Idaho is most moved destination 2 years in a row, will it change the state forever?

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

Wyoming very interesting in the population chart had more people leave than coming in if I read it correctly. CA also had alot people leave and had population added coming in too.

I saw that. The other thing is the IL and NY migration too. The IL migration is mostly from Cook Co, aka Chicago. I think with all the focus on CA people are not noticing the mass migration from these other staunchly blue areas. Let’s just hope there is more centrist and red monies coming than only blue monies. Only time and a few election cycles will tell...

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

One point to keep in mind-it isn't just Idaho feeling the pain of rapid in-migration. Not that in-migration is a bad thing as such-but it's happening at a rate the the infrastructure can't handle, and changing the very thing that drew so many to the state in the first place. I'm in N. Idaho, live in very rural Bonner County, but work in downtown CDA-moved here in '94. In '94 most of the Rathdrum Prairie was nothing but grass fields. CDA basically ended at the mall. We still had sawmills in the CDA/Post Falls corridor. And you could find 10 acres for $50k pretty much everywhere. Post Falls was a "small town". Many lots were decent size, 1/2-1 acre, and many 5 or more. Now...most of the Prairie has been paved over and covered with track homes. Those 1 acre lots are now 1/4 acre or less-most new developments you can barely walk between adjacent homes. The whole area between CDA and Haden has built up, there is no separation between the cities any longer. For the most part, the same can be said between CDA and PF.

Other states are hit similarly. I'm approaching retirement, and looking to retire to somewhere less expensive (both housing cost and taxes) and also with a longer motorcycling season. Our N. Idaho winters aren't hard-it doesn't get especially cold most winters, and snow is modest. But...they are LONG. This week I rode the bike to work and went in on a morning when it was 23 and another at 27 degrees...so somewhere with shorter winters is calling. Long story I know, but to summarize, we're looking at Tennessee. But they are seeing very rapid in-migration, according to our realtor, mostly from NY and CA. We've already made over-asking-price offers 2 times and lost. Florida, Texas, NC and South Carolina have long been dealing with these issues for a long time. I never though I'd consider leaving Idaho, I love this state, the people and the pro-freedom political climate. But taxes aren't low, housing costs are insane...and as I said, winters are long.

When you look at states with the highest unemployment, taxes and out-migration rates, you'll see CA, IL, NY and NJ sharing high spots on all those lists. And when you look at states with low taxes, low unemployment, you'll find many of the same names on those as well, including Idaho, Tennessee, TX, Arkansas and Florida. Make of that what you will-I don't want to make this any more political than it already is.

One of the early posts in this thread discussed Dan English and the drop in Democratic party representation in N. Idaho. One thing I'd point out is that the people of Idaho haven't changed much from that standpoint in the last 25 years-we've always been pretty patriotic, pro-freedom, somewhat anti-government and highly self-sufficient. 30 years ago those things were not an anathema to the Democratic party-now they are. N. Idaho didn't abandon the Democratic party-the rapid shift to the extreme left in the last 2 decades has resulted in the Democratic party abandoning N. Idaho.

Some more data for your consideration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._net_migration

https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-wit...x-burden/20494

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake

One point to keep in mind-it isn't just Idaho feeling the pain of rapid in-migration. Not that in-migration is a bad thing as such-but it's happening at a rate the the infrastructure can't handle, and changing the very thing that drew so many to the state in the first place. I'm in N. Idaho, live in very rural Bonner County, but work in downtown CDA-moved here in '94. In '94 most of the Rathdrum Prairie was nothing but grass fields. CDA basically ended at the mall. We still had sawmills in the CDA/Post Falls corridor. And you could find 10 acres for $50k pretty much everywhere. Post Falls was a "small town". Many lots were decent size, 1/2-1 acre, and many 5 or more. Now...most of the Prairie has been paved over and covered with track homes. Those 1 acre lots are now 1/4 acre or less-most new developments you can barely walk between adjacent homes. The whole area between CDA and Haden has built up, there is no separation between the cities any longer. For the most part, the same can be said between CDA and PF.

Other states are hit similarly. I'm approaching retirement, and looking to retire to somewhere less expensive (both housing cost and taxes) and also with a longer motorcycling season. Our N. Idaho winters aren't hard-it doesn't get especially cold most winters, and snow is modest. But...they are LONG. This week I rode the bike to work and went in on a morning when it was 23 and another at 27 degrees...so somewhere with shorter winters is calling. Long story I know, but to summarize, we're looking at Tennessee. But they are seeing very rapid in-migration, according to our realtor, mostly from NY and CA. We've already made over-asking-price offers 2 times and lost. Florida, Texas, NC and South Carolina have long been dealing with these issues for a long time. I never though I'd consider leaving Idaho, I love this state, the people and the pro-freedom political climate. But taxes aren't low, housing costs are insane...and as I said, winters are long.

When you look at states with the highest unemployment, taxes and out-migration rates, you'll see CA, IL, NY and NJ sharing high spots on all those lists. And when you look at states with low taxes, low unemployment, you'll find many of the same names on those as well, including Idaho, Tennessee, TX, Arkansas and Florida. Make of that what you will-I don't want to make this any more political than it already is.

One of the early posts in this thread discussed Dan English and the drop in Democratic party representation in N. Idaho. One thing I'd point out is that the people of Idaho haven't changed much from that standpoint in the last 25 years-we've always been pretty patriotic, pro-freedom, somewhat anti-government and highly self-sufficient. 30 years ago those things were not an anathema to the Democratic party-now they are. N. Idaho didn't abandon the Democratic party-the rapid shift to the extreme left in the last 2 decades has resulted in the Democratic party abandoning N. Idaho.

Some more data for your consideration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._net_migration

https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-wit...x-burden/20494

Good post with some great points.

[harrishawke]

Could someone elaborate on N. Idaho's political climate and their stance for potential rapid expansion and growth? I've seen this movie before in other Red States. It starts with deforestation, lack of environmental concerns, tax breaks for developers and increases in property taxes with numerous "reassessments".

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

Could someone elaborate on N. Idaho's political climate and their stance for potential rapid expansion and growth? I've seen this movie before in other Red States. It starts with deforestation, lack of environmental concerns, tax breaks for developers and increases in property taxes with numerous "reassessments".

Lots of snow and very cold.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

Could someone elaborate on N. Idaho's political climate and their stance for potential rapid expansion and growth? I've seen this movie before in other Red States. It starts with deforestation, lack of environmental concerns, tax breaks for developers and increases in property taxes with numerous "reassessments".

All that stuff happened before Idaho became the hot destination it is now.

There is presently quite a lot of environmental concern, because our tourism, agriculture, and other commercial factors are important, but so is Idahoan's love of our state and all its wild places.

Idaho was environmental long before the term was ever used.

All the rest- the tax breaks for developers and property taxes- are much more county issues than state issues. So they vary; some counties may be in a fight over them and others not. There are counties here that would like to see more commercial development, and wouldn't mind paying more property tax if the developer's tax breaks created a couple of hundred new jobs.

Out here, an outfit that hires 200 people is still a big deal.