Could Idaho be for me? (Boise, Shelley: house, places to live, floor)

[diaperchangindaddy]

tewhann (sp?), how important is the "night life" to you? I've never been to Richmond, but having lived in or near the places you're looking at, I know that a lot of places shut down early. Some restaurants are open later, bars of course, but I don't know about the rest. That's probably something to think about if you go for St. George as well.

[boiseborn]

cafedelsol is right on. I'm born and raised in Boise, lived in Pocatello for 6 years, and then Connecticut for four years and now I'm finally back in Boise where I'll stay! I abosolutely HATED pocatello. If you are not LDS, you definitely feel like an outsider. Everyone I knew and lived with were Mormon and loved Eastern Idaho because they never wanted to move away from their parents. Pocatello is best described as "sleepy" and blue collar. If that sounds like fun to you, go for it. I would NEVER describe poky as a college town. (moscow and rexburg are the only college towns in Idaho IMO.)
Comparing us to the East coast, ID has nothing on CT as far as winters go. The NE not only gets more snow, but is colder and has the awful humidity. they get more wind, ice, storms, etc.
Northern Idaho is beautiful but can be expensive. I wouldn't recommend Moscow if you're not a "party guy," but I think it's a cool town. Lewiston is growing and getting quite nice, and CDA is amazing--but again, very expensive.
Have you ever checked out Missoula, MT??

[Dadof2]

I moved to the Coeur d Alene area about 3 years ago from yes, southern california. It is no doubt beautiful with mountains, lakes and rivers. Just this morning I had 2 moose hanging around in my backyard! There are lots of outdoor activities to keep you busy here and the mortgage business is great, as the real estate market is overall pretty healthy. BUT...the main issue I have here is the weather...summers cannot be beat, warm and sunny...however, most of the year it is cold, cloudy, at times dark and dreary...I have told others that if we had more sunshine a bit less rain and a little warmer climates, this place would be paradise! It is something you do need to consider, as I am now considering Lewiston or even Boise simply for weather purposes...good luck with your decision!

[orb]

Originally Posted by manybees

...If anyone tells you that the winters here are dreary, it's just an indication that they don't know how to go have any fun...

I disagree. I love to go out and have fun. I just can't afford to right now.

[livininIdaho]

I live in Lava (20 min south of Pocatello, South east Idaho) This area is very beautiful...Very mild winter so far... it's been high 40s to 50 and it's the end of Jan. I would NOT be afraid of winters here. We are at 5000 ft and don't even own a snow blower (we have 700 acres and live rural too). We just drive over the snow and squash it down. It's only 2 hrs fro Salt lake, great Skiing shopping etc.... It's mountainous and beautiful in this area and very affordable...not because it unsafe either...it's very safe here just needs to grow a little more which is already happening Pocatello is aprox 60K people. BTW...no we are not Mormon....we just moved here from Veags 2 years ago.

[AJY]

Originally Posted by Dadof2

I moved to the Coeur d Alene area about 3 years ago from yes, southern california. It is no doubt beautiful with mountains, lakes and rivers. Just this morning I had 2 moose hanging around in my backyard! There are lots of outdoor activities to keep you busy here and the mortgage business is great, as the real estate market is overall pretty healthy. BUT...the main issue I have here is the weather...summers cannot be beat, warm and sunny...however, most of the year it is cold, cloudy, at times dark and dreary...I have told others that if we had more sunshine a bit less rain and a little warmer climates, this place would be paradise! It is something you do need to consider, as I am now considering Lewiston or even Boise simply for weather purposes...good luck with your decision!

So you have been here 3 years, is this winter weather pretty typical?
We moved from northern CA as well and are really shocked at the amount of cloudy days we seem to have. I think the cold wouldn't bother be if we had some sun.We are now thinking of moving as well.
Some people are not bothered by the lack of sun but I think it could really get to me.

[tewhann]

How are you folks doing NOW? Looks like you've had a major cold snap!

Still, though, I really am seriously considering Idaho Falls.

Keep the feedback coming!

Thanks

[Sage of Sagle]

The cold weather isn't a real bother for those of us who love outdoor winter sports. If someone hates snow and cold, they'd be crazy to pick ID over AZ. For us, it was one of the reasons we CHOSE to relocate to the panhandle. And quite frankly, when it's 15 day and 5 at night, your body doesn't feel as cold. If you love somewhere with 30 degree temp differentials, THAT feels cold to me. We run racetrack events around the southwestern US (CA/NV) and early spring or late fall, it'll be 38 deg when we get to the track, and 75 at 1PM. The nearly 40 deg temp swing is a real killer.

I'll take cold any day over hot and sweltering...one more plus of north Idaho....

[CafeDelSol]

This winter is actually closer to "normal". It's not unusual to see minus 20 degrees here or two feet of snow accumulated in town. The past few years have been extremely mild and I think many here have forgotten what a real east Idaho winter is like from all the whining I hear everywhere! I'm loving it myself. I even fired up the snow blower a couple of times just for fun.

Plus - the frigid winters are good for killing hobo spiders, of which we have the highest population in the world.

Originally Posted by tewhann

How are you folks doing NOW? Looks like you've had a major cold snap!

Still, though, I really am seriously considering Idaho Falls.

Keep the feedback coming!

Thanks

[JALPP]

What On Earth Are "hobo Spiders"?