene which is a larger city than both of the former and acts somewhat as a big suburb of Spokane.

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

What an odd combo of choices. Hailey is basically Sun Valley and parts of the area are super expensive. Wallace is an old time town tucked into a narrow mountain valley. It actually still feels like the 1890’s. Then you have Coeur d’Alene which is a larger city than both of the former and acts somewhat as a big suburb of Spokane.

Good observation... and begs the question of why choose these 3. Maybe if that can be answered by the OP in more detail, then the search can be better focused.


BTW, as for sunshine, parts of ID in the southern parts of the state are quite sunny and are much moreso that the US average. Northern ID is where the winter sunniness is limited.