Best cities for us? (Sandpoint, Ponderay: ski resort, mortgage broker, broker)

[CBaillo]

Hi ya'll wanted to see if i could pick your brains for best possible cities for my family and I, w/ my given criteria. We are *GASP* californians, lol but not the typical types i have read you hate. actually when meeting people my wife and i always get asked if we're from the midwest, because were more open and friendly than most people here. But enough explaining myself, basically what i was looking for was someplace:

-low in crime
-defined 4 seasons w/ snow in winter
-the outdoors and bodies of water not too far away (I'm an avid fisherman, and love nothing more than throwing out catfish bait, and floating around all day tossing backa few beers)- my family also likes to bike,hike, etc.
-skiing/snowboarding not too far away. I love to snowboard, so this is something i NEED lol
-bigger plots of land
-close enough to be reasonably commutable to a big city (my wife and i both work, so itd be for employment/shopping/outings)
-a place with a good job market, for professionals (not service industry)
-racially accepting. I'm filipino and my wife is irish, and of course my daughter is mixed between us
- a really good public school system (i believe our childs education is primarily in our hands, but lets be real, school is where shell be for most hours of the day, so we need a good one)
- pretty much a nice friendly place that wont instantly hate us TOO badly. I understand having to prove oneself, and earn respect and trust, but i'd like to live someplace where people will at least let me TRY to earn those things, instead of hating my family outright just because of where we came from ((worst case, we can buy a house and not move until our new idaho plates are in ROFL)

thanks guys!

[Sage of Sagle]

I was going to suggest our area until you said "close to employment". It's a 30-45 min drive to CdA in summer, much longer in bad weather, but otherwise fits the bill. We're less than 20 miles from Schweitzer ski resort, we're 1 mile from Pend Oreille River (about 6 miles from the lake's launch area).

Here is what I found about being a Californian moving to Idaho. The people there will look at YOU, not just at your license plate when you arrive. We bring a big family, a business, and a small town attitude with us, and nobody has EVER looked sideways at us.

Funny enough, our realtor was from California (20 years ago), our mortgage broker was from California (15 years ago), etc. People in Idaho (myself now included as one of the new residents) just don't want it to become what we left behind. Look at "Darby" post here: //www.city-data.com/forum/idaho...te-them-4.html

It has been true to some extent, but what I found was that EVERY person we met was inclined to like us and accept us at face value. I can tell you that we've made friends so much easier in Sandpoint than we did in SoCal...so I really think it all depends on you.

[CBaillo]

Sandpoint? ya i heard a lot about that place, and 30-45 min? 1 hr-1.5 hrs in bad weather? That's a cakewalk coming from CA :P thanks for the suggestion. I heard it gets harsh in the winter. My family LOVES winter snow weather, just wondering HOW hard it actually gets.

And ya its not just our plates, my wife and i both grew up in CA, but neither one of us h ave felt at home here our whole lives. We've always dreamed of raising our kids elsewhere. Is there high speed internet in Sandpoint? I dont mean to offend anyone by asking this, have just never been there, so i don't know what is there and what isn't. and how close is basic needs shopping, like groceries, and clothing, etc.?

I appreciate your help...anyone else?

[Sage of Sagle]

There is high speed but very limited. DSL is spreading slowly. Plan on Satellite Internet for some time.

In Sandpoint/Ponderay there's Safeway, Yokes, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot. Plenty of shopping in the area for other items too. About a bazillion places to eat. And it's a short enough drive to CdA for big box stores if that's your desire.

[CBaillo]

anyone else? thanks for the info so far.